Mauritius

Another favorite place! I'm starting to say that about a lot of places. I was lucky enough to go here twice in a row! Both times, I ate way too much at the buffet and will forever be craving the bread pudding they served at breakfast. Both times, I surprisingly didn't get sunburned at all. I call that a successful trip.

On my first trip there, we arrived late morning. We get to stay at a beautiful resort with its own private beach and bungalow rooms with private balconies or stairs down to the water. Most of the crew had been there before, but a few of us hadn't and decided to go on a speedboat tour around the island.

We stopped for some snorkeling and it took me forever to get in the water because it was really cold, and I'm secretly really scared of the ocean. I'm also a really bad swimmer so I swallowed a lot of water once I got in, but the water was so clear and pretty. After that, we went to a few more mini islands to walk around and take pictures.



The second time I was there, I just relaxed on the beach, read my book, and drank beachy cocktails. I've been really stressed this month with flying, so these trips were much needed breaks. A crew friend told me to think about Mauritius every time I'm about to lose my mind on a crazy flight, but it's easy for me to forget. So the next time I'm ready to explode on a flight, I'll try to think back to my two blissful days on Mauritius...

Frankfurt & Glasgow

More catching up! I didn't do anything too exciting in Frankfurt or Glasgow, so I'm combining the two.

Frankfurt, Germany

Now I've been to Frankfurt twice. But the second time, I slept for 16 hours straight because I had just come back from a 16 hour flight from being home on leave the night before. So I'm not counting the second time.

 The first time, I went out with a group of girls from my crew. We climbed three hundred and something steps up the church tower at the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew. It was a narrow spiral staircase with tiny slits for windows. I never knew I was claustrophobic until midway up that climb when I started panicking because I couldn't see anything but the few stairs in front of me. I pulled myself together, made it to the top with a better butt and legs than I had at the bottom, caught my breath, and took in the great view of the city.
 
Unfortunately, we had to go back down the same way we came up. I was hoping to fall and roll down the entire tower so I wouldn't have to fly the next day, but the only thing that happened was getting dizzy from the constant turning. We walked around the city that felt like a giant mall because there were so many stores everywhere. We made it to the main square that actually looks like Germany with the old-style architecture, and I ate a German hotdog and German gelato (actually the same as Italian gelato) while I watched the girls trying to perfect their selfies. One reason I usually don't go out with other crew is because most of them care more about getting a good picture of themselves than actually enjoying the place, and it drives me crazy.

After they got their selfies (casually looking away from the camera like they don't know it's there), I went my own way and shopped around a bit before walking back to the hotel. I'm sure there are more things to do there than shopping, but I didn't look up anything before I went and decided to wing it. I don't mind going there, but I wouldn't ever ask to go.

Glasgow, Scotland

I requested this flight and was so excited to go and see the country I "thought" my family mostly came from (more on that later). All I ended up doing there was shopping, but I liked it more than Frankfurt because 1) I blended in with everyone. I'm not the palest person there or the only one with red hair. 2) I can't get enough of the Scottish accent, even though sometimes I can't understand a word, and 3) Scottish men are beautiful. Need I say more?

A lot of girls from my flight were from Glasgow, so they were going to see their families. The other crew had plans and I wanted to go out alone anyways, so I did. I walked from the hotel to Buchanan Street, a long road of shopping and restaurants. I didn't take my camera with me, so sorry for the not-so-good quality phone pictures. It was my favorite kind of weather: raining and just the right amount of cold. I shopped, ate lunch, had coffee... It wasn't anything exciting but it was a nice day.

 

Unlike Frankfurt, I would ask for this flight again so I can see more of the city or do a day trip somewhere close by. The people are nice, the city is a cool place to walk around, and I liked the gloomy weather. I'm on a roll with this catching up stuff! Next up, Moscow.

Oslo, Norway

I'm the worst at keeping up with this blog. Anyone who reads my posts knows this by now. So here I am, trying to catch up on the last two months of places I've been. Starting with...

Oslo, Norway

Like most places I fly, I only had twenty-four hours to see the place. I actually went out with other crew this time and we were going to take a boat tour of the fjords, but when we got to the harbor, the tickets were sold out. After another twenty minutes of deciding what to do, we took the local ferry to an island called Hovedøya. 

I found my future getaway cottage there, a perfect white house with a yard full of puffy flowers, and only a five minute walk to the beach on one side and the dock on the other. If I ever go missing, I ran away and I'm there. This is the only picture (below) I took of it for some reason, so use your imagination for the rest. 

The island also has the ruins of a monastery from around 1100. There isn't much left of it to see, but the little tower is still standing and the brick walls are covered in pretty little flowers and grasses growing over them.

Inside of the tower

We walked down to the beach and sat there for a while. The weather was warm-ish in the sun and chilly in the shade, but the locals apparently thought it was perfect weather to be swimming. I felt the water and decided they were crazy. I would freeze to death if I went there in the wintertime. 

We left the perfect little island and went back to the city for some dinner. I don't know what authentic Norwegian food is... But we ate at a Scottish bar and I ordered French fries so I'll have to wait until next time to try some Norwegian food. I expected it to be dark when we left the bar because it was around 8pm, but the sun wasn't even going down yet. It didn't set until around midnight, and came back up again before 4am. That was the weirdest part about being there, but it was really cool to be up at midnight and the sun is barely set. 

I didn't get to see the city on this trip since we went straight to the island, so I want to come back here again. The people were really friendly and so, so tall! I feel like a giant in Dubai and come to Norway and I'm tiny. Overall, it was one of the most beautiful places I've been. I say that about almost everywhere I go, but it just keeps getting better!

Sunset at Midnight