The one with my last day in Paris

My last day in Paris was jam packed with activities. First, Courtney and I literally packed up our whole apartment but only after making a last visit to the bakery where we said goodbye to our baker friends and bought one last baguette and 3 wonderful pastries to split. We ate all of them while bustling around our room and packing it up. After we were done packing, we went with a few of our friends on a boatride down the Seine. It was really nice to look at the city from the river for the last time.

After the boatride, we went up by Sacre Coeur to a fondue restaurant known for serving wine in baby bottles. There were 13 of us total there and it was packed because the place was tiny. But we had a lot of fun eating fondue and enjoying our last night with all of us together. After dinner, a few of us went to our crepe stand one last time to buy crepes and then back to our apartment. From there, we grabbed our cheese, crackers, and wine, and headed to the Eiffel Tower.

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect night. There had to have been over 20 of our friends there, people from all over that we had met during our time in Paris. We laid out blankets and joined all the other young people who sat on the lawns in front of the Eiffel Tower and simply hung out for a few hours while watching it light up and then sparkle on the hour. Eventually though, it was time to say goodbye to all my new friends, to the Eiffel Tower, and to Paris.

Courtney and I went back to our apartment, slept for a few hours and then headed to the airport. Coming home has never been more bittersweet. It's been great to see everyone but I miss the bustling city that was my home for 4 months. There is no doubt in my mind, I will go back one day.

The one in Beautiful Nice, France

My final trip during my study abroad semester was one of luxury and relaxation. I'm just going to point out the highlights, not so much the day by day activities. We took a flight to Nice to get there early in the morning and then took a cab to our rented apartment. There were 6 of us on this trip: 5 girls and 1 boy, or our chef as we liked to call Jonathan. We quickly checked out the apartment which was absolutely beautiful; there were 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bathrooms, a really nice fully stocked kitchen, a living room with a pull out bed, TV, coffee table, etc, and then the balcony. The balcony was my favorite part. It didn't have a roof over it like all the others and you could see the glistening Mediterranean below our hill and down the valley full of houses and then hills climbing behind us on the other side. It was absolutely beautiful. The apartment was situated at the top of a hill overlooking everything and the balcony became my favorite place to sit when we got up in the morning and sit when we were eating dinner as well.

Each day we woke up, drank mimosas on the balcony while eating strawberries, and then Jonathan would make us omelets and we'd eat those on the balcony as well. After that, we had the freedom to do whatever we wanted! The first day we had hiked down the nature walk and bought mounds of food to last us the week. So each day we decided whether to go to the pool or the beach. The pool won 4 our of 6 days; 1 of the days we layed out on rented chairs near the water because Nice has very large stones instead of sand, and the other day we went to Monti Carlo in Monaco to see the ritzy city. They were both nice, but I preferred the pool, simply because you could lay by the pool at the top of our hill and still see all the beautiful scenery around you.

During the week, we ate amazing food (we did help Jonathan cook of course, but he really was the main chef for the week), laid in the sun for hours listening to music and reading books or magazines, played games like fishbowl at night, and watched movies. We drank casually, laughed often, and simply relaxed. We liked calling this week in Nice, the vacation at the end of our vacation, and that is exactly what it was.

The one in Rome with the Pope

We got into the Rome train station at about 8:45 Friday night. Just before we got off, we made a group decision to try and make it to the Pope’s procession that started at 9:15 at the Coliseum. It was time to hustle. We grabbed our bags and ran down to the lower level of the train station to catch the metro line B to the Coliseum. We made it just in time but there were tons of people and we had 2 huge luggage bags so we simply had to be aggressive. We got on and before we knew it we got off! We had to go 1 metro stop past the Coliseum because it was closed because of the Procession. So when we got up to street level, we just followed the crowds. As we were walking down a main street, the police stopped all the traffic and then waved in a huge fleet of cars and motorcycles. I bet you can guess who was in the middle! The Pope himself.

We made it to the Coliseum just in time but couldn’t get through security because of our luggage so we wheeled it up the street and joined a group of people overlooking the scene from above. There was a huge platform at the top of Palatine hill overlooking the Coliseum that is where the Pope, the choir, and many other religious and security sat. The Pope’s chair was positioned just below a huge, completely lit cross. Down below the hill at the entrance to the Coliseum, stood hundreds of people each holding a lit candle and looking up at the scene above.

What I thought was going to be a walking procession in song in honor of Good Friday turned out to be so much more. The reason for the choir, the platform, and all the candles was that Pope Benedict XVI was leading an entire stations of the cross service for all these people! It was really incredible. This really nice Italian man standing next to me even gave me his prayer book that went along with the service so I could keep it. So within a half hour of being in Rome, I not only saw the Pope but got to listen to him lead stations! It was quite a night.

About halfway through we headed to our hotel because stations was in Italian and we didn’t understand a word of it. But we were all excited that we made it there and were looking forward to the rest of our time in Rome.

Saturday April 23^rd
We woke up bright and early Saturday Morning, 5:30, so we could make our 8:30 entry time at the Vatican Museum. We made it there with plenty of time and walked right past the 2 hour long line that had already formed, through security, and into the first museum. Now, I was very surprised by the Vatican Museums because I had the completely wrong expectations. I was expecting religious artifacts, works or even almost some sort of religious education class. It turns out that the Popes over the centuries have collected impressive works of art with the idea that the Vatican should house the greatest museum in the world. So I was completely surprised when I entered the first room and saw tons of ancient Egyptian sarcophagi and even 2 mummies still intact in glass cases.

All of the different exhibitions throughout the museum were really interesting though. There was an ancient Greece exhibit, a whole hall with wall high maps of the different Italian Regions. There were statues galore, tons of paintings, and the physical buildings and rooms reminded me a lot of the Louvre because they were so ornately decorated with monstrous paintings on the walls and ceilings and mosaics on the floor. Now a lot of paintings, statues, and tapestries were of religious people or scenes so there was a lot going on and it was religious too which was fitting.

The coolest parts were of course the papal apartments by Raphael and the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. The papal apartments were ornately decorated with the history of the church and were incredibly detailed. But it was the painting of the last judgment in the Sistine Chapel that I will never forget. It was meant to be a warning against worldly pleasures and was really moving in some way. I wish I could have spent more time in the chapel to really understand each painting but there were just too many people in there. One last tidbit of info, I also didn’t realize that it was in this chapel that the next Pope is elected. It was a very cool place to be and see.

After we left the museum, we went to St. Peters’ Basilica so I could pick up the tickets for mass the next day. It was cool because I got to talk to a few Suisse Guards and then go to a special area just for ticket holders. Then after that we went for lunch and then to see the Coliseum during the day.

The Coliseum was just as cool during the day as it was at night. The audioguide was really helpful at explaining what it would have looked like so we could make sense of the remaining pieces. The Coliseum could have held between 40,000-70,000 people. They can’t be sure because so much of the seating is missing; after around 500 AD when the Coliseum was no longer in use, locals plundered and pillaged the Coliseum to use the material in other building projects throughout the city. If only they hadn’t, right? Most of it would probably still be in tact today.

After visiting the Coliseum, we went across the street to see the Roman Forum, which is really just piles of rubble. This was the main city center of ancient Rome complete with temples, buildings for justice, a market, the home of the vestal virgins, and the immense palaces of Palatine Hill. We made it up to Palatine Hill and walked around for awhile up there too. Eventually it became 7 PM and started to drizzle but we were afraid more rain was coming so we picked a restaurant nearby. After another great Italian meal, we got gelato and headed back to the hotel for bed.

Sunday April 24^th
Easter Sunday! It wasn’t the perfect weather starting out; a little chilly with a lot of clouds. I was really hoping it wouldn’t rain but I knew it was going to be a great day regardless.

Mass at the Vatican started at 10:15 but we wanted to get there by 8:15 because we weren’t really sure how seating worked. It turned out it was first come first served, as we had guessed. We waited in the security check line for about a half hour and then made our way into St. Peter’s Square where there were rows and rows of chairs set up. Our tickets actually got us passed the general admission area and up into priority seating! Man, were we lucky. Not exaggerating, there had to be about half a million people there and we were a few of the lucky ones that got seats and so close to the altar too! I could see basically everything from my seat without binoculars or having to look on the television screens that were set up around the square.

Before mass started, different choirs sang Easter Songs, mostly in Latin, but then they also sang “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” which made me feel right at home. Then mass was about to start and in came the opening procession with the Pope in his little Pope Mobile! All of a sudden, when the Pope arrived, all the clouds parted and the sun shined on St. Peter’s Square bright and clear! Everyone was thinking the same thing, “Did that really just happen?” And then it was sunny for the rest of the day without a cloud in the sky. It definitely felt like Easter Sunday then.

Mass itself was about 2 hours long but it was really cool because they did different parts of the mass in all different languages including English for the 2^nd reading. I really enjoyed it and was sad to see the Pope go.

After mass, we grabbed some quick pizza for lunch and started out on the rest of the day’s agenda. First we went to a big Piazza just to walk through it. If I thought there were a lot of people at mass, it was nothing compared to the amount of people walking around Rome that day. The Piazza was packed and we moved on soon after to the Pantheon.

Now the Pantheon was really cool because it is actually round, not rectangular like I had thought and is a Basilica dedicated to Mary. It also hold’s Raphael’s tomb and the tombs of the first 2 kinds of Italy. It was a cool place to visit but we soon moved onto our next stop, Giolitti, for the best gelato in Rome! And it lived up to its fame and really was delicious. Even the cone was amazing! If I had known it was so great, we would have gone there the day before too.

After yummy gelato, where I finally tried pistachio by the way, we went to the Trevi Fountain, which is huge and has water shooting out of over 200 places. The water pours out of and over rocks coming out of the building behind it, complete with statues and plants. If you throw a coin in the fountain over your shoulder, you get a wish and it guarantees you will visit Rome again. The fountain was surrounded by people but we made our way to the front eventually ad threw in our coins. The other cool thing about the fountain is that the city takes all the coins in the fountain and uses the money to feed the poor. It was a fun thing to do and a really cool thing to see.

Then we moved on just a little bit further to the Spanish steps. Why they are called the Spanish steps I have no idea but they are huge, full of flowers, and of course were full of people. We took a little break ourselves on the steps and enjoyed just soaking in the sun and people watching. Since we had finished seeing the main things on our list, we then went to the top of the steps where we found a giant park and we walked around in it for awhile.

