Sometimes I like to awkwardly make intro videos of places I’ve been to (Check out my Caribbean one here).
And of course with my first time in Europe, I had to make a London intro video.
Here you go, all of awkward me in London.
Cheers!
London, England – Tubes, Phone booths, and the River of Thames
The best way for me to tell you about my first European experience is by starting from the beginning.
We touched ground at Gatwick Airport (LGW) around 13:00. And after the 10 hour red eye from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Norwegian Airlines, I was ready to get off the plane and right into the UK. I had never been more excited to get off a plane in my entire life.
After going through the long line of passport control, we had finally entered Europe! I was bouncing up and down with joy, I mean that literally too.
After a small mishap with trying to take out money from the ATM (remember your cash withdrawal allowance and the current exchange rate) we were on our way to get into town and drop our stuff off at our hotel before exploring London.
We walked to the train stations and immediately were overwhelmed. It was busy, loud and everything suddenly seemed fast paced and without any phone data or Wi-Fi, we had no idea where we were going. After gawking at timetables and truly not knowing what to do, we ended up in the line to hopefully get the right tubes and trains tickets to our hotel.
The guy that serviced us was very kind and gave us all the info we needed and set us off into our train. We had luckily screenshot our directions to our hotel while we had some Wi-Fi and we were then on our way.
Considering I’m a San Diego girl where public transportation is scarce and we drive everywhere. Taking all the trains and tubes was an experience within itself. I’ve been to New York and through the subway systems there, but for some reason having to change trains to express trains to DLRS to the underground was overwhelming.
But we finally made it the underground London Bridge. And I couldn’t have been happier.
After what felt like an eternity on the packed undergrounds and trains, we made it the Premier Inn Hotel in Docklands and were able to settle in to our rather cozy hotel.
It was our first night in London and we had a travel day pass, so we decided to get into town. We went back into the tubes and made our way to London Bridge and decided to wing it.
There was no real agenda for our first night in Europe, but I wanted to get Fish N’ Chips and see a little sights and then get back to our hotel and in bed to try and beat jet lag.
The London Bridge exit was perfect for our first night. I immediately went crazy with seeing the famous red telephone booths and just had to get inside.
From Europe to California – How I’m going to fill the void
Hello my travelers! I am back in California and terribly missing Europe. I have left some of my heart in Europe and it hurts. But a way to fill the void (I know that was extremely cheesy) is by the next few weeks I will be posting glorious amounts of posts with stories, videos, and photos of my first European trip.
I had been dreaming of going to Europe my entire life and I am so happy to have experienced 2 whole weeks of it with my boyfriend by my side and of course all my family and friends in Europe. So with that being said, the best way for me to write about my first European experience (believe me, this is not my last) is best if I split everything up into little posts throughout the next few weeks.
So keep checking out my blog every week. I’ll for sure be posting my Europe content every Tuesday and Thursday. Come check out how I experienced this beautiful continent.
As for now, here are some photos from every city I visited. I can’t wait to relive the experiences I had with all of you.
Cheers!
Paris and London – My first European Trip
Bonjour from Paris!
I know I haven’t really updated since I left the States to go on my European trek, but when you have limited Wifi you can only do so much. But my Wifi has finally worked here in the hotel and I decided to update you all on my time here in the beautiful Europe!
For more up to date info check out my instagram and twitter!!!
My first day in Europe was in London and it was a short trip until we come back for two days for our flight home on our last leg of our vacation. We were able to master the tubes and trains just fine and not get so lost that it became frightening. And even though it was a short trip, we were able to see the Tower Bridge and then get some Fish N’ Chips and everything was great.
After London, the next day we needed to catch a bullet train on the Eurostar to Paris at the St. Pancras International railway Stations and the station itself was just beautiful!
And since we had some time on our hands, the Harry Potter Geek in me had to check out Platform 9 3/4 at the Kings Cross Stations just across the street from St. Pancras.
Overall, London was amazing and I can’t wait to explore the city more next week. I’ll give you more details in later posts of my first day in London.
As for Paris, we are still here and it has already captured my heart. I am loving the city more and more and it makes me not want to leave.
Alex and I celebrated our one year anniversary today and it was an amazing way to celebrate in this beautiful city. We went to the top of the Eiffel tower and saw the Louvre and wrote our love on the Love Lock bridge (unfortunately we forgot our locks and most of the locks are now boarded up). But it was an amazing day, I wish we didn’t have to leave tomorrow. But it’s time for Amsterdam and then Italy! I am excited for what the rest of our trip has for us.
I’ll post more details on Paris and London later, but for now here’s some beautiful photos to pass you over!
Bonne nuit!!!
London Baby!
