For the past 7 days I was in Europe – Stuttgart, Barcelona, and Rome specifically – with Tom, Laura, and my Mom.
I took very brief notes on my phone.
Stuttgart
This felt like an American city aside from the lack of sports bars. There was a big strip of shopping stores, a good metro system, and people went about their busy days. The toothpaste though, as Tom pointed out, was very cheap. Less than a dollar for a big size bottle. Insane.
The girl having the seizure was other-worldly. She was working as a server in the restaurant we were at and she just started seizing and collapsed on the ground. Her coworkers sort of helped her out but acted like it was routine. Meanwhile Tom and I thought she was going to die on the spot. Five minutes later she was at least conscious and speaking, and another five minutes later she was back to normal. Very crazy.
I didn’t capture any real pictures here, sorry.
Barcelona
As per my notes the shower in this Barcelona hotel was fantastic. Top of the line.
Girls wore leather pants. I always associated leather pants with being very sexual, but you’d see old women and children wearing them as well.
The intersections were so illogical that it’s no wonder all American cities are laid out in grids.
The coffee in our hotel was the best I’ve ever had. Super strong and flavorful but super drinkable.
The biker and the bus was amazing. This bus was super close to the curb, and this biker casually tried to pass it with these heavy trash cans on his other side, and he just had no room and fell off his bike. He played it off so casually and I was just laughing in his face. It was awesome.
What I didn’t note on my sheet is that I met the love of my life at an Irish pub there, Faye. Tom and I showed up hammered and we stayed there until 3:30AM with her and her friends. I have her Facebook info but she’s an English gal working in Barcelona and I just don’t think I’ll ever see her again.
Rome
The buildings and tributes and statues are like nothing you’ve ever seen before. I figured they’d be cool, but you can’t even really describe the detail and thought put into them. That alone makes Rome worth visiting.
As for the rest of the buildings. They’re all the same height and they all look the same. No buildings in the US look like those buildings.
The shower in our hotel wasn’t great, but they had a bidet which was unique.
The bread and olive oil with every meal was fantastic, that by itself made Rome’s food the best of all the places.
Lastly the driving was ridiculous. Lanes aren’t marked, people are merging in and out like crazy. There are just no rules. Our cab driver to the airport was such an alpha, just pwning everyone on the road and no one cared, they acted like that happens every day.
Final Thoughts
I began writing a paragraph about how Europe is different from America, and what the cultural of each city sort of stood for, but I don’t even want to pretend like I know what I’m talking about.
My real feeling as I left is that my mom is 66 (I think (sorry mom)) and had never been to Europe. People go their whole lives without making a trip like this and seeing what the world has to offer. For me to be able to do this with my family at age 28 is, for lack of a better term, a blessing and something I’ll always look back fondly upon.
It also highlights a con of a running a three person family business. Jeff was omitted from this trip because, more or less, someone has to stay back and make sure that the company keeps running. We can’t do full family trips, and that sucks.
Below are two more pictures taken at our hotel bar. We’re not a big picture family. I don’t take pictures of St. Peter’s Basilica, despite its beauty, because you can Google 1000 pictures better than what I will take, and taking selfies just isn’t my style.
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