Category Archives: Europe

“Ciao!” From: Florence, Italy

Just five days ago, I boarded a plane and flew across the Atlantic Ocean. Since then, I’ve arrived in the wondrous city of Florence.

My new home

I live in an apartment on a narrow sidestreet in the pulsing heart of Florence. When I push open the emerald shutters, feel the cool fresh air, and hear the soothing sounds of Italian language, I’m refreshed and ready to start my day. Three minutes from the Basilica di Santa Croce (“Holy Cross”) and five minutes from the Duomo, or Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, nothing is out of reach in this walking-town.

My new family

Although I didn’t quite know anyone at first, I am fortunate to live with three sweet and adventurous roommates: Cooper, Erica, and Rachel. Cooper is an easy-going Seahawks fan majoring in recreation, parks, and tourism management. She enjoys running, photography, and visiting her good friends in town. And, then there’s Erica! Erica is a speech pathology major, wine connoisseur, and can’t resist shopping at the leather market. And, then of course, there’s Rachel, a bubbly advertising major, who should have her own cooking show and enjoys dancing at the night clubs! Erica and Rachel are both in different sororities back at school, and they carry with them what they call the “study abroad bible”—an all encompassing list of recommendations compiled by all the sisters that studied in Florence before them! I didn’t know that this was a thing, but I’m so fortunate and happy to tag along for the ride!

My first encounters with Italy

In Florence, the people own the streets, and the cars drive slowly. (But, be sure to get out of the way; some cars don’t stop!) Soft accordion music fills the piazzas, or “city squares.” It’s not uncommon to hear guitars and the vocals of street performers, either.

Ristorante La Giostra

Beautiful dogs, little white ones and big golden retrievers, lay in the middle of the streets as their owners pause to chit chat. (Fun fact: dogs are welcome to accompany their owners into stores, too. At first I just thought everyone had service dogs, but then I realized that can’t be it!) Young couples hold hands, giving each other sweet kisses along the bridges. PDA seems much more acceptable here. Open-armed, Italian hospitality warms my heart. Italian men smile not just with the lips but with the eyes! And, have I mentioned the food? Gelato, spaghetti al pomodoro with fresh basil, four cheese gnocchi, cornetti, and tomato mozzarella panini. Delicious!

Our Lady of the Rosary ~ At La Basilica di Santa Maria Novella

Our Lady of the Rosary ~ Basilica di Santa Maria Novella

So far, I’ve enjoyed gazing at the Duomo in all its splendor, visiting the Ponte Vecchio, exploring the San Lorenzo market, engaging in little exchanges of Italian conversation (I love to practice!), attending Italian mass for the very first time at La Basilica di Santa Croce, and praying in the Dominican Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, Florence’s first basilica.

I’ve also experienced a bit of prejudice for asking, “Parli inglese?” (“Do you speak english?”) when words seemed unfamiliar, but the rare feeling of being unwanted has always been offset by the rich kindness and patience toward my broken Italian from more people here than not. One of my favorite things is when people genuinely ask where I am from. I’ve been doing my best to blend in, live gently, and keep my Americanness as subtle as possible, so this feels like a benchmark toward success! Semester goal: live like a local

Classes! (I almost forgot!)

Today was our second day of classes! I’ve now officially met all of my professors and gotten my first glimpse of each class I’ll be taking. My classes include: The Art of Buon Fresco, The History and Culture of Food, Introduction to Photography, and The Italian Experience: Italian Language 1. Again, I am in love. One particularly splendid thing is that my charming bilingual Italian language teacher, Alessio, speaks Italian for the entire length of class. Little did my classmates and I know it was possible to learn this way! I am so thrilled!

Finding my way around

Glittering canopies illuminate the streets of Florence. I’m not quite sure why, but perhaps it’s a custom to leave the Christmas lights up well after the Epiphany. The different lights have been great markers for my navigation, though, so I sure hope they keep them up!

Evening walk on the Ponte Vecchio

Paper maps have also been a huge help. I seem to learn most when I’m by myself seeing as this requires self-sufficiency. Surprisingly, I can get from Santa Croce, to the Duomo, to the Piazza della Repubblica, and back home by heart already. Florence is actually very small. Most of the city still feels like a big maze, though. Until I get the hang of it, there’s definitely something charming and serendipitous about the side streets.

