Sorry it’s taken so long (again) to get this posted. I have been so crazy with all the great things I have been doing!
As most of you know, the crazy Bikshorn family invaded Europe, and it really was the most incredible trip. We began our adventure in Paris where we stayed in an adorable boutique hotel right next to the Eiffel Tower. We explored together by taking my favorite form of transportation, a hop on hop off bus tour! I think it’s my Dad’s new favorite form of transportation as well! We went to delicious dinners and cute cafes. We explored the Louvre and had dinner on top of a modern art museum and could see the entire skyline of Paris. Although this trip was beautiful and a lot of fun, I could not wait to take the family back to “my” city of Copenhagen.We arrived late on Sunday evening, and Benedicte met us at the airport along with her boyfriend Martin and some champagne to toast us all finally being in Denmark together. It really has been long overdue! We went to the hotel in the largest car that I have ever seen in the city, and called it a night. The next morning I went to my psychology class and brought my mom. That class has had a huge impact on me and I think my mom could see that. I think it impacted her a bit as well! After class, we met up with the rest of the family, Benedicte, au pair number 3, Nina, and her husband Jesper (who she met in the states)! Nina and Jesper traveled to Copenhagen from Norway just to see us for about 24 hours. It was so unbelievable to see them. Nina is still as beautiful as ever! They have 2 beautiful children and seem very happy. We all went to a café across the street from my apartment and spent a few hours just catching up.
Once we had enough in our stomachs, we did what we do best… SHOP, and went to the Round Tower! Once you were at the top you could see almost all of Copenhagen. The best part was being able to see to the ocean. More important than sightseeing was of course shopping! I took them down Stroget, which is the big pedestrian shopping street in Copenhagen, filled with hundreds and hundreds of stores! I had to leave the group to go to my next class, and everyone else continued shopping and walked around Nyhavn, which is Copenhagen’s port with all the colorful buildings. I met them later at the port for a traditional Danish meal! It was the best meal I have had is so long. I love Danish cuisine. After we finished dinner, we headed to a bar next door to my house that in English translates to “Happy Pig” and is so much fun. It looks like a dungeon, and it definitely would not meet electrical codes in the states, but they play great old music and serve good beer. After a couple drinks, we headed to the hotel and went to bed. The next morning everyone once again met me at my apartment, and we went to pick up gifts for Nina and Jesper’s kids, and then got traditional Danish hotdogs. After the hotdogs, I had to part from the group once again for classes, and Nina and Jesper left to catch a flight home. It was so wonderful to see them. While I was in class, the rest of the family took a canal tour of Copenhagen with Benedicte. More exciting than the tour, was that au pair number 4, Lone, came in town from Arhus with her husband and joined the party. After the tour, I met up with everyone at a small restaurant, where we had drinks and caught up on each other’s lives. Lone is a mom with twin boys and the pictures of them are so cute. Very beautiful little boys! I cannot wait to meet them. After drinks, we went to dinner at a restaurant where we once again had some traditional Danish food with an ice-cold Carlsberg beer! Lone and her husband had to leave to catch their train back to Arhus. It is over 3 hours by train, and it was so nice of them to come and see us! We had a great time catching up and I am glad they could make it! The next day, we met au pair number 1, Rebecca, and her husband Jesper at the same café from day 1. I had already seen Rebecca, but it was so great to see my parent’s reaction. She really was a lifesaver for our family! She is as beautiful as ever and has 2 absolutely adorable girls! I am really looking forward to visiting them in a couple weeks! After a few hours, au pair number 5, Christina, and her mom joined us! I had also already seen Christina, but it was wonderful to see her mother! She is a very sweet woman! Everyone talked and spent time together for a while. My mom brought Rebecca and Christina tons of Twizzlers, and they were sooo happy! After a while, the boys went to a pub (it was St. Patrick’s Day) called the Dubliner, and the girls went to revisit a store from the day before that my mom loved! After shopping we met the boys at the Dubliner, which was also the finish line of the 3-legged pub crawl! A ton of my friends were there, so I was happy that my mom got to meet some people! We then went to have lunch at a beautiful café that overlooked the crazy streets of Copenhagen. When lunch was over, we took a walk around the canal and saw the castle where the current queen and her family live. After our long walk, it was once again time to drink! We went to a pub near my apartment and drank and talked before it was time for everyone to go. The goodbyes were very sad to watch. I only wish my family had longer to explore this beautiful city that I can now think of as a second home. I may get lost once or twice a week, but I no longer feel like a complete outsider. I think my family felt at home as well!
