Oh the airport... And air India

So. Melanie flew in to Newark this morning and met me at the air India ticket area. Little did she know. I had gotten in line with a very non diverse crowd. When they say air India, that indeed is what they mean. I fly alaska airlines and don't expect to see 100,00 alaskans. But I suppose international airlines are different. After meeting a colorful security guard who helped make our 1.5hr wait go by, we proceeded to grab a cocktail at the bar. We're making some German friends already! They laughed at us when we told them we were going to Oktoberfest. So touristy haha. But I suppose we had already made ourselves put to be 'those girls' on this trip. Ahhhhh so excited. More to come soon. I await the air India mascot on the plane that my aunt told me is quite a hoot. Love you all and hasta la vista!

Muah, Karin

Less Than 48 Hours!

It is finally here! I feel as though we have been counting down forever. Maybe we have been haha. I am done working which is great and am cracking down on the packing. Bags in which I put stuff have become an issue; Melanie and I have been sending each other pictures to compare how big of a bag each of us is taking...surprisingly they will end up being fairly similar. All the little stuff is being done like photocopying our passports for third parties just in case. It is all those weird things that seem to pop up at the end.

We are meeting at the airport at 4pm on this wed. and then our flight leaves at 6:20. Mel will have been flying all day already to get there from Dallas. We will then enjoy a pre-flight toast and be on our way. Seems surreal. A quick 7hr 40mins later guten tag germany.

And then the fun will begin.

Im sure this blog will soon become much more interesting if we haven't been properly entertaining you so far :)

<3, Karin

ONE WEEEEEK

ONE week from today we will be heading across the pond! Our first stop is to Munich and Oktoberfest. We will be there the last few days of the festival, so people might be tired and need some motivation. That will be us! :) We are also going to come up with fake names so no one really know us!

I have lots to do, little things, but a week isn't that far off. I need to make copies of my passport for Mom and Dad and one for Kare to carry just in case anything happens. Smart, we know! We got matching zip up jackets and yes we are going to be THOSE girls when we are over there! :) But we're okay with that. Alright that's all for now.

ly Melanie xoxo

Ahhhh memories :)

So it's been a rainy few days in dallas, and I don't have anything great to say at the moment except more of WE'RE SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I am going to put up some old school pictures. Some of the best times of my life. Love and miss all the gymcats...

The Crew reunion in Las Vegas-- May 2009

If you're wondering about the Egyptian Head...

It's Bree :)

Homecoming 2008. When did we grow up and

become Alumni? Weren't we just Freshmen?

Team Glitter! We had an on-going TP fight with the

baseball players... They played mean but we had lots of glitter

that still exists on in their lawns :)It's a MIRACLE we didn't get caught...

15 girls laughing... Best late nights!

AHHHHHH C A T S CATS!!!!

People always say we're annoying

because we would go to parties and just hang out with

ourselves... it's true! Hence the picture!

LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL!

ly! Melanie xoxo

16 days, 2 hrs... not that we're counting or anything!

Getting veryyyy anxious! Today Bill said 'Good Luck Europe.' Ain't that the truth! Kare and I together always means that crazy memories will ensue. I have started laying a few things out, and planning a few more things I need.

So far my Europe wardrobe consists mostly of simple short and long sleeve shirts along with 'yoga pants' some new 'boat shoes' aka Sperry's and Jeans. I think we are going to bring one 'cute outfit' if we find some boys, I mean people, that we need to impress! We might look like hot messes but we are going to have a dang good time! A winter coat is in need which is weird considering I have gone 4 years without purchasing one. Along with whatever jumps in my bag. Karin told me NO on the cowboy boots... But I think my UGGs will be making the trip.

Karin is working her butt off at the restaurant and our waitressing skills may come in handy if we go over budget and need some tips. Just kidding! I am starting to get a little worried how I am going to live without college football and Young & the Restless. But I am sure my mom will keep me appropriately updated.

Well that's all for now, I'm assuming we'll be celebrating our 2 wk countdown on Wednesday :) Ps. Gymcats forever... :)

ly! xoxo- Melanie

20 days...Are we there yet?

Less than 3 wks away...I cannot wait. Melanie keeps shopping and I'm getting antsy so that is my mission tomorrow. Lots of layers, some new running shoes and whatever else seems "euro"ish. It's funny because Mel and I keep talking about how neither of us have a very good cold weather wardrobe since we lived in Tucson for so long! I might have to buy myself a northface fleece- so odd haha.

In case anyone was curious, I have become a stellar waitress this summer at Timothy's the irish pub. I can carry a tray of martini's like nobody's business. Oh the things you learn when you graduate ;) Also take note that from this post on, we think we've figured out how to have the bottom of each post say whether it was melanie or I who wrote it. it'll make things a little clearer hopefully.