While I’m being swept away by all the beauty and excitement here, it’s easy to get distracted. I like this quote by Saint Therese that says, “The world is thy ship and not thy home!” It serves as a powerful reminder for me. Ciao! Angela

Glossary

Piazza della Republica — A square with a carousel, some nice restaurants and shops, an Apple store, which has proven to already be super convenient, since I’m downloading photoshop for my Intro to Photography class and have had several problems. I met a very nice man named Giovanni who recommends restaurants when I bring in my computer for tech help!

La Basilica di Santa Croce

La Basilica di Santa Croce—A Franciscan church in Florence in the Piazza Santa Croce

The Duomo—Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, or more commonly known as the Duomo, is the main church of Florence. It has huge dome on top where you can walk all the way up to the top and see the breadth of the city’s church steeples and red-shingled roofs.

La Basilica di Santa Maria Novella—The first basilica in Florence, and a Dominant one at that! Santa Maria Novella sits near the main train station, which share its name

The Ponte Vecchio—“old bridge” famous for love locks on the chain-link fence and the shops that sell gold watches and other jewelry

Mopeds— motorized vehicles, or glorified scooters

Piazza — square

La Basilica di Santa Maria Novella

Language Practiced

“hello!” — Ciao (chow)

“Good morning!” — Buon giorno (bwon jor-no)

“Thank you very much!” — grazie mille (graht-zee-ay me-lay)

“Peace” — pace (pah-chay)

“To the right” — A la destra (ah-lah dess-truh)

“To the left” — A la sinistra (ah-lah sin-iss-truh)

“Sorry” — mi dispiace (me dis-pee-ah-chay)

“How do you say…” — Como se dice… (coh-mo say deech-ay…)

“Excuse me” — Scusa (scooz-ah)

“I don’t understand” — Non ho capito (Non o cah-peet-oh)

An email worth opening

Life has been a little surreal lately. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been a real person, more of a couch potato on break from school waiting to go abroad. All the days have been mashing together and if you asked me the date, I would laugh at you. Needless to say, I’m ready to go to France. Not physically of course because I’m too scared to attempt fitting all my clothes in a suitcase, but mentally. All my relatives kept asking over the holiday if I was ready to leave, and I always replied with the same, “Yes of course, but it still doesn’t seem real to me.” I couldn’t believe I was going to Aix-en-Provence, France in three short weeks. I had been planning this moment since freshman year, yet it still didn’t feel tangible. Slowly though, as I crossed things off the to-do list (the visa, the phone, the money), it started to sink in.

I checked my email (I know, rare for a student on winter break) the other day to delete some of the hundred junk emails I got, when I came across a name I was unfamiliar with. I opened the message to see that it was from my host family. I was a little confused since I hadn’t gotten any information from my university at the time, but that was only for a fleeting moment. I believe I actually screamed and jumped off the couch. My dad, who was startled by my strange non-couch potato-like behavior, asked for an explanation. It was my host mom and she gave me an introduction to the family I would be living with for the next five months, and she seemed just as excited as I was.

Good news! I heard from my host family.

This settled a lot of nerves. I struggled deciding where I wanted to live in France. My first instinct was with a family, but I had heard so many horror stories from fellow students not enjoying their stays. But, I took a chance and, by the looks of the email, it seemed like it is actually going to be amazing.

Brigitte, the author of the email, told me about her husband, their 15-year-old daughter and their cat. She told me she has been hosting American students for ten years and she told me she would pick me up at the airport (what a saint!). They seem like everything I could have asked for. Immediately, I emailed her back with a little background about myself, while daydreaming about my life with this family. All the terrible scenarios I was given escaped my memory to make room for the possibilities. I can help her daughter with her English studies as she helps me with my French. I can listen to Brigitte tell stories of past students. I can walk the cobble-stoned streets to class in the morning.

Suddenly everything seems more tangible. I just needed that first interaction and now I can picture myself in living and studying France. Now I just have to figure out how to pack, and how I’m going to lift three suitcases up the stairs to their walk-up apartment.

