to vote for favorites. Only 6 votes needed to get on the list.I decided to wrap up 18 months of unemployment with a month long vacation to Europe, because that’s how I roll. I had a brief window before a new job became my life and it seemed like a good opportunity to finally take the trip I’ve been finding practical reasons to put off since high school. So, I went to Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Barcelona, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, and Paris. The trip produced some good stories, which I’ll tell here.
First, a note to my family and friends. I love you all but I didn’t listen to your tips and recommendations. Partly because most of it I could read on the front page of a tourism website. “Go see the Louvre,” is hardly an insiders tip. Mostly though, I didn’t want to go on your trip, I wanted my own. And, in my opinion, the best parts of life, or travel, are not reproducible. I can’t have the same experience by standing on the same spot as you, and taking the same picture you did. So, I’m sorry, the promise you extracted from me to find that little cafe you loved was entirely empty, I had no intention of doing any such thing. I was just indulging you while you told your story, and I now ask the same of you as I tell mine.
I thought I would write them, not in the order I visited, but in a “top ten list” approach, ending with Prague, which I loved the most, and which definitely produced the most interesting tales, including a sad story about a death, and a funny story involving great boobs. None of my writing will involve recommendations for museums or cafes, in that respect you are on your own.
9. Marseille – Dog shit. That’s the key reason Marseille is on the bottom of this list. A nice enough city, a little difficult to explore on foot, and while you do, you have to keep your eyes open for dog shit. It’s not like the place is over run by the stuff, but there’s enough dog shit to take note of, sort of like this introductory paragraph, and friends, that’s too much.
8. Brussels – They take their beer seriously in Belgium. I was standing in a bar and a customer ordered a mojito. The bartender screwed up his face into a disgusted grimace and yelled back, “Are you fuck’n serious!?”
7. Amsterdam – My random wanderings planted me at a bar with a rainbow of beautiful people. I thought maybe they were shooting a United Colors of Benetton Ad. I finished my beer and got out before someone saw me and started to point and laugh.
6. Barcelona – She sees me, and bursts into tears. When we pull back from our embrace I say, “I love you. Let’s get the fuck out of here.” It’s nothing personal, it was just timing, and my heart was somewhere else. It wasn’t you Barcelona, it was me.
5. Paris
4. Berlin
3. Lyon
2. Bordeaux
1. Prague
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Don’t stip at Brussels – tell us more!!
You need spell check on your site.