Day 770: Rick Steves

As much as I feel like Disney has taught me a lot about the countries around the world, specifically those featured in World Showcase, it's an entirely different experience to see those things in person. After all, the Eiffel Tower at Epcot is much, MUCH smaller than the legitimate one in Paris. Then again, how would I really even know, as when it comes to touring Europe, I certainly haven't gotten past the East Coast of the United States. Yes, my family is quite well versed in travel, but that travel mostly occurs during our trips to Florida. Beyond that, I have visited many of the other states including Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, Missouri, Colorado and California, just to name a few. But Europe? Not so much.

That doesn't mean I have no want to go there, although the really long plane ride does throw me off a bit. We all know how much I hate two hour plane rides, much less 9 hour ones. Regardless, my Travel board on Pinterest is filled with unique locations all over the world, including much of Europe.

About two weeks ago I was home for part of the weekend when my Dad suggested that I watch an episode of Rick Steves' Europe with him on Wisconsin Public Television Online. I've seen plenty episodes of Rick Steves' before, which, for those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, is basically a television show travel guide, to say the least. The host, Rick Steves, travels across Europe giving you tips and information on some of the most popular and historic locations. It's really a wonderful show, especially if you're looking into traveling to Europe in the near future.

The episode, on the other hand, that he wanted to show me, was a behind the scenes look at the creation of the show, which I enjoyed greatly if for no reason other than my own work on the SHS 2014 Band Trip Video. I definitely understood the trials and tribulations of rainy days and getting the perfect shot and writing a script, even if I had no lines to memorize for my own production. Still, I was able to appreciate that as a writer.

Then I looked into some of the other episodes online, specifically those on France, which I watched while studying for my French Class (and gaining me a favorite on Twitter by Rick Steves himself!), and the #1 country on my bucket list, Ireland. It literally took him about 10 words to have me more excited about Ireland than before I hit play, but I suppose that's to be expected when one of your favorite actors originates from Drogheda.

The point here is this: World Showcase + Rick Steves + Colin O'Donoghue = Lizzie wants to go to Ireland like no other, even if there's no Ireland pavilion in Epcot (whyever not!?!). Of course, someday I do hope to see the Eiffel Tower in it's full size, but until then I think I'll settle for the scale model and the French film accompanied by an Eat Around the World adventure.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on February 23).