Then around 7:30, we found a cute restaurant and sat down to eat our last meal in Italy. We had bread, pasta, and wine and talked about all the incredible things we had done and seen over the past week and a half.

The next morning we got up, said goodbye to Italy, and got on our flight back to Paris. Even though it was such an incredible trip, I was really looking forward to getting a good night’s sleep in my own bed in Paris. Less than 2 weeks left! Where did the semester go?

The one in Sorrento, Capri, and Pompeii

Thursday April 21^st
After a long night of travel, we woke up bright and early, 5:30, the next morning to go to the island of Capri just off the mainland. We made it to the ferry just in time to take it to the island. It was chilly when we took off but we could tell it was going to be another beautiful day!

We were one of the first ferries to the island and we went straight to the island’s main attraction, the blue grotto, Grotto Azzurra. We were the first boat to the cave and a handful of rowboats came straight up to our speedboat just as we got there. The 4 of us got out of the speedboat and stepped right into a rowboat with our guide. To get into the grotto, we had to lie down in the boat and then our guide had to perfectly time when we shot through the entrance just as the wave went out. Once inside, you could see the most brilliant blue created by sunlight reflecting off white sand at the bottom. Everything was dark except the glowing water; it was really incredible. We went around the inside of the grotto twice and the second time our guide sang to us in Italian. Pictures don’t do it justice, it’s really something you have to see for yourself. The way out of the grotto was even harder and it was very clear that if you didn’t get the timing perfect, your boat would be in pieces because the entrance is incredibly small.

After visiting the Grotto, we took a cable car up the hillside to explore the island a little more. Now Capri is a more mountainous island with incredibly steep cliffs that plunge hundreds of meters straight down into the water. There are only 2 beaches on the island and they are incredibly small and all pebbles. There are also lemon trees all over the island and tons of flowers that contribute to the island’s perfumery.

So we walked all over the island and I saw the flower “birds of paradise” for the first time. We walked all over just enjoying the picturesque views and different lookouts. We walked down the corkscrew roads and eventually made it to one of those beaches. We paid 5 euro each to rent lounge chairs and then took a nap and laud out on the beach for 2 ½ hours. We even went thigh deep into the Mediterranean and then saw jellyfish swimming around us! We got out of the water soon after, changed, and headed back to the main road.

Near the cable car, we went to a great restaurant and sat with an amazing view of the city below and sea beneath with the port full of boats. We split pizzas and I split a mixed veggie with Mrs. Wehling and it was incredibly refreshing with the best mozzarella I’ve ever tasted. After lunch we walked around a bit more and then took a ferry back to Sorrento. When we got back, we watched the sunset from a lookout and then went to change for dinner.

We had dinner at a really cute restaurant very close to our hotel. The service was amazing and the food delicious as always. We split a bottle of wine, got a pizza dough appetizer on the house, and then I ate a spinach nocci with a salmon cream sauce. For dessert we got eclaire puffs smothered in chocolate and whipped cream and our server also brought us 2 small puddings and a limoncello a piece on the house also. I was the only one who liked the puddings, one like tapioca and the other with a liqueur flavor, and none of us liked the limoncello. It’s a lemon-flavored alcohol, an Italian specialty, you are supposed to sip after dinner but it was so strong, none of us could drink it. Still, it was fun to try! Then we headed to the hotel for some sleep.

Friday April 22^nd
We got to sleep in just a little bit because we weren’t in such a rush. Still, we were all up and checked out of the hotel by 10:30. We went straight to the train station and bought tickets to Pompeii. It took awhile to get there but once in the city, we had locked up our luggage and were entering the city of mystery by noon.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect when looking at this massive city preserved by ash. Here’s the background story if you are ignorant of the history of this city like I was: A violent earthquake struck the city in 62 AD with aftershocks that followed. Part of the city was then being renovated for a few years when all of a sudden, Mt. Vesuvius, the volcano above the town, erupted in 79 AD. When the volcano erupted, it sent tons of hot burning ash into the sky that was blown towards the city by strong winds. The ash fell on the city; 3 meters of this hot ash fell in 3 hours, suffocating, burning, killing, and also preserving the city and all its inhabitants.

After this first wave of ash, more followed days later with strong winds that tore off the tops of buildings and buried the entire city. Because the city was completely covered or blown away by this point, it was preserved for hundreds of years until it was rediscovered and excavated in the mid 1700s. Today, you can see and walk through the ruins of this ancient city. You can see paintings on the walls, mosaics on the floors, baths, restaurants, the market, administrative buildings, temples, amphitheatres, gladiator barracks, theatres, and much more. It seemed like there was lots of Greek and Roman influence in the architecture, which makes sense because it was part of the Roman empire at the time. It was certainly a prosperous city when it was buried and it’s hard to imagine what it really looked like while walking through the ruins of this preserved city.

The coolest but strangest and scariest part of walking through the city was the molded casks of bodies and the 2 real bodies preserved in the rock. The bodies are frozen in terrified positions, covering their faces and crouched into the fetal position. One mold even looks like the person was crying and sitting but then frozen in place. There were even molds of small children laying on the floor. After seeing the molds, the tragedy of the city finally became a reality. The scariest part was the 2 skeletons preserved in rock. They were in glass cases and you can see the skull and finger bones emerging from the rock. I couldn’t believe these skeletons didn’t decay like the rest of them. It really was an incredible yet eerie sight.

We spent over 4 ½ hours in the city and didn’t even see the whole thing. But it was time to go, take a train to Naples, and then we were off for our final 2 ½ day leg of the trip in Rome.

The one in Venice & Florence

Monday April 18^th
We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day in Venice. We woke up, showered, and had a simple breakfast in the hotel of cereal, croissants, jam, and juice and coffee. At the time, it was about 10:30 and we thought it might be a little cooler that day; boy were we wrong. Around mid-day, the sun was shining without a cloud in the sky and it was the perfect low 70s with a light breeze.

Just outside our hotel was a really cute little market where we bought strawberries and then Court and I found the most beautiful scarves with lace trim. We walked back toward the Grand Canal and then walked along it towards the Rialto Bridge. On the other side of the bridge, we were talked into a 40 minute Gondola ride that brought us all over. First it took us along the Grand Canal and then through smaller ones. Our driver was the owner of his boat which was handed down to him from his father. He was dressed in a nautical outfit just like all the other drivers but unlike all the other drivers, he gave us a history tour of Venice, explaining the city, its history, and pointing out famous buildings and his favorite bridges. You could really tell he loved the city and this wasn’t just his job but he really loved what he did.

After our incredible boat ride, we hopped off and began exploring the city. We walked past and in many little shops most filled with either Venician masks or glass which they are famous for. One main stop while exploring was Piazza San Marco and the Basilica Di San Marco as the main attraction. The Piazza was very large and full of people happily eating at the Italian bistros lining the square or strolling with gelato. The Basilica was big and grand just like all the other major cathedrals I’ve seen but what made this one special was that the entire ceuiling was made of intricate mosaicsand the tiled floors were 3D optical illusions. It really was a very cool sight.

By this time, we had basically done everything we needed to do sightseeing wise so now it ws time for our first taste of real Italian food and then gelato. We went to an adorable Italian bistro along the Great Canal and sat right next to the water as we ate lunch. I had spaghetti with clams and there were tons of clams in the dish so naturally I loved it. We also all tried Venice’s famous drink Bellini, which is sparkling wine mixed with peach juice. Yummy! But even though the atmosphere, weather, and lunch were all perfect, we needed one more thing to be fully satisfied. Leaving the restaurant, we went straight for the gelato store that we had a tip was the best, and they were right. I got 2 scoops in a cup: chocolate and strawberry and wasn’t the least bit disappointed by either.

So with just a little more time to kill in Venice, we wandered the tiny streets for an hour or 2 more, shopping and admiring the Venice artwork and crossing the tiny bridges over each canal connecting the tiny islands. Then we went back to the hotel to grab our luggage and head by boat to the train station, but not before stopping in an Italian bakery to buy a few canolis for later. Before we knew it, we were at the train station.

While waiting for our train, I saw my friend Natalie and her family and then minutes before boarding we someow lost our tickets. We found out later they were in Mr. Wehling’s back pocket but luckily at the time, the really nice man I talked to at the info desk let me use his computer and print a new confirmation page. And THEN we were on the train 2 minutes before it left the station and it was off to Florence!

We got to Florence around 9 PM and after asking a few people for directions, we made it to our hotel. This is where we met the best but craziest concierge of all time, Monti. Monti was pure Italian, bald, and wore a full olive green uniform. He thought Courtney and I were princesses and that Mr. Wehling was so lucky to be surrounded by so many beautiful woman. Hotel Alessandria has been the best European hotel yet by far with very clean rooms, tiled bathroom, and wifi. After we dropped off our luggage in our room, we went back to Mondi for some restaurant advice.

Monti pointed us down the street to a beautiful Italian restaurant where we had our first official Italian pizza. Everyone else got cheese but I got a true Florentine favorite, or so they told me, with salami, green peppers, and olives. Yet again, I wasn’t the slightest bit disappointed in the quality and taste of the food. After dinner we were all pretty tired from our day of traveling so we went back to the hotel to hit the sack because we had a very early start the next morning.

Tuesday April 19^th
6 AM the alarms went off. We all showered and got ready in a hurry, ate a quick breakfast in the hotel of croissants, yogurt, toast, and coffee and headed straight for the bus station. We got to the right area at 8:15, 15 minutes before our bus was supposed to leave but we couldn’t find the actual bus station! It was partially hidden through a walkway off a side street. We found it just in time and Courtney held the bus while we ran to the window to buy tickets. It was a little bit stressful but we made it!

Where were we going? To the most incredible vineyard an hour outside Florence in the Chianti Classico region. The vineyard was called Verrazzano and I couldn’t have been more excited. Even the bus ride there was amazing because we were weaving through the beautiful Tuscan hills. Even though I was tired, it was so beautiful (and partially thanks to my morning cup of coffee) I stayed awake to watch the scenery the entire time.

About an hour later, the bus dropped us off at the bottom of a very large hill, the hill that lead up to the winery and Verrazzano castle. After a half hour workout and great views along the way, we finally made it to the top just in time for our 10 AM winery tour. I’ve visited 2 breweries but I was really interested in the wine making process so the tour of the cellars with the barrels and the Verrazzano family’s private wine collection were all really interesting. Then at the end of the tour, we had a wine tasting! We tried 3 different types of wine and bread with their homemade olive oil too. Then we dipped biscuits into their 42% alcoholic after-dinner wine. Everything was fantastic except for the last one so I was sure to finish on another small bite of bread and olive oil. Overall, the wine was amazing, our guild interesting, the weather gorgeous, and we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect morning.