Location: Clarks Summit, Pa

Pre-Departure Disbelief: I’m Going to Germany?!

I have always been a pretty heard-headed and stubborn person, and I rarely change my goals once I’ve gotten them in my sights. That side of me was surprisingly turned upside down when it came time to apply for study abroad programs. If someone would have told me a year ago today that I would be leaving to study abroad in Germany for 4 months, I would’ve laughed them off. I had given next to no thought about studying in Germany and was positive that the only place I would be going was London.

Since I was little, I always knew that I wanted to study abroad, and I always knew where I would be studying abroad: London. I have always loved British culture and history, and London was always the place that I wanted to go, and the place where I still want to live one day. So how on earth did I get to Germany?

When I got to Penn State, I chose German as my language. I had never liked learning Spanish in high school, and learning French didn’t really appeal to me, but German seemed like a good fit. I have German ancestry, and Germany always seemed like a place interesting to visit, so I figured 3 quick semesters of German would fulfill a language requirement and give me a couple phrases in German to have under my belt.

I really enjoyed the German classes that I took, yet as the semesters went by and my study abroad deadlines grew closer I still wanted to go to London. However, the logical side of me couldn’t deny that studying abroad in a German speaking country would be practical, interesting, and vastly improve my language skills. My family continuously pushed me to look into studying in a German speaking country, as we had traveled to London the summer after I graduated high school, and they knew that deep down inside I would love to experience somewhere brand new. I looked into German cities with abroad programs, but found most to appear gray, graffiti-laden, and modern (sorry Berlin). So to compete with London, I chose Vienna, Austria as my secondary destination. Pretty and posh, it seemed like a good competitor. Yet I still yearned for the drizzly, foggy streets straight out of a Dickens novel, picnicking in Hyde Park on a spring day, and walking by Westminster Abbey on my way to class with Elton John or the Beatles playing in my earbuds. London was still the clear frontrunner.

As study abroad applications began to open and deadlines got closer, I decided to visit the study abroad office, making meetings with Whitney and Scott, the advisors for England and Germany/Austria/Switzerland, respectively. My first meeting with Whitney went so well that I told her she would definitely be hearing from me soon, and I felt like walking out without heading next door for my second appointment. When I met with Scott, I asked him to convince me to go to Vienna, to which he replied “Why would you want to go there?”. This was not the life changing argument I was hoping for. Instead, he gestured to a poster on his wall. “have you ever heard of Freiburg?”.

The poster showed quaint cottages, window boxes overflowing with flowers, lush green forests, and clear brooks running through the streets. Freiburg– which I had never heard of before– seemed pretty ideal. That night I sat on the computer for hours, telling my roommates in disbelief how perfect this place seemed, and how the programs to Freiburg offered me all that I could ever have asked for in a study abroad experience. After speaking with my academic advisor, it was clear that the Freiburg program would fit perfectly into my schedule.

Also during this decision time, I had begun research for what I hope will become my undergraduate thesis; looking at themes of eugenics and how they played out in propaganda and politics in the rise of the Third Reich in Nazi Germany. Freiburg just seemed ideal; perfect for my research, perfect for my personal interests in history and politics, and the European Union program even included a field trip to London! Unbelievably, my mind was changed. I was headed to Freiburg.

My study abroad decision making has been more back and forth than a rusty old roller coaster at the shore; a lot of back and forth, and a LOT of plans that turned out nothing like I had originally envisioned! My stubbornness has already been challenged by study abroad and I haven’t even left the country yet! I am looking forward to sharing my adventures with anyone reading, and extremely grateful to family, friends, and my abroad advisor Scott Runner for all the support they have given me within the past few months. For now, I’ll get back to packing and cuddling with my pups as much as I can before I have to go!

Location: Great Meadows, New Jersey

Montpellier I have arrived!

So it is 10:10AM Friday January 8^th and I am waiting to take the tram to the office. All of the students this week have been meeting up at the office before going anywhere else. I have learned so much this week through orientation. First of all, the students I came with are mostly from the University of Minnesota, although there are a few others from Penn State, University of Massachusetts, University of North Carolina, and so on. I have made a bunch of new friends already from all over the country. My goal is to now meet Native French people so that I can practice my French.

