I honestly don't remember much from Vienna, we did not stay for very long. I remember eating an awesome grilled cheese panini in a beautiful plaza and watching horse drawn carriages go by. Good enough for me! We also tried Wienerschnitzel which I remember finding quite hilarious (but not super tasty).

My first memory of Austria was boarding the overnight train through Germany from the Czech Republic. My family, quite the overpackers, had 8 suitcases for the 4 of us (plus laptop bags and purses) and a stressful lack of experience with public transportation. My father, always in control but...overcautious when it came to travel warned us that the train would only stop for a few minutes before taking off, regardless of if all the passengers successfully boarde...

In Prague I felt like I was getting my first taste of the truely "foreign". In contrast to italy the Koruna was much harder to calculate exchange rates in your head, the language was unrecognizable, and the architecture nothing I had seen before. I remember watching Czech tv in the hotel room and marvelling at the fact that I could understand NOTHING (at least in Italy, France, etc. you could recognize a few words here and there). The astronomical clock in the...

My time in Paris was pretty much on the tourist track: seeing the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, eating crepes in front of the arche de triomphe and Notre Dame. A few things that stuck with me were seeing the Moulin Rouge (and being scandalized/ intrigued by the topless women hidden inside!) and the boldness of French men! Everywhere I went I received "appreciative" compliments. A shopkeeper dubbed me the "chat noir" and I still have the souvenir tanktop to commemorat...

A couple years later (when I was probably 15), my dad took us on yet another business trip of his. This time he was going to Prague but we wanted to do a longer, country hopping trip.Our first stop was Dublin, Ireland. We did not stay here long but I remember it as very green! I remember wanting to come back and go to Trinity College when I graduated highschool. I remember the pubs and the double decker buses and the seemingly outrageous accents! My sister and...