I miss tucson! I love you all out west and think of you often...get excited for the postcards.

Love always,

*Karin

Making a list and checking it twice...

Went to Bed Bath and Beyond today and it is by far the best one in the world :) They have rows and rows of travel sized items. Kare and I are trying to make lists and slowly start packing. I have been having the reoccurring nightmare about not packing right and missing my flight and not having everything I need. So I am starting a corner in my room for all of my "Europe Stuff." I need to dig up the travel-sized hair dryer and other little ditties. Here is a list of the things I got for us today:

• Tide to-go
• Mini deodorants
• Febreeze to-go
• Tide towelettes that allow you to wash in the sink
• A mini toilet paper roll
• Baby wipes packet
• Hand sanitizer
• Neosporin to-go spray
• Contact stuff
• Some bags that are nice to travel with
• Band-aids
• Foot cream... (for our poor feet from walking)
• Mouthwash
• Make-ups remover/Face wash wipes
• Plastic mirror
• Tylenol, Tylenol PM, Advil and Benadryl
• WISPS-- which are the most amazing things EVER

:) We are soooooo ready to go! We know we are lucky to have this opportunity and way too excited!

The picture explains itself... We'll really miss our other 'person'

xoxo Melanie

everything settled...

alright. we both got our railpasses in the mail, bought our tickets to europe, to athens and back, trains to london and edinburgh and our flights to dublin and then home. phew. I'm thinking that by dec.2nd we are going to be pretty tired haha. Now its on to thinking about packing...thats a whole other animal in itself. 3 weeks...

-Karin

Lots to do!

It seems like Karin and I have been talking about this for years! Now that I think about it, we probably talked about it Freshman year in the dorms. Oh the good ole days! We are starting to make a lot of lists. I told Bill today that I am working on inventing a Mary Poppins bag so that I can have all my cute stuff in a little package, but so far its not happening :) We were reading a website that a girl has written after traveling/backpacking in Europe... she has a lot of things that we would have forgotten about! She also said that she took mock turtlenecks and timberland boots, so we are taking her clothing advice with a grain of salt!

I am getting soooooo excited, I don't think the word excited does my feelings justice! Well pass the word on about the blog, if you know us you know we have NO secrets!

xoxo ---M---

Ps. this is a picture that I found looking at old pictures! During Christmas break we would get really bored in Tucson so we went to the movies looking like this to see what people would do/say. Needless to say it was pure hilarity!

ahhhhhh!!!!!

So Kare already wrote a blog but we are beyong excited! It seems like we've been talking about it for a year!!! This is definitely a chance of a lifetime! We're going to try and update this a lot and figure out how to add pictures! You can live vicariously through us, and we think we're pretty cool! :) We might have to pay an extra baggage fee on our way back when we bring our European boyfriends! But don't worry we're going to be like Mary Kate and Ashley in Passport To Paris... And they don't get in any trouble!

Well bye for now...! Talk soon! :)

EURO-TRIP...

So...Melanie and I decided to be creepers and that a great way to keep in touch while we are traveling for 2 months would be to make a blog. If you are reading this then you must know that you can read it at anytime at melanieandkarin.blogspot.com. I'm sure it will enlighten your life.

We are doing our final countdown til we leave- it's now less than 4 wks away.

Our tenative schedule is as follows:

sept 30- depart the US
oct 1- arrive Frankfurt GER, at 8am.
oct 1- train to munich, spend 3 days kicking things off at oktoberfest.
oct 4- train to paris, france. Spend 4 days.
oct 8- train to bordeaux, wine country, spend 2 days.
oct 10-train to barcelona, spain. stay 4 days.
oct 14- train to nice, france. stay 3 days.
oct 17- train to cinque terra, italy. stay 3 days
oct 20- train to florence, stay 4 days.
oct 24- train to rome, stay 3 days.
oct 27- fly to athens, greece and stay 6 days
nov 2- fly to milan, italy and stay 3 days.
nov 5- train to venice. stay 4 days.
nov 8- train to vienna, austria. stay 3 days.
nov 11- train to prague, czech republic. stay 4 days.
nov 15- train to berlin, germany. stay 2 days.
nov 17- train to amsterdam, netherlands. stay 3 days.
nov 19- train to Brussels, belgium. stay 3 days.
nov 22- underwater speed train to london, stay 2 days.
nov 24- train to edinburgh, scotland and stay 2 days.
nov 26- fly to dublin, ireland. party with kai and his new irish friends for 6 days.
dec 2- FLY HOME.

*all dates are flexible (minus flights) and subject to change due to boy toys, european sugar daddies and random adventures

Bon Voyage!