I am currently living with a host family, or a host mom, as I should say. Her name is Christiane and she is the sweetest little French lady I have met. When I first met her, she made it very clear that she would not be speaking to me in English, nor in Spanish. This is good so that I can keep practicing my French, which I have. Not only do I have to keep up with French at home, but also everywhere else. There are a few people on the program that are doing different tracks such as business, education, and so on that do not need to know French since all of their classes are in English. So, I tend to help out a bit to those in need of someone that can speak French.

I also had to purchase a tramway pass, which is the main way of public transportation here. Furthermore, I purchased a French sim card that I could easily put into my own phone, which is very convenient.

Today, we are all set to go to a big shopping center named Odysseum. I just hope I do not spend too much money. All of the sales have started, and everything is pretty cheap (this is so tempting since I love to go shopping) for the entire month of January.

Tomorrow, I will be going on my first excursion to Nîmes and Pont du Gard. I will be posting pictures soon!

So far my entire experience has been wonderful, and I hope to continue making everlasting memories throughout my journey.

Location: Montpellier, France

Adventure Is Out There

In less than 24 hours, I’ll be embarking on the trip of a lifetime, one that I’ve been looking forward to my entire life. What am I doing to prepare? Watching Penn State football of course! Never mind that my clothes that are lying on the spare room floor have yet to see in the inside of a suitcase. This is the last football game of the season, and the next time I’ll be watching the Nittany Lions I’ll have had 5 ½ months of living in one of the world’s biggest and busiest cities under my belt.

My name is Bella Fordyce, and I’m taking a break from my Penn State public relations coursework and spending my sophomore spring semester (and then some) at University College London. It’ll be the longest I’ve ever gone without visiting home back in South Elgin, Illinois, and my first time visiting the United Kingdom. I’ll be learning how to navigate a big city, how to independently travel, how to cook for myself (bye bye, campus meal plan)–all across the pond.

And I can’t wait.

It honestly doesn’t even feel real–I’ve wanted to study abroad all my life and tomorrow it’s happening, after nearly a year of preparing, seemingly endless applications and forms and a Living in London Pinterest board later. Tomorrow is the first of 160 days I’ll spend away from the US, and I look forward to sharing my experiences in London and Europe with you!

Location: South Elgin, IL, USA

Pre-Departure Musings

Florence (n.) – the capital of Tuscany; the birthplace of the Renaissance; once named one of the world’s most beautiful cities by Forbes’ Magazine; my home for the first four months of 2016

Wrapping up winter break with a visit to Little Italy, NY

Ciao, my name is Angela. I am a junior majoring in journalism and minoring in international studies at Penn State University, and I’ll be living and studying in Florence, Italy for a little while. I come from a little town about 20 minutes outside of the city of brotherly love. Although my hometown and my neighboring home-city are my two first loves, I’ve dreamed of travel ever since I was little—a much bolder and far more fearless dreamer—and nothing in this world (other than travel) has ever looked so exciting! I’m not sure how I’ll process all of the “new” once I arrive, but for now, I’m just preparing myself (the best I can) to be open, optimistic, and ready to embrace everything as much as humanly possible.

Why Florence, Italy?

To be quite frank, I actually didn’t know where to go. But, I had always heard stories about Italy’s beauty, charm, and of course, its gelato. Once when I was little, I stumbled upon the words, “You may have the universe if I may have Italy,” by Giuseppe Verdi, a composer of Italian operas. The sentiment fascinated me, and travel had my heart ever since. Growing up, I continued to come in contact with beautiful images of Italian sights and splendid stories from my friend Katie Mae, who was an au pair right outside of Rome.

When it became time to choose my host country, all I knew was that I had warm and homey feelings attached to central and southern Italy. I figured, I’ve got to start somewhere if I intend to see everything, and Florence seemed like a lovely place to begin.

