Ten Days Gone (Part 2): Paris

Paris: the city where little dogs wear designer sweaters, men wear berets, and tourists wear the evidence of devoured crepes all over their faces. I was honestly not sure what to expect when I reached Paris, but the city definitely blew my mind. Paris was without a doubt gorgeous. My friend and I began our day by exploring the city. We just so happened to be staying near a little French community which was probably the most adorable area I have ever seen. The narrow, cobble-stone streets were filled with crepe stands, little shops, and outdoor cafés filled with people sitting on patios, enjoying the sunshine. Artists lined the streets and I just got the feeling right away that I was in the petite city of Paris. After leaving that area, however, it was hard to feel petite again. We wandered for hours and hours without even making it all the way to the Eiffel Tower, but still had a blast just exploring. After that day, we learned that the metro was a must. The next day, we managed to finally make it to the Eiffel Tower. It may sound crazy to some, but the Tower is honestly beautiful. Then again, I have always found beauty in simplicity. Piece by piece it did not look like anything more than twisted bobby pins, but as a whole, it was breathtaking. After many hours of waiting, climbing, sweating, and being in complete awe, we wandered around a little more, exploring the multitude of parks and gorgeous buildings. We then found our way over to Notre Dame, which was definitely my favorite “sight” of the entire trip. The church was so different and so beautiful! Definitely better than the way that Disney has portrayed it. As I mentioned in my previous post, I am in love with Gothic architecture, and Notre Dame only increased that love. Another thing I loved about Paris was the multitude of gardens. Even being so large, the city has still managed to incorporate beautiful parks and gardens everywhere, and some of the most beautiful surrounded this church, as well. Being constantly surrounded by these parks just allowed a constant sense of peace to wash over me, no matter whether I was in the middle of an intersection or wandering the outskirts of the center. The city itself, contrary to what others may think, made me feel very relaxed. It’s a difficult feeling to explain, being that I felt petite, cultured, and relaxed all at the same time, but it is very possible. The next day, we were able to explore The Louvre. Art has always amazed me, as well. I may not be the most talented person when it comes to interpreting art or expressing myself, but I love just admiring it. I enjoy picturing the artist, hard at work and try to imagine what he may have been thinking while painting his masterpiece. I enjoy admiring the details of the work and just imagining what life would have been like in such a time period as portrayed. Walking through The Louvre could literally take a week. There are just so many amazing things to see, all from so many different time periods! Mona Lisa included. As hilarious as it may be, however, I actually enjoyed watching people shove in front of each other, attempting to snap photos more than I enjoyed looking at the actual painting. Oh the life of a psychology major. After spending a fair amount of time in The Louvre, we said our goodbyes and hopped on a train to Versailles. Possibly the most extravagant place I have ever seen. The Palace was absolutely stunning, full of gorgeously bright rooms, furnished with what seemed to be exquisitely expensive fixtures, only fit for royalty. We then continued into the gardens, which seemed to be never-ending. It was just such a peaceful place to be, and I loved every minute of it. That night, we sat on a set of steps facing the Eiffel Tower, crepes in one hand and umbrellas in the other, and simply waited for the sun to set. As the rain began to fall, the Tower began to slowly illuminate. We completely lost track of time until, right on the hour, as we have heard happens every night, the Tower began to shimmer brighter than any diamond could ever attempt. It was stunning and an absolutely perfect end to Paris.

Ten Days Gone (Part 1): Budapest

It’s almost like coming to the end of an ice-cream cone. Bitter-sweet. You are satisfied, but still can’t help but long for more. Even within the last few bites of pure joy, you can’t help but feel sad knowing that the end is near, and you will once again be left empty handed. Italy obviously holds no comparison to an ice-cream cone, but I will admit that it’s pretty close. I have been sloppy with my blog posts and for that I apologize, so I will try my best to make it up to you all in these few final posts. Choosing to study abroad has truly been the best decision I have ever made. I have seen so many places that I never knew could exist outside of a fairytale. I have met so many amazing people, I have experienced so many different ways of life, and I have grown in more ways than thought possible in such a short amount of time. There is no way I can fit everything into these last few blog posts, but I can try to catch you up on a few of my crazy adventures. Spring break was just about one of the most amazing weeks of my life. Ten days of living out of a backpack and, as my mom would say, “Flying by the seat of our pants.” My friend and I began this epic adventure in Budapest, Hungary, a country in Eastern Europe. It was incredible, although, you will find that I will pretty much say that for every place that I go to from here on out. It was very different from Florence in that it was so spacious, clean, and best of all…they had Starbucks. We were very lucky and stayed at a hostel in the middle of downtown, so we were truly able to see the city for what it was. It just had a very simple atmosphere. Peaceful and beautiful. Life was cheap, the people were incredibly hospitable, and the city itself just made me want to just relax and enjoy life. I saw greenery for the first time, as well, which was absolutely wonderful! Who knew someone could miss trees so much? Being that it was the beginning of spring, we also stumbled upon a festival full of stands with homemade gifts and traditional food, which only made our experience there that much better! In two days, we explored the country side, the city, a few churches, Parliament, Castle Hill, and learned that every street has the word “utca” in it. Another fun fact which we learned fairly quickly was that Hungary’s economy runs off something called HUF. What is the equivalence? One dollar equals exactly two-hundred and seventeen HUF. Imagine paying for Starbucks with that kind of cash! It was definitely a mental workout. I think one of my favorite parts of the country, beyond the fact that their main dishes contained nothing more than potatoes and meat, was the architecture. Gothic architecture is drastically different from the architecture of Florence and I simply loved witnessing something so different. It was so gorgeous and so ornate. Rather than using a two color system and simple decorations, walls and fixtures were plastered with gold and red marble, making it look very rich in status. The ultimate attraction, however, would definitely have to be the baths, making Budapest one of my favorite cities of all time. Imagine paying about fifteen dollars to use an ancient spa full of pools, steam rooms, saunas, and hot tubs. Would you be in heaven? Yes, that is what I thought. The best part is that this is something so normal in their culture. You can actually watch the “regulars” sitting on the side of the pools playing a game of chess like this is simply part of their daily routine! It was absolutely wonderful. So relaxing, so different, and I was so incredibly lucky to have been able to experience such a unique culture.

