The Rhine Valley... I underestimated you

When you get welcomed to your hostel with this... You know it's a winner. 

But, let me backtrack. When I first arrived at the train station in Bacharach, Germany, I was completely taken away with its beauty. It is a small, old town, with a wonderful breeze. And then I looked up and up... and Oh! There was the castle that I was staying at. At the very top of the mountain.

This picture was taken when I was about halfway up the mountain.

So up I climbed with my backpack. It was a long trek up, but the view from the top was more than worth it.

First thing I did was rent a bike! The tourist info center sent me over to a wonderful little shop run by an older gentlemen who sits outside on a bench with his bikes, sets tourists up and points them to the most scenic route. Check out where he sent me...

Pretty sweet route, huh? So I bike a few miles in one direction. Biked back to town, had some lunch and then headed in the opposite direction. The Rhine valley is covered in two things and two things only: castles and vineyards. Every direction you look that is all you will see. It is so unreal. Even more unreal is that I found a little beach on my ride where I ended up camping out and taking a nap.

After returning my bike, I went to dinner. The place that was recommended by Rick Steves was closed, so I went to another place that had outdoor seating. I saw Wiener Schnitzel on the menu, and was like, "ooh I remember having that before, I'll get that." Only after receiving my meal did I remember that this is an Austrian specialty... and I remembered having it in Vienna. I mean it was FINE. But, duly noted. Not a German specialty.

I then went for a wonderful stroll along the river and down side streets. 

And then I settled in with a book in my castle on top of the mountain and was not harassed by anyone. Perfection.

A whole new level.

I've reached a whole new level of crazy. Like I seem to have even surprised myself... THAT is hard. On Sunday, August 2nd (right before midnight), I bought a one-way ticket to Germany. Today, August 7th, I am here in Germany.

HOW did this happen?? Long story short:

Julia and her friend, Stephen, have had a trip to the Netherlands planned for almost nine months now. A trip to the Netherlands is something that Julia and I had talked about on several occasions; she decided this summer was the year to do it, and that did not work into my schedule at the time. THEN, all of a sudden, a week before she's about to leave, it's starting to look like it worked with my schedule. AND I could even take work with me to do on the trip! I couldn't say "no." 

A couple of days before I bought a ticket, I wrote down a list entitled, "I will go to Europe if..."

SOMEHOW every single criterion that I had written down was met; I don't consider myself superstitious, but if that is not a sign, then I do not know what is.

One thing that I have realized about myself is what I do when something "hits me." It didn't hit me that I was going to Europe until I was standing in the customs line in the Frankfurt airport. I had just been woken up from a restless sleep on the airplane and was angry (the sole reason being because I was awake... ask my family... I do not do mornings well). And then all of a sudden I just started chuckling to myself with a silly grin on my face. THAT, apparently is what I do when something hits me. I finally got out of my "why am I awake" state and realized that I was in freaking GERMANY. 

Ever since then, I have just had a slight grin that won't leave my face. When I am traveling, that is when I feel comfortable. Somehow my stress and anxiety goes away, and I focus on planning. For being a super spontaneous person, I love planning a lot more than you would think. I just don't like doing it way in advance. But planning a week ahead? THAT I can do.

After I made it through customs (I didn't even utter a word and I was waved right on through - easiest customs EVER), I walked over to the train station to figure out which train I should take to my hostel. After trying to buy the ticket with my credit card, I realized that this was impossible, and bought a cappuccino so that I could get exact change (which the machine said I needed). Turns out I didn't need exact change.

ANYWAY, eventually I bought the right ticket and was waiting for the train to Frankfurt Central station... and I waited and waited. I kept hearing announcements in German, and a few people would leave each time. Since I obviously couldn't understand them, I just kept an eye on anyone around me that was speaking in German. As long as someone that could understand the announcements was still waiting, then I figured the announcement couldn't be THAT important. THEN, the screen flashed, "TRAIN CANCELED." With that, I up and left.

