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Old 05-21-2016, 03:01 AM
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anelia anelia is offline
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Default Welcome back, Robin

Hey, Robin

I read you're back home! Welcome back!
Did you have fun in Europe? Did you like it? What didn't you like? Tell us more about your adventure trip, please!
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Old 05-21-2016, 12:25 PM
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Yes! Let me live vicariously through you!
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Old 05-21-2016, 01:56 PM
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Robin Carlton Robin Carlton is offline
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Hey girls!

Sooo happy to be home but we had a WONDERFUL time!

We were least looking forward to Venice but in the end we absolutely loved it. It was touristy as expected but enchanting and beautiful and like nothing we've ever seen before nonetheless. It was a shutterbug's dream and fantastic.

Rome was amazing too for different reason. The Italians are pretty intimidating and their fashion sense was pretty awesome. Dress shoes and leather jackets everywhere and you do stand out as a tourist if you come comfortable The city was an open air museum though and everything from the Colosseum to the Forum and our food tour through the Trastevere neighborhood was breathtaking.

Barcelona was so amazing and easily one of our favorite cities. The vibe is wonderful, the city is beautiful, the people are warm and welcoming, the language barrier is easy going and charming to try to get around, the food is incredible... yeah, we just totally and completely fell in love with the city. I would go back to Barcelona in a heartbeat and would love to see more of Spain now.

The south of France was charming with it's small villages, open air markets and Roman monuments like Pont Du Gard and the arena in Nimes where we were staying. We loved the soap and the lavendar and browsing for cheese and fruit and sausage and crafts in the market at L'Isle Sur La Sorgue sooo much... but France in general didn't win our love. We enjoyed Provence more than Paris, but not as much as we loved the cities outside of France, but more on that later.

After that it was off to Amsterdam and all I can say on that is that I would move there in a heartbeat if it was realistic. We absolutely fell in love with everything about the city and just about cried when it was time to leave. The canals are beautiful, the people are wonderful and warm, the architecture is breathtaking and everything was perfect. We walked everywhere and WANTED too, we never got tired no matter how far we had walked because there was always something to see or a breezy and beautiful spot to sit and take it all in and yeah... seriously... just go if you haven't been!

Finally, we ended in Paris and compared to everything else it was such a let down and we just didn't get the hype. The eiffel tower is neat for about 10 minutes, Moulin Rouge is in a terrible area, the city is gigantic and not really friendly to walkers (we uber'd everywhere in paris and still ended walking forever), the shopping was mostly stuff you could get in the US or terrible TERRIBLE souvenirs, and the French people we encountered we're largely and with very few exceptions cold and very rude to us no matter how hard we tried in French to get off on the right foot.

We tried so hard to fall in love with Paris and find the spots and places that people love. We took our time and didn't try to rush place to place to place until we were run ragged because we honestly aren't "tourist trap" people so the HoHo bus and the Louvre and the Arc and so on and so forth weren't high on our list to jump all over the place to, but we just didn't get the charm or the appeal compared to Barcelona or Amsterdam which were soooooo amazing... so yeah, kind of a sour note to end on, but I think now we know and if we hadn't gone, we would have always wondered about Paris because it's one of "the world's greatest cities".

Happy to be home though and someday I look forward to going back to Europe because there is so much to envy about the European lifestyle which we truly love.

R
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Old 05-21-2016, 02:31 PM
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Hi Robin !

Welcome back !!
Gladd you enjoyed your trip . i went to paris ones and all tho i love the city i am with you that the french people are hard to get in thoughts with .
I loved to read that you loved amsterdam my familly is from amsterdam . Whe are not living there anymore but my grandpa and grandma had a cafe there and my mother growed up there . Whe love the albert cuijp market and the canals and whe go back there every year ~!
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Old 05-21-2016, 03:12 PM
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So glad you had an amazing time! I loved Venice and Barcelona, too. I'll have to go to Amsterdam!
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Old 05-21-2016, 03:13 PM
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That's so interesting to hear. Going to Europe is a dream for me. Hearing about the Italian fashion scares me cause I am so not into dressing up for no reason.
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Old 05-21-2016, 05:45 PM
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Welcome back! I like your input on the 'big hype' places. My friend's daughter spent time in Paris last summer and her soon-to-be husband proposed in front of the Eiffel Tower and so she thinks it's the most amazing place ever, but I've never heard an adult say the same.

I hope we get to see photos!
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Old 05-21-2016, 06:31 PM
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So glad to see you are back and had a overall wonderful time in Europe!
Hearing of your experiences and increased my need/desire/dream to go on our European trip!
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Old 05-21-2016, 11:00 PM
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That's interesting that you say Paris was not the highlight of your trip.

I was just talking about Paris with my cousin who used to live in London. He said that Paris was very dirty compared to what he was used to previously living in the states. He said that it is very different than what I probably had in my mind about what it was like.
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Old 05-21-2016, 11:52 PM
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I can only imagine the photos you must have gotten. I am absolutely crazy with jealousy. What an amazing trip. I have heard that Amsterdam is beautiful, easy going and so friendly.
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Old 05-22-2016, 12:32 AM
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Welcome home!
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Old 05-22-2016, 03:00 AM
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Welcome home Robin.
I love France. Not for its people, but for its nature. We traveled to the Provence every year when I was a kid. And I love the North/Northwest part of France.
But as far as Paris goes, I love London way more than Paris.
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Old 05-22-2016, 11:53 AM
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Welcome back Robin! So thrilled to hear about all your travel adventures and totally tickled you loved Amsterdam!! YAY...my mom and her family are from there so GIVE IT UP TO THE DUTCHIES!!!! I read your post to my mom and she couldn't have agreed with you more. She's been to all those places too **sighs** so I have to live vicariously through her and now, you...SOMEDAY....just to go back to Amsterdam taking mom would be on our bucket list for sure.

(((hugs)))
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Old 05-22-2016, 11:53 AM
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Ooh you've been to Europe? Awesome!
Good to hear you liked Amsterdam. Dutch people can be very nice (not all of them though...) Did you visit any other places besides Amsterdam?
Too bad you didn't like Paris. I've never been in Paris, but I do hear similar experiences from people who did visit Paris.
I do recognise your experience with the French though. They can be pretty tough cookies...
I've visited Disneyland Paris over 25 times now and still can't get used to the French...
Maybe you can visit Normandy one day. Beautiful and it does have a rich history with the American and world war II. Very impressive!
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Old 05-22-2016, 02:54 PM
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I know what you mean about paris.and french people.
but france has some nice towns.and off course disneyland paris.
im with sarah on this one.better go to london.
nice you liked amsterdam and the dutch people
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Old 05-22-2016, 03:30 PM
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Nice to hear you loved Amsterdam so much, makes me a proud Dutchie haha. I totally get what you mean about Paris! Although there are some amazing buildings and gardens there, I never feel at home in the city. Even though I come there quite often while traveling to Disneyland Paris, it's just really not my city.
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