A bit later, we took the bus back and it was time to explore Florence. First we stopped in a sandwich shop and ate a quick lunch before wandering the city. We saw the Vecchio bridge which was the only bridge in Florence to survive WWII. Now it houses many expensive jewelry boutiques. We walked along the river for awhile and then went North to see the Duomo. It was incredibly beautiful from the outside with green and pink stones used throughout. It was massive and really stuck out as a significant landmark for the city.

After some more walking, we got gelato and went back to the hotel to put on warmer clothes. It was hot during the day but gets cold at night. I changed into jeans, boots, and grabbed my jacket and then we went South across the river towards Michaelangelo’s lookout. It’s a set of steps and flat pavement ontop of a hill, overlooking the city, and a perfect place to watch the sunset. We brought with us some strawberries, a few canolis and there was a performer singing and playing acoustic guitar as we sat on the steps and watched the Tuscan sun set over Florence. It was breathtaking. The Duomo sat at the heart of the city surrounded by Mediterranean style buildings all over the valley and giant hills rising in the background in every direction. It was the most picture worthy moment I’ve ever seen, so I took LOTS of pictures J

What to do after a perfect Italian sunet? Eat amazing Italian pasta of course! We went to Nellas, a small family owned restaurant that Monti recommended. I got ravioli with ricotta and spinach and we split a tiramisu for dessert. As expected, it was wonderful. To top off the night, we walked along the river after dinner watching the lights sparkle in the water and then headed back to our hotel for bed.

Wednesday April 20^th
our second day in Florence started a bit later than the morning before. We didn’t leave the hotel ready for the day till 11 but it was nice to sleep in a little. First we headed for the Galleria dell ‘Accademia to see Michelangelo’s statue of David. The line was incredibly long and took about 2 hours to get in. But instead of waiting in line the whole time, Court and I left for a little to go walk through the leather market a few clocks away while Mr. and Mrs. Wehling held our spots in line. We saw a lot of things we liked but nothing we needed or had to have. We went back to the line a half hour later empty-handed and only waited another 20 minutes or so before we were let in.

Everyone said that the David was impressive but you can’t really understand it until you see it. He is literally a massive 20 feet of perfectly smooth marble with every muscle, curve, even vein, perfectly defined. It’s no wonder the statue is considered a masterpiece. We walked through the rest of the museum but David was definitely the highlight.

Time for lunch! We went to a small restaurant opposite the Pitti Palace. I split a plate of tortellini and a ham and mushroom pizza with Mrs. Wehling and they were both incredible. Then we walked up to the palace and bought tickets for the Boboli gardens behind the palace. They were nothing like Versailles with its perfectly groomed flower patches but the top tier of the gardens offered views of the city that Versailles could never dream of. The gardens themselves were still very pretty and we had a great time strolling through them and basking in the Tuscan sun for the last time.

When we left the gardens, we got gelato, lemon for me! (which gives a whole new meaning to Italian ice by the way), and went back to the hotel to pick up our luggage. Before we knew it, we were back at the train station about to take off for the next leg of our trip and head to Sorrento!

The one in London

Friday April 15^th
After resting up for 2 days after the crazy week with my mom, it was already time to head out on our 11 day Spring Break adventure. Now for this trip, I was officially adopted by the Wehling family as I basically crashed their family vacation. What’s the plan? 2 ½ days in Lond, 1 in Venice, 2 ½ in Florence, 2 in Sorrento, and 2 in Rome. This was certainly a marathon, not a sprint.

Friday morning started very early. I went to bed around 1:30 and was up by 4:30 to catch our 7 AM train to London. Mr and Mrs Wehling met us at our apartment and we headed our for the trainstation, Paris Nord. We were taking the eurostar through the chunnel, an underground tunnel that literally goes under the English Channel, to get to London. It took about 2 hours to get to London. I was absolutely exhausted so naturally, I slept the whole way. From what I’ve heard though, when asked to describe what the chunnel is like, it’s dark, so I really wasn’t missing anything. We got into St. Pancreas Station which is connected to King’s Cross Station. If you can’t guess our very first stop in London, then you are clearly not a Harry Potter fan. We bought our 2-day tube (metro) tickets and immediately headed to platform 9 ¾ to see the entrance to the Hogwarts Express.

After that quick stop, we hopped on the tube and headed to our hotel to drop off our luggage. The Westland Hotel felt very European but our room was huge at the same time and the concierge was very helpful. We dropped off our luggage and we got ready for day 1 of sightseeing.

We popped in Café Diana for a quick bite and were back on the tube towards Westminster Abbey. The tube takes an incredibly long time compared to the Paris metro but we made it there eventually. When we left the station, we were just across the street from “Big Ben” and the Parliament Building. Big Ben is actually the name of the bell in the giant clock tower and it was very pretty actually. The Parliament building was much bigger than I realized from certain angles so it was actually very impressive.

We snapped a few pictures and then made our way over to Westminster Abbey. After paying the steep fee of 13 pounds, I entered and got an English audioguide. Overall, I really liked Westminster Abbey but I found a few things about it rather strange. For example, it was once a Catholic Abbey but isn’t anymore even though they follow the same practices, just not the Pope. It was also weird that it was a giant indoor graveyard; hundreds of royalty, and a few artists, writers, and musicians, were all buried in the floor or in the many tombs lining the walls and smaller chapels. I did like though that a lot of history took place here, such as many royal weddings, coronations, and funerals. For example, Princess Di’s funeral was here and the upcoming Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Wellington will happen here on April 29^th. But my favorite part was the Lady Chapel in the back just because it was beautiful with stained glass windows and rose window carvings all over the ceiling.

We left the Abbey and all needed a little pick-me-up to keep our energy flowing through the afternoon. Next stop – Ben’s Cookies. Triple chocolate and Double chocolate with nuts for me please! They were incredible, hot out of the oven. So after eating a cookie, it was time for a little more Harry Potter. We took the tube a few times and made it to the Real Diagon Alley where it was filmed in the Leadenhall Market, the film Entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, and also the real Diagon Alley that inspired the location called Cecil Court. It was a bunch of fun spots to stop and take pictures imagining we were really Hogwarts students.

After our HP sightseeing, we went to Harrods, the very expensive, lavish, department store. The ceilings were exquisist and you don’t have to go to buy anything but its worth a trip to check out the building. They literally have everything from exotic foods, to fancy clothes, to toys, to pet supplies, and even actual pets! I bought an umbrella for my sister Liz because she requested it. It’s huge and won’t even fit in our huge checked-bag! Let’s just say she better appreciate what I went through to get her that umbrella J

Dinner time! And what do you get for dinner in England? Fish and Chips at a pub of course! We all got the same thing and it was delicious with a pint of cold beer to wash it down. After a long day, we were all ready to relax, eat, and head back to the hotel for bed.

Saturday April 16^th
Saturday started bright and early with taking turns showeringand then eating a full breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, and grapefruit in the hotel. Then it was back to the tube and off to Buckingham palace to watch the changing of the guards. It was a gorgeous sunny day and the place was mobbed. We couldn’t see any of the real switching but we saw many soldiers march in and out and ride in and out on horseback too. There was also a band that played musi and since the whole thing is for tourists anyway, they even played the Indiana Jones and Darth Vadar theme songs. It was still neat regardless.

From there we walked to the starting point of our free walking tour at the Wellington Arch. We then followed an Irishman around all day who knew a whole bunch of facts about England and London. It really was a great tour and we got a lot of fun facts out of it like Buckinham Palace has been broken into many times, including by campers and a drunken Irish homeless man who wanted a bed to sleep on.

When the tour ended, we figured it was a goood time for an early dinner so we headed for a pub and I got a steak and ale pie with mashed potatoes, green beans, and carrots, all smothered in gravy. It was delic! Of course, since I’m traveling with Wehlings we need to finish on a sweet note so we headed to hummingbird’s bakery, famous for cupcakes, and buy 2 chocolate with vanilla frosting and 2 red velvet with cream cheese frosting. We split them all and ate up.

Then we finally go to my favorite part of our London trip: Lion King. The show was outstanding: the costumes were colorful, the set was intriquite, and the actors and actrices were wonderful. They all moved like animals and you got so engrossed in the show while watching that you forgot they were human and felt like you were either watching the Disney movie or real animals on stage. The female Rafiki was my favorite by far. What a voice! And she was an incredible actress on top of it. Overall, the show was amazing and I would even pay to see it again.

Sunday April 17^th
With the same start to the morning as Saturday, we got up, showered, ate, and headed out for our last half day in London. The part that made Sunday most interesting was that the London marathon was taking place all over the city. So when we got to the Tower of London, we were met by huge crowds cheering on the runners. No matter, we weaseled through and walked around the outside of the tower and then we too walked across Tower Bridge and cheered on the runners. For awhile after that, we walked along the Thames River, saw Shakespeare’s Globe Theater and then crossed back over on Millennium Bridge. Our last stop was St. Paul’s cathedral, sandwiches, and then the journey to Venice. This consisted of a tube ride to London Bridge Station, a train to Gatwick airport, flight to Venice, Bus to the Grand Canal, and boat ride to our hotel. By then, it was 12:30 in the morning and we were ready for bed before our day in Venice.

The one where My Mom and Aunt Karen visited paris

My mom came to Paris on a Wednesday. I had a final right when she got there so unfortunately I couldn't meet her at the airport but instead went to class to take my test and then met her after at the Rodin museum. I got to the museum first and only waited a few minutes before the pair of them walked through the front doors. It was so exciting! My mom had really come to Paris! Naturally they were a bit tired because they had flown 8 hours and had already gone to a different museum and checked into their hotel. But regardless, they were both so excited to be in Paris and I was excited to play tour guide for a little bit.

So the Rodin museum: it was actually really cool. Thanks to Rick Steves' Paris book, I learned all about Rodin's life, his work, and was able to put the story with the art. It made the museum so much more interesting instead of just looking at sculptures and busts and wondering why on earth he made them. We also got to see the "Thinker" which was pretty cool as well.

