So I feel like a blogging failure. My last two months of my studying abroad adventure were jam packed and left me no time to blog. But I did post most of the bazillions of pictures I took to FB- and you know how the saying goes- a picture’s worth a thousand words- so here is the spark notes version of what my life looked like
Spring break – 2 weeks Rome, Florence, Venice, then a cruise to Greece, Turkey, & Croatia
Rome- The history there is amazing. Walking through the streets thinking about how the people who shaped history walked the same streets I was walking. We walked SOOOO much. Stayed at the probably the worst hostel of the trip (it was basically an apartment turned hostel, funny bunkmates, cold tiny showers, ect) hey but we saved lots of money =) We celebrated Megan’s 21st on our last night. Had a great dinner at a restaurant that was basically out of a movie, popped a bottle of champagne and drank it at a little fountain and experienced the Roman nightlife, which was almost all American students. My sweet Swedish friend Anna got here phone stolen on the Metro, realized it right after it happened saw her phone in some lady’s purse and took it back- she is a bad a$$. =) Oh yeah and most importantly we had the best GELATTO ever. You order a small and you can have 3 different flavors and it is the size of your face. I don’t think we went a day in Italy with out gelato. I have spent the whole summer trying to get rid of the damage =/ it was worth ever bite =)
Florence- FELL IN LOVE right away. I could live here forever I think. A beautiful small city surrounded by vineyards, snowcapped mountains, and full of amazing food, architecture and beautiful friendly people. We had an amazing hostel with a six bunk room to ourselves, computer in our room, French toast for breakfast, cute little courtyard right out side of our room. We took a wine tour in Chianti. The bus ride was so beautiful. Tuscany is to die for. The wine was probably my favorite to top it all off. We visited a little village at the end of the day and bought some local cheese, bread, sausage, and wine that we shared riverside that night.
Venice- So unique. There are really no streets or cars. You walk or take a boat. Navigating is impossible. Forget the map and just give yourself extra time. Pay attention too. The sidewalk sometimes just suddenly ends and drops off into a canal. We took a water taxi to the near by island of Murano which is famous for glass making. A lot less crowded than Venice and simply a very enjoyable place
The Cruise- We took a 7-day Royal Caribbean cruise to finish off our spring break trip. Yeah- it was awesome. We got to eat amazing food breakfast lunch and dinner, we were constantly entertained by the staff, and we did not have to worry about catching trains or plans, finding hostels, forking out our life savings every time we wanted to eat a good meal. Also this was when the volcano was erupting in Iceland. The day or ship left was the day they closed almost every airport in Europe, so needless to say- we were on a ship that was only half full. I am so thankful we decided to travel in Italy the week before and therefore were not affected. The ship had mostly American passengers. We made friends with some many moms and dads that were really worried about us because we were traveling with out parents. It was nice to talk to adults again.
Greece- first we stopped in Corfu. It was not the Greece I had pictured- but it was the real Greece. Everywhere you could tell the economy is struggling. We walked through the residential part of town to get to the touristy city center. The Greeks always greeted us with smiles. We got to sample different types of baklava- SO good =) The next day we arrived at the island of SANTORINI- this place is out of a story book. When the ship was getting closer to the island I kept on saying how I was so surprised that there was snow at the top of the island- yeah it’s not snow- it’s the white buildings =).We took DONKEYS to the top where the village is. BEST 5 euro I spent during my travels. I don’t think I have ever smiled so much for 20 mins straight. It was so fun- yes- just like the sisterhood of the traveling pants. The rest of our day in santorini was spent exploring. We walked around most of the village, it was very quiet so that was nice. Views were amazing no matter where you looked. It felt like a dream. We stopped and had drinks and some taziki at a little bar with the most amazing view. We had this hobby when we were traveling called “have drinks with the most amazing view”. It was always worth the hunt and whatever ridiculous price we paid. Greece was a dream. I am so thankful that I got to experience this paradise.
Turkey- Honestly, it was not at the top of my places to see, but the cruise took us there- so I was excited, but had no idea what to expect. I took a tour of Ephesus and got to see the famous theater where Paul preached and also where Mary spent her final days. I’m really glad I got to take the tour and see these amazing places, but I was kind of scared the whole time. The locals hassled you to buy whatever they were selling, I have learned to expect this, but for some reason it freaked me out this time. The men would look you up and down and you never saw a Turkish woman. Later in the day when we were walking in the market near the port we got called ever name you could think of by the store keepers (Charlie’s angles, jlo, blondie,ect) Men were even asking us American girls to marry them and take them to America- hahaha- you will be happy to know we all said NO =)
Croatia- our last cruise stop. Dubrovnik is in the most southern part of the country and my first thought was “ Is this a movie set? “ It was so beautiful! We wandered around the old city and took lots of pictures. The old city is right on the water and we found a fun looking cliffy area and explored (it was safer that I make it sound). I hope to go back to Croatia and spend more time.
We spent the day in Venice before Flaying back to Paris. I meet up with some friends in Paris the next day- then it was back to school- for a week =) then 2 more weeks of traveling =)
May Trip- so technically these were our “study weeks” but who the heck needs 2 weeks to study?!?! So we planned a really great trip instead =) don’t worry I still got at 3.5 for the semester. Kim from UCF, Charlotte from Hong Kong, and I traveled to England, Ireland, and Spain during 2 weeks.
England- we had 4 rainy, but great days in London. I was so nice to not have a language barrier for the first time in 4 months. The first thing I noticed was how darn expensive London is. We saw all the sights, some crazy protests, visited the markets, and ate amazing Chinese food with the girls from Hong Kong.
Ireland- we flew into Dublin. Right away we noticed the people were so friendly- everyone wanted to help us find our way. Enjoyed the heavy Irish food- bangers and mash, pies, black pudding ect- and of course Guinness. Took a tour to Kilkenny (the medieval capital), the Wicklow Mountains, and Glendalough- all of which were beautiful. We drove through a lot of places where they filmed PS I love you and Braveheart- btw this tour was free through our AWESOME hostel. We took bus to Galway the next day. Galway was a lot smaller but really nice. We did tours both days we were there. One day to the Cliffs of Moher and the other to Connemara- probably the two most beautiful places I visited during my 5 month trip. I had dreamed of going to Ireland for the longest time, I have a lot of Irish in me and it was just really cool to see where I came from.
Spain- our time in Barcelona got cut short a little bit by the DUMB volcano. We had 1 extra day in Ireland and one less in Barcelona- but it all worked out. We had a hostel right on the Ramblas (the main street in Barcelona where all the action is.) We thought we were going to starve- my friends had told me to order tapas at dinner- and soon we learned that tapas are snacks NOT meals. We went to the market every morning and ate crazy good fruit. We toured all around the city and saw the Olympic park, the cathedrals, and my fave the BEACH! The beach was a very European beach- we all tried not to laugh too hard- but lets face it, we are immature Americans =)
That’s it for my 2 big backpacking trips- After that we had our tests- I moved out of my dorm in Angers and went to the south of France near Aix-en-Provance for 2 weeks- then Paris for 4 days – then back to the USA! I’ll blog about that later- Thanks for reading my novel- lol