I ended up finding another train several hundred meters and many stairs later. Somewhere on that trek, I dropped my ticket. Regardless, I confidently stepped on the train and crossed my fingers that no one would ask me for my ticket.

I finally arrived at Frankfurt Central Station and knowing that I had to go southeast, I headed out the south exit. Normally I would pause and get my bearings, but this dude was trying really hard to start a conversation with me, so I just took off... in the wrong direction. I realized this, but couldn't turn around, seeing as I had just told that guy that I knew exactly where I was going. So, after a long walk around the long block, in 90 degrees, and a hat, and a backpack, I finally figured out where to go. And checked into my hostel with no problem! I shouldn't be complaining about the heat... I met a girl who was on her way to India, but ended up stuck in Frankfurt... in jeans... with no change of clothes. I had shorts, I was lucky. I mention this because our hostel had no AC.

After settling in, I headed to Romer. It was one of the top things that came up when I had searched, "things to do in Frankfurt." And it was free, because it's just a pretty courtyard. My kind of start to a trip when I am exhausted but forcing myself to stay awake!

Cute courtyard, right?!

I made sure that I made it back in time for the free dinner at my hostel and then settled in for a night of planing, designing, blogging and beer. Oh, and weird men. Scratch that... A weird Arab man.

I had to sit at a big table because it was the only one open near a window (no AC). Side note - I realized that's why Germans smell so bad!! They don't believe in AC!!

So there's all these open spots, which of course this man takes as an invitation. And... I'll try not to get into it too much (he sat there for at least an hour and a half), he was asking all sorts of things about what I do, where I'm from, what I like to drink... several times trying to buy me shots... My excuse for saying no? "I drink beer only when I'm abroad." Which, believe it or not, is actually true. Well, beer and wine. That is the best way to experience a country's culture, I think.

I mentioned that he was Arab, right? I'm only stressing that point, because when I mentioned that I wanted to get into radio, he said, "Make a deal with me, when you're famous, you'll let me into your country." SKETCHYYY

Thankfully, the guy that sat next to me after that, said "hey" and then enjoyed the breeze in silence with me. Well, there was a bunch of people playing guitars and singing and such, but I wasn't being harassed anymore. Thank you, second guy.

I couldn't really sleep that night because it was so hot. But whatever. I freakin made it!!!!

On the one time I flew first class

Maybe you fly first class all the time and think I'm stupid for thinking this is worth a post, but hey, I wanna be able to look back at this, so I'm writing it down! And as you know, this blog is my diary.

It all started with me procrastinating. We had all kinds of issues on our flight from Philly to Charlotte, I wasn't too worried because after about twenty minutes, I had already accepted the fact that we were gonna miss our flight (we had a 40 minute layover). So I settled in, at this point just hoping that we would be in the plane long enough for me to finish Avengers. 

So, here's where the procrastination comes in. When we landed, the pilot rattled off a number to call to be able to set up a new connection. I, of course, was too engrossed in the ending of the movie to catch the number, and not worried - as always - waited until it was over to text Julia and ask her what it was. (She had already booked her next flight.) I call, and the lady goes on to tell me that all they have left is first class, and boom looks like that's what I'll have to take. 

Julia looked at me in dismay when I revealed the news, mainly because she was being punished for being proactive. She immediately demanded my mini bottles, which I dutifully handed over - it was the least I could do.

They called for first class boarding, and I gave her one last, "Um, so, how I am supposed to act?" She responded with a not-too-helpful shrug. So, 11 businessmen (between the ages of 45 and 60) and a grinning 21 year-old boarded the plane ahead of everyone else. I think I fit in well enough though, I ordered a glass of wine - just like many of them had. We were sipping on our drinks before the economy people even boarded!!

Then, I saw my sister walk onto the plane. This is the distinct moment that I gave myself away as a newbie. "Julia! Take my picture??!!!"

Now, I didn't realize that since we were given wine before the plane took off that we would have to finish the wine BEFORE take-off. I had about a third of my wine left when the flight attendant asked for my wine glass, I looked at her in horror and then gulped the last bit down, because you know me - I hate to be wasteful. 

