~fallencruxisangel

so i got home on Sunday, and just now i feel the immense need to write a long and complicated journal about my journey. i will begin with an explaination about why i didn't write about this a day or two ago.

i woke up at 5:30am in England on Sunday, which is 12:30 in the morning in Ohio. after a 6 or 7 hour flight, i had a 4 hour layover in Newark New Jersy. then i got stuck on the runway because every freaking plane Continental owns was taking off from that one airport, i swear to god. so after about 45 minutes waiting to take off, we finally got in the air, for another hour long flight. i then drove home, and there arrived at 9:30pm. but i didn't go to be then, no no, i had to spend an hour showing them my souviners and seeing theirs from Hawaii, and seeing their pictures. so at 10:30pm, i finally went to sleep. almost 24 hours without rest, and jetlag caught up with me for the past couple of days, so i apologize for not journaling sooner. *bows*

well, now that i'm getting over the jet lag, i can go on from the beginning of my trip. we flew overnight to Switzerland, and got going right when we arrived. we were in Zurich, which has so many freaking public train thingys, it was insane. and drivers were pretty crazy, but they are everywhere in Europe. so we walked around, saw tons of churches, and then began our bus journey to Schoul, the town where we stayed for three nights. it was so beautiful, with the mountains just in view from out rooms. and the water was all clean, all drinkable. the fountains in town, you could drink from all of them! some even had mineral water flowing, which was disgusting.

and there was a hot guy named Bijan who was our guide, and i got a picture with him just before we left for Germany. i got to go in the raft with him when we were white water rafting. that was the good part of that, the bad part was i was the only child, the rest of the people in my raft were the leaders and the program manager who was showing us around. it didn't bother me though, i tend to get along better with the adults, and someone had to go with them. it was well worth it to be with Bijan *sigh*

we went to our homestay next, which was pretty fun, but could have been alot better. my girl was younger than me, not only in years physically, but mentally. it could have been worse, but i wish she had been more my age. sadly, her brother was my age *sad sigh* and they were still in school, so i had to go to school with them.... yeah, sounds like fun, right?

some stuff was good about that, but i was happy to get back to the rest of my group after three days of, uh, less than what i expected.

the rest of germany was not that great, since the only really big thing we saw the the Dome Cathedral in Cologne. i thought that building was freaky, creepy, and i know i wasn't the only one. it was just scary to look at. and we went to the hard rock cafe there, which was pretty cool. i had my first veggie burger, since i didn't want a salade. i must say, i have no idea how people eat a whole burger all the time, it was just too much for me.

and then we went to the netherlands, which was pretty creepy. Amsterdam really is scary, with all sorts of beggars and 'red light' stores. you just feel like someone is going to attack you, but not all the time. It was cool to see the Anne Frank Museum, but not that great. i really don't feel much for one girl, after all, hundreds of thousands suffered more than she did. but that's just me, and i'm not that sensitve to that sort of stuff. don't yell at me, people do that enough already because i don't care about the holocaust.

and we went to a farm that made clogs and cheese, which was cool. the cheese rocked, i bought butter and nut cheese, yum. they also made cheese out of those painful stinging nettles in swampy areas, and once cooked, it doesn't sting anymore.
it was actually really good

and i got little mini clogs for my riding instructor and the owner of the stable, since they're so good to me. i even had their names engraved into it by hand.

and we went on a bike ride through the windmills and the dikes and such, which was pretty scary with 50 people all on bikes. i got a burn, but now it's a tan, and i have my first tan line on my arm from my watch! ha ha! sad thing is, even with the tan i'm paper white and we played soccer with some local boys, which was fun until one of them kicked a ball point blank into my stomach from, eh, 15 feet away. it hurt like hell, that's all i'll say. all i could do was laugh, the awkward kind of laugh. and then we rode back, and got on the bus and drove to belgium.

we saw how they made lace and chocolate there, and i got samples of both and that was pretty much it. we only spent one day there. and then we drove to Paris, which was the worst place. it might seem romantic, until you almost get hit by a car, bike, or moped, almost get pickpocketed, almost get suckered into buying crap, almost get a little string tied on your wrist by some guy who says it's ok, pretty lady. *shudder*

and the Eiffel tower isn't as bad as it seems, though i did cry on the elevator going up. it was just really high, but everything was enclosed with glass, or at least the wire barrier went all the way to the top. it was cool, though i was crying. phobias die hard, that's all

and Versailles was awsome, with so much art and so many sculptures. i posed in front of them, mimicking their pose, it was fun. and i found a painting where two guys look like they're making out. it rocks

and then we took a ferry to England, overnight. but before we left, we went to a french carnival. it was fun, since the bumper ride lasted nearly 10 minutes, i swear! but yeah, the boat was really nice. the gentle rocking lulled me to sleep really fast.

and then we were in England for only two days, and we saw King Henry VIII's castle, and the White Tower Castle. it was awsome, i saw the Royal Toilette (inside joke) and yeah, i went on the london eye. which wasn't that bad, until they made me stand by the glass and take a picture. i looked down, and nearly got sick, it was scary. but Big Ben isn't that impressive, just so everyone knows.

and then, the last night, we saw a musical. we saw Blood Brothers, which is one of the best musicals i've ever seen, aand that says absolutely nothing XD but it was funny and sad at the same time. and then that was our last night, so we went home the next day.

i'll only miss a couple of New Jersey people, like Stephan, who gave me the best goodbye hug. dunno why i'll miss hime, since he's the real life version of Kelso from That 70's show. and i'll miss a couple of the girls, maybe another guy, and that's about it. i have tons of pictures to put up, so be warned *evil laugh*

if i missed anything, or you want to know more, or anything like that, just let me know, and i'll explain in greater detail. i missed all of you on DA, and i'm so glad to be back