Three Days Before Departure

In just three days, I’ll step foot onto a plane. This makes me a little bit nervous! Although, I have traveled before—adventuring through Eastern Europe for two weeks. It was Easter break of my junior year in high school, and twelve other girls and I set out to explore Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. A little, old, Austrian man named Norman accompanied us as our tour guide along with Chief, our chaperone. Norman would tell us stories about each place we visited, and everyday he’d let us go exploring on our own. Mind you, we went to an all girls high school, and we were all 16 or 17 at the time wandering about countries that were foreign to us (buddy system of course!) Needless to say, the quote of the trip was, “Norman is out of control!” Thankfully, getting stuck in an elevator with my lovely rommate, Megs, was the only bad thing that had happened, and probably the funniest, too.

The next four months will be my longest stay overseas yet. I feel little butterflies, and my tummy kind of does somersaults when I think about it. So, I have been trying not to think. The older I get, the easier it is to be fearful because I am little more aware.

Little Italy, Mulberry Street, Brooklyn, New York

At this point, I’m just gathering last minute items like locks for my backpack zippers and other staple pieces of clothing so I can pack lightly and re-wear a lot of the same clothes in an array of creative pairings. I haven’t yet packed my suitcase, but that’s next on the list. I’m afraid I’ll forget things, but then again, I can always run to the markets once I get there in case anything imperative is left behind, (or so I tell myself). Compiling the travel playlist is also pretty exciting. I’ve got a stellar christian contemporary line-up for the plane.

Expectations

I think I’ll miss my family and my pup. I love them so much, but at the same time, I am so excited to get away for four whole months to see things, (and hopefully) grow, and change, and be a bit stronger when I return. I’m treating these next four months as a retreat from everything I have ever truly known.

I imagine living among the locals, studying, deepening my Catholic faith, visiting the Eternal City, exploring churches and other places of religious significance, admiring art and ancient architecture, enjoying Italian food and hospitality, and (most hopefully) blending in as a seasoned traveler and modeling the Italian ideal of fare bella figura—to have a beautiful figure.

Although these wishful reveries are true to Florence, there’s definitely a ton about this city that I do not know, and it’s already apparent that this could very well be an unforgettable experience…

Join me as I find my bearings and, explore lo stivale, the boot, the beautiful peninsula the Italians call home!

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Returning to my Granada

Going back to a place that you love in my opinion is even more exciting than going to a place for the first time. In Spring of 2014, I studied abroad in Granada, Spain with IES and fell in love with the enchanting city. When I first decided to study in Spain I thought it would just add a nice international experience to my degree. I really had no intention of learning too much Spanish ( I don’t really know what I was thinking) . I arrived in January and was greeted by the staff of IES, day one speaking Spanish. To say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement. Those two days of orientation were a blur to me. We finally were able to connect with our host families. That is when I met my host mom , she greeted me with 2 kisses and then we were off to her house. My first couple weeks were really hard, because It was difficult to communicate with her. However with the support of both my host mom and my program I learned a tremendous amount of Spanish and felll in love with my Granada.

From the day I got home I was “Granada-sick” and needing to go back. I was determined to find a away. So after A LOT of planning, and taking with advisors and emailing and calling the consulate it was official I would be going back to Spain for the summer and for the Fall semester of 2015 with IES Abroad.

My blog is going to be a bit of my adventure this summer and also my experience this semester studying. I am absolutely loving life here and enjoying every tinto de verano *wine with lemon fanta*, every pallea, torilla and siesta. I’m falling in love with my Granada again , with the people and with the atomosphere.

I thought it would be fitting to show pictures of the place where my love for Spain and Granada all started:

Iglesia de Santa Ana- Church arches from the IES Center

IES Granda Building

Plaza Nueva- Where IES is located

Cant wait to keep you all updated on my journey,

Un besito,

Kaitlyn

Location: Plaza Nueva Granada

Busting the Stereotypes

After strolling around for almost 2 months in the Russian Federation, I have learned so much about cultural differences. I have seen things that I never would have imagined I would witness here in Russia, and I would love to share these “stereotype-busters” with you in this post.

1. Russia does not have year-long winter: “You are studying abroad in Russia?! You will have to wear your winter coat ALL summer!”

