Long Story Longer
Basically, the audio version of a brain dump. I am oversharing life updates, random deep thoughts, reality TV obsessions, and what has been on my mind, and stories that should’ve been short… but never are!
Long Story Longer
EUROPE RECAP PT. 1
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Welcome back to Long Story Longer!
I didn’t plan for this trip recap to turn into a two-part episode… but if you know me, you know I can't make any story short. So here is PART 1 of our Europe adventure!
In this episode, I’m taking you through some of the most unforgettable moments from our trip, starting with Switzerland (aka the most beautiful place on earth 🏔️🤍), then exploring the magic of Lake Como, and ending in the dreamy streets of Venice 🇮🇹.
This trip was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I wanted to share all the memories, stories, and little moments that made it so special. I hope you enjoy listening!
Stay tuned for Part 2 where I’ll recap the rest of the trip!! ✨
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Oh my gosh. Hello, everyone. Welcome to Long Story Longer, or welcome back. It has been a while since I have podcasted. A lot has happened since I've podcasted. Okay. I am actually trying to see when my last episode went out. Oh yeah. May 3rd. Also, is it echoey? I'm sitting in like an empty room, and I'm hoping it's not echoey. Not super empty, but kind of. Um oh my gosh, May 3rd was the last time I posted an episode. I can't even talk. This is gonna be crazy. Um so since then, I graduated college. I went on the trip of a lifetime, and I started my full-time job. So there's a lot to catch up about. There's a lot to talk about, a lot of details, um, and I'm I'm ready. So I graduated. Um, it was an amazing weekend, honestly. Um, it was hard for me to feel super sad that last week because I was so focused on getting to Europe. And I think that was a good and bad thing. In the moment, I remember thinking, like, okay, this is probably good that I'm not like sulking in the leaving college because I don't want to feel like that. But also now it's like I kind of feel like I was so focused on the next thing that I didn't really like really process, like, okay, this is my last week of college ever. Like, you know what I mean? Um, but not to say I didn't get emotional a little bit. I so Nate's graduation was the weekend before mine. And when I left his place on that Sunday, um, after he graduated, I was like sad. I was like, wait, I'm like not gonna come back and visit him here. Like, I don't know, it just kind of started to hit me then. And then the following day, Monday, my roommates and I took graduation pictures, and I like started crying at graduation pictures. Not like actually, but just tearing up. And Kenzie was like, Are you okay? And I was like, I don't know, it's like starting to hit me that like we're almost done. And I was just kind of feeling emotional. Um, it was also the week of my period, so that was great timing, um, but also making me a little more emotional. And then the rest of the week, I was honestly okay. Um, and by the time Friday and Saturday came around with like the ceremonies and stuff, I was super just honestly happy. Like, this has been such a great time in my life. It went so unbelievably fast. I can't even put into words how fast college goes. Like, I I can't I and people who know, you understand, but like if anybody's listening in high school, like I thought high school was a blast. Like high school was fun. But college is unlike any other experience. It is it is the like I can't even describe it. It's the best. Um, and it goes so fast. I thought high school went fast. Oh my gosh, no. College was the blink of an eye, like literally. So it's just it's crazy. Um, and it's weird for me because I'm still in Ames, like, and I actually feel like I'm still a student, and I'm like, but I'm not. Like, that's so actually like weird to process. Um, but yeah, Friday and Saturday were ceremonies. Iowa State holds two, a convocation and a commencement, and I went to both, and my whole family and Nate's family came on uh Friday, and then just my parents, was it just my parents? Yeah, my parents and my grandma came on Saturday, and it was great. It was a really fun weekend celebrating with my family and also my of course my friends and my roommates. So it was good. And then bright and early, not actually not that early, on that Sunday, the day after we left for Europe. Um, we was me and my mom and Nate. And so I'm gonna get into a full recap. Um, I like I don't know how to do this if I should literally go like day by day, but that might get really long. But I do want to talk about it all. I'm just gonna go day by day, and like if it's big things to talk about, I will, and if it's something to just kind of skip over, I can too. Um, and I have a couple like stories, of course, that I will throw in. So we left from Des Moines on Sunday, right after graduation, and flew to Switzerland. Um I'm like trying to even remember. That flight, the long flight, kind of sucked. I didn't sleep. Yeah, I'm trying to remember. Yeah, no, I didn't sleep. It was, and we were like in a middle aisle, and it was just kind of ugly. But then we got to Switzerland, and honestly, when we got there, I wasn't feeling like jet lag. I was like, okay, like I feel good. Um, even though I didn't sleep, I haven't slept in a long time. Like, I'm feeling good. No, because we went from Des Moines to Chicago, Chicago to London, London to Switzerland. So like it was a lot of planes, a lot of travel. Um, so we arrived in Geneva, Switzerland, and we immediately took a train to Luzon. Um, we sorry, this is gonna be like me re-like trying to remember as well, but the it'll get better as we go on. Um we just went and sat down at a cafe, and by that time I was so tired and miserable. I got an iced chai latte to try to like get me a little bit of caffeine, and it was so bad. Like it was my mom and I both got one, and it was first of all not iced because Europeans don't know what ices. And it was like had what's the word like um gritty. It like it was not smooth. I don't know, it was not good. And I was starving, but it was a weird time. It was like 4 p.m. and we were like, well, we're going to dinner tonight, so I probably shouldn't have that much food, and there wasn't really good food options. I don't know. The coolest part about that was we were there on like a Monday afternoon, and so we saw kids leaving school, and it was, I love just seeing people like live their life in Europe. I don't know, it seems like such a foreign concept to me. So it was this big, beautiful school, like looked like a castle, like a not a castle, looked like a big cathedral almost, but it was a school with big um gates. And these kids with backpacks, they walked out, but it was like one o'clock, maybe, and we were like, oh, that's weird. Are they like, did they get out early or something? Well, all the kids just went in separate ways, and then about 15 minutes later, they all came back, and I'm like, oh, they must we decided they must get to leave for their lunch break. I don't know. It was really cool, um, like to see that. And so we didn't finish our drinks. We left there and walked around the town a little bit because we were only staying there for one night, so we didn't um have much time. So we walked around, we saw this big church that they're famous for. Um sorry, I'm like trying to remember. I was so Nate and my mom were like, are you okay? I was I was so tired and angry and miserable. It was bad. Um, anyway, we went back to the hotel, we took a nap. Actually, I don't think Nate did. It one thing I learned, which I knew, but Nate does not nap. Like, no matter how tired he is, it he doesn't nap. I don't know. It's the craziest thing. So, like on the plane, he didn't even nap. He didn't even attempt to, I don't think. He just like doesn't need to. I'm like, what? We were on a plane for like nine hours. What do you mean? Um, anyway, my mom and I took a nap. I could have slept, like, that's a bad thing to do when you go to Europe is one is sleep because then you don't want to wake up. But I did wake up. We went to dinner, we took um a train. Actually, okay, so this town, Luzon, um, I think it's how you say it, L-A-U-S-A-N-N-E. It was this like it was a city built on like levels. So you'd be standing