The "I Heart America" Reunion Tour, Part Two

So, this one time…we drove through 15 states in seven days.  Yes, “we.”  And not the royal kind.  But who would be crazy enough to join me on such a crazy venture? 

Meet Alee and Stephanie.

As a side note, I don’t recommend signing up for a 3188 mile drive unless you REALLY know the people you’ll be in small vehicle with for the duration of the trip.

Luckily, these women had already proven themselves in the “awesome” factor, in addition to being excellent travel companions.  I had the privilege of spending time with both of them in Europe last year, and those are memories I’ll cherish my whole life.

Alee and I spent an amazing, serendipitous four days in Paris, where we saw incredible art and architecture, sampled heavenly cuisine française, and met Rick Steves, among other things.

Yep, that’s us.  And la Tour Eiffel!  No bigs.

I shall forever be grateful that I was fortunate enough to see Paris for the first time with Alee.  I don’t know anyone who savors every experience as richly as Alee does, and it was magical to see my friend’s beloved City of Light with her.

Alee also had the distinction of spending Spring Break 2011 with me, where she earned to official title of “Most Understanding Travel Companion EVER.”  Let’s just say there was a wee bit of a mix-up when I made the reservation for our hotel in Fredericksburg.  Turns out, there’s one in Virginia, too.  It was Alee’s ability to rally—in addition to being awfully convincing on the phone with Rodrigo of hotels.com—and seize the moment for whatever it had to offer that made our re-routing to Austin (during SXSW, no less) such a fun turn of events.

Very few photos exist from those three days, but this pretty much sums up the experience, though “wine” could also substitute for “pie”…

Stephanie and I met up in Europe twice last year, in fact.  The first time was to celebrate her birthday and ring in the New Year of 2011 in Heidelberg…

Memories from that trip include a hilarious shampoo purchase, a hike to a castle, and risking our lives to walk through the chaotic revelry of Germans celebrating New Year’s Eve.  If Germans like their booze, then they LOVE their fireworks.  ‘Nuff said.

 The second time Steph and I teamed up was in the summer to revel in all Italy had to offer…and boy, did we! 

At the Colosseum in Roma

We soaked up sun in Cinque Terre, met THE David, sampled gelato as often as possible, poked the Tower of Pisa, flirted with Italian men, splashed the water at the Trevi Fountain, witnessed a near-brawl take place at a football matched, and generally savored every bite of Italian food we were lucky enough to meet.

Stephanie and I came away with memories of an amazing 14 days, and a shocking number of great photos despite the fact that we carried “half a camera” between the two of us.  (It’s a long story.)

With these two women as companions, I knew our seven day adventure would be a success, no matter what lay ahead…