Alexis Tia Adventures, Eats, & Turning Wheels: The Recap, The Finale: June 23, 2011

We come to an end of my journal entries of my first Europe trip in 2011. Yes, two years to finish. Thanks, grad school.

Short and sweet, here we go.

Zurich is modern, big, and expensive. By expensive, I mean that Dave and I spent $20 for one large mocha and pita sandwich at Starbucks. Yep, a $10 mocha. Good thing we didn't stay in Switzerland too long because money sure goes fast. We strolled through a nice "old town" part of Zurich that ran along the river. A beautiful sunset would conclude our Europe tour as we would depart the next morning.

Pseudo-epilogue:

I thought that it might be years before I return to Europe again. Before I left on my journey to Italy, Austria, and Switzerland, I just found out that I was accepted to grad school starting in Fall of 2011. I had a feeling that would take up most of my free time, not to mention funds.

As fate would have it, my grad program (Communications at SDSU) offered a one month study abroad during the summer and an option for classes in order to graduate in 4 semesters. I never did study abroad in my undergrad, which I always regretted. I decided this was my chance. And, I couldn't possibly pass up an opportunity to visit the Swiss Alps again (and Prague, Munich, Luxemburg, and Paris all for the first time)! Traveling with 40 students was definitely an adventure and I have a few journal entries here and there from that trip. But mostly, I have memories via laughter, exploration, and photographs with friends with whom I shared a common bond through academia, love for traveling, and good food and drink.

Whenever I think about another traveling adventure or how traveling has changed my way of viewing the world, I always come back to lyrics by Sara Bareilles (Many the Miles):

There's too many things I haven't done yet
There's too many sunsets I haven't seen
You can't waste the day wishing it'd slow down
You would have thought by now, I'd have learned something