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.