KirstenL4W

Back to another edition of the Encyclopedia of me. It took me a while to come up with an E word, so I cracked open a dictionary. After writing down some possibilities, I saw a travel theme. I scrounged around a thesaurus for an E word related to travel, and as I was doing that Mister suggested Excursion. Perfect! Here are some excursions I’ve been on.

East Coast

I grew up on the east coast of the US. It’s a world of difference between there and the west coast, where I am now. (I’m not actually on the coast, but I am a half day’s drive from it.) There’s more a sense of tradition back east, for one. West coasters are more laid back, and here in Vegas especially there’s not too much concern about tradition. Back east, old historical buildings are held in the highest esteem, especially since there are quite a few that date back to before the Declaration of Independence. Here in Vegas, they just implode them. Mister and I are going for a visit in October so that he can meet the rest of my family, and it will be the first time he’s been to the New England area. We can’t wait.

I’ve been to Europe a few times, mostly to the UK. The third time I went, my college roommate and I decided to trek around the UK and see a number of cities. The first one we went to was Edinburgh. Oh, how I loved that city. I wish we had more time there, but our Pig in the Poke itinerary didn’t allow it. We went to the Edinburgh Castle, walked the Royal Mile, and did an open top bus tour of the city. The Princes Street gardens were bright green, even in November, and my favorite thing was listening to the dreamy Scottish accent.

I took French classes throughout high school, so on my first trip to Europe I was eager to visit Paris. I remember the first time I saw the Eiffel Tower up close. I had gotten off the Metro one stop too early, and was wandering the neighborhood streets trying to find my way. For being the tallest structure in Paris, it was hard to keep an eye on while in the narrow streets. I was staring to get a bit worried because I couldn’t see the tower and I couldn’t find my way back to the main road. Finally, I rounded a corner and there it was, up close in all its glory. It took my breath away! I’ve seen many, many pictures of it but they do not prepare you for the first time you see it up close. The detail is amazing (and the one in Vegas, which is a 1/2 scale model, does not compare). I climbed the stairs to the first level then took the lift to the second level. The third level was closed due to winds, but the view from the second level was pretty amazing. It was worth nearly getting run over by the horrible Parisian drivers to see this gorgeous piece of architecture.

On one of my many trips to New York City with my Uncle N Period, we took a trip to Ellis Island. This holds some historical significance for us, because my great grandparents - Uncle N Period’s grandparents - came into this country through there. It spent many years in disrepair, but was eventually restored and now serves as an amazing museum of immigrant history. Also on the island, in back of the building, is the Wall of Honor. My mom’s cousin had my great grandparents’ names inscribed on the wall, so it was really cool seeing them there and being in the same place that was a huge part of their life history.

My first time in Europe, I wanted to see as much as I could, so I planned my route carefully. After spending time in Paris, I took a train through the French countryside to Calais, where I was to take the ferry to Dover and a train to London. I thought a channel crossing would be cool. What I didn’t know was that a channel crossing could be very rough. After walking through the boat like I was really drunk, I finally fell asleep with my arms wrapped around my backpack, which is probably what saved me from getting seriously seasick. I made it to England with enough rest and coherency to breeze through customs and get on the train to London.

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