While it may seem that almost every American film set in Russia involves freezing weather and fur coats and hats, brutal cold is not the only temperature. Sunshine does exist: I have seen beaches and people sunbathing in parks. There are fountains here that children play in and adults run through. On sunny days, my phonetics professor actually teaches our class outside on the green lawn!

They have beaches in Russia?!

To be completely honest, the weather is a little odd. The rain and wind here can get pretty funky. My host mom just informed me that there was a small tornado in St. Petersburg yesterday, and she said it was the first time ever. (This is also the record coldest summer since 1948, which is unfortunately ironic.) Nevertheless, even during an unusually windy and chilly summer, sunburns and sweat are still very much a reality.

2. I haven’t seen any bears roaming about in Russia. I haven’t even seen a pet bear on a leash. But I have seen stray dogs and more pigeons than I would ever like to see. And I have also seen pet monkeys in outfits and raccoons on leashes. Go figure.

This lil guy actually has an owner, but he was strolling about campus today and interrupted our last outdoor phonetics class.

3. All Russians are not as “serious” as one might have thought. Humor is a huge part of life here, and it is enjoyable to catch silly moments on the metro or marshrytka (like when an elderly woman starts laughing hysterically and blessing you repeatedly because she fell onto your lap during a sharp turn …or when it starts raining out of nowhere and the wind blows your umbrella inside-out and an elderly man finds it to be absolutely hysterical). Actually, a lot of these LOL moments happen at home. I woke up the other morning to some Russians teenagers singing “Hakuna Matata” outside my window.

And the other week, I bought a purse during a huge sale at the mall, and my host mom liked it so much that she went out and bought the same purse in a different color …and could not wait to tell me about it. Now she enjoys telling me “good job” every time I take it with me out the door in the morning.

And sometimes, when she knows I have been to the mall, she will ask me if I saw any good deals.

“Super American Sandwich”… Russian humor at its finest.

4. Fastfood is better abroad. There is just something about sitting in a Burger King with a ceiling fit for a cathedral and biting into the most plump burger that makes one start to compare…

The prettiest Burger King ceiling I ever did see

And… Russian McFlurries are creamier than American ones, too.

To be entirely honest, the best American hamburger I had here was from a Russian cafe…

5. Russia has roller coasters. I would know – for the Fourth of July, I went to a “Disney-like” theme park. Oh, and they are WILD. The advertisements for the particular roller coaster that I rode said it went from 0 to 100 km/hr in 2 seconds, but the fact that there was no bar over my shoulders during all the loops and corkscrews was slightly more terrifying. But for the split-second I had at the top before the plunge, I could see the most spectacular view.

How Americans celebrate the Fourth of July in Russia…

6. Not all Russians drink. But when they do, according to my culture professor, they do it right. And it is normally vodka. “To warm Russians up because we are such cold people,” he would sarcastically explain.

7. The Minion movie in Russian is great. Without having really seen either Despicable Me movie, I can say that my friend and I laughed our pants off in a theater that only had a handful of other people in it… and they were all under 3 feet tall.

That reminds me…

8. Russian movie theaters have the comfiest seats ever. And probably the coolest refreshment options ever. A pint of Baskin Robbins? Sure. Refillable giant sugar sticks? So that’s why the little boy kept leaving the theater…

9. While it is advised to keep a straight, blank look on your face on the metro, some people are doing just fine without their “Metro Face”:

After this Russian man spontaneously hopped on the metro and started playing his electric clarinet after everyone had a long and tiring day (Navy Day celebrations – long travels, lots of walking, lots of exciting events)… he ran up and down the aisle – asking for money – and then hopped off at the next stop.

Never a dull moment.

^^^ Not even for him.

Location: st. petersburg, russia

Moments of the Month

Now that it’s the last week (and almost the last day) of my abroad trip, I wanted to recap my top four favorite moments from the past month (one from every week).

Week 1: The London Eye (or the view from it)

The most beautiful view of Big Ben from the London Eye

View of Big Ben/House of Parliament from the London Eye

Although the London Eye itself was not my favorite part about this first week, it did serve as a reality check that I was officially in London. Riding the Eye and seeing all around London was beautiful and disorienting – I didn’t think it would be possible to experience all of the city sights in such a short period of time.

