A trip to remember.

        Travel: to go form one place to another; take a trip; journey. The ditionary definition of the word gives away little in regard to its true meaning. The word travel can mean a myriad of things; to some it may stand for an aspiration, something to look forward to; to another it may represent pleasant memories. To the turly ambitious it could representa  lifestyle. To me, travel is a mixture of the three.
        Traveling is something I have always wanted to  do, as long as I can remember. For manh years it was an aspiration for me- as a kid I never got ot go anywhere I felt was truly exciting. Even now, when travel to me can seem like a memory, I still consider it an aspiration, and hope someday to incorporate it into my lifestyle. Two years ag I was nominated to go on a trip through the band program. To company was called Voyagers International, and the trip was a sixteen day tour around Europe.
       Sooner than Icould have anticipated, we had driven to the airport, checked our bags, and began our journey. We landed at the London/Heathrow airport, andt he tour began. The culture in London was something I found incredibly fascinating; my grandfather had moved to 'America from England when he was in his twenties, and so far every generation of my family had been save for mine. I enjoyed the guided tours we participated in, the sightseeing we did on our own, andt he playing that we did in our concerts. Before I knew it, though, our stay in London was up and we were off to Paris.
     Going on a trip with a band meant a lot of things; for one, it meant that we didnt have time to climb every step of the Eirffel Tower, and couldn't pick and chose where we chose to spend all our time. However, it also meant that the places we visited were all fascinating displays of culture and history. In Paris in particular, we spent a lot of time visiting monuments, the Eiffel tower, of course, and spent an afternoon in the Louvre. From Paris, full of beautiful city life, we moved on to Crans-Montana, a small town nestled in the mountains of Switzerland. The views were fantastic, and the small town showed us true hospitality- on our last night there they hosted a traditional Swiss party for us, complete with their traditional dancing, singing, music and food.
        From Switzerland we drove through Liechtenstein, stopping to rest and eat, and to wander the streets of the world's fourth smallest country before continuing on our way to Austria. Here, the town's billboards and propaganda were oriented towards the Olympics, which had been held there years before, and Mozart, who had called it his home. Everywhere we went in this first German-speaking country I found myself faced with cultural differences and language blocks. but be that as it was, everything we did was being embedded, unkowingly, into my mind. The way I perceive tings, the way I think, even on occasion the language I use has been impacted by the many cultures I visited.
        One of the most beautiful places we went, with perhaps the most unique culture, was Italy. The day trip we took into Venice was fasciatingly different; a city built of water, canals around every corner and perhaps more bridges than I've ever seen in one places. Venice is surely somewhere everyone should visit before they die, the gondola rides, the masks, the food. Being a vegetarian is hard in America, but in Italy it was made so easy for me. The psta, the cheeses and the breads, and all of the unique Italian cuisine was exquisite. I miss it terribly now that I'm back home eating things strait from the microwave. It couldn't last, though, as we moved on to our last stop: Germany.
       If I thought Italy couldn ot be beat, I was sadly misteaken when wea rrived in Germany. The city, or rather, village, where we stayed was surrounded by high brick walls- which you could walk clear around the city on- from the days when it had been constantly besieged by neighboring countries. It wax perhaps the most historically rich place we had been, or perhaps I just perceived it to be that way sine it was our last stop. It concluded my travel experiences for a time, I haven't been any where since. I will never forget what I saww, what I learned, and how much I enjoyed myself.
    That trip to Europe will stay with me, forever.