Passover Break: High Point

My high point of my Passover break was traveling in Europe with my friends. We went to five different cities over the span of 10 days: Lisbon, Vienna, Dubrovnik, Split and Nice. I am so appreciative and grateful for the fact that I could travel and experience all of these unique and beautiful cities.

            The first stop was Lisbon, Portugal. We were in Lisbon for three days, and the last day we took a day trip to Sintra, which was about a 30-minute drive away. I loved the Portuguese culture, and my favorite part was the fresh seafood. My highlight of Lisbon was going to this hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Sea Me. I had some of the freshest fish I have ever had in my life. My favorite dish was the sea bass sashimi over seaweed salad.

            Vienna is one of my favorite cities. We went to the Amusement Park, toured Schoenberg Palace and visited the Jewish Museum. I resonated with the Eastern Jewish Culture in Vienna, as my ancestors immigrated from Austria in the early 1900s. I also loved the traditional Viennese cuisine: we got the best veal schnitzel from Café Diglas, and Speunkle was a trendy restaurant with amazing food. I got the eggplant parmesean, and we split truffle mac and cheese.

            Next stop was Dubrovnik, Croatia. Croatia is one my favorite countries ever. Dubrovnik offers such unique culture and is one of the most beautiful, scenic countries I have ever been to. The Old City has stone walls surrounding it, and strolling through it made me feel like I was walking in a scene from a Medieval movie. My favorite part was dinner on Thursday night; we went to Panorama restaurant at sunset, which was prime time for a scenic view that overlooks the entire Old City. We took a cable car to go up, which was so fun and something I will remember forever.

            Friday afternoon we drove to Split, another city in Croatia. Split has West Coat vibes, while still upholding the traditional Croatian culture. My most memorable day of the trip was in Croatia. I went with three of my other friends, Morgan, Dylan and Dani. We signed up for a 10-hour boat tour around the Croatian islands. We went to the islands where Mamma Mia was filmed, Hvar and we went through the Blue Cave. We bonded with random people, who were also on our boat, and we had so much fun meeting new people from all over the world who were also touring Croatia.

            The last stop was Nice, France. We were only in Southern France for a day, but I loved the French culture in Nice and the beautiful and fun atmosphere of the area. We went to Monte Carlo at night, watched two live bands and went to an amazing Italian restaurant, Chez Papa.

            I am so grateful and appreciative to have had the experience to travel Europe and see new countries that I have never seen before. The countries I saw are beautiful, the food is amazing, and I loved being with all of my best friends. I hope to continue to travel the world and see new places.