After the museum, we wanted to do something a little less strenuous so we walked over to Rue Cler which is this really cute pedestrian street kind of near the Eiffel Tower. Again, my mom had read about it in Rick Steves' book so we just HAD to go check it out. It ended up being really neat with a bunch of cool restaurants and shops. So we decided to have a picnic! We bought a baguette, strawberries, and the best cheese I've had thus far in France. It turns out all we needed to do was go up to the cheese vendor and ask for a recommendation! He recommended two separate cheeses; we got both and they were amazing!

So we took our picnic a few blocks away and sat down in front of the Eiffel Tower. It was a beautiful late afternoon/early evening and it was the perfect temperature to just sit on a bench eating wonderful french bread, cheese, and strawberries, and catch up a little in front of the Eiffel Tower. After we finished eating, we went all the way up to the Eiffel Tower so my mom and Aunt could get a closer look. I think that is when it finally hit them that they were really in Paris. But just to finish the night off before they headed back for an early bedtime, we went back to Rue Cler where we saw this very delicious looking ice cream. The ice cream was fabulous as expected and then we headed for the metro to head home.

The next day, Thursday, I had class again but just in the morning. So my mom and aunt went to the Louvre to check out all the important stuff while I went to class. We met up at about 12:30 when I got done with class at the metro stop St. Michael in the Latin Quarter. From there we waited about a half hour for our walking tour to start. It had already been a long day for all three of us, with the Louvre and class, but we were ready to explore Paris and learn lots of facts about it on our way. I had never done the Paris walking tour and I thought it would be a good way for my mom and aunt to see a lot of the city in a short period of time. Well, 3 1/2 hours isn't really all that short but we were ready! So off we went! We saw lots of important buildings (most of which I'd seen) and learned new facts as expected. It was also really nice just to be outside enjoying the fresh air all afternoon so none of us really minded the walking.

We finished the walking tour around 5 near the Eiffel Tower again. The night before we had seen this really cute restaurant that we wanted to try on Rue Cler so since we had been walking all day, it seemed like a good idea to go get dinner. "A la Marche" had a lot of really intriguing things on its menu and it wasn't easy to pick but I ended up deciding on the salmon and rice pilaf, creme brulee for dessert, and we split a bottle of red wine. It was absolutely delicious. We sat around talking for awhile after and finishing our wine. It had been another great day in Paris but we still had lots to do over the next few days! So it was off to bed because we had to be up early the next morning for Versailles.

Friday morning I got up and hopped on the metro to meet my mom and aunt at their hotel. Then we got back on the metro to make it to Versailles. It was about a 30 minute train ride which wasn't too bad so we were at the Versailles front gates by about noon. However, even though we already bought our tickets into the Chateau, the line to get through security was unbelievably long! No thanks. So we decided we'd spend the day in the gardens and then go into the Chateau after so that hopefully there would be less people. And it really did work out perfectly! So for the next 4 hours, we simply walked through the gardens enjoying, again, being outside on such a lovely afternoon. We made it all the way back to the petite Chateaux and also the queen's hamlet. The queen's hamlet was my favorite part of Versailles by far. It was a little farm the back with houses with thatch roofs and all sorts of farm animals and gardens. It did not seem like it belonged in Versailles but in Beauty and the Beast. It was adorable and I can see why the queen wanted a place away from all the attention of France and would want a normal place like her hamlet.

After our 4 hours in the garden, we made the long treck back up to the main chateau. We had exactly 1 1/2 hours till the chateau closed so we were going to make the most of it. I thought that I really wouldn't like the chateau; I expected it to be overly adorned and ornate and basically tacky with way too many gold furnishings. So I was very surprised that I actually really liked all the rooms! It wasn't tacky like I had expected. They used tons of marble, and different colored marble, on the walls and it gave the whole place this very grand feeling without being tacky. There were also tons of paintings and less portraits than I had expected so I liked looking at those as well. We listened to our audio-guides during the tour of the chatuea and again, they gave us lots of fun bits of information about the kings and queens who lived there as well as how everything was made. We certainly didn't go through the whole chatuea, such as the kitchens, and servants quarters, and I actually felt like the royals who lived there didn't have that many rooms that they could go in. I would have expected more. The rooms that they did have were massive but you can only fit in so many massive rooms I guess.

So after we finished looking around the chateau, it was time to head home around 5:30 or so. But unfortunately, our way home was a little delayed because we couldn't find the train station. So what do you do when you're starving and can't find the train station? Go to a bakery of course! We grabbed a few donuts, some juice, regrouped and then headed out again to find the train station in no time. We got back to my mom and aunt's hotel, transferred their luggage to their new hotel by me and finally made it to dinner around 10 at Chez Prosper. This was by far one of the best meals I've had all semester. I got their house specialty, filet mignon with french fries, a small salad, an incredible dipping sauce, and a glass of red wine to go with. Naturally, we were all exhausted from our long day so we headed home without dessert this time and went to bed because we had yet another big day ahead of us.

Saturday was probably the most jam packed day we had the entire week. We got up early and went to a small town outside of Paris called Chartres. My mom, aunt and I went along with my friends Courtney, Monica, and Torey. We were all excited to get out of Paris for a little and enjoy being outside in this small town. We made the train just in time and it was so crowded that we actually had to stand the entire way there. But we didn't mind that much because we were just happy we made the train on time. So when we got there, we immediately got a map from the information center, and then went to find the daily market just South of the cathedral. The market was adorable and my mom thought it was the cutest thing. So be bought picnic materials, this time oranges, strawberries, bread, cheese, and biscuits, and then started walking through the town to have a look around. We all carried our picnic lunches as we window shopped a little bit and enjoyed seeing all the little buildings as we made our way along the river to a small park. My mom and I also got eclairs while we were walking, just for a nice treat :)

So we made it to our picnic stop were we spread out on the grass and benches and enjoyed our lunches. It was really nice, as always just to be outside and together. Soon after though, we headed back into town to visit the cathedral. The cathedral is Notre Dame de Chatres and is therefore dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was really beautiful and was once completely painted though today it looks a bit worn down. It is famous for its stained glass and also holds the veil of Mary. Many women make pilgrimages to this cathedral to pray for Mary for help during child birth too. We saw a lot of younger women praying by the alter when we were there which was really interesting.

After visiting the cathedral, we shopped around a little bit at the stores and then hopped back on the train home. My mom, aunt and I changed into warmer clothes for the evening and then headed up to the Montmartre area to visit the Sacre Coeur Basilica. It took us awhile to climb the many steps to the top but it was certainly a really cool view of the city once we got there. Then we went inside to look around. You can't take pictures inside Sacre Coeur but the silence and presence that you feel when you're in there is really something special. We sat down in the middle of the church and simply prayed and thought for awhile. But soon enough, our stomachs got the better of us so it was time to find somewhere to eat.

We found this really adorable restaurant just down the right side of the hill that Sacre Coeur sits on. What we weren't expecting was the entertainment that went along with dinner! There was a street performer who was a fire twirler that stood outside the restaurant and did lots of crazy fire tricks as he spun fire on cords and strings to match his music. He even set off fireworks towards the end! It was pretty incredible. Besides the show, the food was outstanding as well. We all got quiche with a salad, red wine as always, and chocolate fondue cake for dessert. We took our time and enjoyed the lively atmosphere, happy wait staff, and yummy yummy food while talking about all we had already seen in just 3 short days and also what's been happening at home. Soon enough, we headed home and went to bed yet again.

Sunday morning we got to sleep in a little bit. We wanted to make the 11:30 mass at Notre-Dame so we didn't meet up until about 10:30. But we were a little surprised to find out that the Paris marathon was being run right down my street that morning! It was really cool to see and watch the runners all go by but it was also a bit of a problem because we couldn't get across to get to the metro station. So instead, we walked to the farther station and had to transfer a few times before making it to mass, literally just as it was starting. We found seats in the middle and sat down, all the while my mom and aunt tried to take in the huge ancient cathedral. Mass was nice as usual and then we walked around the inside of the church a little bit. Afterward, we went outside and admired it from the front for a little. But game plan for the day said to keep moving so off we were went to the other side of the island to see St. Chapelle.

St. Chapelle is the chapel that was built to hold Jesus' real crown of thorns that one of the French kings paid lots of money to have in France. He actually spent 3 times more on the crown than he did to build the chapel. Today, the chapel is famous for it's incredible stained glass windows that tell in depth bible stories in sequence. It was intricately decorated and only the very high nobility attended mass there. It wasn't very big but it was very impressive and was definitely worth the visit.

After St. Chapelle, we went to L'ile St. Louis which is the smaller island. We walked along the cute streets enjoying the bright spring day and went into one of my favorite shops in Paris, Diwali, which is a scarf and jewelry store. My mom and aunt found lots of things that they liked in there too. After stopping there, we went a little bit further to get Berthillon ice cream! Considering I take all my friends there who visit, it was a must stop for us as well. We got some yummy flavors and then walked across the bridge back to the mainland to sit down and enjoy them on a bench. Then, it was time to explore the Marais!

The Marais is the really cool Jewish area known for its trendy shopping and delicious falafel. So we window shopped a lot, went into a few places, found a really nice perfume and soap store, and then eventually we went for a semi-early dinner at one of my favorite places in Paris, L'as du falafel, known for the best falafel in town. Now, my mom and aunt had never had falafel (though neither had I till I got to Paris). Apparently the best falafel comes from Israel but I guess L'as du is the closest you can get and I had a good feeling my mom and aunt were really going to like it. And I was right! They loved it! But falafel is also huge and really filling and we weren't starving at the time, so for the first time I didn't finish all of mine but I was really close. As always, l'as du didn't disappoint. So we left very full and headed back to my apartment. I said goodnight to my mom and aunt around 7 so I could finish a group final project for class.

By 10 I had finished the project and I actually had some time to hang out with my friends Dustin and Sarah who were staying in my apartment! So we grabbed a few bottles of wine, some cheese, and crackers, and Courtney, Dustin, Sarah, and I headed out to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night. It ended up being a night full of laughs, photos, and enjoyment just hanging out on the grass in front of the tower. Before we knew it, we had seen the tower sparkle twice (because it sparkles at the beginning of each hour for 5 minutes) and we decided to head back home and get some sleep.

