Day 28 and Review of the trip!

OK I've been so bad at updating. Let me fill you in with the rest of the trip:

We woke up at like 5 for three trains to Zurich. We accidentally went into 1st class and the Swiss workers went anal. We got to the airport and just barely made our flight to JFK airport.

When we arrived in the JFK, we thought we lost our baggage again. Trent and I were FREAKING OUT. But then we found it (cool story Hansel).

Then we had to wait in like for like forty minutes in a line of two people to take us on a bus from New York to Newark so we could make our flight to SLC. The airport workers in NYC were RIDICULOUS. We finally got on the bus just in time and my mom calls. "Don't go to Newark! Your flight is cancelled." Needless to say, this was not news we wanted to hear after a sleepless night/day on a airplane.

Apparently, the Dallas airport (which we were laying over at) cancelled all of their arrivals due to a hail storm. So we waited in a 500 person line for American Airlines' customer service. Ugh... trains, airplanes, buses, lines. What could be worse?

the two people helping

line of 500 people

Well after staying awake for over 24 hours, the fantastic AA helper got us new tickets on JetBlue straight to SLC. We were thrilled! And it only delayed us 1 hour!!!

Looking back on the trip:

Trent's favorite city- Taormina, Sicily

Steph's favorite city- Barcelona, Spain

Trent's favorite sleeping night- Hostel Poblenou in Barcelona

Steph's favorite sleeping night- Jean Pierre and Catherine in Paris

Trent's favorite new food- pantucaca

Steph's favorite new food- seriously? Leige waffles.

Trent's most exciting memory-SCUBA in Sicily with 2 suits on.

Steph's most exciting memory-All nighter in Nice sleeping in an unfamiliar apartment lobby to avoid the dangerous gypsies in the train station.

Trent's favorite picture-

Trent's favorite picture of Stephanie-

Steph's favorite picture-

Steph's favorite picture of Trent-

Altogether, our trip was perfect. Looking back almost 4 weeks later, it feels most like a REM dream rather than a memory. It all happened so fast! Here are some tips for the backpacking college student:

• night trains are not worth it unless you fork over the bucks for a bunker. too smelly
• don't over stress about money. you're on a trip. but make sure you make a list of all purchase before, during, and after to balance out and plan for your next one!
• always prepare for the worst. if you don't carry your backpack on the airplane, make sure you have an extra pair of clothes in case your's gets stolen.
• we were so glad we planned everything out. my favorite tool was places on google
• expect the unexpected and just be happy; otherwise it'll just have too much anxiety.
• couchsurfing is the bomb! we absolutely loved being meeting people. it was perfect for us to do it often and not always. it saved us money! and it was soooo much fun!

After being home fore a couple days, Trent and I brought our closest friends to Park City and gave them birthday presents :) We made a delicious meal consisting of spaetzle, bratwurst, and liege waffles. SO DANG TASTY :)

Bye bye for now! I'll make another update on the past three weeks shortly!