Italy, France, Germany, Australia....Australia? That's not in Europe!

"How are ya'll this mornin'?"
"Hay?"
"What?"
"I'm sorry. I'm a bit confused."

This was a legitimate conversation between me and one Australian girl. Keeley and I traveled through Top Deck Tours. Most of our tour group was made up of Australians, and instead of saying 'what' if they didn't hear you, they said 'hay'. I was unaware of this, and I assume she had never heard of 'ya'll'. I found it crazy that we were both speaking English, but could barely understand each other at times. So I learned about Australia on a trip intended to learn about Europe.

I did learn about Europe. We traveled to the Netherlands first. Tulips and Clogs were everywhere. Apparently Holland is famous for Tulips even though that is not where they originated. Oh, by the way Holland is an area in the Netherlands and everything in Holland is Dutch. It kind of confused me, so I thought I would clarify. This is also where we visited the cheese making factory. Did you know it is alright NOT to refrigerate cheese? It was all just on shelves.

We went to Germany next. The most famous here are the beer halls. These massive buildings house rows and rows of tables. Traditional music is playing (god awful), men are in ledrhosen, and beer steins and clinking in cheers all around. There are places for the regular guests to store their beer stein for later use.

Austria was the next stop. The kings of the past didn't believe in fighting, so they just married in order to gain land. It ended up being the biggest dynasty, but they ran into trouble once Mary Antoinette married the prince of France. Mozart was also born in Austria.

Italy has always been my dream destination. It was most impressive. This country had so much to offer: the Vatican city, pantheon, Colosseum, and the forums in Rome, the sinking city of Venice, and beautiful Florence. Each city was unique and had something new to offer, rather it be a gondola ride through the canals or a tour of St. Peters Cathedral. Italy was famous for lace, glass, masks, wine, and of course FOOD! Pizza, pasta, and gellato filled my four days in Italy.

That is more than I can say for France. I was certainly not a fan of the frog legs and escargo. You can fancy it up all you want...you are still eating SNAILS! We got to see many things, but my favorite was obviously the Eiffel tower. We went to the very top at night. The lights of the city were beautiful.

Nothing I saw here in Europe was as beautiful as the night sky in Texas or the sunset over the fields. However, I did find out that chivalry still lives. I thought it was only in Texas, but it is in England too. They say the french are rude, but one french guy led us to where we needed to be even though it was out of his way. He said he wasn't very good with directions, so he just took us there. They say to watch out for the Italian men, but all they did was sell me jewlery. Everyone was very friendly and kind along the way. I guess you can find good people anywhere you go.