Kissing Europe Goodbye
So this is day 10/12 of our trip; we are currently in Barcelona, Spain and not gonna lie, I am ready to go home! I am so exhausted, but at the same time, I feel a sort of guilt sitting here instead of being outside and exploring more of Barcelona. On this trip, we’ve spent two days in Paris, five days in Switzerland, and four days in Barcelona. These three places are all VERY different and I will do a full post for each of them after I’ve looked through all my photos. 
Before coming on this trip, I worked quite a few days back-to-back to be able to take this time off and then as soon as I get home, I work three 12’s in a row. I would definitely not do that again and I highly advise you not to do that! I was exhausted before even coming on this trip and then here we walked all day through different cities or hiked different mountains and I’m just BURNT OUT… and then I have to go back to work the night after we get home! Not cool.
I’ve also never been on a trip for more than eight days and this is also my first overseas flight, so this is all new for me. I can’t wait to get home and get back into my routine, work out more regularly, and eat home cooked meals. I love having structure in my life and having the same weather for more than a few days would nice too! It was pretty warm at home when we left and then Paris was fall weather, which was great but after a couple days we went to Switzerland and we literally had winter, summer, fall, and spring there! Then we get to Barcelona and it’s hot and humid! I’m just ready for some normalcy lol.
I really did have a great time in Europe but there are a few things that we could’ve done to make it better which I’ll list right down below: 
Me falling asleep on a ledge in Bern, Switzerland
1. Take a day off before and after your trip – you may lose a couple days of traveling but you will be more prepared for your trip and you will probably be much more efficient with your time. I feel exhausted and I can barely stay up passed 10, whereas if your trip was shorter you may stay up later, see/do just as many things but pay for fewer nights at your stay.
2. Choose destinations that have similar weather so you can pack lighter – If you are going to multiple destinations during your trip, it would be wise to not have to pack for every season! We each packed full-size luggage and a carry-on, which made it more difficult for transportation. If you are using a taxi/uber you may be okay, but we used trains and metro stations… horrible idea! My husband says“well maybe you shouldn’t have packed so much”, “well maybe if you would’ve told me I had to carry my own bags throughout the town, I would’ve packed lighter!”, “ok remember this for next time!” Then he carried almost all my bags 🙂
3. Leave some room in your baggage – my baggage was 49.5 lbs., which is half a pound less than the limit… which means I have no room for shopping BUT my husband’s was only 40lbs. which is good for me because Barcelona had some GREAT deals!
4. Measuring Luggage – Make sure you measure your luggage at home before you start packing. Also if you have more than one flight (we had four) make sure you check all of their websites for carry on sizes and things like that. When we were boarding in Switzerland to go to Barcelona, my cousin who was with us, had a carry on that was slightly larger than they allowed (and apparently too heavy?) so she got charged $60 to make her carry on a ‘checked-bag’. Had she known before she could’ve paid for it online for only $30.
5. Airbnb vs. Hotel – We stayed at a hotel in Paris because it was decently priced and then we stayed at Airbnb’s the rest of the time. Personally, I prefer a hotel over an Airbnb because I love the feel of it, the fresh towels, made beds, the service, in general, makes me feel like I’m on vacation. However, if you are trying to save money, traveling with a group of people, or staying for a longer amount of time it would probably be good to try out airbnb. It’s cheaper, usually fits more people, and has a kitchen if you want to cook your own meals. I don’t like to cook my own meals on trips because I feel like it takes away from my ‘vacation’ time lol. I’d rather try something local and not have to clean up and do dishes after cooking a meal but if you’re trying to save money, it is definitely worth it!
6. Comfort over Fashion – soooo I’m not sure how these fabulous fashion bloggers do it but I absolutely cannot walk around town in heels for a whole day.. maybe a couple hours, if that lol. I’m the kind of person that if my feet hurt or if it’s too hot/cold, I have a hard time being motivated lol. I did attempt to wear some comfortable heeled booties to the Louvre and lets just say my ticket was basically a waste of money because I just wanted to go home and change the whole night. All I did was look for a place to sit the whole time and at one point, I even sat on the floor and then I walked to the hotel barefoot lol so I learned my lesson and chose comfort over fashion from then on. 
There’s so much more I could say about our trip but this post is getting a little lengthy so make sure to check back for my detailed posts about each place we went to! As always, comment down below if you have any questions or suggestions!
Love, B