I’ll Never Forget My Trip With EF

Starting off this post with something to reminisce on…

This post has been a lot time waiting, since I went on this trip a few years back with a good friend of mine. To give some perspective, I had separate posts about this trip but I wanted it to be a full on guide for you! So here it is…

I’ve traveled with EF twice now- Tours and College Break. They have programs for different sets of age groups and welcome absolutely anyone! They plan the whole trip, the excursions, when/what you’re eating, where you’re sleeping the night and all the fun stuff.

Let’s talk about EF College Break

Well first of all, do you have any idea what EF stands for? Education First. Meaning, you’re always learning! EF College Break is for the college student bracket. They offer so many trips on their site.

In May 2017, I tagged along with my friend, Emily Montes de Oca, because I just really wanted to travel. Our European Road Trip was 44 students from all over the United States. We were a part of a Facebook group before we created the WhatsApp Group. Side note: WhatsApp is one of the most effective applications for international phone usage.

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Actually, our flight delayed. Thanks to Delta Airlines. So we missed the whole first two days. On the bright side, we got a free hotel stay because it was their fault. But we missed the Welcome dinner and Munich, Germany. I still wrote about it though!

Check-in was at Novotel München Messe. The welcome mixer was at Hofbräuhaus München.

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The group visited the Neuschwanstein Castle, which is Walt Disney’s inspiration for Magic Kingdom. Can you believe I missed this visit?! At least I got refunded for it… So it was designed on top of a hill with small streams and overlooks the Hohenschwangau Valley.

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AND we’ve arrived. Just in time for the Chronicles of Mel and Em!

We fell into a little beer pressure at Hofbrāuhaus, a tourist beer hall. It feels like I was in an Oktoberfest in my past time, or so I wish. The halls were huge! Everyone was so alive and cheering on the chugs. Half an ounce of München was only €3,80.

Did you know, Germany began mass-brewing beer before anyone else?

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We casually met people here and there, but it wasn’t the same as if we would have gone to the mixer. It was time for breakfast and then on a bus to Innsbruck. Had a quick lunch and went on our merry way to the Venice Region. We checked in at Marco Polo. It was a relatively exhausting day but so cute!

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Because of global warming, Venice has become an island. We had to travel in a small ferry to explore the city in Italy. Our guided tour included St. Mark’s Basilica, which was so beautiful!

I went on my first gondola ride with Em and the gondolier didn’t even sing. Where’s the romance?! I guess I had a few expectations.

There’s also nothing really to wine about. Especially since a vineyard and a 3-course homemade meal is the move. Here’s a little fun fact! Queen Margherita visited Naples, Italy in 1889. They say she enjoyed a pie topped with soft white cheese, red tomatoes and green basil- the colors of the Italian flag! After this coincidence, the pizza was named “Margherita Pizza”.

There was a restaurant close to the small hostel, Lido di Jesolo, we were staying at called Vesuvia Ristorante • Pizzeria. You can’t imagine the price of a 1 liter Prosecco bottle- only €9,00!

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Traveled to Verona and learned a little something about Romeo and Juliet. Do you remember Romeo and Juliet, the play written by Shakespeare? Both star crossed lovers lived in Verona, Italy in hopes for a happily ever after. Since 1972, Juliet’s statue was a token of how others could find true love. Rubbing her breast would turn your luck of love around. So we rubbed hard!

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Onto the next place…

It’s finally time to travel to one of my favorite countries so far, Switzerland! We were staying in a sweet Ski Lodge in Engelberg in the Lucerne Region. It was honestly one of the cutest places we stayed at and the stay included a homemade meal.

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It’s time!!!

The Swiss Alps is elevated at 15,781’, too high for me. But I’m an adrenaline junkie, so you obviously saw me there! I didn’t get to take a cute photo, but my friend, Nicolette Clark, did! The snow, the mountains- everything was so beautiful!

I would love to go again. And actually take a photo this time.

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We left the hotel to get to our train station, Bahnhof Basel SBB, and travel to Paris Gare de Lyon and check-in at Generator Paris, one of the most beautiful hostels I’ve ever stayed at. That truly says a lot because you can’t imagine how many hostels I’ve stayed at!

We walked around Paris, went on a Seine Cruise and visited the Eiffel Tower.

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Two days to just relax in Paris and explore the city. So we went on another excursion- Versailles! One of the most amazing places in France and very well known. There’s a lot of history in it, which also makes it a learning experience. Just look at that landscape!

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Travel mode!! We took the train from Paris- Gare du Nord to London- St. Pancras. An exhausting day trip lead to our stay at Safestay.

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We’ve been eating so much throughout this trip, but definitely no regrets! I’m someone who doesn’t like to eat at places I have in the states to have the opportunity to explore other foods and cultures.

