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Published: March 5th 2012
This semester continues to absolutely blow my mind. Spring break was amazing, everything I had hoped for. Yes there were some rocky points and some situations but in all honesty, the rough times made the great times ten times better. When they talked to us about coming over here we were warned to remember that it really is the real world and things go wrong and its not like a big dream over here. And yes, it isn't a dream here, but it is pretty damn close! As long as you are smart and aware of your surroundings and keep your head on your shoulders, this semester is a dream come true, at least it is for this curious traveler. So spring break. There is so much to say. I went to three places: Paris, Brussels, and Barcelona and each experience was awesome in it's own way. Let me start from the very beginning.
It started at 1am Thursday morning with a phone call from Sam telling me our flight had been canceled and our only choices were either leaving at 4am to catch an early flight to avoid the strike that was happening that day or to go at around 6 at night so naturally, Jules and I took the 6pm flight so we could get some rest. Oh, I forgot to mention, for the Paris part of my trip it was just Jules and I traveling together, which you may think is scary, two college girls traveling alone across Europe, but hey, come on now, you are underestimating us! So in the morning Jules and I went to go check train times and that resulted in us sprinting from the school to the train station, getting our tickets, and getting on the train all in 20 minutes. Mind you that walking from the school to the train station alone usually takes over 35 minutes. That was an accomplishment in itself. After that we figured out the train and the airport and got ourselves on the flight to Paris. It was great to do that in all honesty because usually when we travel Jules and I are the ones who just follow and take it all in. The whole time in Paris was all about us proving to ourselves that we could do it on our own if we had to, and we did! Using the train, figuring out the maps and destinations, the planes the trains, all of it! That was such a gratifying feeling knowing that we can be so independent. Before this I had never been on a plane by myself so figuring out the airport was a big tasks. Well, not such a BIG task, but it felt big, because it felt like more than just getting around on our own. It kind of represented a step in our lives, like this whole semester has been. Being able to do things on your own, being able to travel across Europe by yourself. Being able to do the whole process of traveling by yourself. Being able to do that says something to me. Something important.
FIRST STOP: PARIS
The first day in Paris was very...dull. But that was completely our fault. We didn't have anything planned and we were not quite sure what to do with ourselves. I think we were kind of blown away by it all, so the first day we mostly just hung around the Eiffel Tower, Arch di Triumph, and the Champs Elysse street which was cool, but we definitely could have done much more. But the truth is the first day I was a little bit worried that Paris was not meeting my expectations. I was scared that I had built it up so much in my head that I was being let down. But it only took one day for me to figure out that Paris was better than my expectations, because it ended up being my favorite part of the trip. The first night I discovered that french wine is much different than Italy wine. It is stronger, and it packs a hell of a punch! Well, don't get the wrong impression here. It was one glass of wine at dinner haha it was just stronger than any Italian wine I have yet to discover. Jules and I didn't go out at all in Paris past around 11pm because by that time we were so exhausted from seeing everything we had to get rest. And that was totally fine with me because Paris wears you out for sure, so you need rest to see as much as you can during the day.