Once we got into the air, the man next to me started up a conversation with, "Do you play sports?" This is not entirely uncommon, I mean I don't look like I sit on my ass all day. I told him I had played soccer in high school, and he responded with something that I had definitely never heard before. "Oh, really? I thought you were in crew. I've been looking at you and your shoulders are definitely rowing shoulders, but then I saw your hands and realized that you didn't have callouses, so I started second guessing myself. Also, you are the spitting image of my daughter, and SHE does crew, so I figured that you must too, that and your very broad shoulders."

I definitely stared at him for a couple of seconds before responding. Throughout our initial five-minute conversation, I think he mentioned four times that my shoulders looked like I was a rower - thank you, stranger, for pointing out that I have man shoulders. 

Granted, not only did I think it was hilarious, but the flight attendant had just given me more wine, so I just got back to my magazine. I could relay every conversation with this man, but I don't think anyone cares QUITE that much about that, so I will get to the landing...

Once we were about to disembark, he looked at me in dismay. "Not only was the wine shitty, but now I have to get my own suit. What is this?!" I laughed along as if I had also thought that these things were absolutely sooo ridiculous. According to him, these two things made the ride disastrous. But if you ask me? It was PERFECTION. 

On Niagara Falls and beer and wine

Meet my travel buddies for this trip:

If you live seven hours or less from Niagara Falls, like we do, then it is a PERFECT weekend trip. I can't believe that I haven't gone before! Well, I did, but I was two or three - all I remember from that trip is a waterbed, but no falls.

We got off to a late start due to a certain travel companion, but after a good bit of traffic getting out of Jersey, it was smooth sailing. When we hit the Canadian border, Julia, of course, failed miserably. Cops make her feel guilty; we clearly should have taken that into account before having her get us over the border. When asked the simple question, "What is the purpose of your visit?" her reply was, "uuum, er-uhh." Thankfully I was feeling heroic and came to the rescue with a loud, "Tourism" from the back seat, which she ever gratefully repeated and nodded along to. Like I said, we barely made it over the border.

First thing to do was see the falls, so we took on the five minute walk, which I'd say was pretty worth it. We felt the spray from the American Falls before they even came into view, and when they did, it was a sight to behold -  they were lit up and as powerful as ever. (Or so we thought, come to find out, only half the amount of water that goes over the falls during the day goes over at night. They divert the other half to serve as a power source. It is restored to its full glory during the day for the sake of the tourists.)

We then meandered over to the 'Beer Garden Karaoke Patio'. My three favorite things all put into one - genius!! Even in high tourist areas, you can always get a decent priced beer - perks of having brothers that helped me acquire the taste! Julie, Julia and I performed, of course, as "Darren and the Jersey Girls," minus Darren. Super stoked about our Kesha pick, we were taken aback when Nicki Minaj came on, but being in the spotlight, we quickly adjusted and actually kept the people on the dance floor quite happy (believe it or not.)

After an overpriced midnight snack at Denny's and a Cuban cigar (of course, although I think they might be legal in the US now that the embargo is lifted? don't quote me on that) we meandered back to our hotel, welcoming our beds after the long day of travel.

Saturday began with the Horn Blower cruise for a very up close and personal view of the Falls. I would HIGHLY recommend it! Great views and perfect way to cool off on a hot day!!

American Falls

American Falls, along with Rainbow bridge, which is how we crossed the border into Canada

The legendary Horseshoe Falls! The one that people used to go down in barrels due to the fact that it didn't have the deadly rocks at the bottom like American Falls has... Definitely doesn't make it all that much safer though. 

Next, was the museum that Julia and Chris were adamant about going to (OK, I totally wanted to go too). We walked for what seemed like forever, only to realize that the main thing that we wanted to see (the array of barrels that made the trip over the Falls) was moved to the IMAX of all places. After a quick break in the air conditioned museum, we made our way to lunch where we learned what plum sauce (sweet and sour sauce) and peameal (Canadian bacon) were. Our ignorance quickly gave us away as Americans.