We decided to eat at Prince Henry William’s Restaurant. It had a cabin feel to it. The experience of ordering food was a little interesting because if you ate inside versus outside, it was more expensive; but you had to order inside to have your food outside.

Fun fact: chips in London are considered fries in America. YUM!

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To digest, we took a stroll in the Tate Modern Museum. I’m pretty fond of looking through galleries, so it was a nice experience. It’s also very air conditioned, so maybe we’re a little spoiled?

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There were a few excursions today, but we chose the fun one with all our friends and our tour guide, Antonio Sanjuán! A BAR CRAWL!

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Exploring the gems in London makes all the difference. Maybe we’re just basic tourists?

What’s the first touristy attraction you think of when London is mentioned? The London Eye! In the heart of London, standing at 135 meters high with 32 capsules and half an hour revolutions, is the tallest ferris wheel in the world. Thanks to about seven architects, the London Eye offers a panoramic view of up to 25 kilometers in all directions. How amazing is that?!

We also visited the gothic structure, Westminster Abbey, where Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton married. And learned we were not allowed to go into Big Ben unless you’re a local. I just watched the 16 stories of gothic architecture from afar.

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We woke up from our overnight ferry – Harwich to Hoek. Checked in at the StayOkay Vondelpark.

Welcome to the Red Light District!

As legend has it, The Bulldog in Amsterdam, Netherlands is known to be the original “coffee shop”. If you do not know, the term “coffee shop” in Amsterdam is considered to be a small location allowing for locals and tourists to smoke.

Our tour guide for the day gave us a small snip bit on how The Bulldog was first thought of. The owner’s father had this place as a sex shop. The owner, Henk de Vries, dumped everything into the canal and created the world’s first coffee shop. But how did he come up with its name, “The Bulldog”? It was all thanks to a man’s best friend.

With locations all over the world, The Bulldog is well-known and I feel it is a respected coffee shop, being that it is the first and all…

Then we went to somewhere a little more educational- a museum! YAY!

Not just any museum, but the MOCO Museum. If you speak or understand Spanish, that’s the most hilarious acronym ever.

The Modern Contemporary Museum Amsterdam offers one of a kind art. Located in Villa Alsberg, this museum serves as a “beautiful traditional mansion”. With Banksy and Dali as a few of the most well-known artists, they come together for an exhibition and showcase their work.

Who is Banksy? A British graffiti artist, whose major art pieces includes ‘the girl with Balloon’ and the monkey pieces. His works are known as humorous and political. While Salvador Dali was a more positive inspiration because he always found a meaning to life through his pieces, like the mouth room he created.

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We visited Anne Frank’s Annex. One of the most famous houses since the Holocaust.

Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl, who lived and died in the Holocaust during World War II. She and her family spent over two years hidden in an annex with little to no communication to the outside world. Her legacy lived on with the diary she kept throughout her experiences. After 1947, the diary has been translated into 67 languages and has had over 30 million copies sold.

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Touring around the country gets me a little hungry and ready for our going away mixer. We ate with our tour guide at Haesje Claes, an ethnic restaurant in Amsterdam.

Experiencing this narrow, small restaurant gave a glimpse to the Amsterdam culture. The colors were a warm, fall-colored type environment. Since I came with a big group, we sat in a long, family styled table. It had some candles in the middle, giving it a more intimate feel. As a tourist, it makes a difference when the whole staff is so welcoming. 

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As we leave from our amazing trip in Europe, I wanted to recap my experience from this trip, with the 44 individuals that came and my tour guide, Antonio!

Have you ever traveled with a big group of people you have never met before until the first day of the trip? I was able to experience this with my best friend in summer 2017. EF College Break allowed us to be flexible with what we wanted to do, where we wanted to go, experience the tours and learn about all countries, and have one of the best tour guides ever.

Meeting a diverse group of students along the way definitely makes an impact. I created an interview of some of the people I got to meet along the way. Always remember to take a ride, grab a bite and discover adventure!

I also had the chance to interview my tour guide, Antonio Sanjuán. I wanted to learn of his experience and share it with the world. He’s extremely knowledgeable and is a great story teller.

Don’t miss out on some fun facts about this amazing guy!

• Where were you born, city and country?
  • Born and raised in Madrid, lived in Barcelona and London.
• How many cities, countries have you traveled to?
  • “I have traveled so much… especially working for EF.” He has explored over 40 states, 20+ European countries, and a couple in the Caribbean.
• How long have you been working for EF?
  • Antonio said, “11 beautiful years. Traveling is an adventure!”
• Fun fact about you.
  • He’s in love with his avocado farm that he bought six years ago, south of Spain. (If you know me, you’ll know that I couldn’t contain my excitement when he told me about this!! I LOVE AVOCADOS!)
  • He feeds every animal that comes across his property like if they were his own. He says “they are my best friends and come to see me all the time, probably just for the food but I enjoy having them around anyways.”

EF is 10/10!