Reflecting on My First Trip to Europe
Whatever life’s problems are, ex-lax is likely not the answer.
Prior to this year, I hadn’t traveled internationally aside from a single trip to Europe in high school. This was largely due to finances, and because I didn’t have someone to share the experience with. This year, my job has required me to travel to Europe three times so far and I’ve visited some of the same areas I saw on that first trip. This time I’ve learned a few things.
My first trip to Europe was between my junior and senior years in high school. It was one of those two-week, see as much as you possibly can, trips that hit the main tourist spots. The trip started in Rome, then went to Florence before going to Lucerne, Paris and finally London. All of this in a span of about 12 days.
The trip didn’t start out well… at least for my stomach. We left from Portland full of anticipation and boarded a Lufthansa 767 bound for Frankfurt. I had the aisle seat in coach, with two of my fellow students in the middle and window seats. When one of our chaperones brought chocolate bars from the galley, I inadvertently ate all three while my mates were sleeping. That was also when I realized that I couldn’t sleep on a plane. This was in 2003 and in-flight entertainment still sucked.
After a sleepless night/day, we arrived in Frankfurt and were whisked through customs for the first time, then onto another flight to Rome. When we arrived at our hotel and got to our rooms (shared with two or three people from our group in each), I was feeling completely beat. I discovered that I don’t do well with jetlag. In desperate need of relief for my stomach, I took two ex-lax pills. It was a mistake. It turns out those pills take a while to work. The next day while my group saw the Roman forum, I saw toilets for those visiting the forum. I missed the inside of the Coliseum with a visit to the Coliseum toilets. I can only remember a few other bathroom tours while my friends saw the good stuff.
At lunch, I tried to get salad before my group leader vetoed the idea, concerned that I would become a “salad shooter”. It quickly became a day of high-fiber, liquids, limited food and lots of Euros for the bathrooms.
As we moved on from that first day, we saw the greater sights in Rome including the Vatican before taking a bus to Florence and seeing some of the great sights there. I later revisited many of these sights playing Assassin’s Creed. I remember the statue of David, with all the postcards available with images of his more personal side. The cathedral was stunning and I was particularly taken by the statue of Machiavelli, an author and thinker I would later content with constantly in college and grad school.
After Florence it was Lucerne and then Paris, followed by London. I found Lucerne to be my favorite place of the trip. The alps are stunning and being outside made me feel more at home. The people we saw were less annoyed by tourists and, for the first time, I felt comfortable traveling.
Paris was stereotypical: bread, crepes, butter on everything, the usual. The Eifel Tower was stunning, the Louver was incredible and the other museums were a great introduction to renaissance paintings. This is where I discovered my love for realism, the importance of shadows to create depth and the inherent patriarchy of the time.
In London we saw some of the main sights at the time, and I requested a visit to the Tower of London which was an optional stop. Others chose to go shopping. The history at the Tower of London was worth the visit and it stuck with me for years. As quickly as we arrived we were gone again, back in coach for the long flight across an ocean and a continent to get home. I came back a few pounds lighter, but with more knowledge about the world and where I most wanted to venture back.
I also learned that whatever life’s problems are, ex-lax is most likely not the answer.