on a road and like look down and see another road. I don't know. It I I can't explain it besides that it was literally like levels. So when we walked out of our hotel, um, and the map would say like go to this street or whatever, to get to that street, we would have to take an elevator down, like through the grass through the concrete, and then it would bring us down to like another street. It was it was crazy, honestly. It was it was built very interesting. So we went, took the elevator down, got on a train, and went even lower, like to sea level, because then we ate dinner um by the water. And I don't know if that place if we planned to eat there or if we just found it spontaneously. Um anyway, we had Swiss fondue, uh, which we were all excited to try. If you don't know what that is, it's basically a big hot pot of melted cheese, and they give you stuff to dip in it. So, but what is the type of cheese? I don't know if we ever figured that out, but it smells it's cheese that smells really bad. It tastes good, but it smells really bad. Um Swiss Fondue cheese. I think it's like Gur air or whatever. Oh yeah. It's a blend of alpine cheeses. How do you say that? Gur air, you guys know what I mean. Um, yeah, so they it's it's for you can get it like for the table or for one person. We got it for one person, and then I got another meal. I think like my mom technically ordered it, and then Nate and I both got a meal, and so but we all shared it. Um they gave it to us, they served it with little potatoes, little like onions, little pickles, bread, and I think that might have been it. It was um in the moment, I thought it was so good. Like just uh, it was really cold too. Like the restaurant gave us blankets, so it was like cozy, and we were eating out of a hot melted pot of cheese, like, and it's white cheese, so it it was good, but now thinking back, I'm like by the end of the trip, all of us said we don't know if we would eat that again. Like it was I don't know, it wasn't the best. It just like the smell of the cheese was really off-putting. Anyway, then we walked around what lake was that. I shouldn't know that. We walked around the lake. Is it like Geneva? Maybe I don't know. Um, we walked around like uh down a little pat walkway by the lake that was right there in that town, and then went back up and went to bed. And the next day we hopped on the Golden Express. That was my mom's birthday, and we left in the morning, I think. Um, and we got on the Golden Express train. So if you've been to Europe, especially like, well, I think probably everywhere, they have like the best train system, like getting from city to city, even country to country, it's like such good train systems. Um, but most of them are like you can get, well, I don't need to get into all this, but if you're going a long distance, you usually take a high-speed train. Uh so this one though, we actually decided to take a panoramic train. So it was slower, and it had huge windows and like even some windows on the roof, I'm pretty sure. And so you could basically take a scenic train through the Swiss Alps and like take in the views. It was really cool. Um, it was like three-ish hours, so it did get a bit long by the end. Nate was feeling kind of sick. And I feel like my mom maybe felt a little bit of the same. I don't quite remember, but uh it was really cool, of course. I mean, a scenic train, big windows through the Swiss Alp Mountains, like and it was like our first day of like actually seeing that, so we were just in awe. It was it was it was really cool. Um, and we actually ended up later taking another scenic train by accident because we me, aka when I say we, I mean me, messed up our trains, but anyway, that day we got into Lauderbrunnen, which was all three of our favorite places. All three of our favorite place. Yeah, how do I? I'm not saying that right, but whatever. I'm tired. Um, so that's a town we stayed in for three nights in Switzerland. It was incredible. Like, I think about it every day. Like it was so oh my god. I don't know if anything will ever top that. Like it was so cool. So we stayed at this hotel uh called Staubach Falls, and there's a waterfall called Staubach. Oh wait, our hotel wasn't called Staubach Falls. The waterfall is called Staubach Falls. Our hotel is called Hotel Staubach because we had a patio with a view of the waterfall, and it's like the very famous, beautiful waterfall in Switzerland. And actually in the Lauderbrune Valley, because Lauderbrune sits in a valley of like the mountains, um, there's 72 waterfalls. So if you just like look out, I mean you can see multiple, but Lauderbrune is known for this like main one. And so our hotel was incredible. It felt like it felt like you walked into like your grandma's house, or for me, my like it gave me the same vibes as like my great aunt Lavon's house, which is no one will know what I'm talking about except like three people that listen to this, but um it was like not a modern hotel. It was so like comforting with like old patterned carpet and antique furniture. I don't know. It was like the best, it it was so cool, and the food was amazing. Uh, we had breakfast there every morning. Anyway, our hotel was just it it was amazing. But that day we went up behind the waterfall. So we had read that you can go. I should have started this with this whole trip is thanks to Rick Steves. If you guys don't know who Rick Steves is, he's a I guess, guy, author, travel person um, who travels around and writes books and makes videos and stuff of recommendations. Mostly, I think he only does Europe because I remember asking my mom about I don't know, I remember asking her about like another country, and she's like, I don't think he does that. Or another continent. Anyway, he um he like learns about history. I can't even get into Rick Steves. If you guys just look him up. Um, but we aka my mom um bought his book and like takes he's very good at restaurants and lodging. That's really what we followed him for. We've never ate at a restaurant that like was recommended by him that was bad. Um, and then his his like hotels. He doesn't the thing is he doesn't believe like in Airbnb. He believes in like supporting local and um like hotels, which we did do some Airbnb, but his hotels that he recommends were amazing too. Probably honestly, probably our two favorite places we stayed were hotels recommended by him. So anyway, that's Rick Steve's. Um he's a very, very important part of this trip and any Europe trip. So we decided to climb up behind the waterfall. There's like a path that takes you up, and you get to like, I was about to say halfway up the waterfall. Not even, not even close. It felt like it climbing up it though. So we were like, yeah, it's just let's just do this walk that gets you up behind the waterfall. It was the hardest thing. Um, and the water is like from the waterfall is like seeping in, and so you're like walking on wet rocks in like a very tiny narrow mountainside trying to get past people. It's it was honestly a hard walk up, but it was gorgeous. And once we got under there, it was of course really cool to be like up and behind a waterfall and like looking out. But yeah, that's what we did our first day. Um, I guess after the water, I my the first two days are like blurry to me because I was like, I was so tired, I don't even barely remember, but we um went on a walk like down, like I said, Lauderbranden is in a valley, and so there's a river that runs through it, and so there's a big um beautiful walking trail right next to it that has river on one side and then fields with like goats and cows on the other, and then like you look up and see the mountain in the waterfall. Genuinely, I can't even describe how pretty this is. Like, I I told them like this that view I can't even describe. Like, that was my favorite view. Being in the valley, looking up and seeing mountains, looking down, seeing cows and goats and green grass, looking to the left and seeing the river, like it it's it's like it looks like AI. Like, I can't even describe it. So we did that little walk. It was probably like a mile or a mile and a half loop around, and then we went to dinner at this place called I I don't know if I should say like where we ate. Like it like I I don't know. Well, anyway, we went to this place called Horner Pub. I will if I remember, I guess. And it was like