Turkey: I visited, I played, I'm no longer a nanny!!!!!
Shortly after my last post I went to Ephesus and Cappadocia in Turkey. These were two amazing places with some amazing experiences. Ephesus was hot, very old and Greek, and the air smelt like blossoms. Perfectly marvelous in other words. I explored the old Greek city which had poppies growing all over and lots of stray cats, climbed around in a courtyard of a mosque, saw some great sunsets, and went out for one of the first nights all by myself. Oh and there were storks all over! There were ancient aqueducts of the city that were in ruins and on most of the pillars you would find a large stork's nest with some funny storks in them. My favorite moment of that trip came when I was walking back to my hostel on a clear beautiful night with a turkish dessert in one hand while staring at the turkish moon and stars. It was a moment for deep breaths.
From there I hopped over to Cappadoccia. This is a place that has some very unique stone formations, underground cities, and high up cave/mountain houses as well. Playing in the underground housing was a very good time. I felt like I was in goonies! The cave houses were also great for playing in. We were able to climb everywhere and explore. I returned to Turkey for my final weeks and eventually I was set free and no longer a nanny!! This was one very very exciting day. I returned to the life of a normal twenty-something- year-old and went out with friends. I was able to go to my good friend, Aysegul's home town of Eskisehir. It was so great to see her home town and meet her family and just spend time with her. After that more going out with my Istanbul friends happened, along with a wonderful going away meyhane dinner. After some Turkish tea, cookies, and a pirate taxi ride I made it to the airport and left my Istanbul life behind.
Scotland for a bit.
I went back to scotland and spent time crashing on my friend Steph's couch in Edinburgh. It was so good have some down time with a friend before I picked up and started my last 3 weeks of travel. I didn't do much besides snack, walk around, and chat with Steph. It was an enjoyable and much needed week!
France: oh la la indeed.
I spent an amazing, amazing week in the south of france with Jean-yves, the brother of one of our very good family friends. He showed me the most amazing time. I stayed in his beautiful villa in a small town on the french riviera. He took me everywhere (Monaco, Italy, all over Provence, Cannes, Saint Tropez...), introduced me to wonderful people, and we ate the most amazing french food... ever. He also brought me fresh croissants and pan au chocolat every morning. oh la la indeed. Jean-yves is at least in his 70's and it was such a great experience to bond with him and spend so much time with someone that age. I was able to meet the rest of their family and see some great old pictures. He also told me wonderful life stories about France back in the day, living in Africa, flying planes, and playing the trumpet. Jean-yves was a perfect friend and tour guide.
From there I made it up to Paris. Paris was so much of everything. By this point I was kind of being a lame tourist and probably should have seen more of the "must see" places of Paris, although I think I managed to cross most of them off my list. I was truly content just lazing around in parks, drinking wine, eating cheese and having coffee. I was lucky enough to have a french friend to do this all with, Antoine. I got to follow him around like a non-french speaking puppy and inflict myself on him for almost a week. It was splendid. Metros, the Eiffel tower, walking around, sleeping too late, going to bed too late, graveyards and practicing saying un peu. Amazingly two of my wonderful friends from UW-Madison, Meg and Leah, were also in Paris at the same time! Being reunited in the city of love after one year was perfect.
From Paris I went to Amsterdam. It was a very cool city. Canals, Anne Frank, bikes, prostitutes, and coffee. I just had a short stop but it was truly a beautiful city.
Sweden!
I went to Sweden to visit my friend Ottilia that came and studied abroad at UW for one year. It was so great to see her again! We had some really great times at madison and she showed me an amazing time in Sweden. Her family was kind enough to let me stay with them. It was great meeting her family and her mom made some wonderful swedish dishes! Ottilia was the perfect tour guide and night life guide. We went to some very fun places and saw all the beautiful things around Stockholm. I was there towards the end of may and it was staying light out until about 11 o'clock or so. It was so strange to me. Every day seemed like 3 days. It was light during the day, it got almost all the way dark by the time we were getting to a bar, then when we were going home it was light again. One of my favorite images of being in sweden was cutting through the woods to get to Ottilias house after going out. It was already getting light out with the hazy almost morning light shining through green leaves in the woods. It was damp and we were trying to avoid stepping on snails. Hearing the crunch every now and then made me sadly realize I am not good at avoiding things.
Scotland: The mother land.
I spent my last few days in Scotland. I love Scotland and I miss it. I got to visit Erin, go out with friends, drink cider, and visit my cousins. It was a brief stop off and mostly consisted of my hopping to different cities to collect all my things I left sporadically at people's houses.
And home to the U.S. of A...
In Chicago I was scooped up at the airport by one of my besties Christina. I had a quick whirlwind, fighting jet lag, fun filled experience in chicago then headed to good ol' Wisconsin...
Reflecting back on my experiences now makes me incredibly grateful. I was able to meet amazing people, form wonderful friendships and bond with so many people. I miss you all and loved my time with you. Thinking about my experiences abroad will throw me into my own world and result in a happy sigh for a long time to come.
