European Mini-Retirement

I spent 6 weeks in Europe during my latest mini-retirement/sabbatical. The first 4 weeks were spent with my boyfriend traveling around Spain. A new city for me was Alicante. I really liked it there because it’s a  small town that is on the beach. It’s very walkable and has a cute city center. The beach is beautiful and meets m Florida standards.

I went to Seville again because it was my boyfriend’s first time. It ended up being better than I remembered. We stayed in the old town area which has a very nice vibe and architecture. I also went to Valencia again but it wasn’t as enjoyable as my first time. Interestingly, I almost spent my 3 month sabbatical there last year instead of Barcelona. Thank goodness I went with Barcelona, because there isn’t much to do in Valencia and it isn’t as walkable as Barcelona. There are way more things to do in Barcelona and I like the diversity there too. We concluded the trip by spending a week in Barcelona, so we could just relax and be somewhere familiar.

I then met up with a friend in Belgium. I had been there before but went to the Atomium for the first time which was pretty neat. The Belgian chocolate was better than I had remembered. We spent a day in Luxembourg which was interesting. There isn’t much to do there and it’s actually pricey. I did enjoy the free public transportation including trams and buses.

Afterwards we spent a week in London. This was my second time visiting there. Last time we did a more historic tour, going to the tower of London, Henry VIII palace, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Shakespeare’s globe etc. This time it was more of a local, artsy, culinary tour.

We went to Borough marketplace and had some yummy food there. We went to Chinatown, Covent Garden, and other cute areas. We visited Windsor Castle which I really enjoyed.

Then I met up with my mom in Scotland. We had both wanted to go there after watching the show Outlander. Scotland did not disappoint. My favorite part was the Scottish Highlands. We had perfect weather and got to drive through mountains of green landscape. We got to feed Scottish Cows (called Coo). I also enjoyed Edinburgh castle, as I have always been quite fond of Mary Queen of Scots.

Afterwards, we went to Stockholm, Sweden. It ended up being more diverse than I expected, with many Africans, Arabs, and Asians. I went to the Viking Museum and saw my first Viking ship which was actually huge!

On our way back to the USA, we made a quick stop in Paris for 2 days. Paris is one of my favorite cities and any opportunity to spend extra time there is a plus. Since I have been to Paris several times already, this time we spend the day right out of side of Paris to visit Chateau Malmaison. This is the home of Napoleon and Josephine Bonaparte. It ended up being better than I could have imagined!

Even though you can easily find Napoleon in Paris (at the Louvre, Hotel Invalides, etc) I have never seen so much of his stuff in one place. They had plenty of his original furniture, paintings, busts, swords, china, clothes, and even boots. Since I have been Napoleon’s #1 fan since learning about him as a child, I felt like I was in an adult Disneyworld. I have hundreds of pictures to look back on.

I had a great time again in Europe but have to admit that I am exhausted. I might have to take a break from going back to Europe for a while.