We were finally able to see the barrels which were super cool and interesting to read about! We got to read all about who ventured over Horseshoe Falls, why they did it, what mechanism they used to go over and if they survived or not. There were even some videos too! 

Next came the wonderful wine route. On this part of our journey we visited four different wineries, learning all about the Ontario wine region and their famous ice wine - which can only be harvested when it has been in -10 degrees Celsius for three days. 

Although it might not look like it, this was Chris's favorite place.

After the wineries, we were directed to an awesome brewery, Oast, which Julia, Julie and I would highly recommend to all beer lovers. Although, I think Chris and Darren even enjoyed their time there too - they had ping-pong and everything!

Sometimes I try to be artsy. 

A wonderful person at the brewery directed us to an awesome spot for dinner. Basically all we did to find all these awesome spots was ask. Canadians are so nice.

We then had another wonderful night hanging at the beer garden where we actually sang Kesha this time. OOPS. Not a crowd favorite. Who knew us singing Nicki Minaj would be a much better hit? We also went to the Casino, where Julia was once again looking suspicious as we handed over our IDs to the bouncers, "How old are you?" Julia's reply, "Oh, ha, uh - twenty-four!" Not entirely believing her, but with no other reason to doubt her than her guilty face, they let her through.

On Sunday we finally walked down to Horseshoe Falls for an absolutely incredible view. I never would have been able to even imagine the amount of power plummeting over the edge of that cliff.

After grabbing some Canadian candies that are just to die for, we hit the road once more and headed home! Clearly I'm a fan, you in? Get a passport so you can go to the jaw-dropping Canadian side!!

The Dominican: The definition of vacation

The vast majority of my posts are on trips that I go on... adventures where I spontaneously wander here and there, exploring and getting lost. This was very different. Instead of spending my nights planning my train for the next day, hostel for the weekend and flight out of the country that week, I relaxed - in essence - I vacationed.

This was planned far in advance. It was my "graduation vacation." OR "We need an excuse to get away . . . hey, you just graduated!" You're welcome, guys. I'm sure we could have thought of something else if I hadn't made it. 

Meet my wonderful vacation buddies! The guys are always thrilled for pictures.

We booked the vacation as a package - flight, resort, food and drinks all included. We stayed at Bahia Principe Ambar - which was the adults-only section of a gigantic resort. There were thousands of rooms just in our section! 

Before we arrived in the Dominican, we had all these high and lofty plans about how we were going to explore the country during our stay. Before the first day was even over, we had decided that such exploration would not be necessary - the resort met all our present goals: water, sun, drinks.

Our first night there, after being greeted with drinks at check-in and stuffing our faces at the buffet, we headed to the beach party, which believe it or not, was just like it always is in the movies. Hundreds of people dancing and drinking - all dressed in white! It was just so cool. It was the perfect ending to a very long travel day.

The next morning, we realized what a tough dilemma we would be facing every day: beach or pool first? Early on in the week, we settled on a beach first, pool after lunch routine. It worked splendidly. 

One morning, Julia and I woke up earlier to take some pictures on the beach.

Every night we ate at fabulous restaurants, often after meeting for drinks first. At some point each meal, we went over highs and lows of the day, which were endlessly entertaining. The lows ranging from, "I hit my head on that umbrella at the beach," to "this lady at the pool somehow had a plumber's crack in a one-piece swimsuit." When THAT is what your lows are - you have truly arrived in paradise.

We each had a day of being sick from the food - but hey, that's the worst that happened? THAT I can handle.

We took the kayaks out one day, Phil and Melissa took the paddle boats out another, and the unanimously voted best outing was the speed boats that we drove to a beautiful snorkeling spot! (And by "we," I mean I drove for about two minutes, and after nearly capsizing the boat, scrambled out of the driver's seat and handed the steering wheel back to Julia.) Our guide offered to take me out and teach me how to drive his boat, but I mysteriously disappeared when we arrived back at the beach, so said "date" never occurred.