the one place in town that had their kitchen like open late and they served like traditional bar food, is what they said. Um, I got a cheeseburger and fries. I think I got fries. I don't know. Uh it was good. I mean, fine. My mom got a chicken schnitzel, and that was actually really good. It's like just a thin piece of fried chicken with it had some sort of sauce on it that was good, and now I can't remember. Um, and then Nate got a bolognaise, that was not good. Um, so anyway, and they had beer and drinks and stuff. So we went there for dinner and then went and sat on our um patio and played cards, because yes, that was still my mom's birthday and she wanted to play cards. So it was that was really um really fun. Let me just talk about Lauderbrune for a sec. If you're if okay, if I would tell you to go anywhere from all the like nine places I'm about to talk about, it's Lauder Brunen in Switzerland. It it's magical. Like I can't even describe it's and it's like very small. Um not very, I guess it it's small though. I mean it's like one street, and they get it gets pop more popular or like more busy during the day, but at night it really is like so quiet. Um the thing about Switzerland that is so different than Italy and kind of a downside is at least in Louderburn, everything closes like and I mean like everything closed at 6 or 6:30. Food, souvenir shops, whatever. So that's why we went to Horners the night before because it was the only one open till they had their kitchen open until like 11. So otherwise we had to make reservations for like an earlier dinner. So that was the one downside, but it was like so serene and peaceful that it like made sense that everything closed. I don't know, it was it was incredible. Um, our next day was my favorite day of the entire trip. So, and it's also what I planned. So we woke up and rented e-bikes from a bike rental place in town, and we put that shit on high gear and we coasted down the river walk or whatever, like I was saying earlier. It was amazing. We would stop and take pictures of the cows, we would stop and look at the waterfalls. It I I can't even like that. I'm literally smiling, like thinking about it. Like when I think of our trip, that's the first picture that comes to mind is riding my bike down there and like seeing this gorgeous view. It's it really was incredible. And we rode our bikes to this town that was just up a little bit called Stechelberg. And then we got on a what did we do with our bike? Oh, we locked up our bikes. They gave us locks. We locked up our bikes at like a bike rack or whatever, and we got on a cable car. That took us up to Gimmelwald. Nope, I lied. That took us up to Murin. And that might have been like the highest point. Well, no, because we went to a mountaintop at a different time. But anyway, it was really high up. Um, this town called Murin. It was gorgeous. It was definitely more uh lively. Like there was a lot more businesses. I feel like there was like a fire department. I mean, it's so far from everything that it's like you kind of have to like have everything. Um, but it was really cool. We played, there was like a large game of chess, and Nate and I played that. Well, I didn't really. He would make a move and then tell me what move to make, and because I he tried to get me to learn chess the whole trip, and I just honestly don't have the patience for something like that. He's got the wrong girl for that. So um he needs to find someone else to play with. Um, and we just walked around Murray and we took pictures, we saw people move like back in a trailer and take their cattle out and like move them. It was really cool. And I think we grabbed a coffee there. We honestly didn't stay there for long. We kind of just like walked up the road, down the road, and it was pretty like empty, emptier than I expected. Nate kept saying, like, this feels like a ghost town. And it kind of did like I have a picture of myself standing in the middle of the road, and like no one is in the back. I don't know. But then we did an easy downhill, like pretty flat downhill walk to Gimmelwald. Gimmelwald is this very small rural farmer town, and I loved it. Absolutely loved it. Um, the other two didn't like it as much, but I was just ups. I will say, like, walking in, it was just like farm manure, like animals. Like it definitely felt like I'm walking through a farm. Um, and you could smell it. But then we got to this part where they have this famous beer that's made by monk, monks, monks, however you say that. And I actually just learned what that was when we were on this trip. It's a super dark beer that they're famous for, and they have this um little restaurant that sells it and sells food, and then a cute little area to sit at. So we stopped there. I got a coffee. That was the first place. Okay, it was this girl's first day on the job, and I didn't know this. The bartender, keep in mind. So my mom and Nate both get like a beer, and I'm like, can I get a coffee? But could you make it decaf? And also, do you have non-dairy milk? And also, can you put some syrup in it? And she was like, Yeah, um, this is my first day on the job. Like, let me see if I can find all that. And I was like, oh my god, I'm literally so high maintenance. Every time I ordered a coffee on the strip, my mom would just like laugh and roll her eyes and be like, oh my god, why can't you just be like simple? Because I'm not simple. Um, I saw that they had like syrup, like vanilla syrup. I think it was vanilla, whatever. And I was like, can you add some of that in the coffee? And I don't know. So that was the first place I had like a coffee with all my um modifications, and it tasted so good. So we sat on this adorable little table and looked down into the mountains while they had their beer. I actually tried the beer and I didn't hate it. Um, that video is on my mom's Facebook, if you want to go see that. It was it was fine. I definitely like would have to choke it down, but like it wasn't like repulsive, so I don't know. Then we went down to this again. So Rick told us that there was only like a few places to eat in this town because it was so small. So there was that place, and then there was actually a hostel with a restaurant connected to it. So we went to the hostel and um sat under this like wooden awning almost, and thank goodness we did because it started pouring down rain like so bad. And we were sitting under there just eating, we ordered pizza and oh, I had a like spiked peppermint hot chocolate. It was really good. It was nice to like have that while it was pouring down rain. We were like pouring, it's pouring down rain. We're sitting under this thing, dry, like warm and dry, looking out into the mountains. It it I I just Switzerland is not real, like Switzerland. Oh my gosh, I can't even describe it. So I loved Gimmelwald. And then we did the cable car back down, got our bikes, and rode them back to Lauder Bruin. And it was pouring. No, actually, not pouring, but it was raining like pretty hard when we were riding our bikes back, and it's like a at least like a 30-minute ride, no, yeah, probably around a 30-minute ride of just raining on you in the bikes, on the bikes. But it was honestly really fun. Like, I luckily my mom let me, I'm wearing white linen pants, keep in mind, that are the bottoms of them are black now from the bike chain. So I had them rolled up like as shorts. And luckily, my mom let me wear her like windbreaker pullover thing because I had a sweater on, and so at least that was like kind of water resistant. But all of us got like soaked, but it's like we're riding our bikes through the rain in Switzerland. Like, I mean, it it was like out of a movie, it was so it was fun. Then that night we got dry and we cleaned up and we had really good dinner. So we walked to our dinner place, and it was in like the cutest little restaurant with warmers and like candles. Oh my gosh, it was so cute. And what did I have? My mom had trout, I remember, and it was good. She had trout with like roasted carrots or something, and it was um good. I actually will I have a list of all the new foods I tried, which I'll talk about at the end. Um, so that's one of them. Nate had steak with like a garlic butter, honestly, kind of like steak to burger, like steak with like a garlic butter peppercorn sauce and potatoes, I think. It was delicious. What did