I WENT, I SAW AND I CONQUERED

Well Im back home (finally) in Nairobi...  and lets say a lot has happened since i last blogged... let me see.
In October i took a 17 cities trip Amsterdam, Wageningen, Rotterdam, Hague, Antwerp, Brussels, Paris, Nice, Monaco, Genoa, Milan, Rome, Naples, Florence, Pisa, Venice and it all ended in Birmingham. It was an incredible experience, which was spent in the company of people i hold dear to my heart.
They say be careful what you wish for, let me rephrase.. i think you should be careful about how you wish for what you want.

I have envied all my lecturers for having studied in Wageningen University (Holland) and i so wished that one day i would set foot on that campus. Well i did, but that was when visiting my close friend .. Carole Mench not as a student... (God's sense of humor).

First reunion with Mench after One year.. i last saw her in JKIA Nairobi

Every piece of this Euro-experience was to cherish for a lifetime. The fact that i had to ride a bike when going to the club.... was a completely new phenomenon to me nonetheless i enjoyed it. I bumped into an old friend Liah in Holland as well and she took us round to the Peace palace at the Hague, its a shame i did not run into Bensouda ... The calories!!

Some moments in Holland

I promise you i would not miss something to tell her .. if i am completely speechless... SELFIES!!! Amsterdam was not what i expected it to be...at least vahn Gogh was.. but i enjoyed the truffles and eating thick chips smothered in Mayonnaise..

The fast thalys train.... 3 hours from Amsterdam to Paris!!!! sometimes it felt as if i would burst my eardrums due to how fast it was going... like those Ryan air flights we love too much for the price.Kenya has a lot of catching up to do.. Paris was everything everyone says... i got to the Eiffel tower  and i thought well am here .. so ive seen it then... so i decided to climb up the tower to the top .. using the stairs.. (Kuchoka nayo).. the heavy breathing and panting could only just tell how unfit i was for the task..still... i made it!!! Visited   Notre dame Chapel and it was rich in history and architecture.. i knelt down and said a prayer it was a deeply special moment.. just to also imagine how many more souls had passed through this point i was in.. what was their story??

 Meeting the Osborn's was a very big highlight of my trip,

 not to mention he was my Bishop when i left Kenya, the kids.. the catching up conversations with Ingrid late into the night... (good old days.. just like visiting teaching) South of France was breathtaking... I really want to live there one day.. ( for a month or so).

Sunny day in Nice - South of France

 Monaco is surprisingly smaller that i thought it was. This is the country where everybody is rich!! The kind of cars that roll there ... Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche.. and the frequency of seeing these cars can be likened to seeing a toyota car back in Nairobi.. this Damsel was in awe... Monaco has rightfully earned its bragging  rights.

On my drive to Monaco.. beautiful Cote d'Azur

Airport workers in France decided to strike, cancelling two of my flights to Paris then Milan.. I had to take the bus from Nice into Italy.. for (£17) its good since i got back my £125 Pounds from easyjet.. bargain. I shared this bus with my two friends... dare i say hitch hikers from America. They had been on the road for 3 months... with barely no money.. getting lifts from strangers.. well this was a good depiction of  a YOLO lifestyle. We sang and danced in the bus.. laughing our heads off... listening to the bus driver argue at the top of his voice and finally break up with his girlfriend over the phone ( In Italian which an old lady on the bus was kind enough to translate for us). I almost thought we would crash, he was driving at break neck speed. my travel companions invited me for a 'Burning man' concert while we popped into a McDonalds to get a McFlurry ...but not a chance ... i had the whole of Italy to me for 10 days my agenda was set.... thanks alot to my over-dependence on TripAdvisor.

Italy is the most beautiful place ever... it was like a dream come true..

Shared this with Mench my partner in crime.. :-) Italy is a chilled out place, really home of fashion... Milan. where labels are really labels.. with some sort of very conservative touch..  (aside.. i had my short dress on and they did not let anyone into the Duomo.. so i missed out.. shame) its not over technologized as Holland.. its homely and the men love the women.. Italian men.. smh. I loved Florence.. (which they call Firenze).. it is absolutely impossible to describe this city with words...I took my bargaining skills to the leather market.. where they sold me a bag for 100 euros and i bought it at 25 Euros.. the Kikuyu in me!! i also got a leather bound journal (yes i still write a lot even if not on my blog). next morning it was Pisa then Venice.

Some few tips when planning for a multi country trip.. get good insurance for your travel to cover flights .. hotels etc. I got my money back when my flights were cancelled. Maps are so important, so is asking for people for directions as well. Learn Basic words of the local language so that if there is a change in your travel schedule you can understand. The italian trains get late and delayed a lot...so don't book them too much in advance. Between countries use trains over flights.. since trains take you to the heart of the city whereas the airport tend to be in the outskirts so its an extra cost for Taxis. Always choose an english speaking.. preferably christian backpackers. Use your visa card a lot.. it may cost more but its safer than walking with huge amounts of cash and spare some cash (incase you loose your wallet) in different parts of your bag.You can never exhaust the use of tripadvisor. Stick to the original plan!! its less confusing.. if you use flights book them well in advance they are cheaper.. i got a flight to Schiphol from London for £22. buy light souvenirs like key holders, fridge magnets so that you do not exceed your luggage capacity that is where cheap flights make cash.. excess baggage. always know the location of your embassy in every country or someone else who you constantly communicate with incase you get lost or disappear. Last.. best thing to carry is an open mind and a great attitude!!! then you will enjoy anywhere you go.

Before trip i thought it was about firsts.. first time in another country.. first ride in a gondola... first time on an electric train...first italian pizza in Italy... first time around Europe.. first time in a bag packers hostel, first kiss from a man of a different world (Yes i got one in Venice.. seriously the city of love).

 It was more about.. being grateful. grateful for the chance to experience a new culture, getting so much love and hospitality from all the friends and family that hosted me. The world is indeed a small place its only as big as we let it be.. deep down we are all the same despite borders.. we laugh, cry , love and sleep at night.

It was a test to my friendship as well with Mench, we had hard times on the road.. choosing restaurants, trains over buses.. food, almost missing trains having to rely on her to speak Italian, disagreements on where to visit first.. her being Catholic Rome and the Vatican was quite significant .. while i wanted to visit Tuscany and the colosseum. And the fact that she lost 90% of my photos of the trip.. but i can still smile at her ..lol.  This was a learning experience and i had to accept she was much better at navigating and i planning.

I was truly grateful for the love i felt when i went on my small rendezvous about Europe. I promised my self that if ever any of my friends came to Kenya .. i would play nice host since i figured the love i received was enough to go around. It made me appreciate where i come from... who i am and a sense of Identity was renewed in me. I had several reasons to add to my list of why I love Africa .. why i Love Kenya!

(Peek-ah-boo......)

Naughty Girls...