In the words of Joey from the show FRIENDS “London Baby!”
To all my friends and family and to all my travelers in the world, I am officially at the gate waiting to board my first European trek.
I am so excited I cannot contain it!
As I go through my 2 week European adventure with Alex, I will keep everyone updated with photos, videos and random posts of my time in a foreign land.
I hope everyone is having a lovely day as for tomorrow I will be in London enjoying the fall air.
Cheers my travelers! My next post I will finally be in London!
For now check out my other posts about Dreaming big and where I will be in Europe these two weeks.
Also check me out on Twitter and Instagram for up to date Europe post!
CHEERS
The nightmare… packing.
I figured since I need to pack for Europe tomorrow, why not suddenly get inspired and write a blog post, procrastination at its finest.
SO if you’re anything like me, packing is an absolute nightmare (Especially since I am going full minmalist and taking only a backpack!). Clothes everywhere, falling asleep on your comfy bed, having random dance parties as you try to do the laundry you should have done last week because there are outfits in there that you wanted to wear on your trip. Well I feel for you.
I got caught up in the ‘I’m just going to close my eyes for 10 minutes, don’t worry I set like 10 alarms.’
DON’T FALL FOR THAT TRAP, because for me, four hours later, here I am procrastinating more on my packing. So I decided to devise some little tips and tricks on making packing suck less.
1. Blast music and make it a fun time – I was stupid and put in a movie and ended up getting engulfed in it. So music is your best bet because you may get sucked into a small dance party to that Shake It Off by Taylor Swift, but at least that’s only a 4 minute song and you can move on rather than ending up watching a full 2 hour movie not making a dent in your packing.
2. Don’t pack near your bed (or couch) – I try to stay on my feet the whole time. Even when I say I’ll just sit on my bed and look at my closet to see what to wear. It will suck you in and next thing you know you find yourself snoring with an empty suitcase.
3. Make a List – I started doing this awhile back and it works so damn well because I AM a very forgetful person and if I take one good look at that list, there is always at least one or two things I forgot to pack that if I didn’t write it down I definitely would’ve forgotten it. But also beware of the list ’cause if you’re like me you still forget to write certain things down on your list and you think ‘Oh I’m good’ – Wait my toothbrush’.
4. Do the quick pack and then re-pack – While in my lists I do write down outfits, it doesn’t always go as planned. Like I find random cute outfits I forgot I had or the one I wanted to bring is at the bottom of the laundry stack. So I do the quick pack, as if I had only 10 minutes to pack and pack anything and everything in sight that’s clean and throw it in my case (while still trying to follow my list). I then take a quick break, not anywhere near my bed, and re-group and look at every outfit I put in that suitcase and wonder if I really need a pair of heels for my hike.
5. Try to pack a few days before or invite a friend that is a pro-packer with you to your house the night before and have a pack all my crap into my suitcase party – They’ll love it.
What are some tips and tricks you do to not make packing your nightmare? Comment below!
Giving you som happy European Cheers! Happy Travels. I can’t wait to be on my way to Europe for the first time tomorrow! I AM SO EXCITED! I promise to keep everyone updated as much as possible! Mucho besos <3
Knott’s Scary Farm 2014 Review– Theme Parkaholics (Halloween edition)
Boo!
Happy October my fellow theme park lovers and travelers. For those not following me on Instagram or Twitter, October is quite a busy month for me. And an awesome month, if I must say so myself. (EUROPE NEXT WEEK EEKKK)
October has always been my favorite month of the year, and it’s not just because my birthday is on October 14 (oh my, that’s tomorrow!). But because Halloween and all things spooky come out this time of the year!
With that being said, I went to my second Knotts Scary Farm Halloween Haunt event. It’s in its 42nd year, for those who would like to know! Last year, my boyfriend took us on our first date to Knotts Scary Farm and as a rookie, I didn’t know what to expect and how freaky it was going to be!
So this year, being a veteran and all, I decided to give you a review of all things awesome and all things scary at Knott’s Scary Farm 2014.
During this Halloween haunt, Knott’s Scary Farm added three new mazes: Voodoo, the Tooth fairy and the new interactive maze, Special OPS: Infected.
And yes, we did all three. We started our night by getting tickets to Special Ops: Infected first before starting any rides or mazes. That is after we took our picture together by their photographers (we had an awkward kiss on the hair first date mishap last year). And in this year’s haunt, there are a lot more scare-actors in the front trying to freak out haunt goers as they first walk in.