Another Day in Siena

Imagine yourself wandering through a museum of paintings, ranging from modern art to beautiful portraits of the countryside. You come across the largest painting of the entire collection, covering almost an entire wall. Its picture consists of rolling green hills, luscious with new growth, and a sea of fog whose tide is slowly being pulled back to its home in the mountains. In the distance, you see medieval villages of deep red brick, contrasting perfectly to the green surrounding. You look to the left of the picture and notice a larger city with the sun slowly peaking out from behind the tall, narrow brick walls. The sky is fresh and streaks of light pink and gold pierce the new morning sky. This is the image I wake up to everyday, and I consider myself one of the luckiest girls on earth.

I have been in Siena 6 full days now and I am completely in love with the city. It is the definition of a medieval setting that one might find in a storybook from ages ago, where chivalrous men ride noble steeds and save beautiful ladies trapped in towers. Cheesy, yes…but I also happen to thrive off of cheesy moments. Being a very small city full of narrow streets, no one truly drives here, we all simply walk. The streets are lined with shops and markets, family owned restaurants and cafés, and absolutely gorgeous wooden doors that look like they once belonged to castles, leading to the apartments that tower the streets. Many of the buildings consist of deep grey, red, or brown brick, but you can always find splashes of color belonging to the clothes hanging on the lines outside of the windows above or from the flower boxes resting outside of the tiny balconies. Everywhere I turn, there is some hidden piece of history by means of paintings or statues which have been incorporated into the walls of the city, making me feel as if I am living inside of a museum. I have never been to a more beautiful place and no matter how much I write, words cannot describe it. The past few days have been crammed with tours, dinners, wine tastings, and simple adventures. It’s almost impossible to get lost in this city, but whenever the chance occurs, my friends and I simply put the maps away and walk until we stumble upon something beyond what we would have ever found if following a map. It is by doing this that we have come across flea markets exploding with antiques, churches which have actually managed to keep body parts of Catholic Saints on display for hundreds of years, and views that make your stomach drop and heart sing.

First night that we spent in Siena, I experienced my first true Italian meal. It consisted of four courses, never ending wine, and 3 hours of amazing conversation. I have already made an amazing group of friends and I feel as if I have known them all for years. There is definitely something about studying abroad that brings people together and it’s ridiculously awesome. After eating enough food to feed a small village, we decided to spend our first night exploring the busy streets of Siena. That was when we stumbled upon the Campo, which is a huge opening in the center of town consisting of many restaurants and the famous Campanile. I could have laid there for hours, taking in the surroundings and the gorgeous stars. Definitely a perfect first night in Italy.

The days have flown by since then. Life here is so very different from the US in that it is calm. People are not so focused on where they are going or what they have to do, but focus more on the present and on making most of the time that they have. Honestly, I have loved dining like the Italians. It is completely normal and actually expected for a group of people to sit for hours, sharing food, wine, and each others' company without any worry for the time. And oh the food! Once you eat real Italian, there is no going back. Over the past few days, I have eaten the best risotto of my life, managed to consume a calzone as big as my head, and discovered that nutella on a pizza is the best man-made creation of all time. I may or may not have licked that entire pizza dry…the world will never know. I could honestly go on for hours and hours about the food, but I suppose that will just have to be another blog altogether.