Our resort had some bars and clubs, which Julia and I went to a few times. Our "gaydar" was very broken on this trip. We kept chatting with all these guys, thinking that they were gay, only realizing all too late that we were getting hit on - but that's a story to ask me about in person.

It was a week of reading books for hours on the beach, bartenders knowing our favorite drink (Sapphire and tonic, of course), water aerobics with instructors who insisted on being called "Jose Sexy Number ONE," and then having the same instructor for yoga (ah, RUN!), watching the sunrise over the water and just chatting with my favorite people at the pool bar. 

Took a walk down the beach to this super weird, but kind of cool palm tree that we had spotted while kayaking!

So this post goes against the very obvious theme of my blog - "getting lost," I get that. I promise you I would have gotten lost at this massive resort if my brothers didn't lead the way everywhere we went. I never knew where any restaurants were, just blindly and happily followed. And the few times that I was alone, there were golf carts with drivers that were more than happy to give a ride to the blonde girl who was grinning and saying, "la playa?" But there is one thing that I hope I accomplished in this post - a real vacation in the Caribbean for YOU in the future possibly? 

Me? I'm headed to Boston and Newport this week and Niagara the week after, and don't worry, something is bound to go wrong in my upcoming travels.

On how Vegas became 3 posts...

My last day I woke up early so that I could get to the pool right as it opened. My reasoning was that I could just sleep when I got down to the pool... which obviously didn't happen. I got too excited when I got down there. Too many people to see and eavesdrop on - you'd be surprised how many early risers there are - even in casinos!

Even after I checked out, I just brought my computer to the pool and worked under palm trees all day - not a bad office setup, eh? Granted, it also doesn't hurt when guys buy you beer while you work, using smooth pick-up lines such as, "You look really smart..." Do I really? Or am I just the only girl with a computer. Hmmmm....

I also made friends with the a guy who worked at the Monte Carlo coffeeshop, where I would charge my computer, who gave great discounts! All you gotta do is be chatty and indecisive - it works wonders!

I then headed out on the town for a few more hours of strolling down Las Vegas Blvd. I put together a super fun outfit for my last night there, a decision that took a rather drastic turn for the worse. I thought that wedges would look sweet with my skirt, and I figured that wedges were created so that you could wear heels, but not be in pain, right? WRONG. I am also not one of those people who can withstand the pain for the "beauty". After about 20 minutes of walking on them, I ripped them off and walked to the Vegas strip BAREFOOT. Gross? YES. Painful? NOPE.

That took A LOT of scrubbing to get rid of all the gross things that sunk their way into my feet, but now they are none worse for the wear.

I was able to experience the magic of the Bellagio and Caesar's Palace one last time - and watch the beautiful fountains... and once again contemplate robbing the Bellagio, and once again decide against it.

Solomon, a man I chatted with on the strip on my first day there, was right. He said Vegas can only truly be appreciated at night. And boy was he right. I then walked up and around to the front of the Bellagio and had my favorite view of the lights...

Not quite like Paris, France, but they did pretty well if you ask me!

Can I just say that climbing stairs in that skirt caused me to fear for my life so much more than hiking down the muddy Grand Canyon? It was TERRIFYING. I was sweating so much and had to keep letting people pass me because I kept tripping on myself. But man, it was worth it. Shoes weren't. Skirt was.

Leaving Vegas was a chore. I scheduled an airport shuttle to pick me up at 9pm. 9:15 - still no shuttle. I called the company to ask where they were, and they hung up on me! Thankfully another couple had scheduled a shuttle and I just went with them. Spirit had canceled their flight, so they were headed to the airport to tell them what's what. I commiserated, feeling so thankful that I was NOT in their shoes again. How fitting that my trip would begin and end with swearing to never fly Spirit again. We'll see what happens though when I look for Vegas tickets in a few months and they're over $100 cheaper... It's a risk, but you have to decide for yourself - is it worth it? 

On Vegas, the Grand Canyon and the vast desert in between

I woke up bright and early for my 4 hour drive to the Grand Canyon. Thanks to my beautiful rental car, I had a skip in my step that is rarely there at 6am. I had my coffee; I had my music. The views as I drove were exquisite...