We got our Special Ops tickets for 11:45 pm and that’s even after we got to the park 10 minutes after 7 when the park opened. So as a side note: Get to the park at 7 and go straight to the Specials Ops to get your tickets, they will go quick. There is Special Ops: Alpha right by the front gates at the start of Camp Snoopy and Special Ops: Beta near the end of Camp Snoopy by the western gates! GO TO SPECIALS OPS FIRST IF YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE THE AWESOMENESS IT HAS TO OFFER!
Since we went on a Thursday during the second week that it ran it was much less crowded and we are basically able to go through all the mazes before our 11:45 meeting with Zombies.
Europe Itinerary
With Europe being such a big dream of mine, it took a long time for Alex and I to finalize our itinerary, but everything is finally official and we have all our accommodations and transportation all set up and ready to go!
Since we’re only going to be there for a 2 weeks, we decided to hit up most of the major tourist destinations and get our whole tourist-y European let loose. That way we have more reason to get up and explore Europe in another year together.
Here are our main stops in Europe:
Stop #1: London, England – Since our plane arrives in Gatwick, it only made sense to start in London. Our first night will be spent there where we will try to adjust to time and probably get some Fish N’ Chips.
Stop #2: Paris, France – We’ll be hitting all major spots: the Eiffel Tower, Luxembourg Gardens, The Louvre,etc… We will also enjoy the city of lights and enjoy the French cuisine.
Stop #3: Amsterdam, The Netherlands – We’ll only be here for a night before our flight to Italy. But we’re going to make the day and the night count completely.
Stop #4: Milan, Italy – The bulk of our stay is in Milan for we are staying with family.
Stop #5: Nice, France – My best friend and fellow Krazy Kappa line sister is studying abroad near Nice and we will make a Nice pit stop in the south of France.
Stop #6: Pisa, Italy – A few hour day trip to the leaning tower before Tuscany.
Stop #7: Florence Italy – From Pisa we go to Tuscany and see the Piazzale Michaelangelo and enjoy the city of Florence at night.
Stop #8: Venice, Italy – Straight from Florence we jump on a train to Venice. We’re going to only go for a night during our week stay in Milan, but riding a Gondola is definitely on our radar.
Last Stop: London, England – Our first night in London is just going to be a time to adjust to Europe time and adjust to foreign land. The last weekend we are in Europe we will spend in London and that’s when we’ll be doing our sight-seeing and Halloween partying.
Do you have any advice, tips or cool places to eat or see for this girl and her boyfriend traveling to Europe for their first time? Comment below, send me an e-mail at lostwithyvonne@gmail.com, or tweet me @lostwithyvonne.
Cheers!
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Always DREAM BIG
As I have mentioned before, don’t be afraid to dream big.
And one of my biggest dreams is finally becoming my reality.
While I’ve achieved quite a bit of big dreams of mine (graduate high school and graduate college with honors), there has always been the dream of traveling on my mind. My biggest travel dream was to go to Europe and spend a good amount of time there to explore.
And yes, my travelers, I am officially going to Europe in the fall of 2014 in October! And that is exactly two weeks from today I will be boarding on a plane to London, England.
I’ve seen numerous of my friends and family who have traveled to Europe multiple times. And as much as jealousy sat in me, it also drove me more to try and get my feet on European land.
But before anything, I’d like to give a big thanks to my boyfriend, Alex. He’s always pushed me saying ‘we’re going to Europe, we’re going to Europe’, and while I kept putting it off saying I don’t have the funds, one day BAM he got us tickets to Europe. In all honesty, this is all thanks to him that I am finally achieving my big dream.
So yes, while I did make up many excuses to not going to Europe this year, like money, money, money, and time, I always knew that one day my excuses will run out and I’d be left with just going out and doing it. And, once again, thanks to Alex, it became a now situation and now I am going to be living out my dream of living in a foreign land for 2 weeks!
While I am one lucky girl to have someone get me my ticket to Europe (And for the record, we are not trust fund babies, we struggle and have money hardships, but since we want it enough we go for it).
I want to say that it’s never too late to dream big and share your dreams with others because you never know who just might help you get to that first step to achieving that dream.
But no doubt in my mind, do I think that the hard part is over. Because as much as the hard part of setting a date and actually getting to Europe has been fixed, there is still so much that needs to be done before I leave in October. Money and time is still a big issue. But I keep my head up because I know everything will work out in the end.
Always dream big my fellow travelers. Once I do my European trek who knows what will be my next big dream. But for now I focus on this dream and keep fighting through all the excuses of money and time and then one day you’ll be seeing me in front of the Eiffel Tower smiling big knowing that I achieved a dream that I’ve been dreaming of since I was a young girl.
Cheers to European travel.
Leaving California …late, very late
Day 1
My vacation started on a Tuesday. I had a fairly early morning flight and so my dad was going to take me to the airport before he went to work. My flight was on Continental Airlines, which is now United Airlines and I was flying out of the little airport called Ontario International Airport (ONT).