oh, I had just a bolinase. Um, just pasta with red sauce and meat, and it was really good too. I mean, uh our meal was amazing, and I had a Hugo spritz. Okay, another thing. I discovered I'm absolutely obsessed with Hugo spritzes. I had one at least every day, every meal. They're so, so good. I I was literally obsessed. And actually at our amazing hotel in Lauderbrunn that I talked about, they either made or had, I don't know, um, elderflower syrup, which um that's what Hugo spritzes are made with is elderflower syrup, and elderflower is like a actual flour, and they make syrup from it, and that's the like sweetness of Hugo Spritz's. And our hotel had like just elderflower like juice or like syrup, and we tried it, and he actually said it was good for like digestive and stuff. It was amazing. I was like, okay, I love this. So then, yeah, anyway, I loved Hugo's, and the only reason I say that is because that place was um one of the best ones I had, I remember. Then the next day, we had a long day. So this was a day I planned from not Rick Steve's, just like TikTok. Uh, we got on a train and went from Lauderbrand to Lake Brienne's, which is like a beautiful blue lake. Um, I mean, everything's like beautiful and blue there, but uh originally I wanted to like swim and paddleboard on the lake because it was so pretty, but it was way too cold to do that. It would have had to gone in like the summer to do that. And okay, it's been 30 minutes and I'm still on our I'm only on our third day of this trip out of 17. I need to pick it up probably. I wish I could like get live feedback. Like, do I do you want me to keep talking in detail, or do I need to just like say, like, this is where we went and this is what I liked? But it's really hard. You guys know the the name of this podcast, it's very, very hard for me to like dial it back. So, okay, I'll try to keep it quick. We went to Lake Brands, we walked around, we went to this little coffee shop that's in this woman's house. It it was so cool. Um, she like doesn't charge anything. You just like can tip if you want. She has her dog named Leopold, who's like the best trained dog ever. He's like walking around, she served us coffee, she served us croissants, and then at the end we're like, how do we pay you? And she's like, I only take cash. And of course we didn't have cash. So Nate and I walked to a bank and got cash, and then she's like, but I don't actually have fixed prices because I've been in a time in my life where I couldn't even like afford to have a cup of coffee, and like everyone deserved to have a cup of coffee. So I just open it up, and sometimes people come in and they pay, and sometimes they don't, depending on what they can do, and whatever. And we were like, wait, she's so cool. So I think we gave her like 20 bucks because in her tip jar because we were like, This is so cool. Um, and we got out money, so I was like, here. Um, a funny story about that is uh her dog came out and was like had his head, well, no, he didn't have his head in my lap because that was a note we made was like he just sat so calmly by the table when we were like eating and drinking, and she came out, she's like, Is he bothering you? And we're like, no. And she said, like, do you guys have a dog? And we were like, Yeah, we do. Um he's he's big and fluffy, and she's like, Oh, like you had to leave him at home, and we're like, Yeah, and she's like, You can't travel with him, and we're like, Oh, oh girl. Our dog is an actual menace to society. No, we can't even get him in the car, let alone you think traveling to like imagine traveling to Europe with Mav. Like, oh my god, if you like, he would be the worst. Like, it would be so it would be insane. He can't even walk on a leash. So, yeah, it was funny. She's like, Oh, it's too hard to travel with him. You can't bring him. We're like, girl, no, it no, you don't get it. Um, and then she was like, Do you miss him like a lot though? And we're like, Yeah. And I don't know. It was funny. Then we went to Kandersteg. Kandersteg was a cute little town that we got off the train and we got lunch at. Um, we got like picnic stuff. We got sandwiches, chips, um, like a coke, and some straw, some fresh strawberries. And then we cable carved up to I don't know how to say this. We've been saying O'Shansee. Um, and then from there, it's like a 30-minute downhill walk to this lake, Lake O'Shansee. It is gorgeous. Honestly, like it wasn't my favorite view, but like overall, it was probably the best view we had. Like, it's freaking incredible. It's like picture perfect, like the brightest blue lake, prettiest mountains, and um we sat on a rock and ate lunch, and it was amazing. And then Nate and I went down to like the beach area and were skipping rocks and kind of just walking around, and my mom was sitting up on a rock, and then we went up there and took some pictures, and it it was so pretty. Nate, that's his favorite day, or his favorite view, or both, I think. I don't know. Um, then the walk downhill, we were like, okay, this is gonna be really hard to walk back up. So when we got there, we actually saw a taxi like that takes people up the hill. But we also walked past like old people and like pregnant women that were walking, and we're like, okay, if they can do it, we can do it. But it was like gonna be hard. And my mom was gonna like have a head start, and so Nate and I were following behind, but then I went into the bathroom or something, I don't know. And then I came out and the taxi was right there, and he was like, Okay, like last call for people, get on, and I was like, wait, wait, where's my mom? Like, let's get on the taxi and go up. So I called her and I'm like, hey, are you on the taxi? I I honestly thought she was on the taxi because she went ahead of us. But act no, yeah, she was in the bathroom. I thought she was on the taxi, so I call her and I'm like, hey, are you on the taxi? And she's like, No, I'm in the bathroom. I'm like, okay, well the taxi's leaving, like, I'm about to hop on. And she was like, well, wait for me. And then the taxi left, and I was like, damn it. Our day would have been. Our day could have been so much different and so shorter if we just would have got on that freaking taxi. So instead, we were like, okay, we don't want to walk 30 minutes uphill. Keep in mind, well, is it because we're lazy? Yes. Well, Nate's not lazy, but I didn't want to do that. I'm also in a dress with no span. Like, I have underwear on, but like no, sorry, this is TMI. No underwrong, but like or underwear on, but no spandex. So like my thighs are chafing. Like, I don't know why, and I'm in a short dress. Like, I don't know why I did that to myself. The whole trip, I was I had a little stick. I didn't bring like anti-chafing or anything. The whole trip I had a well is my mom's a little stick of like Vaseline chapstick. I used every last I I I took it from my mom. She was like, okay, you can just have that. Because I was rubbing that between my thighs because it was like something to not have like a rash. And so that's what I'm wearing. So I'm like, okay, if we walk 30 minutes, like I'm gonna be chafing, I'm gonna be miserable, I'm gonna be hot, sweaty. So there was this sign that said, you can get back down to Kandersteg, which is where we were going. It'll only take an hour and like 15 minutes, maybe an hour 30, but it's like downhill, it says. Or like it's an easy path. And we were like, okay, an hour and f an hour 30 minutes, easy, flat path through the mountains, get back down there. Like, that's nothing. Like, that's so easy, so pretty. Or a 30-minute walk uphill where we're dying. Yeah, let's take the easy path. And it was like, I don't know, three o'clock, maybe. We were like, we got time. Oh my god, we were in for a treat. So we start walking. It's this big, nice, flat, paved path. A lot of people on it, kids like strollers. We're like, oh my god, why isn't everybody doing this? Well, because we quickly found out why. So, um, we start walking, and it's like great. We soon hit the trail that is meant for hikers with sticks. And like I said, I already mentioned my outfit to you. Oh, keep in mind, I'm also in platform shoes. So my balance isn't great. And for I would say the next hour and 15 minutes, we're walking straight downhill, going zig, zag, zig, zag, zig, zag, rocks, dirt, leaves, stick. I mean, like every, and I mean