First time traveling alone, first time to Europe, a bit worried I was, since I also had not reserved any hotel. The last time I was out of my continent I had my parents with me, a really great support right beside me, this time was quite different. Early in the morning I arrived to Amsterdam airport, hopefully everything went well, there was a tourist information which I could easily get a hotel, city map and also some info about the trains and trams.
Beautiful city it was, not so many cars like Tehran, but many trams, and narrow streets all stone covered, lots of people riding bicycles, great weather – fortunately no rain at all- and buildings with hundreds of windows in each!
It was interesting figuring out about the trains and trams and finding your way through them, as we have no such trams in our city.
Following the map I could find my hotel, the best part was when I found out my mobile works there! I had no idea and it made me so happy hearing my dad's voice from my own mobile and knowing they can call me anytime, I felt safe this way. Even some of my friends called me, they had no idea I was not in Tehran!
It was really a beautiful city and I wish I had more days over there. I even could find some friends there, the very safe friends whom I could trust, I was so lucky, policemen! What an alone female foreigner really needed in Amsterdam was two bodyguards! There were not in their forms but drug dealers knew them and were afraid of them, they said it's a free country for drugs, but not for all kinds, and dealers are not allowed in every part of the city. That I didn't know! Now I have two good friends in Amsterdam
The next day early in the morning I had a plane to catch, I was joining Vida in Madrid, she was coming from London, I was worried I might lose my plane by not waking up that early, that's why I couldn't sleep very well, I had stress.
Finally I met Vida, we both eagerly needed to see each other, again easily we found a hotel, a very nice one in a very nice place of Madrid, lots of pubs around the hotel and very crowded at nights.
We both had lack of sleep the first day we arrived, so we slept more than 11 hours!!! When fresh, started seeing the city, lots of museums, plazas, nice old buildings, statues, parks…
Nothing very strange about the city, same wide streets that we have in Tehran, only the buildings where different, again lots of windows in each! And lots of flowers people put in their balcony. People looked the same as us, most of them had black hair, same height –in Amsterdam people were so tall – most of them even asked questions in their own language thinking we are Spanish! The bad thing was that most of them didn't speak English, it was a bit hard telling them what we want, we had to learn some Spanish words we used everyday!
The beach was so nice, so crowded, I thought it was gonna rain all the time, instead it was a great weather, even people were swimming and getting tan!
And then came the night we were on the train to Barcelona, just like the time me and Vida went to Goa by train, it's nice having an old friend that you share lots of memories with, this was exactly the same situation, I hope we do it once more
This part of the trip was full of stress, when we arrived to the train station we saw no sign of tourist information! We had to go to the airport and get the info and city map, but unfortunately there was no hotel available, all of the full!!! This was what the lady in information desk told us, all we could do was getting the list of all hotels and get lots of coins to call them ourselves, and make sure ourselves! And we did that! I don't remember how many hotels we called, all I know is that at last one of them had a room! Wow happy we became! We had a place for one night! There was a fair in the town and this was the reason hotels were full.
That night we both suddenly got scared without any reason, it was late at night and there was something strange in our room, we couldn't sleep we were just sitting tight to each other hoping this feeling would go away! That night when I fall asleep I saw Shabnam in my dream…maybe it was her ghost in our room God knows! In my dream she was kept away from us because of her cancer and I was begging her dad to let me see her, and finally I did see her, I hugged her, kissed her, I cried and cried and cried…when I woke up I was feeling very good, because I could hug someone I missed a lot…
The next three days I was alone again, Vida went to Canada, my bosom friend for more than 14 years, we will meet someday soon again, I know it.
Then started my journey again, but this time alone, I was feeling powerful, and at the same time I was beginning to miss my family, my friends, my home! For the first time I missed my home when I was out of the country, this had never happened to me in my previous trips! And that made me figuring out something, that I love my family very much, that I love my real friends, that I should know the price of everything I have in my life, that only being out of the country is not enough, you have to have support, you have to keep your relations, you need people around you. This is the biggest experience ; knowing the price of what you have without losing it.
The last day in Madrid I got to know two Spanish girls, hoping to see them again one day. And on the way back I became friend with Shila, she went to see her aunts and we talked all 4:30 hours on the plane!!
At the airport my parents noticed how excited I was seeing them, as my dad described; I am full of energy now, this trip had given me so much, at the very exact time.