Spoiler alert: This was the worst flight day I had ever had in my life. Now I’m sure you know what is going to happen now.
My dad was the one who took me to the airport, it was early in the morning and we didn’t really hit any traffic on our way to ONT, which can be a miracle sometimes for So Cal traffic. And considering how much closer this airport was to us, versus Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) or San Diego International Airport (SAN), we thought with how early it was in the morning and the proximity, we can leave a little later and I’d be checked-in, security checked, and on the plane within an hour. Boy, were we wrong.
Now I’ve never been late to the airport in my life and I’ve flown from San Diego to New Jersey quite a bit, so I’m always on time. Plus, I’m a freak with being late to things so I usually end up being super early and have to wait. But I’d rather be late than sorry.
And this day, I was very sorry.
Reminder: Never underestimate wait times. Always overestimate!
I mean it too. It didn’t look too busy on the outside, or even the inside. But the line for security was a mile long and got even longer as I waited. I’ve always gone from SAN and once through LAX and their checkpoints was not as bad as ONT. Seriously, worst security checkpoint of my life and sadly, I know it’s not my last. And here I’ve devised a list of my reasons why:
1. Disorganized
2. Disorganized
3. Disorganized
How you get to the checkpoint is by taking this small escalator up and there you get your id checked and your ticket checked so you can get in line to go through the detectors. They have a small portion of the line where you go through the little maze queue and that’s really the best way to keep people in line, well that maze queue can only have so many people in it before the line ventures off into disorganization.
And hey, you guessed it, the line ventured away from the maze queue into a mile long line of people who ended up having to curve the line because you reached the other end of the airport check-in. It looked like a black Friday line at midnight. It was ridiculous. Everyone was truly so impatient, not to mention no one had any idea that the mile-long line they saw was just the security checkpoint. So there was random cutting and early morning people irritated because the line didn’t move for one whole hour.
Now I usually allocate myself about an hour to get through the security checkpoint, and that’s with being in-line and getting through A-Okay. Well that hour turned out to be just standing in the same spot as I had been an hour ago. The security line never moved.
So there I was nervous as all hell about missing my flight, one of my worst fears is missing a flight, and my departure time was getting closer and closer. I felt like I get anxiety whenever I feel late. And I had pure anxiety and was calling all my family members to tell them I might miss my flight and I didn’t know what to do.
Finally, the checkpoint line moved and I got through, slowly, of course. And I ran. Of course my gate was literally at the very end of the terminal. So I’m hauling ass, my plane was going to leave in 10 minutes and I was trying everything I could to make it.
I wasn’t the only one running too; apparently almost everyone was late to their gate. I got to my gate and the doors were closed and of course the front desk already had a line of people trying to get the next flight out.
I will give props to the workers; they were very kind and courteous and did their best to get me to my next flight. So they told me there may be a spot in a flight that was going to leave in 15 minutes, so I needed to hurry over there and see if they could squeeze in one person. I got there and of course, there was another line. I got put on standby. They told me if one person doesn’t show up they’ll let me on the plane.
I was literally the next standby person in line and bam that darn guy came right at the last minute and I was SOL. They tried once again to get me on another flight and I was put on standby. And once again, I was denied. That was two denials within a half an hour. I was frustrated.
Finally, they told me in two hours there was a semi-full flight that they can guarantee me to get on and thank god for that. Finally, after worrying my family to the point of anxiety attacks, I was finally in the air on my way to Jersey so I can get on my cruise.
I had a layover in Chicago and my connecting was supposed to be right away. Well, lucky me, it got delayed two hours. So I was stuck. I ended up falling asleep in my seat. So my usual 6 hour direct flight to Jersey turned into an all-day event. All the while my luggage was still on the other plane making its way to Jersey before me.
FINALLY, my plane took off and I landed at the Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and there was my jersey family glad to see me as I was to see them. I was absolutely exhausted from my day of missed flights, denied standbys and delayed connections. Thank god my luggage was okay as it traveled without me for most of the day. And finally I could relax and actually start to enjoy my vacation.
So moral of the story, ALWAYS allocate enough time (+an hour), to get into your flight.
After that day of headaches I vow to never miss a flight again, especially with my European trip just around the corner. I will be at the airport two hours before I have to, I don’t care. But I would rather be way early, than be so late everything gets pushed back. I was lucky I still made it that day, because if I didn’t make it to EWR by that day, I would’ve missed my cruise altogether because my ship would be sailing the very next morning. And yes, they will leave you, I’ve seen it happen.
Do you have any transportation horror stories? Share below!