this, every single person that walked by us was in a full hiking gear, hiking boots, sticks. I'm in a short black dress with platform flip-flops on. Nate, I mean, he's dressed correctly, but he's carrying my backpack and my purse because my mom and I were literally, it was so steep. Like, if I had a backpack on, I would have fallen. Like, because of the like weight or gravity or whatever was pushing me down. It was honestly, like, I don't want to, like, I don't want to sound like a brat, but that specific part was miserable. It was not fun. And I was, and like, why is like walking downhill at that level, like that steep, is hard. Like my legs for four days after that were not okay. Like, yeah, my heart rate wasn't up, but I was still sweating. My legs were sore, like, oh my god. It was we were so dead. Well, okay, we. When I say we, I mean my mom and I. Nate was like literally fine. We were so dead by the time we got back down to Kanerseg, but then we rode the train back to um Lauderbrun. And what did we do for dinner that night? I don't even. Oh, Nate and I then went on like a date by ourselves. We went to this place with pizza and brought our leftovers back for my mom. She was just at the room hanging out, and then we played cards again. That was just kind of a chill night because we were like, we endured a lot today. Um, then sorry, um, the next day, we head into Italy. So, alright, we're 40 minutes in and I'm just now getting to Italy. Okay. We went to Lake. I'm gonna try I I actually am gonna try to keep this short. Oh wait, I forgot something. Oh my god. Okay, the the morning we left Louderburn, Nate and I took the train up to Wengen. Wengen is this like small mountain town, like way up in the mountains. So we took this train that was like 10 minutes up there and then we hiked down. It was like an hour and a half hike. Okay, I can't okay, you guys, like I might have to make a part two. Like, I actually think I might make a part two because this this actually will be like over two hours. I'm not even joking. Okay. That morning we rode the train up. Okay, listen to this. So I had to buy tickets. Okay. Oh my god. Do I even want to get into this? Yes, basically I got yelled at by a German man. Okay, so it was not fun for my train tickets. I I guess bought the I was trying to buy the eight o'clock train. Well, by the time I got to the eight o'clock train, it was like 7.59 or something, and it because we basically just walked to the train station and then saw when one was gonna leave, and then we're just gonna like hop on and buy the ticket. Well, I guess by the time I went to buy the ticket, it was like 7.59 or 8. I don't know. And so I was sitting on the train, like trying to buy the ticket, and it was like not letting me in. I was like, okay. So I was like, it's like 10 minutes, and if you've ever rode in these tra ridden these trains, like you know, like they don't always honestly, like most of the times you ride them, you don't get your tickets checked. Um, at le especially for these like little ones, like it's 10 minutes, like, and it's 8 a.m. Like no one's gonna check our tickets. Well, this man comes through, and I say German, we were in Switzerland, but we were in like a German, a very uh German heavy part of Switzerland. Everybody like spoke German. And he gets on and he's walking through taking tickets, and I'm like, shit, Nate, like I don't have like I don't know. I I don't have them. And I was like, I'll just explain it to him, and then like if I if he wants me to buy a ticket, I'll just like buy a ticket that's the same price for like another train, but like whatever. He goes up, he comes up, he's like, tickets. I'm like, okay, I was like, when I tried to buy the time for our for this train, like it wasn't popping up. And keep in mind, big language barrier, right? So he hears the word time and he goes, You didn't have time? And I'm like, no, no, like the the time that I tried to buy it for wasn't available. And he was like, Five thousand people a day don't have time to buy their tickets, and they just ride these trains for free. Like, it's not okay. And I was like, No, no, no. Um, and and I'm I'm being calm now, but I I was like getting very flustered. Um, I was like, no, like I okay, do you like do you want me to just buy a tra a ticket for the 830 train? Like it's the same price. Like, I'll just do that. And he was like, no, you cannot be on this train if you did not buy the ticket to this train. And I was like, okay, um, I was like, well, I don't know what to, like, it wasn't popping up. Like, let me just buy another ticket. Like, I'm sorry, like, I'll I'll get off and like I said, I said, like, can I pay for it now? Like, whatever. And he was like, no. And he pointed back to a sign that's on the train that says, like, riding your train without a ticket, you get fined 250 francs. Or is that what they were called? Yeah, Swiss francs. And he like points at that and he's like, big saying, like, I'm gonna fine you. And I'm like, no, no, like, again, trying to explain it. And he's like, show me your QR code. Show me your QR code. And I was like, I don't have one because I didn't buy one for this train. And he was like, saying, like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna make you pay this, whatever. And I was like freaking out. I'm like, no, no, no. Nate literally grabs my phone, holds it for two because I'm like also like talking to him and like clicking around on my phone, trying to like. Find a QR code that doesn't exist and hoping that I can just like get off the train and run. Um, and Nate literally grabs my phone within two seconds, pulls up a QR code, the guy scans it, and all of a sudden the guy's like, Okay, thank you, and moves on. And I'm like, What? What what did you just do? What just happened? So we bought a Europ or like a EuroRail pass, which basically means we had we paid for seven days of travel, and in those seven days that we chose to travel, um, like our travel days, we got unlimited trains. And since we were leaving Lauderbrun that day to go to Italy and we were using that as one of our travel days, that train, like we had unlimited trains that day. To my defense, I knew this and I looked up this and it said the the 10-minute train from Lauderbrun to Wengen is not like a route in the Europass. So when he's like, I I need a QR code, I'm like, okay, yeah, I have one, but it this this route isn't like isn't valid for this pass. But Nate still just showed him that QR code and he was like, okay, that's fine. So I wasn't like completely stupid, but like I should have just like tried it. But that was scary. Like I was it was 8 a.m. and I'd already been like screamed at, like, I'm gonna make you pay this, and I was like freaking out. It was it was a little too much for the for the morning, but anyway, we walked down uh and we got breakfast and coffee in that cute little town of Wengen, or as the Germans pronounced their W's as V's, so Nate kept calling it Wengen. It was so funny. I'm like, okay, I don't think this is actually what it's called, but um, it was like an hour and a half, and this was two days after, no, the next day after the hell we just went through the day before, my legs were not okay. I found a walking, like a stick that someone had left, like a like a literal stick, like from a tree. But it was like in the shape of a walking stick. So I used that, like I'm so dramatic. And we passed, like, we were going down, keep in mind. We passed so many old, like elderly people, like full gray hair, going up. And I'm like, okay, I am such a wimp. Like, how are they doing it? Keep in mind, they were going really slow, but like, even if I was going slow, I'd be dying. So we went down and I was like grabbing onto the rail. And again, I wasn't like tired and my heart rate wasn't up. My legs from the day before were not okay. They were hurting so bad. I like how to take breaks. Like, I know, it's embarrassing. But anyway, we got back, we left Lauder Bruin, and we went to Italy. Um, we went to Lake Como, which was my favorite Italian city that we went to. So we're really starting off strong. Um we stayed in so Lake Como's made of like a lot of different villages. We stayed in Bolano, which is very like small, but it was super um cute and like not busy at all. And again, there was like three restaurants and we like ate at them all. So that was probably