Alexa's European Adventure: The Diary

You guys, I still can’t quite believe that I finally got the chance to go on a trip to a continent I’ve always wanted to visit last month. I’ve been dreaming of visiting various European locales for a long, long time, because I’ve always found European history and culture (specifically English, French, Greek and Roman) very interesting. After a whole lot of planning and saving, my family and I embarked on our first European adventure together!

We were away for two weeks (well, two for me, Macky and Mel; three for the others), and I honestly can’t believe just how much we managed to squeeze into those fourteen days. While we had the opportunity to relax, for the most part, this vacation was more of an adventure. We were constantly on the go, up early with the sun and in bed in the middle of the night, and we had tons of stuff to see and things to do, and somehow, we all survived the crazy itinerary we set for ourselves!

We took a bazillion photos (not surprising considering my sister had the family DSLR, I had my new camera, my other sister had a GoPro and we all had mobile phones), and while I would so love to share so many of them, I thought it best to just share some of my favorites. (I also shared photos on my Instagram, so you can check them out there too. And if you want to see everyone’s photos, we used the hashtag #YupangcosEurotrip.)

PARIS | Sacre Coeur / Arc de Triomphe / Disneyland Paris / the Louvre / Shakespeare & Co. / Notre Dame

PARIS | Mona Lisa / inside the Louvre / Versailles / Hall of Mirrors / the entrance to the maze / Eiffel Tower

LUCERNE | Chapel Bridge / the Alps / Lucerne / Mt. Titlis Cliff Walk / Mt. Titlis Ice Flyer / Mt. Titlis Ice Flyer

LUCERNE | snow / Glacier Walk / Lindt chocolate / Lucerne City / Zunfthausrestaurant Pfistern / Lake Lucerne boat cruise

MILAN | The Last Supper / gelato / reunited in Milan / Duomo / a galleria / unfinished Pieta

VENICE | ferry view / side street view / gondola view / a secret side / St. Mark's Basilica / bridge view

I really have no words to describe how magical it was to see places I’ve only ever read or heard about, places I’d only dreamed of seeing prior to this trip. It was a trip filled to the brim with moments of quiet awe, incredible beauty, surprising new knowledge and delicious food, and I savored every single minute of it. While we really only dipped into and out of the cities we visited, I got such strong impressions of each and every one of them. Paris, opulent in culture and style. Lucerne, beautiful with an easygoing vibe. Milan, a fast-paced, buzzing metropolis. Venice, a mysterious, compelling result of its location and history. Rome, powerful, historical, structured. Sorrento, a tiny slice of paradise. Barcelona, bustling and artsy.

ROME | Colosseum / Trevi Fountain / under the Colosseum / That's Amore for dinner / wishing at the Trevi / night at the Colosseum

ROME | Colosseum / Vatican City / Trevi Fountain / Palatine Hill / St. Peter's Basilica / kicking butt

NAPLES & SORRENTO | the port / the ferry / port photo / cliff view / cliff view / Naples view

BARCELONA | Casa Batlló / couple shot #1 / running in Parc Guell / chilling in Parc Guell / couple shot #2 / OOTD

BARCELONA | stained glass windows / Parc Guell chilling / Our Father / Sagrada Familia / the doors / the market

It was also such a dream come true to be able to travel with my family & Macky. I honestly couldn’t have asked for better people to go on this adventure with! I love these guys, and for all the craziness that ensued when we were together (good and bad), there is no one else’s company I would have wanted more for this particular trip. (And I still miss them all now.)