Last Post

40 posts. 10 countries. 4 months. 1 unforgettable semester. I cannot believe that it is over, and that I am going home tomorrow morning. Words cannot begin to express just how extraordinary this experience has been and how grateful I am. That being said, it was far from easy. The first couple of weeks were definitely an adjustment period and just a bit harder than I expected. I knew in those moments of feeling rather lost and unlike myself, that I would look back and wonder how I ever felt that way. Now, after many character building events, I look back on those moments and understand how I felt that way, but feel so thankful that it has only gone up from there!

I could have never predicted just how this semester turned out. Yes, everyone harps on how amazing abroad is, but even that cannot truly prepare you. I have faced little challenges on a daily basis and have dealt with details I am not going to miss, such as sharing a shower with 5 others, the inability to just pick up the phone, some aspects of the french attitude and service, the smell of stale pee on the metro, and the uncertainty of exactly what I am going to get when I order at a restaurant. I am going to miss the smell of fresh bread spilling out of bakeries, great public transportation, the beautiful architecture and monuments I pass by everyday, the light on the top of the Eiffel tower that calls me home every night, daily fashion inspiration, dinners of warm baguettes, fresh goat cheese and delicious cheap wine, and the constant adventure...just to name a few.

I have frequently been asked whether or not I feel like I have changed. I can say without a doubt: yes. However, I don't know if said change would be noticed by everyone. First, my approach to life has grown. I have come to realize through my big and small adventures that everyday can be an adventure, and every city has unique gifts to offer. I plan to take advantage of each day, even if it is just taking the long way home. Second, I feel like this semester has been a bit of a life cleanse. The combination of spending a fair amount of time alone and being so far away and relatively separated from my normal life has put everything in perspective. I feel as though I am coming back with a new outlook on and greater appreciation for who and what are important in my life.

In our last 36 hours, we worked out for the last time at our janky gym, went to our favorite bar, where the old bar tender who resembles Benjamin Franklin gave us hugs on our way out, danced all night at a new club, stopped by our favorite coffee shop and enjoyed amazing coffee and said goodbye, admired Parc Monceau, a bucket list item, ate lunch at one of our favorite spots, did some vintage shopping and picked up gifts, and enjoyed a glass of wine at the same cafe we went to just 4 months before after our first day of school. And, since we strongly believe that walking is the best way to see cities,  we inadvertently walked by many spots we frequented or places we have wonderful memories along the way. What a perfect ending to a spectacular semester!

Thank you so much to all of you, especially my parents, for your support, encouragement, advice, and love. While my departure is very bittersweet, as I predicted, it is more sweet than bitter. I cannot wait to see my family and friends, I have no regrets about how I spent my time here, and I know this is just the beginning of my love affair with traveling, adventures, and, of course, Paris!! I cannot wait for the next lovely, yet (possibly) short lived experiences to come!

Last Adventure

My time abroad would not have been complete without some travel trip ups... We are supposed to be learning the hard way right? Fortunately it has all gone relatively smoothly up until this trip. This past Friday Taylor and I left for Vienna and then Budapest. We arrived at our terminal at Charles de Gaulle airport to find it was more of a warehouse than a real terminal, lacking even a place to buy a bottle of water. Silver lining: there was free wifi and a vending machine with peanut M&Ms. Eventually we hopped on a bus to our plane. We were flying Niki airlines... which we didn't really even knew was a legitimate airline...whose slogan is "Double Satisfaction". As the plane swayed down the run away for take-off, Taylor and I grabbed hands and crossed our fingers.

Fortunately we made it safely and the train into the city from the airport was very easy! After arriving at the apartment we rented for the weekend, we were greeted by the hilarious owner who apologized for sounding like a "chain-smoking drag queen"... which he didn't, for the record. We then grabbed a beer at a pub down the street before going to sleep. The next morning we woke up early and set out to explore the famous Christmas markets. They were just as magical as we could have imagined. Fortunately, they were all located in front of beautiful monuments, so we were able to explore both the stunning cathedrals, squares and government buildings, while perusing the markets and enjoying yummy treats and mulled wine.

