I have a confession to make. When it finally became clear to us that we were really going to Europe , what scared me most—aside from fitting all my belongings in a single hand-carry—was parting ways with rice for 12 days! Filipinos are notorious for devouring rice in every meal. We just cannot survive without rice—if you know me, you know that this is certainly true for me! And so, even if I was fulfilling the greatest trip of my life , European cuisine just didn’t appeal to me. Cheese? Sausage? Come on, give me some rice! But all my fears about missing rice flew out of the window when we finally set foot in Vienna.  ...

#Europamore,  noun : 1. a word play between “Europa” and “ Pa More ,” a Filipino expression usually attached to a noun or verb to give further and greater emphasis. 2. by far, the greatest trip of Girl Chasing Sunshine’s life Today was a long day.  The moment my passport was stamped by the Vienesse immigration—which was, compared to our ordeal since the Dubai leg of this trip, easy breezy—I felt like I was ready to explore and conquer Europe despite feeling woozy and dizzy because of the long flight.   We were whisked off from the airport to the city via the transportation service we have arranged through our guest house, Benediktushaus.  ...

When I started planning my Eurotrip, I excitedly took out my pen and notebook and scribbled all the places I told myself that I MUST see.  I was almost halfway through a page when I realized that I can only afford to see so much with 12 days!  While I was relatively satisfied with how my 12-day trip to Europe turned out, I am still a little bummed out about skipping some of the European cities and towns I’ve long been dreaming.  ...

#Europamore, noun : 1. a word play between “Europa” and “ Pa More ,” a Filipino expression usually attached to a noun or verb to give further and greater emphasis. 2. by far, the greatest trip of Girl Chasing Sunshine’s life “Europe, here we come!” These were the first words I told myself upon waking up on October 29, 2015. I remember feeling pumped up despite having slept past my lola- vibes slumber time the previous night. I was awake until 2 AM, trying to stuff all my belongings into my cabin luggage and fixing last minute train bookings. It was so ironic that on the greatest trip of my life, I was not able to do detailed planning—like what I usually do—and was forced to only have a hand carry ( insert super sad face here ). ...

Vienna is a truly majestic city . Everywhere we looked brought orgasm to our eyes—it’s a richly decorated city filled with well-preserved architecture and cultural perfection. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any more glorious, we were presented with the most stunning sights from the city’s most popular viewpoint. ...

A dream come true—this pretty much sums up my whirlwind trip to Europe late last year. Never have I ever imagined that I would be able to take this trip in this lifetime, let alone in my early twenties, in my own capacity, and for the most part, all by myself. Like most avid travelers, I’ve always wanted to go to Europe but the seemingly expensive cost of travelling around the continent, along with the difficulties in getting a Schengen visa , held me back. But thankfully, everything just perfectly fell into place this year and I found myself wandering and gallivanting around seven cities and six countries in Europe for 12 days. ...