The next morning I got up and met up with my mom and aunt as usual. This time we were going to the Luxembourg gardens to look around. It didn't take us too long to get there and we walked around them for at least an hour looking at all the statues, trees, flowers, and people reading on park benches or running past us. It was obvious that lots of flowers had been planted over the past week because they weren't there the time I visited before. I couldn't believe the size of the flower beds! There would be at least 1,000 tulips blossoming around 1 statue! It was neat that we got to see the original statue of liberty in the garden and I also saw a statue that reminded me of Dance 100 from freshman year.

After walking around the gardens, we walked to the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal. In the chapel, you can see St. Catherine, an incorruptible, sitting on top of the left altar in a glass case. She saw the blessed virgin Mary 3 times while praying in the chapel and was told to create the Miraculous Medal. The chapel itself was beautiful. It was very bright with intricate mosaics on the walls in bright white, yellow, and blues depicting the stories of Mary. It was a very holy place and it was definitely interesting to see and visit.

After visiting the chapel, we headed back towards the Luxembourg gardens where we had passed some cute bakeries. We found one that looked very promising and went inside to pick up some lunch. I had a smoked salmon with lettuce and some special cheese sauce on focasia bread with herbs and a raspberry tart for dessert. We then took our lunches back to the gardens, found some chairs, and sat in the sun eating our lunches while looking out over the fountain and flowers. It was a very relaxing lunch. After that, we had all afternoon to shop! My mom and aunt were still looking for just a few things more to buy and bring home to friends and family, so we went to some stores on rue Rivoli. The chocolatier was our last stop and we got some delectable treats to take home.

Nap time! Since we had been on our feet all day, and all the days prior, we thought we'd all take a well deserved hour nap before dinner. So I went back to my apartment and my mom and aunt went back to their hotel. An hour later, we met back up for dinner and I took them to Faubourg's for french onion soup, wine, and a cheese plate for dessert. After this last, wonderful and relaxing dinner in Paris, for my mom and aunt at least, we headed to the metro to catch a train to the Eiffel Tower. We made it there and my mom and aunt got to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night in Paris; it was something they both said they never dreamed they would see in their lives. It was really fun to watch with them, but it was also a little cold so we headed back a few minutes after it stopped sparkling. We made it back to my apartment and I said goodbye to my mom and aunt. I was really sad to see them go but we had had a wonderful week together in France and I was so glad they came. The other good thing is, I would see them in less than a month! It was definitely a great week but I already had to start thinking about London and Italy coming up in just 3 days.

The one with Sunburn in Barcelona

Our flight from Paris to Barcelona left at 6:30 in the evening on a Thursday. When we booked the flight, we figured it was best to travel the night before so you'd be fully refreshed the next day. Luckily, it worked out exactly like that. We arrived in Barcelona and took a bus to the city center. From there, we walked along La Rambla, or the main pedestrian street, to find our hostel for the first night. The first night wasn't too eventful. We checked into our hostel, set up our beds, went exploring in the city and bought some snacks, and then went back to the hostel to sleep.

The next morning we woke up fully refreshed and ready for day 1: beach day! We put on our swimsuits under our clothes, locked up our luggage, and headed out. First we grabbed some donuts and fruit for breakfast and then we bought sandwiches for lunch that we stored in our beach bags for later. We bought the fruit at a covered market right off of La Rambla; the pineapple was absolutely incredible. So we walked down the rest of the street and eventually made it to Port Valle, the main port full of massive ships. It was while we were walking along the Mediterranean that Courtney and I received the first of many cat calls in Barcelona. "Hey baby! Yummy, yummy!" We're not exactly sure what they meant by that but 3 months of training in Paris has taught us how to ignore strange men very well.

After the port, at last we stumbled upon the beach. We couldn't have asked for a better day: 75 degree weather with a slight breeze. We were on the beach for approximately 6 hours. I applied spf 30 sunscreen twice; unfortunately I missed a few spots and ended up looking diseased on my leg and ankles. Courtney on the other hand, turned into a ripe tomato; she may of may not have forgotten to put on any sunscreen before falling asleep on her towel. But it wasn't until much later that we realized we were any burnt at all. We met up with our friend Bret and his roommates on the beach, he gave us directions to his apartment, and we went to get our stuff from the hostel, grab some gelato on the way, and then meet up with them at his apartment after.

Outside Bret's apartment, we went to the grocery store to buy some dinner, sandwich materials for the weekend, and sangria for that night. Everything was so cheap! We certainly weren't in Paris anymore. After making ourselves dinner, everyone started getting ready to go out to the clubs at about 11. No one even had a taste of sangria until about midnight. You see, in Barcelona they are nocturnal; the lifestyle is completely backwards where they stay up all night partying, get home at the crack of dawn, sleep half the day and then do it all over again. It's clearly a viscous cycle.

So we headed out to "Ocean" at about 2:30 AM. Because a friend of mine knew the promoter, Cooper, Courtney, and I were invited into the VIP section and given a bottle of champagne! It was clearly going to be a fun night. We had a great time with everyone, dancing and enjoying the music. We finally made it home around 6:30, popped a pizza in the oven, sat up for a little while longer and then went to bed.

Now, Courtney and I had an agenda. There were many things we wanted to see while in Barcelona so we truly couldn't spend the whole day sleeping. We were up by noon and out the door by 12:30 ready to explore Barcelona. Our first stop, Sangrada Familia. Sangrada Familia is a Basilica designed by Gaudi that is supposed to feel like a forest on the inside. I was incredibly impressed by the basilica. From looking at pictures, I could tell that the building is very artistic and unusual and I didn't think I was going to like it at all. However, the outside was incredible and the inside was even better. It was massive and intricate. My photos don't do it justice but I will always remember what it was like to be inside. The basilica is still being built today. The interior was finished in 2010 and Pope Benedict XVI offered mass to dedicate the basilica at that time. The exterior, which began production in 1890 is projected to be finished in 2025 I believe. The most interesting aspects of the basilica was the decorative elements used to make the basilica feel like a forest. There were many spirals, leaves, fruit, animals, and trees incorporated into the decorations, but all these things were incorporated amongst statues depicting the lord's passion or other bible stories. It really was incredible.

After visiting Sangrada, we went to see Casa Batllo, another building by Gaudi, and there we accidentally ran into Rachel and Kelly! The 4 of us left together and went to see Gaudi's Parc Guell; this park is incredibly large and filled with colorful mosaics all over the walls and benches of the park. It was truly beautiful and the park also overlooked the city so we took pictures of some amazing views. After the park, we went and saw one of the coolest things I saw all weekend: the magic fountain! It was a huge circular fountain with many streams of water that shoot and spray water to a Disney medley for 15 minutes. It was perfectly in time with the music and made me feel like I was sitting in a Disney theme park.

After the fountain, we went back to Bret's, went to mass at 8, took a quick nap, and got ready to go out again. Again, the sangria came out around midnight and we all hung out at Bret's before heading to "Catwalk" around 2:30. By saying the name "Kike" at the door, we all got in without paying cover and ended up staying at the club dancing until about 5:30 in the morning. We had planned on staying up to watch the sun rise but instead we went home, made eggs and fell asleep around 6:30.

We didn't wake up till about 1:30 the next day. This is precisely why I don't like the Barcelona lifestyle; you're awake all night and then sleep half your day away. It's not my cup of tea. But after we got up and got ready, we took a train to a suburb and hiked around park Collerosa for a few hours enjoying the nature. After heading home and showering, we met up with our friend Jamie for Spanish Tapas for dinner. I ordered quid and didn't realize I would literally be served a full squid to cut up and eat myself. We also had chorizo, croquettes, and potatoes with hot sauce. From there we took a metro back to La Ramblas and saw a Flamenco show! It was very intense and the dancers were insanely fierce. It was a very cool and different sort of dancing but I really like it. By then, it was already 11 so we went back to Bret's and made the boys crepes as a thank you for letting us stay there. Then we packed up and headed to bed around 1:30 just to get up at 6:30 to catch our flight back to Paris.

It took awhile to get home but I was happy to make it back. Barcelona was an amazing place to visit but I certainly couldn't keep up with the lifestyle for an entire semester. Before I knew it, it was 2 days later and my mom and aunt were arriving in Europe! More to come about our adventures soon.

The one with what I've been up to

The last few weeks I haven't done any traveling around Europe but that doesn't mean I haven't been active in Paris. I've been to the open air market a few times and did lots of walking around on separate weekends when first Rachel and her friends from Scotland visited, and then when Big Cat and Figs visited the next weekend. As always, we got Berthillon ice cream on l'ile St. Louis, visited Notre Dame and much more. I walked for over 5 hours with Big Cat and Figs and also went back to the Louvre. We had incredible weather all week and I've loved spending so much time outside.

This week I went out to Dinner with a group of French friends at the restaurant, 10. It was quite an experience. First we went to my friend Phillipine's apartment for appetizers and drinks. I tried fish eggs for the first time there. Then we went to the restaurant and met up with a few of Phillipine's French friends so that I could meet more of them. They were really nice and enjoyed practicing their English. I tried some of Greg's fo gras, or duck liver, for an appetizer at the restaurant and it was actually pretty tasty. Then for dinner, I had the fish of the day which was a white fish with scallops in a lobster sauce. It was actually a ton of food considering what French portions are usually like. Then we all got tiramisu for dessert! My favorite :) You can't go wrong with anything that's both coffee and chocolate! It was a really enjoyable dinner and I'm glad I went.

Tuesday I participated in another European experience; I went to a football game! (That's soccer to all Americans.) It was a little rainy but the stadium was huge and the top covered the stands but had a large hole in a middle so the players experienced the temperatures and weather outside. Tuesday's game was France v. Croatia. We sat on the upper deck surrounded by French and the small but full Croatian section was right below us. The entire game, I was amazed because the French would make these huge paper airplanes and throw them down into the Croatian fan section! Then the Croatians basically started a fire in their section of the stands by lighting tons of flares and even threw a few onto the field while the game was going on. It was rowdy and wild. Unfortunately though, the most exciting parts of the night had to do with the fans. The game ended 0-0 tie and I wish I could have really seen the fan's reactions had one of the teams scored. Overall though, we all had a great time and it was a really fun night.

But for now, I'm almost done with another week of classes and finals start next week. I figure I'll start studying for them next week them, because it's time to head off to Barcelona with Courtney for a fun 70 degree and sunny, long weekend!

The one with the English Speaking Mass

Today Hugh and I sought out an English speaking mass. It was on the opposite side of the city and takes about 35 minutes to get to but since we've been going to mass across the street and listening to the whole mass in French, we thought it might be a good time to try and find a mass where we could understand the sermon.

