The day of winning the state championship title, I went on a trip around Europe. My first stop was Dublin, Ireland, but getting there was no easy task. First, we flew to Denver, Colorado, and had a 4-hour layover before we flew to Toronto, Canada. From Canada, we flew 6 hours to Dublin. We got in at 6:50 AM on 3/17/25, which is St. Patrick’s Day. People were flooding in from the airport, from trains, and from boats just to celebrate in Ireland.
From the airport, my mom and I took a taxi to our hotel, but our hotel wouldn’t let us check in until 5:00 PM. At this point, I feel disgusting! I’m covered in airport grime; I’m wearing the same clothes I was in the day before; and I haven’t taken a shower in two days, so I still have sweat on me from the game. Luckily, my mom found a hotel we could rent for a day. It was a half-hour walk, but we didn’t care; we just needed to shower and get some sleep.
Once we woke up, we headed into midtown Dublin, where we met my friend Emily (she and I had worked together over the summer). We watched the parade and had some lunch together. However, I was still very tired, so we made plans for the next day. My mom and I walked back to the day hotel, but then we had to walk back to the original hotel so we could finally check in. I don’t think I’ve ever fallen asleep so fast before!
I woke up early that morning, excited to hang out with my friend. We decided to go to the Dublin Zoo. My first impression was “wow, there probably isn’t going to be anything good here,” but to my surprise, there were many animals, some from Africa, some from Asia, and South America. My personal favorite was the Aye-Aye. I could talk about my trip to Dublin for at least four more paragraphs, but we can’t forget I also went to London and met my grandpa for the first time.
The trip to London was easy, except for having to wait an hour for my bag at baggage claim. We took a taxi to our hotel, and this time we got to check in! On our first full day in London, my mom and I went to the famous Camden Market, where we bought most of our souvenirs for friends. We walked to the London towers and the British Museum that same day. The British Museum is huge! I was there for an hour and a half, and I only went through the Asia exhibit. By this point, my mom’s legs and I were so tired that we decided to head back to the hotel, excited for the next day.
I’ve met my grandpa once in my life, but that was when I was a newborn. I expected my grandfather to be like my dad, rugged, dark-skinned, and quiet. To my surprise, he was quite the opposite. He was the stereotypical jolly British man, not very tall, with very white hair, and with a thick Welsh accent. Grandpa David spoiled me all day. He took us to the London Eye, which is the largest cantilevered observation wheel in the world. The line was super long, but only took us five minutes to get in the bubble. On the Eye, we had a direct view of Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. It took us about 30 minutes to go around the wheel.
Once we got down, we decided to go out for lunch right next to the famous Paddington store! I have never been so excited about eating lunch in my life. I ate so fast just so I could see Paddington. My grandfather is old, so it took us a while to get places. Soon he got too tired, so we decided to go our separate ways. Before he left, I invited him to come to Seward for my senior year, so I hope he comes down so I can see him again. The rest of our trip in London, we did a lot of walking, but not as much as we did in Paris.
The Eurostar is a high-speed passenger train that connects London to big European cities like Amsterdam, Brussels, and our last destination, Paris, France. Riding the Eurostar was super cool. We went through the Channel Tunnel, which is the longest underwater tunnel in the world. It took two hours to get there, but once we arrived, we walked to our hotel, which was only five minutes away.
That same night, my mom and I decided to go see the Eiffel Tower. We took the train and walked two miles. Once we got there, we almost got lost in the crowd of people. It was insane! I stayed at the Eiffel Tower until 8:00 PM. Sparkling lights came on, but they only lasted five minutes. After the lights, we went back to our hotel.
The next day, we went dress shopping, where I found THE DRESS! It was the first one I tried on, and I had to have it. I refused to try on any other dress, so it became my prom dress. The same day, we walked into midtown Paris, where we did a lot of window shopping and eating. My favorite treat there was a beignet, a light, fluffy pastry filled with Nutella. I think I ate like 10 in one day!
It was our last day in Europe, and we had to make sure everything was packed and we had souvenirs for all of our friends. It was very hectic, but as soon as it was done, we had our last meal at a fancy restaurant.
The trip home was the worst! We flew to Boston for an overnight layover, which wasn’t bad; the bad part was when we flew into Minneapolis. We already had a two-hour layover, then we found out that our plane was broken and our flight got delayed by three more hours! Did I mention that my biggest fear is airplanes and that the Minneapolis to Anchorage flight is the worst one in history! (My opinion) It always has the worst turbulence, it’s a six-hour-long flight, I can never fall asleep, and the landing always feels like we are about to crash. I hate it so much.
To my surprise, we got home safely, and I was so excited to sleep in my bed. We got home at 2:04 AM on 3/28/25, making my trip 12 days long, even though three of those days were mostly traveling. I recommend going on spontaneous trips because having things planned means you know what to expect. Expect the unexpected, get out of your comfort zone, live life to the fullest, be someone who can go with the flow. Follow those rules, and you’ll have a blast wherever you go!