It's cool to do this drive alone because you can just focus on the sites and take it all in. The perks of having someone with you though... they would be able to take the pictures while you drive. Instead I kept wanting to stop every five minutes... which if I ever wanted to get to the Grand Canyon, I clearly could not do.

After a bit, it began to rain, which didn't dampen my spirits one bit - nothing could get me down - I was Grand Canyon bound! (For some reason unbeknownst to me... the fact that the view at the Gand Canyon could be affected never crossed my mind).

As I was passing through the gate into Grand Canyon National Park, there was a sign that said "No refunds for limited visibility." That was the first time that it crossed my mind that I might not be able to see some of the canyon because of the clouds - I was still not too worried though.

As I walked over to the ledge, a lady walking away said, "Oh you made it just in time - the clouds are breaking!" This is the sight that I came upon:

I couldn't see much, but I wasn't worried because that nice lady had said that the clouds were breaking! And then this happened...

The fog completely engulfed the canyon and you could only see a few feet in front of you. If I hadn't had to pay $35 at a gate that said "Grand Canyon National Park," I wouldn't have even known that I was there. At a loss of what to do since I didn't have a canyon to take pictures of, I took about 50 pictures of this squirrel...

Somehow, my spirits were still high - I think the only reason for that was because I was in utter shock and had not reached the stage of acceptance yet.

I began to listen in on other tourists' feelings on the inclement weather that was affecting their visit as well...

Ungrateful child: "What are you doing, Sarah?! Why are you even taking pictures? You're literally taking pictures of clouds."

Sarah: "I still want to look back and remember our time here!"

Ungrateful child: "DAD!!! Let's GO."

And with that they left... Thankfully though, the majority of the other conversations sounded more like this...

3 year-old kid: "Wow, daddy, we're on top of the world!"

Older brother: "No, we're not."

3 year-old kid: "Well, we're on top of the clouds!"

Older brother: "Not exactly..."

3 year-old kid: "Well... we're in HEAVEN!!"

Most people I passed were still happy, discussing and explaining to their kids how cool it was that the canyon was engulfed with fog, because apparently it very rarely happens.

A dad: "Most people get to see the Grand Canyon on a regular day, but YOU get to see it when it's covered in clouds!"

After wandering for over an hour from lookout to lookout without seeing anything, I decided to go to my car, grab my book and lay on a bench and read. I figured I might as well make the most of my day and relax before my four hour drive.

As soon as I came back, the clouds were breaking again - thinking that I only had five minutes before the clouds took over again, I quickly had a dude take a picture of me, thinking it was going to be my only picture with the Grand Canyon.

Can you imagine me coming back with this as my only picture with the Grand Canyon and trying to convince people that I actually was there?!

And then as the rain poured down, people just became happier and happier, because for some reason, the visibility was getting better and better each moment. Then this happened:

I've never been so unbelievably grateful for the rain. I couldn't believe my eyes, and the excitement of everyone at the lookout was beyond contagious.

Then, I found people that wanted to climb out to a ledge. This involved rocky, slippery terrain where one misstep would be quite bad - but with a super nice dad offering to give me a hand, I shakily followed him down the cliff...

I started shaking a little when I would look down and seeing nothing to keep me from plummeting... but I soldiered on, and boy am I sooo glad that I did!

I snapped as many pictures as I could - I ended up with over 500 pictures of the Grand Canyon - it took me sooo long to go through those pictures!

I reluctantly left and made a quick stop for pictures at the Hoover dam - one of the many sites on the beautiful drive through Arizona and Nevada.

Hoover Dam

I quickly stopped in Downtown Las Vegas while I still had my car, and after losing my car (Vegas is a horrible place to forget where you parked), I made it back to the rental car place in the nick of time.

I then grabbed a beer, walked the strip, and planted myself in front in the Monte Carlo and worked on some social media marketing for a client - which I hate doing - but if I gotta work on it, I think the Las Vegas strip is as good a spot as any.