The next day, I met the crazy Bikshorn family in London. 
I didn’t get in until very late, and we were all very tired, so after a quick sandwich, we all went to bed in order to be fresh for a long day of sightseeing tomorrow. First thing in the morning we went to see the changing of the guard, and then took a tour bus around the city. After a long day of sightseeing we went to Her Majesty’s Theatre where we saw Phantom of the Opera. It really was incredible! The show was truly unlike any other! After the show we met up with Sarah Callahan and her friend from her program at dinner. It was so great to see her!!! After a late dinner, we went to bed and woke up the next day and went shopping! It was just nice running around with the family, although
the boys did not have a very good time! After shopping, Sarah met up with us again for some more shopping then back to the hotel to freshen up and finally went to a great Italian restaurant all together. Dinner was delicious, but the company was better! After dinner, Sarah caught the tube home and Lauren, Mason, and my mom headed back to the hotel. My dad and I went to a bar down the street for a beer. He also decided that it would be a good idea for me to sing karaoke! Although I was a bit nervous (like usual), it was a lot of fun, and the people in the bar seemed to enjoy the young American girl singing! The next day was a sad day, because it was the last day together. We all headed to the airport together and said our goodbyes. It was so hard to say goodbye, but made me that much more excited to reunite once again back in the states!
The next week consisted of tons and tons of work and preparation for my amazing boyfriend Kyle to come visit me in Denmark. I truly could not be luckier! Meeting him in the airport was just the most exciting experience! I have never felt so happy and nervous all at the same time. After 10 minutes everything was completely back to normal and we picked up where we left off! Unfortunately the weather was not very nice, so we spent most of the morning in my apartment, and I let him catch up on some sleep. I decided it would be a good idea to take a walk around in the main part of the city to show him my stomping grounds. I cooked dinner, and then we called it a night pretty early! When we got up the next day we went to the Round Tower and took a canal tour around the city. I had so much fun on the canal tour. It was pretty cold, but it was still pretty enjoyable! After about an hour or so on the boat, we went for a drink at Nyhavn, and went back to my apartment, where I made dinner again and we packed up our bags for our trip to Vienna. The next morning, we jetted off together to the beautiful city of Vienna. We got to our amazing hotel after a pretty scary taxi experience. The hotel is a historical place in itself. It is the Imperial Riding School of Vienna, and it really was beautiful. After getting settled, we headed out to attempt to find our way around the city. We went to an Italian restaurant for lunch after way too much tummy growling!
We then went to Belvedere Castle. When we got there, we realized it had been transformed into an art museum, which we were a bit disappointed about. We left that area and took the bus to a pretty busy area of Vienna. We located where a few things were so that we knew how to get there the next day, had a beer at a local bar, and went back to our hotel. We sat up and talked for a really long time, when we realized that it was pretty late. So, rather than a nice dinner out, we took a walk to Burger King at about midnight and ate in our room. The next day we set off to my favorite museum, the Sigmund Freud Museum, who as most of you know is the father of psychology (at least in my opinion!). I was so excited to be in the same place that he worked and lived. The museum was in his apartment. There was still a room with his couch that he treated patients on, and his chair, and a suitcase with his initials. I get goosebumps just thinking about it! After that museum, we went to an outdoor café for lunch because the weather was beautiful. Blue skies and a bit windy, but it was perfect for a day outside! After lunch we went to the Haus der Musik, which is a pretty hands on museum about all the wonderful composers that came from/had influence in Austria including Beethoven, Bach, and many others! After a pretty quick run through, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the Ballet in the State Opera House, which is the most grand Opera House/Theatre in Vienna. The building was beautiful and very old fashioned and elegant. Our seats were pretty terrible, so after not seeing too much of the first act, we left and went to dinner down the street at a very nice restaurant. We tried some authentic Austrian cuisine and then headed back to the hotel to get a good night sleep before a long traveling day home to Copenhagen. When we returned, we went to Christiania, which is an area of Copenhagen that is considered a “social experiment from the 1970s” and is still going on today. After touring this odd place, we went and got authentic Danish hotdogs, and went back to my apartment for a movie night and an early night sleep. The next day we went to the Carlsberg brewery for the day. The tour was self guided, so we took our time and enjoyed ourselves, but the best part was the beer tasting at the end. I am pretty sure Kyle felt the same way! After the brewery we headed outside of the city to visit Benedicte. After a long afternoon of missing trains, and trains not working, we finally got there. When we made it, we sat around and ate authentic Danish food that would most commonly be made for Christmas in Denmark. It was delicious. Along with the food, came a lot of drinking and talking! We ate and drank all night! When we finally went to sleep at 1am, I was very ready! The next day, we woke up and once again had authentic Danish cuisine for breakfast and then got in the car with Benedicte and Martin and drove into the city. When we returned to the city we went shopping for souvenirs for his family and then just walked around for a while together. After a pretty short last day, I made dinner and we just sat around and talked. The next morning I took him to the airport. Saying goodbye again was very hard, but we just kept saying that I will be home soon!
