A Summer Abroad: 10 Bloopers and Outtakes

It's been a good run guys, but I'm finally home. I can hardly believe that 50 days abroad have gone by so soon... I'm so relieved to be on this side of the Atlantic again, though. European adventures are great, but planning your own travel arrangements and accommodations is tiring—especially when you're covering 8 cities spanning 4 different countries. I am forever indebted to the people who were kind enough to house me and feed me for part of my stay: Ms. Soreya, Dastan, Nessa, María Jesús, The Vermillions, the monks of Poblet, and St. Anne's College of Oxford. Couldn't have done this without you! Also, special thanks to my parents, who graciously bought my plane ticket.

And now, my parting gift to you readers: ridiculous pictures. Feel free to comment below on your favorite(s)!


10. My Martha Stewart Breakfast at the Hostel— The Garden Backpacker, Sevilla, Spain

To this day, I am not sure how I made this, nor why.

9. Ah, the old "Cut a hole in the stone wall so the tree can keep growing," eh? — Magdeburg, Germany

Because when there's a tree growing below my centuries-old architectural legacy, that's my go-to solution.

8. The Old Salt — Algarve Coast, Portugal

Seriously, it's like they pulled him straight off of the fishsticks box.

7. The Love-o-matic — The Bastei, Germany

For all of you wondering, I fall just short of Casanova.

6. All in a day's work for a Grocery Van Driver. — Barrio de Santa Cruz, Sevilla, Spain

My roommate and I were trapped behind this Mercadona man for 15 minutes
as he navigated this ever-shrinking alley. He did it, though—without even a scrape.

5. The Spanish Hipster — 15-M Protest, Sevilla, Spain 

Marching in a protest? How mainstream.

4. María Vision — Corpus Christi Procession, Sevilla, Spain

Spain's take on religious TV: all Mary, all the time.

3. I am HOMBRE. — Córdoba, Spain

Play flamenco... LIKE A BOSS

2. Easily distracted, much? — The American School of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

I'm fairly certain I couldn't have been any less ready for this picture to be taken.

1. A bullfight, as interpreted by "Los Originales" — Plaza de Toros, Sevilla, Spain

"Hey, in this next photo, let's pretend to stab you to death! It'll be great."

Observations with Trey Gordner: Travel Edition

1) There is great need for live entertainment at airports.

2) I am unable to pass a small child without waving and/or making a funny face.

3) Miami from the sky looks like one big Burn Notice cut scene.

4) A 3-hour layover goes by fast… especially when you are combing other people’s music. Word to the wise, Wi-Fi in some airports automatically allows other Mac users to see/listen to your iTunes library!

5) The Borgias is essentially “Assassin’s Creed: The miniseries”.

6) My competitiveness knows no bounds. Guess who is now in the all-time top ten for in-flight trivia? The girl in the seat beside me cracked up when I fist-pumped. Also, the little seat-TVs had Bejeweled… let’s not talk about it.

7) Delta has ridiculously good in-flight music. There is no shame in trawling it.

8) Beware ticket-activated exit gates in train stations. They will think your rolling luggage is another person sneaking through behind you and squish it, to your great embarrassment.

9) Making bank notes of uniform size and shape is evidently only an American thing.

10) ALWAYS LOOK BOTH WAYS! a.k.a. It is very easy to nearly die when crossing the road in England.

Somewhere down there, Michael Weston is giving DIY spy advice.