our worst meal that night, though. And it was because Rick's never been to Bolano, so he didn't have any recommendations, so our food was bad. But um, we had dinner, we sat on our patio, we had like the cutest Airbnb. It was really small, but it had a patio that looked out onto Lake Como, so it's like that's all you need. Um, we had wine, played cards, and that was that night. Then the next day was our one and only full day in Lake Como. So we took the ferry up to Bellaggio, which is a very popular like Lake Como village town, and that was incredible. It was the cutest. It was like, it was so cool how in such in just a day we could flip from like mountains of Switzerland and blue and white and perfect to Italy of like red and orange bricks and yellow, like it was so cool how we could just like do that so fast. I don't know. I I thought it was fascinating. So all of a sudden we were just like in the Italy vibe um with cobblestones and whatnot. So Bellaggio was really cute. We walk we basically just walked around and we went in a church and looked at little shops, which is like my favorite activity to do, is just like pop into little shops and not buy anything and just look around. Um and then we had good pizza at this restaurant for lunch. And then we is that all we did? Yeah, I think then we oh yeah, we went back, um, rode the ferry back to Balano where our Airbnb was, and our Airbnb actually had a private beach. Um, it was like for a few. There was like a hotel connected to our Airbnb, or maybe our Airbnb was a hotel, I don't know. But it was like for those guests. So there was other people on the private beach, but it was still like very private, and we were like one of like four people. So we had chairs and just sat on our little beach of Lake Como for a couple hours for an afternoon. It was really nice. Um, Nate and I got in the water and it was freezing. I like wanted to like swim and be cute, and it was literally impossible. It was so cold. Keep in mind we're in northern Italy in May, so yeah, it's gonna be cold. And then we went to this place for dinner that I saw on TikTok. Um, my food was fine. Wait, that was the night I just got brucetta for dinner. Also, my two favorite things this trip a Hugo Spritz and Bruschetta. I ate those two things every single day. Not even a joke. Sometimes I had bruschetta as my meal, sometimes as my appetizer, sometimes as a snack. It was amazing. So then we again went back and had wine and played cards and sat on our patio. Then the next morning we got up and went to Venice. Um, Venice was my mom and Nate's favorite Italian city, if I'm not mistaken. And oh my god, I'm starting to feel like I should just like do a part two. But I'm leaving for the weekend. Like it's already 10 o'clock. Like, I need to go to bed, I have to work tomorrow. But I have to leave I'm leaving this weekend and I won't get back. Okay. Wait, let me see. Sorry, just a little just a little administrative pause. One, two, three, four, five. Okay, if I get through Venice, then uh in the next episode I can talk about Florence, Pisa, Chinkateri, Milan, Lucerne. Okay, yeah, I'm thinking that. I'll I'll keep you guys on your feet and I'll I'm gonna I'm gonna make this two parts, but I'm gonna talk through Venice first and then um film okay, whatever. Okay, sorry. My god. Oh my god, my brain is all over the place. Um, okay, so Venice. So we went from Lake Como to Venice and we I guess what was it like once a month or something, they shut down the canal. So if you don't know, Venice um has no cars. It's completely it's only accessible by boat. So the roads are canals, and you get on a boat and go somewhere, and that's how you get places, or you walk, obviously. So I guess the canal was shut down for like an hour or something, and it was like 2.30 to 3:30, and we literally got in on our train at 230. So we were like, we don't want to sit around with an hour for our luggage. Our our um hotel was only uh, I don't know, like 24-minute walks. We were like, let's just walk. Holy shit. It we were drenched in sweat by the time we got to our hotel. Because although Venice is flat, because it's all like on the water, there are so many bridges, of course, to go up and over the water, and it was busy. So we were like lugging suitcases up these stairs, down these stairs, up. Oh my gosh, it was hard, but we finally got to our hotel, and I I I honestly don't know which hotel was better: the Venice Hotel or the Lauderbrunnen Hotel. It was like they were amazing. So the Venice one was so cute, right on the water, of course, as everything is. It had this little patio area, which if you follow me on Instagram and TikTok and whatnot, you probably saw um that little patio area, but it was a patio area right on the water with four chairs. We sat there every day that we were there. Um and what did we do that first day? I've gotta think. Oh, we honestly, I think we just went right into like dinner time. I forget what time it was. Sorry, I'm like blanking on that first day. Oh no, yeah. We got ready and so this thing called chicetti is like little appetizers that you like walk into a um, well, like a chicetti restaurant or whatever store or whatever, and they have all this like appetizers. Most of them are or all of them are on like a little piece of bread. So like what brucetta would come on, like that's what the type of bread it's on. And they're topped with all these different things. I mean, anything from like caramelized onions to like my mom had whipped codfish to basic salami to hummus and veggies, like they have every topping. Um, some a little scarier than others. Scarier, I mean like out of my comfort zone. So we went on like a little chicketti tour that Rick Steves had recommended. We went to three, well, three or two places. I don't know, two or three places. I was feeling like not great that night. Um, so we had met friends earlier in the day, and so my mom like went and kind of hung out with them for the night. And Nate and I went literally went back to the hotel and got food like in a to-go box. Anyway, we went to the first Chiquetti place, and I'm like blanking on what we all got. I know we got hummus, and I liked that one. They my mom and Nate didn't really. There was one with like onions and something that I liked too, but there was one that I really didn't like. I I I really should have done this episode with my mom. Maybe I'll do part two with her because she would like know this way better. But anyway, we did a little chicketti tour. So we got like, you get like these little pieces of bread and you munch on them and share and then move to the next place. It's a really fun idea. The the next place we went to was all like fried chicketis, so it was really different. So we got fried mozzarella, fried caccioi pepe, which is like um black pepper and cheese pasta, and fried ham. And we tried all of them. My favorite was the fried mozzarella, obviously, just like basic, but um, so yeah, we got to try both of those. And then, like I said, my mom went with our friends that we met on the train, and see, that's a whole nother story. I just like completely forgot to talk about, but it doesn't really matter. We met a couple from where were they from? Texas, and she asked me to um help her with the train tickets, and so I helped her earlier in the day. Actually, that's a funny story. Oh my god, you guys, I can't freaking do this. Like, seriously, my brain is a mess. Thank God I decided to do two parts because I could not do this all right now. But yeah, his okay, the the story of it meeting our friends. So it's this couple from Texas. Um, she, the wife comes up to me at the train station. She's like, hey, are you guys going to Milan? Because we had to go through Milan to get to Venice. We were like, Yeah, we are. And she's like, okay, we like missed our train and now we're trying to, I'm trying to like figure out how to get a refund on our tickets that we missed and get tickets for this next train. And I was like, okay, I can help you. And so I sit with her and I'm like, okay, you you already got your tickets for this next train, so you're good to get on. Once we get on, let's figure out if we can get you a refund. So long story short, she tries and tries and tries to get a refund on these two tickets for so long. And she had, she was with, they they weren't married. She was with her, it was a couple, they'd