i've been really meaning to write this blog, but i could never get in the mood and i wanted this blog to be as perfect as possible because it was such a wonderful experience. my vacation, summer 2009, around the mediterranean - from barcelona, spain to ephesus, turkey - stole my heart and it hasn't been returned.
that summer, was an especially exciting one because i had just graduated high school so i was ready to take on anything, but i didn't exactly have half the world in mind ...
the cruise ship left from barcelona, spain. here, people from all over the WORLD flew. from countries like colombia, brazil, dubai, ireland, england, scotland, canada, the bahamas, and around the united states. it was overwhelming (in a good way). the thought takes my breath away.
about being submerged in 5 countries. can you say culture shocked? every day, i was in a completely new country. spain, france (i was sick), italy, greece, turkey and back again! it was the ideal life. we'd wake up at 8 and enter a country at 9:30. for the entire afternoon, we were just in another country, seeing historical sites and eating the ethnic food. purely experiencing la bella vita. after returning, we'd be exhausted. what a perfect excuse for a siesta. after the siesta and after dinner, i was back to exploring what other countries i could find on the ship. it was the perfect schedule.
it's hard for me to explain the experiences i had in every country. it all happened so fast and, as you can imagine, they were all different. turkey being the most different. completely off the radar from what i've been used to. the people, the streets, and food (which was actually really good). the most beautiful city, for me, was capri, italy. capri is classy. off the charts classy. italy will always have my heart but greece was definitely my favorite country. something about it was so exciting...maybe it was because i was finally first hand experiencing what my greek friends have always showed me.
my favorite aspect of the trip was the people on the ship. not only was i submerged in countries like spain, france, italy, greece, and turkey, but also countries in south america, the Caribbean, and great britain. just by talking to them, we shared our experiences from our own country and through conversation, i was transported to south america. i also learned a lot from the other americans. they were from LA, montana, chicago, boston, florida, new jersey, and even long island. they were great people, some of the most interesting around. the kind that are going to change things.
my favorite night: 'latin fiesta' night. how could i resist dancing? not just any kind of dancing, but actually dancing merengue with those who invented it themselves - south americans. naturally, the boys moved their hips better than me. i can't complain. i can't complain about them singing the spanish shakira lyrics in my ear while we danced either. what? that night pretty much solidified my desire to visit the south american countries.
i don't know how to rate the vacation without underrating it. a lifetime experience that i can't be grateful enough for. it's not every day i can visit florence, the birthplace of the renaissance, or climb the mountains of santorini, or shop on the streets of turkey.
i hope all of my friends and family can one day visit all of these countries and have the same experiences i did because it is breathtaking.
it's hard for me to write this without saying too much or too little. i want to share this amazing experience with whoever wants to read it but i can't give you every detail without being bored. i'm super excited for summer and this vacation is always on my mind, so i had to put this to writing.
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