To make up for the first day, we kicked it into turbo drive for the next two days. We filled up on baguettes from our pretty awesome hostel in the morning and headed to the catacombs for our first task. In line we drank hot chocolate with french cream (recommended by Erin!) and had a macaroon (they are EVERYWHERE IN PARIS. a little too sugary for me personally). Once we got into the catacombs neither of us knew what to expect but it ended up being bones and skulls everywhere! It was all in french so we had no idea what it was about, but it was cool to see, and it was a really unique experience. At the catacombs we met this really nice English couple who told us what to see and what to do and from there we really made an effort to see everything we could. From there we went to the Louvre, which is the biggest museum that I have ever seen in my life, and it is also home of the original Mona Lisa. With not much time to spare, we made it our goal to just see the Mona and then head out of the museum. When we finally got to the Mona Lisa we chuckled for a bit at how it was surrounded by these huge, glorious paintings full of color and beauty, meanwhile everyone is taking pictures of this little, dull colored painting, but all in all in was pretty cool to say that we have seen the original. After seeing a few more things in the Louvre we headed out to lunch where I had my first crepe in France which was very much up to my expectations. I must add that each time we would take a metro to a different part of Paris, it felt like a whole new city. Each stop had its own feeling and atmosphere which really impressed me. But after indulging in my glorious crepe with ice cream, we headed to the Notre Dame area. The Notre Dame itself was impressive, but what added to the vast beauty of this area was at night the river was absolutely wonderful. The water and the bridges and the lights all came together to form a picturesque scene that you would expect to see in a picture of Paris, on a postcard perhaps. The area was so lovely, we decided to stay there and sip red wine and casually take in the scenery. Paris was so funny because Jules and I were constantly surrounded by romance and couples everywhere. The whole time was spend cracking jokes about dateskys haha it was great. I couldn't be more happy with the travel arrangements that we decided upon. Jules is one of those people that I can spend days with without being annoyed at all. She is great! She kind of reminds me of Karly, which is a big compliment! I actually called her Kar once, which is when I realized that she reminded me of her. We missed our roommates, but Jules and I are so chill and easygoing that it made the whole experience that much better!
Our last day in Paris was epic. We started at the antique market called The Punces (aka the fleas), which is pretty famous. I got this beautiful antique clip and I was in heaven. I loved every minute of the two hours we were there, although Jules was slightly less enthusiastic about it. Shes a good sport though, and she took it with a smile. I had been trying to find a really unique broach for my aunt so Jules was on the hunt for that with me. I am such an antique nerd. I blame it on my family and the auction. But I love it! I love searching through things that most people would see as junk and being able to find something so beautiful, the diamond in the ruff if you will. Anyway, after antiquing we went to the Sacre Coher area which was one of my favorites. The church itself was breathtaking, and sitting on the steps, listening to the entertainers sing and play guitar was a highlight of the trip. Behind the building were these amateur artisans whose works were amazing! I bought a small watercolor but there were these black and white acrylics that I would have absolutely died for, but I couldn't fit it in my bag. That area was awesome and I highly recommend it to anyone going to Paris. It also has a great lookout point over Paris, I wasn't there during the evening, but I bet that the lights of Paris would make it an even more spectacular sight. After that, in the evening we headed back to the Eiffel Tower area to catch a water boat ride, since I heard from my Dad that it is the thing to do in Paris. Overall, it was a nice thing to do, but due to the fact that we had already saw everything that was pointed out in the tour, we could have probably done without it. However, at the end of the tour it did introduce me to the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. Earlier in the trip, my first sight of the Eiffel Tower left me starstruck. I was baffled by the monument. Jules was getting jokingly annoyed with me because I must have used the world beautiful at least 35 times in 20 minutes. It really was. It doesn't look like the pictures. That is something that everyone should see in their lifetime. I don't know if it is just me, but it was one of the highlights of this semester by far. So back to the tour, the amazing sight was that as we were coming back on the boat, suddenly, on the hour, the Eiffel Tower started to shimmer. It was such a shock I flipped out a little bit and then got so sad because just as I sprinted off the boat to take a picture, it stopped shimmering! But it was so beautiful. I'm sorry I keep using words like beautiful, amazing, and spectacular, but there is no other way to describe these things. If you could have been there, if you could have seen this, you would surly understand. Jules and I then made a plan to see it next time it sparkled at 9pm. As we were walking to find a little cafe to wait at I remember before I came here I made a list of things that I wanted to accomplish when in Europe and the one thing I wanted to do was sip champagne in Paris. I remember my family laughing at this, thinking that I was just a dreamer I am sure. So guess what I did family...I found the perfect cafe, overlooking the Eiffel Tower, and I ordered myself a glass of champagne, and I took it all in. It was...perfect. I can just imagine my brothers face after reading that. Dumbfounded for sure, probably making some sarcastic comment following the words "son of a bitch!" hahahah But anyway, that truly was one of my favorite moments of spring break. After Jules and I finished our drinks the Tower started sparkling again so we darted across the plaza, dodging people and traffic and managed to get a few good pictures of the amazing view.