been together for two years. They're like a little like older, like they're not like a young couple. Um, they both have like separate kids, you know, they're dating, they met at work. So they don't have like shared logins and stuff. So she was trying to log into his account, and he couldn't remember his password. They, I kid you not, they reset the password four times. And then I don't know how. And I got to a point where I was like, okay, I'm sorry, I don't think you're gonna get a refund. I think you're we were like halfway to Milan at this point on the train, and I'm like, I just want to sleep. Like, no, but she was like, I was like, I don't think you're gonna get a refund. Like, just leave it be. And she was like, okay. And then she'd like sit and try to do it herself and then ask me another question. I was like, girl, finally, she looks at me, she's like, Oh, I got an $80 refund. And I was like, okay, I didn't realize it was gonna be that much. That's actually worth it. So that's that's good. So I was happy for her, but I was like, oh my god. And then I go, You're persistent, and she's like, Yes, I am, and you are too. You didn't give up on me. I'm like, what? I gave up on you hours ago. I was telling you, screw the refund. But I was like, Yeah, sure, okay. So anyway, they were going to Venice too, so we helped them make sure they were on the right train and stuff. And she's like, You're so smart with this stuff. I'm like, really not. It's really just common sense. You just like, she was like, How do you know what train to get on once you get off this train? I'm like, okay, well, you look at the board and you see where you're going, and then you look at what platform you're on. So then you know, okay, if I get off at platform five, I gotta go to platform 10 or whatever. And she was like, Oh, you're really good. I'm like, okay. And she's like, Have you lived here before? And I'm like, actually, yeah, I have. Like, I lived here for a summer. Um, so I guess that maybe helps me a little bit, but it's also like pretty easy to pick up on. But anyway. So my mom hung out with them for the night. They went and got drinks, listened to a live band, um, sat at the St. Mark's Square in Milan. Um, not Milan, sorry, I'm confused on where we're at. Venice. And Nate and I went to this pasta place and got pasta to go in a box and went, well, he got pizza, I got pasta. And we went back and watched TV and ate it in bed and went to bed early. It was honestly great. It's what I needed because I was like not feeling well for some reason. My stomach just hurt. Then the next day, we had our full day in Venice. So um that morning we went to a church. Um, Nate and I honestly just went in and sat in there um and cooled off while my mom like did an audio tour. And actually, so you had to have your knees and shoulders covered, and I was wearing a tank top linen shirt with white linen pants, so my knees were fine. But I brought along a sweater because I knew I would have to have my shoulders covered. So when we walked in, I just threw my shoulder, my sweater over my shoulders, and she was like, Okay, you're good. And then it was so hot that day when we were sitting in the church pew. I had my sweater on the whole time, like I was supposed to, but then we were like getting up ready to leave, and so we all like stood up and I put took my sweater off my shoulders. I know I shouldn't have, but we're we were about to walk out. And so I took my sweater off my shoulders and I was like, Yeah, like we were about to walk out, and then we were like, wait, we should figure while we're in like the kind of cool air, let's figure out where we're going to eat lunch before we walk out, and we're just like randomly walking around. So we stand there for like a couple minutes, try to figure out lunch, and this woman who checked us in that said you're good with the shoulders, she comes in and she's like, or she comes up to me and she's like, again, in Italian, so I don't really understand. But she's like, cover your shoulders, like that's disrespectful. She's like, shoulders, disrespectful, like stuff like that. And I was like, okay, okay, I'm sorry. Like, I'm I know, I know, like, I know I'm breaking the rules, but like I swear we're about to walk out. Like, I don't know. I just felt like in the like in a few days I had gotten yelled at twice about like things that I'm doing wrong. And I was like, oh my god, I'm so embarrassed. But anyway, um, then we went to well, I wanted to just like shop around, of course. So I like popped into some shops, we looked at some like famous bridges, we went and ate lunch by the water. That was really cool. Really good meal. I got my pasta made in like a ginormous cheese wheel that's probably been like aged for like 200 years. I don't know. It was really cool, and it was really good pasta. And we got gelato, and then we went over to St. Mark's Square, which was really cool. So that's where like they had a big campanile thing, basically like picture Iowa State's camp canal, but like that same shape, but like obviously different. And you could go up it. So we went up it. We took this elevator up, and you could do like a full circle around and look out onto Venice and look out into the like ocean. Um, it was it was honestly really cool. And then we rode the elevator back down and just like uh did this audio tour around St. Mark's Square, and he kind of he, this Rick, our best friend, he um explained like all the restaurants and stuff and um like what happens there and the history he's he's very into history. So the history of it all, and then one thing about Venice that's really cool that I thought was the most I I like history, but like some of the stuff I'm like okay, I don't really care like who built that statue on the top of the church. Like but this history was cool. So there's this bridge called the Bridge of Size. S-I-G-H-S-I-G-H-S, bridge of size, like uh, because the the bridge connects the church to the prison. So in the olden days, or however long ago, they would like convict people in the church, that's where they would do like the ruling with the judge or whatever, and then they would walk them, like in shackles or whatever, across the bridge and into the prison. And on the bridge, there's windows looking out into the like city of Venice and into the ocean. And so they call it the bridge of sighs because they say that as the prisoners would walk from the church to the prison, they would look out one last time and sigh before they were going to live their life in prison. So it's a very cool bridge to look. It's obviously, you know, I don't know. It it's cool to know that history. I I thought it was interesting. So we actually went and looked at that twice. Um, once during the day and once that night, we walked back down to that area. So we had dinner at a good place. My mom had shrimp, and Nate had lobster, and I, again, was not feeling good. I don't know what was up with me. So I had a salad. Yeah, I'm literally so skinny. Um I had a salad and um actually like got sick during that dinner. Like, like literally, like threw up sick um in the bathroom. Yeah, I don't know. I was that wasn't a great night. But then I felt much better after I like went and got a drink, and Nate's like, hell yeah, pu can rally. I'm like, yeah, I feel much better now. So we actually walked back down to St. Mark's Square in the dark because my mom had been there um the night before, and she was like, it was magical. Like I she's like, I don't know how else to explain except magical. So she wanted us to go, so us three went, and it was really fun. We listened to live music. I oh my god, this video of I have a video of this band playing your song by Elton John um on like an orchestra, I guess, or whatever. And it was amazing. I'm scrolling through my phone quick to see if I can find it, but I don't know if I'll be able to. Okay, Florence. Oh, here. Okay, I could like listen to that whole thing again, but um, so it was just like the best vibes. It was like dark, and anyway, so we went and saw the Bridge of Size again, like at night, and it was just really cool. Uh honestly, what that was a really, really great night. Just walking around, exploring Venice, like I I uh just makes me happy to think about it. It was so fun. Um, and then the next morning we headed to Florence. Um, but before that, so To get to the train