National Lampoon's European Vacation

It might be the biggest cliché in the world: girl goes abroad with family, experiences new, crazy adventures, and happily returns home with self-discovery, and memorable, yet hilarious stories. It was basically the plot of National Lampoon’s European Vacation, where the family encounters one challenge after another as they travel through England, France, and Germany, except it was my family. Although there were various obstacles throughout the trip, I learned a lot about life: culture, history, food, and most importantly, perspective and the simple necessities. Despite the overuse of the saying ‘life-changing experience,’ it definitely taught me that the best vacation is with family. After spending three weeks out of a suitcase, rotating through …show more content…
Despite a bat chasing us, we managed to get inside the house safely. As we searched the house, all of the doors were metal, the windows were boarded up on the inside, and most of the doors could be locked on the inside. To make matters worse, I sat down and started reading the “Welcome Book” in which stated that we needed to be careful of gypsies, scorpions, and of course, bats. The house didn’t have air-conditioning, where the temperature was about 97 degrees during the night. Five minutes had passed, and the power went out and darkness filled our surroundings. Someone had intentionally turned off the power. I desperately wanted to go back to the United States, but there was no way that my family and I were going to leave at two o’clock in the morning. We all agreed that when the sun first camp up, we would immediately leave. To this day, we still have no idea what happened. Throughout this memorable experience, I learned that the craziest adventures were with family and had caused us to grow even closer as a family, building a new appreciation for what I have in life. The adventure in Vendras, France was definitely beyond any uncertainties or …show more content…
The standing stones formed a circle, revealing all of the forgotten secrets and the overall unsolved mystery. With the bright, blue sky and the birds gracefully flying around the historical landmark, the stones quietly stood all alone on a hill, while being gazed upon by thousands of people. It was almost as if it was a sanctuary full of fresh, green grass with the sophistication of its architectural design, the unique shaping of the stones, and the accuracy with which it was built. The surreal symmetry of the stone’s structure was mind-boggling. With centuries of confusion, it was found that that it was built to align the stones with the sun, yet no one knew how it was used or why it was even built. It showed people the history that it all contained; yet it ultimately created a sense of creativity for the prehistoric stones. Experiencing the breath-taking views of the surrounding landscape of Stonehenge and imagining the rich history that took place there was truly captivating. It showed me that there were a lot of amazing adventures in the world that was full of history, self-discovery, and uncertainties; however, it gave me a perspective on places beyond any