We got to St. Joseph's just as mass was starting. The church is nothing like the grand churches around Paris; it's partially underground and mostly hidden from the average passerby. It is small and rather plain on the inside but at tonight's mass, it was absolutely packed with people. What I wasn't expecting was that about 95% of those people were Asian! Not that there is anything wrong with that and it was great to see so many devoted Catholic Asians. I was simply expecting Americans or maybe some people from the UK and Ireland. The priests were from Ireland and Scotland but take the 2 priests, myself, and my friend Hugh and that's about all the non-Asians in the room. The other funny thing was, for a 5 foot 4 inches girl, I'm not used to feeling like a giant! I felt like the majority of the people in church maybe came up to my shoulder, helping us to stand out even more.

I was glad to have found an English speaking church but I'm not sure if I will go back. I can understand the readings the ordinary of the mass well enough in French so staying with St. Antoine's isn't out of the question.

After mass, I went to La du Falafel, met up with a few friends and enjoyed a yummy Jewish meal. I'd say that was a lot of different cultures for one day!

The one with the Run

I fell in love with Paris today. Now, you might be surprised that I am saying this halfway through my study abroad experience when I've been here for 2 months already. But today something was different.

On the days that I'm in Paris and not traveling or in class, I have a lot of time on my hands. I really want to spend time outside so over the past few weeks I've been running. Now for the past few weeks, I've been a spectator of Paris as I ran down the prairie path, but today I wasn't a spectator anymore; I was finally part of it. Everyday when I run, I admire the Paris rooftops peering over the many trees, bushes, and flowers finally in bloom along the path. Each day I venture farther and farther down the path, passing more and more people.

They're my favorite part, the people. When I first arrived in Paris, we were told that the people were very family oriented and that is why no one works on Sundays because they want to spend time with their families. Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I'm obsessed with my family and the idea of family in general. So the people have become my favorite part of my runs each day. The paths are full of families jogging together, walking the family dog together, or simply out for an afternoon stroll together. These are families and people of every age and size: the elderly couple moving along like turtles but holding hands and smiling none the less, the newlyweds pushing a stroller with their newborn, young couples sitting on benches and sharing a sandwich or leisurely strolling, groups of serious runners, groups of overweight runners trying to get in shape; these are real people. I also pass by many playgrounds on my runs filled with children accompanied by both parents, not just the mothers. Paris isn't "the city" to these people. The residential parts of Paris are mixed in with everything else so to these people, Paris is truly "home."

So on my run today, while admiring the budding trees, blooming flowers, and romantic rooftops like I always do, I finally felt a part of the overall community that passes everyday on that prairie path. I'm not sure what it was exactly. It might have been the smiles and laughs on the kids faces, or the slight waves and nods from passing joggers, or even the fact that I simply knew exactly where I was and where I was going. Whatever the reason, Paris felt like home today. I wish I could show others how I see Paris but I don't think you can get this feeling from visiting, but only from living here.

The one celebrating Unofficial in Ireland

Monday through Thursday passed in a blink of an eye. It felt like I had just gotten home from our epic winter break and before I knew it, I was preparing to leave for Ireland. During the week we finalized our details for our last trip of the semester to Greece and it took up a lot of time. Then Thursday rolled around and what should have been a full day of preparation turned into a scramble. Our flight home from Greece had been cancelled and it changed all our plans. Before we knew it, we completely changed all our plans and booked an entire week in Nice, France instead. I've always wanted to lie on a beach on the French Riviera so I'm not complaining. But all that planning takes time and by dinner, I hadn't packed, blogged, or even figured out the next morning's transportation to the airport.

To expand the time crunch, we had tickets to a dance show that night on the other side of Paris. We left for the show at 8:15, made it there by 9, enjoyed some intriguing modern/contemporary dance portraying human interaction (and anyone who has taken Dance 100 with Philip Johnston knows exactly what that's like), and then finally made it home by 11:15. We quickly packed, figured out the travel details for the next day and managed to get a solid 3 hours of sleep before getting up to catch our flight out.

It was Friday, it was unofficial, and it was 5:30 AM. Time to live it up! We made the trek to Beauvais Airport and finally to Dublin, Ireland by 9:30 AM. Clothed in last year's unofficial v-neck, a green scarf, and my newly purchased green flower clip for my hair, we left the airport for our hostel ready to celebrate the joyous occasion of Unofficial St. Patrick's day. We stopped at a grocery store, grabbed some sandwich and pregame materials and then made it the rest of the few blocks to our hostel. Barnacles was great. Not because it was the best hostel, but because it was full of 30 other U of I study abroad students anxious to celebrate with us. So we spent the day in Dublin just as we would have spent it in Champaign. I loved every minute of spending time with my best friends from home coming together in Dublin, Ireland. We laughed, we played games, and we ate fish and chips. Later that night, we went to a pub to have a pint of real Irish Guinness. Afterwards, we went and met up with Cass and her family at a different pub that was playing live music. It was an incredible Unofficial, and even more incredibly, an Unofficial without any naps! So we ended up calling it an early night around midnight since it had been such a busy day.

The next morning some of the girls got up early and headed to their Cliffs of Moher tour. Courtney and I weren't going until Sunday so we slept in till about 9:30, got ready quickly and made it to the Dublin free walking tour by 10:30 along with our friend Barry. The tour was incredibly informative and gave you a really good feel of the city. Our tour guide was only 19 but seemed to know everything about the city and it's people. He made us laugh, tear up, and even made us hopeful for a better future with his stories. The tour lasted about 3 hours and then Courtney, Barry and I grabbed some lunch and headed to the Guinness brewery for our second tour of the day.

The Guinness tour was awesome. It was similar to the Heineken brewery but emphasized different traits in their beer. Has anyone ever noticed that Guinness kind of tastes like and smells like coffee? It was very apparent when we smelled the cooked barley. After the tour, they taught us the proper way to taste a Guinness using each of the 5 senses. At the very end, we made it to the top of the building which has 360 degrees of glass windows and displays an incredible panoramic view of the entire city. It wasn't the most beautiful day out but the sun was trying its hardest to peak out of the clouds and still created a subtle glow over Dublin. We each enjoyed a full pint of Guinness on the top floor and relaxed while gazing out the windows.

After the tour, we headed back to the hostel to freshen up for our second night. We ended up spending most of the night in the hostel kitchen in our massive group of 35 again. We did eventually make it out but Courtney and I didn't stay out long because we had to be up at 6:20 the next morning for our Cliffs of Moher tour.

The next morning came and I was ecstatic. I'm not sure if I've ever been so excited for a day trip. We went to a few scenic places before actually making it to the cliffs. It was nice to see some of the Country of Ireland before making it to the west coast. When we finally made it to the cliffs though, I couldn't believe my eyes. People say a picture is worth a thousands words but no picture or thousand words of mine could ever do that magnificent sight justice. It was absolutely incredible. The sun came out a little after we arrived and beamed down on us from the south west and we ventured along the grassy edges. Of course, we were walking on dangerous paths but that was half the fun. I took numerous pictures from different angles along the cliffs but as they stretch over 5 miles, I barely captured any of them. Mixed among all these pictures of beautiful landscapes, I managed to take a few solo pictures too. It was a day of model posing for everyone! When it was time to leave an hour and a half later, I was sad to leave the cliffs after barely venturing a mile or so along the edge. I finished the rest of the tour in a sleepy daze looking out the window at the Irish countryside. I'm going to make it back there one day and take the time to fully venture across Ireland.

We made it back to Dublin around 7, grabbed more fish and chips for dinner, and then Courtney and I sat in the kitchen of Barnacles for an hour chatting about the weekend, Ireland, life, love, friends, and many other things before meeting up with Barry and his friends from Milan. For Sunday night, we planned to find the pubs Danny recommended as the best in Dublin. We started with O'Donoghue's for some live music and a pint of Guinness. We listened to the music for about a half hour but unfortunately, they stopped playing soon after that. So we finished our beers and Court, Barry and I headed to the next bar on the agenda: Flannery's. Flannery's by far the best bar I went into in Dublin. It was lively, exciting and filled with a young and energetic crowd when we got there around midnight. It turned into a great night simply hanging out in Flannery's in Dublin. There was no need to venture to another bar; the 3 of us found a table, enjoyed a few more Guinness's together, laughed, talked of past and future times in Champaign and stayed until closing time forced us back to our hostels.

The next morning was the start of a wonderful carefree day. Courtney and I woke up, packed up all our stuff and had it stored in the hostel after we checked out. Then we went to shop on Grafton street. We went into a bunch of adorable stores and perused lots of clothing and accessory lines. After a while, we decided to get lunch and go enjoy it back in St. Stephen's Green. We found a sunny spot on one of the huge fountains, sat down and people watched. The sky was perfectly blue, the sun was out and warm, and the pond opposite us was full of seagulls, birds, and swans. The park had perfectly manicured gardens split up by sidewalks, fountains and patches with trees. It was incredibly peaceful but lively at the same time. The entire park was filled with people going for walks, enjoying lunch, or sitting with friends and family.

After we finished our lunch, we moved to an open bench on the other side of the pond and simply sat and enjoyed the scene around us; we watched the birds fly, the ducks swim, the people pass, the trees blow in the light breeze and all the other wonderful things that pass us by on most days but we are too busy to notice. It was incredible.

We noticed that many people passed by eating ice cream. Courtney and I had a new mission. We had our hearts set on some sort of ice cream and ended up wondering the city center till we found a johnny rockets. 1 chocolate malt for me and Courtney got a chocolate shake, please! We brought them back to the park, found a new spot and sat to enjoy the scenery yet again. After I finished mine, I left Courtney to read her book, and I took off for a long walk though the many different areas of the park. When I got back, it was finally time to head to the airport, ending our incredible day of peaceful relaxation.

We picked up our luggage, took a bus to the airport, grabbed a quick bite to eat and finally boarded the plane. It was midnight by the time we made it home. I quickly unpacked, did some homework, and went to sleep after an amazing long weekend in Ireland. Like I said, I will definitely go back one day, but for now I am grateful to be spending the rest of March in Paris.

The one in Vienna

The last leg of the trip: Vienna!!! We hopped on the train at 8:30 in the morning, just like all the other mornings and headed to Vienna. The train ride wasn't nearly as scenic as the ride from Berlin to Prague but that simply meant that I would sleep more instead of looking out the window. We got to the train station and went to the street level to find Kelsey who was going to meet us there. We saw her coming from afar and had one of those epic movie-esque run and hugs that often occur when two best friends reunite. It was basically like that except that Courtney and I attached Kelsey with hugs and then proceeded to jump up and down for a solid 30 seconds.