When people learned that I was going to Italy, the first question many asked was whether or not I knew any Italian. I definitely did not, but part of the program was to take an intense Italian course during our first two weeks of living in Italy. Five days later and I actually love it! Such a difference compared to speaking Spanish for about 50 minutes, then leaving the room only to go back to English. Living in the culture has completely changed my perspective of learning a language. There is an actual goal beyond only having to take a language for course credit. Have I embarrassed myself? I will answer that question in story form. Last night, a group of friends and I escaped to a restaurant on the outskirts of town where the staff spoke only Italian. Little old me decided to practice my newly learned skills and order for myself. Things did not go so well, apparently, since the waiter stood there, looking very confused, began to laugh, and uttered something very quickly in Italian as he walked away. I looked to my friends, who are much more skilled at Italian than I am, in hopes that they would explain what had just happened. Apparently, rather than be impressed that I was practicing my newly learned skills, he sarcastically commented that I was definitely off to a great start and that I should probably just stop talking. Ouch? We actually never saw him again that night, but oh well, his loss! We did, however, make many friends with the staff that night and I found that the best way to learn is to practice!

I know this is such a short overview of my time in Siena so far, but as things begin to slowly settle within the next few days, that will definitely be changing. So until then, arrivederci!

A Flashback to London

Ciao! It’s day 8 of my European adventure, and time has escaped me. I feel as if I have been in another world. A world of kings and queens of old, of medieval horse races and cobbled streets. As I write this, I am sitting on the roof of our hotel, overlooking the Tuscan countryside. I am the lucky girl who gets to wake up to this view every morning and watch the sun rise over the deep red brick of the city.

Before I get too ahead of myself, however, let me back track over the past couple days. After a 3 hour flight from Dallas to D.C., and another 8 hours flight, I made it to London, where I was to spend the next 2 days. Never in the history of my life have I felt so incredibly energized yet so miserable from exhaustion. I had gotten very little sleep and then was told to wander the streets of London until later that day. Talk about an experience. We stayed in Kensington, which is one of the cities within London, and simply wandered the city until we had nearly collapsed from exhaustion. However miserable we may have been, though, it was absolutely fantastic. Having never been to London, I loved simply walking the streets lined with bookshops and restaurants, watching the cute little cars whisk past us…almost hitting our group in the process, and just taking in the hustle and bustle of the city. After what seemed to be the longest day of my life, thanks to a 6 hour time change, we were finally able to collapse into our beds and shower before going out again for the evening. Wandering the streets again, looking for some place to eat that was not overwhelmingly crowded, we finally settled for a genuine pub. I don’t even care how lame it may be to say this, but I now completely understand why pubs are so popular. I also had the honor of ordering my very first beer…and that was an awkward/exhilarating moment that I will never forget. The next day, my friends and I were able to spend the entire day exploring London. I will never forget the feeling that I received while standing in front of Westminster Abbey. It was so unreal, so incredibly huge and gorgeous and so full of history, and little old me was standing right in the middle of it all! We, of course, visited Buckingham Palace, where I couldn’t help but pretend to wave to Kate and William, and then moved on to the Tower of London where we truly learned all there was to know about the royals. Such an amazing experience, I can’t even explain it. I have always loved stepping into a different time, and although certain parts of London made me feel as if I were just in a different part of the states, many other parts made me feel like I was a part of history. One of my favorite parts of that entire day, however, was riding the tube. Growing up, my favorite book was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. While standing at the platform, waiting for the next train, I imagined myself being whisked away to Narnia. Obviously, I am a pathetic 20 year with the imagination of a 10 year old, but the feeling of being whisked away to another place just seems to magical, and that is exactly the feeling I received on the tube. I loved the hustle and bustle, and the millions of people cramming into the tiny car which took us to a new part of the city within minutes. It was intimidating, of course, but it was the definition of adventure. By the end of the day, I felt like a true Londoner…until I looked the wrong way when crossing the street and was almost hit by a taxi…flashback to the reality of being a crazy American. However, all in all, my trip to London was amazing. I loved witnessing how a culture so similar to our own could still be so different. I loved walking streets that smelled of history. Lastly, I loved simply being out in the fresh air, walking the streets, and learning something new about myself with every step.

Two Days and a Morning

Sitting in the solace of my room, I can't help but let my eyes wander the walls that have surrounded me for the past 7 years. Memories begin to flood my mind and I can see my 13-year-old self unpacking what seemed to be an endless amount of boxes, struggling to make this room a means of escape from her new reality. Almost as if someone has hit the fast-forward button of my life, I begin to see the multitude of friends wandering in and out over the years. Some stayed for a while, some left after only a few minutes. The room, however, always stayed the same. But rather than take comfort in this fact, I always longed for the day when the scenery would change and I would be able to feel as if I were on a real adventure. It's almost funny to look back upon the minds of our younger selves and simply reminisce in the ignorance of our thoughts. I longed for an adventure, a means of escape, a story that I could tell people for years to come, yet it has taken me until recently to realize that I have been living that exact adventure. I have lived in places I never dreamed of going, befriended people that have made my life worth while, and learned things I never knew I was capable of comprehending. For so long, I have been waiting to start living the adventure I have always dreamed, when in truth, I have been living it all along. In two days and a morning, the adventure only continues. This is the adventure I have been waiting for, yet now, I am attempting to look upon it as just another chapter to the adventure of my life. Will it be one of the more thrilling chapters? I would definitely like to say yes, but aren't all the chapters supposed to be thrilling? I suppose it all depends on perspective. However, I will admit, this is one chapter that I am definitely ready to begin.