Overall, Paris was gorgeous. I cannot use a more perfect word. The next day, we headed to Brussels.
2ND STOP: BRUSSELS
I had no idea what to expect from Brussels. It was my Dad's recommendation so I made sure to stop by there to see what all the fuss was about. We met our friend Alex there and ended up with an apartment-style hostel with just the three of us which was really cool! The city itself was pretty cool. The city itself was a small town feel, but at the same time was definitely a city. It was very comfortable there, and right away I could see my Dad there, mozying around the city, just relaxing and doing some business. Naturally, because it was EVERYWHERE in Brussels, we went to go see the peeing boy statue which was the smallest statue that I have ever seen in my life. I don't know that history of it, but it was hilarious how small it was. After that we continued on to enjoy the 4 main things that you consume in Brussels: Belgian Waffles, Fries, chocolate, and beer. When we went out that night I had beer with lemonade, which was strangely delicious. A big part of Brussels was the main square, which really was beautiful. All of these old buildings branching off into side streets with cobblestones. It was so nice. One thing that we made sure to do was go from chocolate store to chocolate store trying free samples! There were so many of them that by the end of our samplings I am pretty sure I ate the equivalent of a medium sized box of chocolates! That night we were lucky enough to find a little pub to do some dancing in and from there we called it a night.
The next day we went to the atomium and the planetarium. Going to a planetarium was on my bucket list so I was so pumped to do that! The atomium was remotely disappointed on the inside, but still an experience. Since it was the middle of our spring break, we went back to the apartment after and took a little nap to re-energize, although we didn't need it when we discovered that Brussels has 0 nightlife, which makes it not a prime spot for college kids on spring break, but I am still really happy I saw the city. That night we cooked ourselves dinner and watched the Sandlot on youtube all cuddled in our bed which was so fun and relaxing. Overall Brussels was relaxing, cute, and fun. Alex is great. He gets along with Jules and I really well because he has the same humor as we do! It was fun to be with him for a few days.So after having one last waffle and grabbing my granny some Belgium chocolate bars, we were off to Barcelona.
LAST STOP: BARCALONA
The first day we got there before our roommates who we were meeting up with, so we hung out with Erin and Ashley for the day! That was so fun because I haven't gotten to travel with Erin at all until then! We roamed the beach, took pictures, and at night went to a flamenco show! That was really cool and really unqiue! After that we had tapas which is kind of like aperitivo in Italy, aka like little appetizers in America. It was a great night, very...Spain! The next morning we met up with our roommates, hung out at the beach, and went on a gondola ride up to this great castle lookout point! The beach was so much smaller then I had imagined it to be. I didn't really know what to expect out of barca, but it turned out to be great. That night we went to dinner with free champagne (much nicer than paying 11 euro for a glass in Paris...but that was worth every cent!) and had tapas again. One tapas that I got was a duck roll which was actually really tasty! The next day we mostly just walked around and whatnot, went to the cathedral of Barcelona, and got ready for our night which we were pulling an all nighter because we had a 6 am flight. At night we went out to all the clubs! We started with the ice bar which was so cool (literally!)! We got a free drink, jacket and gloves and everything was made out of nice! the walls, the glasses, the chairs, everything! We got some great pics there, then headed to all the other clubs where we got in for free because people were handing out free passes on the street. It was a crazy, crazy night in Barcelona, but regardless of that and some roommate drama, we made it back to Perugia, safe, sound, and moderately sleep deprived. But so so worth it!
Spring break...wow. That is only a brief overview. Every minute was an adventure, and it was exactly why I came here. To experience things. To see how things are outside of my comfort zone. I got to experience 3 new cultures in 10 days which blew my mind. But I am glad to be back in Perugia. It has become like a second home to me here. Its similar to my hometown in the sense that it is small, everyone knows everyone, and it is comfortable here. Now, back to classes and everyday Perugian life. But it isn't a boring life at all. My roommates and I decided that after Spring break is Perugia Round 2! Round 1 was more than amazing, so round 2? LETS GO!
ps sorry if there are some errors, don't have time to edit right now!
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