After our big reunion, Kelsey brought all of us back to her dorm to put our stuff down and then it was time for the big reunion: Christine, Courtney, Jamie, Monica, Jamie, and Jen, were reunited with Big Cat, Figs, Danny, Max, Robbie, Victor, Ben, Laura, and Jill. It was a very big crew and we were all really excited to spend the next 2 days together. Lucky for all of us, Figs had prepared a walking tour of Vienna that we could all go on together! At the first few buildings, we all listened to Figs read a few key facts out of his Europe book but then the rest of the day turned into walking around the main center of Vienna and the crew showing us some of their favorite places and structures. We went to the top of the Cathedral (unfortunately, I don't know the name of it) but it was incredibly high and gave us a great view of the city. Unfortunately, it seemed like a lot of Vienna was under construction because our grand view of the city was obstructed by many cranes sticking out from between the buildings. Besides the cranes though, the city reminded me of Paris a little because most of the buildings were the same height and had similar structures.

After our walking tour where we saw many of Vienna's finest monuments, including the Parliament, town hall, and the statue to fight away the plague, we headed back to the dorm to make dinner. We made an amazing dinner of chicken parmesan over noodles and sauteed vegetables. It tasted wonderful but I wasn't feeling very well so I had to lie down for a half hour and take a quick nap. After dinner and my nap, we all got ready for our first night out in Vienna. We hung out in the dorms for a little while before heading to a boat party that the Vienna school had arranged. We weren't sure if it was going to be fun or not, but it turned out to be an absolute blast. The party was on the lower level of the boat and was filled with people. We danced the night away with our huge group of friends and the DJ loved us so he played whatever we requested all night. Dancing with that many of my closest friends made me almost feel like I was back in Champaign. Overall, it was a great party. After awhile though, the fog machines became too powerful and it was hard to breath down there so around 2:30 or so, we left the boat to head back to the dorms.

We took a bus home and made it back in no time. It took awhile to figure out sleeping arrangements but by 4:00, we decided on Courtney and Torey in Big Cat's bed while he slept on the floor, Jamie and Monica in other Jamie's bed, Jen on Jill's floor, and I slept with Kelsey in her bed. We were both so tired, I fell asleep right away and didn't wake up until 11:30 the next morning. It was the best 7 and 1/2 hours of sleep I think I've ever had.

When I finally got out of bed, I showered and got ready for the day. We all left the dorms together for the second day in a row. We stopped at the donner kebab stand for lunch and munched on our kebabs on the metro all the way to the Vienna Palace which was our site seeing destination for the day. Naturally, I didn't finish the last bite so I handed it over to Big Cat who happily accepted it.

We got to the palace and walked around the gardens outside for a little bit. Even from the outside, it was very grand and the surrounding gardens were exquisite, even in the winter. It was only bushes and patches of grass but it was obvious where the flowers will bloom in the Spring and I can imagine it will be an incredible sight. It was still a bit chilly in Vienna so we decided to tour the inside of the palace. We paid a small fee to do the imperial tour of the palace while listening to audio guides which explained each room as you walked through it and gave you a good amount of history as well. It was interesting to walk through such an ornate building; I couldn't possibly imagine living there because it simply isn't practical. It's over-extravagant and though it was beautiful, I can see why people resented the nobility. It was also strange to walk around the former home of Maria-Theresa of Austria and Marie-Antoinette before she married the king of France in an arranged marriage. It's no wonder that after living in her Vienna palace Marie-Antoinette would enjoy the luxury of Versailles in Paris.

After touring the palace, we climbed the steep hill through the gardens to the fountain and the other grand building that is now a cafe. There were great views of the city from the top of the hill and we all stood around outside for awhile taking pictures before entering the cafe. Now, we had all been told that Vienna was famous for their apple-strudel so we decided to warm up in the cafe and have a quick snack. Big Cat and I split a strudel and I had a cup of tea to go with it. It really was fantastic. There is this vanilla sauce that has more vanilla flavor than ice cream but is thinner than ice cream yet thicker than milk. The strudel was smothered in this sauce and it was the perfect touch to make it better than an apple pie a-la-mode. It was wonderful.

We headed back to the dorms because the crew had a dinner to go to at their professor's house. So the 6 of us were on our own for dinner. So, the 6 of us did what the 6 of us do best: eat. What do you eat for authentic Austrian food? Schnitzel. The crew pointed us in the direction of the best Schnitzel in town and we waited just under an hour to be seated in this little, family owned and famous restaurant. After perusing their menu, I decided on potato soup (I haven't had soup in ages and I was thrilled it was on the menu), and then a small dinner salad. For the main dish, I split a Schnitzel with Courtney and it turned out to be the perfect amount of food. After dinner we headed back to the dorms and got ready to go out for our second and last night in Vienna. The crew got back soon after and joined us.

After hanging out in the dorms for a little bit, we headed to the bar that the crew has made "theirs." I honestly believe it because they were all on first name bases' with the bartenders. We ended up staying there for the remainder of the night. It was a great time, spending times with friends from home, telling stories, and laughing the night away. Before we knew it, 3:15 had rolled around and we needed to head home. The 6 of us Paris girls had a cab waiting for us to take us to the airport. We had a flight home at 6AM. So we quickly grabbed our stuff (which we had smartly packed long before going out) and said our goodbyes. It was an epic night to say the least.

I was exhausted. We made it through security and somehow made it onto the plane without falling asleep. But the second I buckled my seat belt, I was out cold. I don't remember taking off or landing because I was fast asleep. I woke up when everyone around me was leaving the plane. Approximately 2 and 1/2 hours after landing in Paris, I was back in my apartment and quickly dove into my bed for a good 4 hour nap.

Traveling to 4 countries in 7 days takes a lot out of you. I'm glad we had a chance to pack it all in but I'm really looking forward to Dublin this weekend when the only travel I have to accomplish is there and back. Oh, and side note, my goal is to collect a scarf from every country that I visit. Because this trip was so jam packed, there was absolutely no time for souvenir shopping and I came back 1 for 4. Not a good record. I plan on stepping up my game in the future.

One last piece about the weekend we got back, my friends who are studying in Rome were in Paris for the weekend. We met up and spent all of Sunday with them. We went to mass at Notre Dame, ate the real Berthillion ice cream, took pictures and climbed to the very top of the Eiffel Tower. Then we got crepes, spent a little time in my apartment and then went out for a lovely French dinner in a small bistro. It was great seeing Maggie and Gwen; Maggie was even so impressed by Paris that she might plan another trip to come visit me! It was a wonderful weekend after a crazy week. It's already Wednesday and I seriously need some sleep before Dublin. So that's what I'm going to do right now. Goodnight!

The one in Prague

So I got up after a few hours of sleep, quickly grabbed my stuff, and hurried to catch the subway to the train station. We made it there in plenty of time so we grabbed a quick breakfast (Dunkin Donuts, I've never appreciated your everything bagel with cream cheese more in my life than at that moment) and then found our platform. The train ride to Prague was beautiful. The train rode along a winding river with rolling hills behind it and small houses and buildings that seemed to disappear into the mountainside that dominated the scene. It really was quite beautiful. I slept for part of it but I sat up for a good portion and just looked out the window at the passing hills. We arrived in Prague, exchanged our currency to Czech crowns and then came up with a game plan. We would meet up with Rachel, a friend of Monica, Jamie, and Torey's and then we would go on a 2 hour bus tour of the city before checking into our hostel.

So we found a place in the train station to lock up our luggage for the day and then went to find a nice little restaurant in the train station to grab some lunch and wait for Rachel. She joined us and we all ate ham and cheese paninis, and after a short while, we said goodbye and walked to the starting point of our bus tour. This was the best decision of the trip. Prague was beautiful, but if I had been seeing the city on food, I would have frozen to death. It was absolutely bitter cold and it was much nicer to enjoy the sights of the city from the warm comfort of our personal tour bus with english audio guides. This trip made it difficult to take pictures because we were inside a bus but we learned a ton about the history of Prague and the buildings that we passed. If we had had more time there, I would have liked to find a crystal shop or square or something. As it was, the city is beautiful but I'd recommend going when it's a bit warmer.

After the tour, it dropped us back off near the station and we went to get our luggage out of the lockers and headed to the hostel. The hostel was adorable but kind of far away. Prague has amazing public transportation but we didn't know how to use it until the lady at the front desk explained it to us very clearly in English. Clearly, none of us speak Czech. Anyway, we headed upstairs to our 6 person private room and unpacked our bags for the night. We set out everything for when we were going to sleep and even put our shower stuff in the shower so it would be ready to go with minimal effort necessary for later that night or the next morning. Then we headed back to the city center to find our something for dinner and then our pub crawl.

First we went to check in at the pub crawl and told the guy at the bar that we'd be back in a little bit after we found something to eat. He then informed us that we could order food from a place nearby and he's go pick it up for us! That way we could start drinking for free and really get our money's worth for the pub crawl! Let me tell you, we got our money's worth. For the first 2 hours, beer, wine, shots of vodka and absynth, were all free. That can be dangerous so we took our time drinking and eating but definitely made it worth it. The rest of the pub crawl was a blast too. We became friends with a lot of other people on the crawl as well and had a great time dancing the night away at all the pubs we went to. The best part was in the middle when we went to a jazz bar where they played live jazz music; it was really impressive and cool to see a live band playing jazz; you don't see that much in the states. So after a wonderful night with old friends, new friends, and free pub crawl t-shirts, we headed back to our hostel to get yet again about 3 hours of sleep.

It took us forever to get back because the tram doesn't run at night and the night tram didn't go all the way to our hostel. So we took the tram halfway, walked for a while, got lost because we couldn't cross the river on foot (clearly because we're not Jesus), so we took a cab for the last length of the trip. When we got back, I showered, slept for a few hours, got up, and then got on the shuttle to take us back to the train station. It was a short trip in Prague but we were hoping that Vienna would be warmer.