Week Two: Stonehenge Day Trip

Stonehenge

Standing at the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey

This day trip was easily the longest day out of the month – yet entirely worth every tiring second of it. I loved not only learning a lot about Stonehenge, Glastonbury, and Avebury from our guides, but also visiting each place and seeing the famous circles of stones and abbey ruins. It still amazes me that so little is known about places like Stonehenge, even though they are SO ancient and frequently studied. I also included Glastonbury Abbey in particular because the ruins of this church were absolutely ornate and beautiful, even in their crumbling state.

Week Three: Tower of London

The Queen (and the monarchs before her) sure do have great taste in jewelry, though sadly we weren’t allowed to take any pictures of the Crown Jewels. Even so, seeing the Tower Bridge, meeting an authentic Beefeater, and touring the Tower of London was definitely another wonderful full day adventure. In addition to seeing the Crown Jewels (twice), we saw the ravens that legend states that if they were to leave the Tower of London the kingdom and tower would fall. We also were lucky enough to stumble on a type of inspection similar to the Changing the Guard ceremony, although with less pomp and circumstance.

: Me, standing with a guard of the Crown Jewels

Beefeater giving us a tour of the Tower of London

Week Four: Paris

Without a doubt my weekend in Paris has (so far) been my favorite part about this week. Click here to read my last blog post on why I loved Paris so much!

The Eiffel Tower on my last night in Paris

Stay tuned for my final week thoughts and reflections on my London trip in my upcoming blog posts! Cheers, love!

Location: London, England

Bonjour et Au Revoir Paris

With one last weekend left in our London literary program, most of us went out of the country for the weekend. From Vienna, to Amsterdam, to Paris, our group spread out across Europe. I (as well as a few others) decided to spend the most amazing, and tiring weekend in Paris.

The Eiffel Tower up close (notice the beautiful weather)

The Eiffel Tower up close (also with beautiful, warm weather)

The Arrival:

Friday we started our journey by leaving at the awful hour of 4:30 AM to catch our Chunnel ride to Paris. After arriving and figuring out how to read a subway station completely in French, we trekked our luggage around in order to get our first glimpses of the Eiffel Tower, and find food. After exploring for a few hours, we went to the Louvre because of the free admission on Friday evenings! Although I primarily went to see the Mona Lisa, I also enjoyed the recreated Napoleon Apartments, and the various statues in the Louvre. Even after spending three hours in the Louvre I could and would still go back to see it all again.

The Mona Lisa at the Louvre

26,000 Steps Later…

Today was easily the best and most tiring day of our weekend. By the end of the day I walked OVER 26,000 steps…a new record even for walking around London. After waking up early again, Josey and I ~~climbed~~ took the elevator up to the very top of the Eiffel Tower for an unexplainable view (even though it was cloudy in the morning). Then, I headed off on my own to go wait in a three hour line in order to see the catacombs (WORTH IT.) The catacombs were such a unique and historical sight to see in Paris, and I left wanting to know more! Finally, once I was done exploring the catacombs, I met up with a few of the others to walk through the beautiful Notre Dame (although it really doesn’t compare to St. Paul’s Cathedral or Westminster) and then we had a wonderful sit down dinner before our group went over to the Eiffel to see it one last time…

Hallway of the catacombs

Some of the skulls and bones were arranged in patterns

The Eiffel Tower literally sparkling at night

Au Revoir Already!

After a much needed 10 hours of sleep, it was time for us to say our goodbyes to Paris. I really enjoyed all I got to see and experience in Paris and visiting for only one weekend was a perfect amount of time to stay there. Paris is much more NYC city-like than London is and I was already missing “home.”

Food, Food, and More Food

By far my FAVORITE part about Paris was the food. From the first to last meal I enjoyed every bite of it especially the very French chocolate croissants, assortment of macaroons, and the crepe I ate.

My dessert was a sampling of all the desserts at the restaurant on the last night!

As always, thanks for reading and stay posted to hear more about my last week in London! Cheers, love!

Location: Paris, France

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