Not too much in between time, because less than three hours later, I left my apartment to catch a flight to my next destination, Rome. In Rome, I met up with Scott Safron who was on spring break visiting Jason
Keller who is studying abroad in Rome, and Adrienne Nelinson came in to Rome from Florence to visit which was so awesome! It was a Camp Sabra reunion, in Rome, on Easter! The first day, we just walked around and took pictures of some of the different sights, and then went to a delicious and authentic Italian dinner. The chicken parmesan was to die for! We had some good wine, and good conversation, then headed back to Keller’s apartment and called it a night. 
The next day, due to the fact that it was Easter Sunday, we went to the Jewish district in order to get some food. I had the most spectacular cannelloni, and all I could think about while I ate it was how much my mom would love to try some! After lunch we headed out to sightsee a bit more. We went inside the Pantheon, and saw some sculptures that the Romans stole from Egypt. Not long after, we gathered our things and headed to the train station. Keller and Scott decided to join myself and my friend Hayley (who I met up with at the station) on a train to Naples last minute.
When we got to Naples we grabbed a cab and went to our hostel. The hostel was right next to the port which was perfect, because early the next morning, Hayley and I were going to catch a ferry to the lovely island of Capri! After a huge scare of not getting our tickets, we made it onto the ferry for a 2 hour trip across the beautiful turquoise blue waters of the Mediterranean. When we arrived, we were picked up by
our hotels driver, and taken to the hotel. It was so beautiful. Outside our window was a view of palm trees and water. I fell in love with this island immediately. After a little nap, we decided to go for a hike. Our driver took us into town and told us the best way to go. The hike was magnificent. A bit tough with all the stairs, but it was worth it for all the beautiful views. After our hike, we headed back to our hotel and got ready for dinner. That night, we went to dinner at a restaurant that was inside someone’s villa. There was no menu, everything they make that night was specific to that night, and it was the greatest and most flavorful food I have ever eaten. The next day we woke up and headed down to the marina, where we caught a boat to see the entire island. The boat took about 1 hour, and it was so beautiful to be right on the 
turquoise water. I loved every minute and took tons of pictures! After that final day of sightseeing, we took a ferry to Sorrento, where we were going to meet some friends to continue our journey through Europe. When we reached Sorrento we took a bus to a place called Nerano Cantone and found ourselves in a tower type living quarters 
with no internet or cell service. Very interesting place to stay, but it was right on the beach and we spent the next 2 days lying out in the sun. It was then time for our final destination, where we headed to the lovely city of Positano. This city was without a doubt the most amazing city I have been to. It was beautiful and fun and so different from anything I had seen. The buildings were placed on a cliff, and the entire city looks out on to the Mediterranean Sea. I have never seen such beautiful sights. Being my last 2 days, a few of us decided to take it easy by doing a little sightseeing and walking around the town’s small shops and enjoying the beautiful beach weather! The final day of our trip we went to Naples, which is without a doubt the scariest place I have ever been. It is the “headquarters” of the Italian mob, and it is the dirtiest place I have ever been. I will NEVER go back for any reason other than to have another pizza. Naples is where pizza began, and it really was the most incredible pizza I have ever had. I hope you all enjoyed this long post. I want to apologize for taking so long to get it up. There is another one on the way about my trip through Munich… so stay tuned!
All my love-
Alli
