#3: England, France, & Spain, Summer 2010

This was a really cool trip. My family and I started out flying to London, England, and from there, we took an underwater train to Paris, France. From there, I believe we rented a car and drove to Alicante, Spain. Then we took a cheap flight back to London, from where we flew home. The flights from country to country in Europe are usually very cheap, since the countries are so close together. I even found a $6 flight online somewhere. I'm not kidding. I can't remember what countries that flight was between, but I know it was on my favorite European flight website, www.ryanair.com. But this isn't the only cheap European flight site out there. There are TONS. And these flights may not be as cheap as $6, but you will surely be able to find flights for under $40 to go from country to country. Just google "Cheap flights between European countries." I promise you you'll have a lot of sites pop up. And my advice to you would be, if you're flying to Europe from the U.S. like I have done twice now, take your trip as far as you possibly can. Take 2 weeks off work, instead of one, if you can. Save up as much money as possible, and go to as many places as possible while you're there, because it's expensive to get there. But keep in mind that, my step mom and I, both, have flown all over the place, and never have either of us paid more than about $800 to go ROUNDTRIP to a country outside of the U.S. You can find cheap flights out there. You just have to realize that you won't always be flying with an airline that is as comfortable as Delta, and you have to be flexible with your vacation dates. You also have to be smart about booking your flights. Make sure to buy your flight as soon as possible, at least over a month ahead of time. Once your trip is less than a month away, prices go up. That goes for any flight anywhere. However, if you aren't picky about where you're going, buy last minute flights, even same-day flights. Those will be the cheapest. Just a couple months ago, I searched for a cheap roundtrip flight to Nairobi, Kenya, and I found one that was a little bit more than $500. That's roundtrip! The catch is the trip was scheduled for three days after the date that I searched for the flight. Be flexible if your job will allow it, and you will save tons.

Along with cheap flights in Europe, and I've talked about this before, it was easy to travel between countries in Europe, because there are all kinds of networks of highly-developed transportation systems all over the continent, whether it be buses, trains, subways, or even cheap plane flights. In particular, London & Paris have highly advanced and easily accessible subway systems, which is what we used to get everywhere in those cities. Also, Europe is pretty easy for Americans to travel to, even though it's expensive, because most places don't require a visa, such as all 3 of these countries, but they do require a passport. Europe also has all kinds of cheap hostels all over the continent. My family and I stayed with other members of our family who live in Europe when we were in London and Alicante, and we stayed in a hotel in France. One other thing I should've mentioned in my Greece entry is that there's this cool thing called couch surfing. You can go to www.couchsurfing.com and sign up to find regular people who live all over the world and are willing to let you stay in their homes for free while you're on your vacation. But the catch is you provide the same service when people from other places want to visit your city. Is it safe? I don't really know. I've never actually done it myself. But it's a neat concept. And if you do more research on it, you may find out the site does background checks before letting just anyone sign up, so who knows? - Not that background checks always mean anything. But for those of you who are fearless, go for it if you want to save a lot of money on your trip. If you're willing to pay for your stay, you can find people's apartments, lofts, and homes on www.airbnb.com, where you can stay for all kinds of prices, including low ones.

While you're on this trip, you need to see EVERYTHING - all of the sites. Do everything that all of these countries are about. Below are some examples from each place that I did (Well, I didn't actually DO all of these things, but I did at least see all of these sights):

London:

1. Take a tour through London on a double-decker bus.

2. Play around in a telephone booth.

3. See Hyde Park. Maybe even have a picnic there.

4. See Westminster Cemetery.

5. Check out Westminster Abbey.

6. Gaze at the amazing Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

7. Walk across the London Bridge and Tower Bridge.

8. Ride the London Eye.

9. Check out Buckingham Palace.

10. Wander around through the London Tower. It has some really neat old-timey architecture and history. It's a strange sort of museum, really.

11. Try to make a royal guard laugh. It won't work, but it's fun to try.

12. Eat Fish 'N' Chips.

13. Get lost in Harrod's. It has to be the biggest store in the world. It has the most amazing toy store if you plan to bring your kids on this trip. It is incredible, even to me, and I'm an adult! But it's not just a toy store. It's like a mall inside a store. It's 6 stories high!

14. Check out as much architecture as you can, because the architecture is so old and incredible.

15. Take a trip out to Manchester to recreate The Beatles's album cover on Abbey Road.

16. Now this is something I didn't do that I wish I had done: Take a trip down to Salisbury to see Stonehenge. This is on my Bucket List.
17. This is also something I didn't do that I wish had been there when I was in England: The London Harry Potter Studio Tour. I believe this tour opened up to the public soon after I left London, but I plan on going back to do this someday.

Paris:

1. Check out the University of Paris.

2. Go all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower. There's even a restaurant and shop up there. (There might be more.)

3. Check out the Seine River.

4. Tour through Notre Dame. It's incredible.

5. Again, this city has amazing architecture, so be sure to walk around, bus around, whatever, to see all the architecture.

6. See the Arc de Triomphe.

7. See the Mona Lisa at the Louvre.

8. Eat crepes, whether they are 4-cheese hot crepes for dinner or Nutella crepes for dessert. The best crepe I have ever had was a 4-cheese hot crepe for dinner at a restaurant in Paris.

9. I have heard the south of France is gorgeous and a much better use of your time than Paris. I can't say for sure, because I did not go anywhere other than Paris when I was in France, but I can tell you that you should definitely just get in and get out when you go to Paris. It is worth it to go, but Parisians don't like Americans, so you won't find a lot of hospitality there, especially if you are the loud and obnoxious type. So spend more of your time in other places besides Paris, but definitely make it one of your stops - just a quick stop, though.

Alicante:

Alicante has the most amazing views. The mountains are gorgeous, and they're everywhere. The architecture is cool, but the nature views and beaches in Alicante are what make this place special. Check out the Mediterranean Sea while you're out there. The water is nice. But honestly, if you travel all the way to Spain, don't miss Barcelona and Madrid. AT LEAST go to one of these cities. That is my biggest regret about my trip to Spain - I didn't go to Barcelona or Madrid, only Alicante. Now don't get me wrong. Alicante is amazing. It's the type of place you might go just to sit on top of a mountain with an incredible view and do nothing but yoga and swim all day every day. It's relaxing and beautiful. But don't forget to check out Barcelona for the culture, the architecture, the basilicas like Familia Sagrada, the cathedrals, the art, etc. Madrid is great for a different kind of culture, as well as plazas, museums, temples, basilicas, and palaces. Obviously, both cities have amazing architecture. So don't make the mistake I did and cut your Euro-trip short by neglecting to visit these 2 cities.

Of course, I suggest checking out as many countries as possible on your Euro-trip, but hey, you can't complain if these are the 3 you happen to get to on this go around. Just make sure to make the most of your trip and see as much as you can, as it is expensive to fly to Europe from the U.S. You might not be back for awhile, so do as much as you can while you have the chance!

 This is just some random architecture in London, England. Incredible!

 My siblings and me recreating The Beatles's album cover at Abbey Road in Manchester, England.

 My sisters and me at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.

An amazing view in Alicante, Spain. This is my own personally photography. If you're interested in seeing more, check out my Facebook page called Jo Photography at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jo-Photography/141857256277?ref=br_tf.