station, remember we took like a 30-minute walk and on the way to our hotel, and we were like, ugh. But we wanted to go on a gondola because gondolas obviously are what Venice is famous for. But then we saw these really cool, like nice, bougie looking boats. And we're like, what are those? Those were the water taxis. So that's like how you would get around, like uh people like us, like call a taxi. Like you, you like get one of those boats that's like a water taxi. We were like, you know what? Instead of a gondola, let's spend that money that we would spend there on a boat ride to the train station with our luggage, because it's kind of like a two-in-one. Like, we still get like a 20-minute boat ride, which is what it would be on a gondola, and we don't have to walk with our luggage, we can just get dropped off right at the train station. So we did that on the morning we left, and it was amazing. Like, it was so freaking cool. And like it's easy for me to say because I'd I've been to Venice before and I've been on a gondola. Um, and so it was like, yeah, I've already done it. Like the other, like Nate and my mom, like they hadn't done it, but still, the the so I'm lucky that I got to do both, but the water taxi, it was really fun. Um, okay, I'm gonna do the second half of the trip in my next episode, but I do have to say one more story about Venice that was funny. So there was this front desk. Oh, I should say the the um hotel we stayed at was La Conda La Courte. If you're ever in going to Venice, like stay there. It's it it's perfect. It's incredible. And it was so like small, like we were literally in room number one. And like on our floor or whatever, it was literally like one, two, and three. Like it is really small, but like like Rick, you know, he like I said, he loves like supporting local and whatever. So there was this worker named William, and he was so sweet. I think he was like younger than me. Like he looked like he was only about like 19 or 20, but he was like this young kid who just worked the front desk at the hotel. But we loved him. He um was so like interested in the United States. He's now see my mom would know this better. I don't, or Nate would too. I don't remember if he said he had been to the United States. I think he said he had been to LA and he thought it was dirty, and we were like, Yeah, don't go to LA, like there's other things to see. Um and he was like very fascinated by like the US, and we we talked to him about um where he grew up and stuff and where his family's from. So the first night that we were there, the night that my mom was out with our new friends, and Nate and I were in the hotel room, our hotel, the main door locked at 10 p.m. So then you had to have like an not only a room key but a key to get in the main door at the hotel. So, and by key, I mean like a literal physical key, like they don't do key cards over there, it's like an actual key. And we only had one of those. We had one room key and one key to get in the main door, and it was like 9.55, and my mom was still out, and so I was like, shit, like I want to go to bed, but she's gonna need let in. And I was like, I wonder if I can go like put the key somewhere. So I walk down. This is what I'm wearing. A t-shirt. Erlum the H is Silent shirt. In size like two or three X, okay? It's like matt, it's like a massive sleep shirt. And um shorts or yeah, no, I was gonna say on No, I did not go out in my underwear. Definitely shorts, but like my shirt is big, so it's like it looks like I'm not wearing pants. Glasses, retainers, okay? My retainers are in, I'm slurring with my retainers. My hair's in a bun, glasses on, skincare done. Like I'm like about to fall asleep. And I'm like, I'm gonna go see if I can put this key somewhere. I walk down and I catch William like getting off of his shift at 10, and he's still in his like suit. They they were like really nice stuff. He was in like a full suit. He was still like in his suit and he had like his phone and his bag, and he was like walking out and shutting the lights off in like the lobby. And I'm like, he's like, hey, and I'm like, hey, I'm wondering if I can like put this key somewhere for my mom because she's not back yet. And he was like, Oh, um, here, follow me outside. Let me see, let me see if we can find something. And I'm like, okay. So I follow him outside, and we're like, William and I, he's so sweet. William and I are like looking around in the dark, like trying to see if there's a spot. They don't have like a rug that I can put it under or somewhere. Like it there was nowhere I could put and he was like, There's this restaurant right here, and I know the owner, but like he's not open. And I'm like, I know, I'm like, there was nowhere around that I could like hide it. Not like a plant, not nothing. And I was like, okay, like that's okay. I'll I'll just I'll just wake up and let her in when she comes back. Like, it's fine. And he was like, I'm sorry, like I really want to help you. He's like, I I could put like an envelope on the door with her name on it, but like I don't think the manager would like that. And I was like, no, no, no, William, it's okay. Like, I feel so bad. He's like just trying to go home. He has to like walk home in the dark, and I'm like, making him stay up to like whatever. This is the funny part. A couple walks by, man and woman. They see William. William and I are just outside, both like with our heads looking on the ground, like trying to see if there's a spot I can hide the key. And she goes, the this woman goes, Oh, do you guys want a picture? I'm like, okay, first of all, keep in mind, William is in a full suit, and I told you what I looked like. And we're like, we both laugh, and we're like, oh no, no. And she goes, Oh, oh, you guys are in a fight? Okay, okay, not my business, and walks away. And William and I are like, What? We both just look at each other and start busting out laughing. We're like, no, we don't even know each other. Oh my God. It was really funny. So finally I was like, William, you know what? I'm just go home. I'm sorry. I'll I'll let my mom. So Nate let her in later when she got back, which it wasn't even that much later, but and then the next day, of course, the manager or whatever was like, hey, you could just like ask for another key for the building. We were like, okay, great to know. I don't think William knew that. Otherwise, he would have just given me another key, but oh wait, no, that wouldn't have made sense though, because we still would have had to, she wouldn't have had it. So anyway. Um, so that was Venice. That was okay, that was the first half. I don't know why I expected to get all of that done in one episode. I really should have known better. Um, I hope you guys enjoyed. Like, I'm gonna post this and then like I'm go I'm busy. I okay. This weekend I'm going to Clear Lake for Jenna's Bachelorette party. I'm so freaking excited. Like, so excited. Um, so I'm leaving tomorrow after work and I won't get back till Sunday. So Sunday or Monday, or whenever I get around to it next week, I will make another episode or I will uh record another episode. So maybe till then, can you guys like let me know? Like, do you like the in-depth, or do should I just like be like, okay, here's where we went, here's where we went, here's where we went. Um, so let me know. And I have so many other updates, so many things to say, but I'm gonna stop it for now and I'm gonna uh make you wait until part two. It's 10:03. I need to be at work at 8 a.m. I need to go to sleep. I still need to self-tan. I still need to pack for the weekend, I still need to blow dry my hair, and I still need to pack my lunch. So this is gonna be a fun uh next hour or so. So, anyway, um, thank you all for listening. I will do a part two um in a few days when I get home after my fun girly weekend. I can't wait. Thank you for listening. I hope you're looking forward to part two, um, where I will have many more stories, many more memories. Um, I'll talk about all the new foods that I tried that I have in my notes app. Um, yeah, so this, so I well, you guys know what I talked about. What I will talk about next episode is Florence, Pisa, Chinkatere, Milan, and Lucerne. And Lucerne is Switzerland. So we went back to Switzerland at the end of the trip. But thank you all for listening. I hope you enjoyed. I will talk to you in part two. Bye.