The one in Berlin

So we arrived in Berlin at 4:30 in the morning. What do you do at 4:30 in the morning? Really though, what do you do? Well, we decided to freshen up in the bathroom for a good 45 minutes or so and then finally the cafes in the train station started to open. We grabbed a bite to eat and either some juice, tea, or coffee. Then we sat around and enjoyed our breakfast while writing in our journals or reading. Then we went back up and got more to eat and drink. I may be mistaken but some of the girls might have even gone up a third time. We really had a lot of time to kill. At 8 in the morning we headed out to find our hostel. It was about a 20 minute walk but we found it without a problem. The hostel was great and really clean. Actually, they overbooked on accident so we ended up getting a private room for 6 instead of a shared room for 10 at the same price. Win. We loved the hostel.

Because we had a wonderful room with wonderful beds, it was time for a quick hour nap. It was amazing and well worth it. We got up and headed out to find some lunch before our free walking tour. And this time, we were going to get to the free walking tour early because there was no way we were going to miss it this time. We asked the nice guy at the reception desk where you recommended for lunch and he pointed us in the direction of a donner kebap stand a few blocks away. This was our first take of a donner kebap. Wow. It was cheap. It was quick. And it was fantastic. Horrible for you but fantastic. Basically all it is is a bunch of meat shoved into a pita like a gyro and then on top they put lettuce, tomato, onions if you want them, and then spread a garlic and yogurt sauce on the inside layers. I'll repeat; Wow. It was wonderful.

We headed to the pick up point of our tour after lunch where we met our tour guide, Matt, and then we followed him till we made it to the starting point in front of the Museum. It was on one side of a very large square. Now this square was full of interesting facts: 1. The Museum was the first national museum that the Germans built and it took them 2 years to name it. When they finally did, they came up with "The Museum". 2. In front of The Museum is one of the 8 wonders of the world: the largest single piece of granite found in the world with it's 8 meters in diameter, it looks like a giant cereal bowl and was supposed to be a main attraction in The Museum but it wouldn't fit through the columns to the entrance of The Museum. 3. The square was one of the main locations used for rallies and speeches for the Nazis. Hitler often times stood on the podium in front of The Museum and preached unity with one government and one ruler: one united Germany. Too bad everyone fell for it.

At the meeting point, we also met a lot of the other people on the tour including a group of 4 guys from the US who where studying in London. 2 of them even go to U of I and 1 lives in Naperville! It's a small world wherever you go. We enjoyed the tour with our new friends.

A few other interesting facts that I learned include understanding how Hitler killed himself the day after he was married in his bunker, how the street behind the main Catholic church in the city is called "the street behind the Catholic church street," and also that the Germans number every tree in Berlin with a tag. I even got a picture with tree number one!, I also saw the most expensive and lavish hotel in Berlin where Queen Elizabeth always stays and Michael Jackson uses to hang babies out of the window, and then I saw checkpoint Charlie and a few pieces of the Berlin Wall.

Overall, Berlin is a very interesting city filled with history. It is much more spread out than any of the other cities I've seen in Europe. Other cities have small buildings separated by small alleys and streets with a few grand or larger buildings every now and then. But Berlin has only large buildings separated by large streets and occasionally even larger people. I really enjoyed the city but one day certainly wasn't enough to get the right feel for it.

After the walking tour, we ate some German bratwurst for dinner and went back to the hostel to shower before our night out in Berlin. Our friends from earlier that day came to meet up with us at our hostel and we had a good time discussing mutual friends and swapping stories. We found a pretty crazy bar that had rings of actual fire hanging from the ceiling. We hung out there for a few hours before heading back to the hostel to catch about 3 hours of sleep before moving on to Prague.

The one in Amsterdam

Here starts a massive blog session of my weeklong winter break. I'm going to break it up into 4 posts to make it easier to write and then later read. So I'll start with the first leg of the trip where we ventured North into the Netherlands to the wild city of Amsterdam.

We got to Amsterdam on a Sunday. We traveled there by the Thalys train and got off the train in the heart of the city. That's really the best part about trains and not flying. You get off the train and you're right there in the action! Not to mention the fact that you don't have to pay another 10 euro or so to find the center of the city. You're already there! So we left the station and headed out to find our hostel and drop off our luggage before touring the city. On our way to our hostel, we ran into a very nice old man who tried to help us with directions. Unfortunately, we were headed in the correct direction and he insisted that we go a different way. He even wanted to take us in that direction himself! This old man, wearing a ridiculous Russian looking fur hat but with his ears popping out, walked about 2 blocks with us before he realized he was taking us the wrong direction. No worries though, he pointed us back to where we came from and we made it to the hostel about 10 minutes later.

Amsterdam's beauty if underrated. I know it is a city known for its more wild attributes and lenient laws but the city itself is gorgeous. As a town built around trade, the numerous winding canals and bridges give the city a unique peaceful feeling. The canals are lined with rows of buildings, each 5 stories high and very thin but perfectly connected to one another. The different colors of each building help display where one separates and where the next one begins. In the water of the canals, you will see skinny boat after skinny boat. Many are inhabited, a few look abandoned, and others look like they're waiting out the bitter cold of February before even thinking of being used. Like I said, the city is peaceful. It has narrow sidewalks and is continuously bustling with people, most of which are in a hurry for the sole reason of getting out of the cold. But if I thought Amsterdam was cold, just wait till you hear me tell about Berlin and Prague...

Anyway, we dropped off our luggage, ate some burgers in the bar of our hostel (thanks Durty Nelly's for the great deals!) and came up with a game plan for the next 2 days. We started with a tour of the Jewish History Museum. As a Catholic traveling with 3 Jewish girls, it was really interesting to learn about their religion, what it's like today, and the traditions behind it as well. The museum didn't focus much on WWII but it did go into Jewish history in the city of Amsterdam and explained how the Jews were persecuted, specifically in that area. This leads me to our next adventure, the Anne Frank house.

We walked form the museum to the other side of the city to visit the historic Anne Frank house. My friend Audrey who had visited Amsterdam already gave us a tip that if you buy your tickets online ahead of time, you don't have to wait in line. Lucky for us, we listened. While the line for the museum was down the block, we walked straight up to the door and walked right it. Hello fastpass! That was definitely a win. The Anne Frank house was amazing. We got to see exactly where and how they lived while the Germans occupied the Netherlands. We even got to see Anne's real diary and hear testimonies of people who were in the concentration camp with her (via video of course). The saddest part of the entire story was that 2 days after her older sister died in the camp, Anne proclaimed that she had nothing left to live for and also passed away. The camp was liberated a month later and Anne's father had survived. It was Mr. Frank who had the diary published and turned the store/hidden house into the museum that it is today. Anne's dream was the be a journalist or novelist and her father made sure that happened. I agree that this experience is slightly morbid but it was incredibly interesting and I didn't want to leave it out. Moving on!

After our visit to the Anne Frank house, we went to eat at a famous stir-fry place called Wok-to-Walk. It was delicious! Then we stopped in a coffeehouse just to see what it was like. We then passed through the red light district and after that, we did what the 6 of us girls do best: eat! First we ate waffles covered in chocolate, custard, strawberries and bananas, and then we ate french fries with ketchup and mayonnaise! It was a feast. Good thing we do a ton of walking or I would have gained 5 pounds. We called it an early night and got some sleep. Pretty much the only sleep we got for the rest of the trip.

The next morning we ate our free breakfast at the hostel and then went to find gloves and scarves before the free walking tour. You see, I lost my gloves on my Scotland trip (huge bummer) and none of us brought hats. We didn't really expect the 15 degree weather and it was a lot to handle when we were used to upper 40s, low 50s in Paris. So we did the super touristy thing and all bought winter hats with a giant "AMSTERDAM" printed across it. Yes, we did wear them the entire trip after this second day purchase. So after we paid, we hurried over to the meeting point for the free walking tour. But to our dismay, they were no where to be found! So we quickly went to the starting point which was about a 5 minute walk away and got there just in time for the start. But again, to our dismay, they couldn't possibly take anymore people! Oh come on, we were 6 girls and they had over 150 people split into 6 groups! We were the only people that didn't get to tag along. Again, huge bummer. But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

We realized later that day that had we gone on the walking tour, we wouldn't have been able to fit in 2 of the other events we had planned for that day. So when we were turned away from the walking tour, we went to item number 2 on the agenda: the Heineken experience. We took a tram all the way to the Heineken brewery on the south end of the city. The tram driving was really helpful in telling us where to get off and she even gave us a coupon that got us each 3 euro off on the ticket price!

The Heineken experience was certainly an experience. I learned all about the history of the Heineken family, how the company got its start in Amsterdam, and then how Heineken brews their beer. There was even a 4D ride where "I was the beer" and the ride rocked, shoot, sprayed us with water, cooked us with head lamps, and much more. It was really neat. At the end, we each learned how to properly taste a beer, poor beer from a tap and then enjoyed a nice pint of fresh Heineken that was only a week old and had been shipped from the new brewery 10 minutes away. I never really developed a taste for Heineken at home but I really enjoyed the fresh Heineken. Overall, a great experience.

After visiting the brewery, we did a little sight-seeing on our own by visiting some of the places the walking tour would have taken us. We visited the "Skinny Bridge" and took a few pictures on it. It was funny because the bridge wasn't that skinny and we had no idea what the significance of the bridge was but it seemed to be a big deal so why not take pictures? Then we went to the famous flower market and passed by all the vendors selling Holland's well known Tulips.

Eventually we made it over to the Pancake Bakery which was our destination after sight-seeing. It was only a block or 2 down from the Anne Frank house and it's pancakes are apparently famous. For anyone who ever plans on going to the Pancake Bakery, which I strongly recommend if you are going to Amsterdam, find a partner and split an omelet for lunch and then split a sweet pancake for dessert. A sweet pancake alone is too much for one person to handle as their main meal. Jamie and I split a canadian omelet, complete with ham, canadian bacon, mushrooms, cheese, and onions, and then split a banana pancake with chocolate sauce. This was possibly the best meal I had all trip. If you go to Amsterdam, go to the Pancake Bakery.

After our late lunch, we didn't have much time before our overnight train to Berlin so we grabbed sandwiches that we would eat later for dinner, got our luggage from the hostel, and headed back to the train station. Our overnight train was nothing like the overnight train I took in China but then again, I'm sure I paid much less for the train in Amsterdam. We had compartments that many of us compared to the compartments in the Harry Potter movies. But these ones had airplane seats instead of benches. We played euchre for a few hours and then all tried to sleep in cramped compartments while sitting up. Before we knew it, it was 4:30 and we were arriving in Germany. Berlin, here we come!