Saturday night we took it easy, in anticipation of lots of activities to come, so we stayed in and watched the Sound of Music. Between the beauty of Vienna and the movie, Taylor and I are both determined to return to Austria. Sunday morning we walked to St. Stephen's Cathedral, which is now my favorite church in the world. The stained glass is breathtaking (see photo). After marveling at it, we caught the metro to Schönbrunn Palace. This spectacular palace was reminiscent of Versailles. And even though we risked breaking a bone or two on our icy walk to the top of the hill, the view was definitely worth it.

We then rushed back to our apartment, grabbed out bags, and went to the train station. We expected to be able to print our tickets at the station, since that is what is said on them. Unfortunately, they had to be printed in France...and we were in Austria....so we had to re-buy new tickets. However, because it was so close to departure, we did not have seating assignments and had to find open seats. In examining the fine print on our tickets, after suffering another 40 euro blow to the wallet, we discovered they were refundable. Thank goodness for free wifi! We logged on our phones and cancelled our original tickets!
Once we got on the train, we found 2 open seats next to each other. 20 minutes later, at the next stop, the couple who were assigned our seats forced us out. Unfortunately, there were no more open seats, so Taylor and I stood next to the baggage for the next 2 hours to Budapest...

We finally arrived in Budapest and mapped our way to the hotel. Thanks to Taylor's mom, for her 21st birthday, we were staying the Marriott and couldn't have been happier for a nice shower and big comfy bed! Just in case that wasn't heavenly enough, we had the most incredible view of the Buda Castle District from our window! Our friend Natalie from Hopkins met us in Budapest and joined us on this adventure! That night for dinner, we walked over to an awesome Christmas market in the square near the hotel. It was very different from those in Vienna. It had more seating areas and traditional food instead of trinkets and crafts. We took advantage of the seemingly affordable prices... however we weren't totally sure since $1 is about 220 Hungarian Forints... and the delicious traditional hungarian cuisine. Stews, paprika chicken, cheesy doughs and cinnamon chimney cakes were more than satisfying!

On Monday, thanks to Natalie, we visited the American Embassy and spoke with someone who worked there. He showed us around and explained to us the interesting, yet intricate, relationship between the US, Hungary and the EU. Afterwards, we went on a walking tour of the city. It was wonderful to see all the sights and hear about the history, even though it was maybe 30 degrees.

Monday night we went the Szimpla, which was recently rated the 3rd best bar in the world, to ring in Taylor's 21st birthday! The bar is a ruins bar with an ecelectic mix of decorations, including sawed in half bath tubs and a fax machine. It was very different but so cool.  Tuesday morning we woke up to delicious room service before more sight-seeing.

We walked over to Hero's Square to admire the statues and the castle. We also checked out the Banksy graffiti art exhibit in one of the museums. The exhibit was interesting, but our favorite part was a Banksy directed documentary called "Exit Through the Gift Shop" about a fellow street artist, Mr. Brainwash. We only intended to watch the first 10 minutes, and ended up watching the whole film. Afterwards, we went over to the Hungarian bath house. Apparently Hungary is full of natural hot springs, and in the past these hot springs were converted into beautiful bath houses. They were delightfully relaxing! The perfect way to spend our afternoon. After feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, we got hot chocolate at the famous Gerbaud coffee shop.

We went to a delicious dinner for Taylor's birthday before getting in bed on the earlier side, since Taylor and I had to leave for the airport at 4 am... When we were booking this trip 10 days ago, we found this flight for 7 euros, so of course we booked it. After 3.5 short hours of "sleep", we slipped out and headed back to Paris. Unfortunately, this flight landed at Beauvais, an airport about an hour and a half outside Paris. This "airport" makes the warehouse terminal of Charles de Gaulle look lovely. We then had to take a charter bus into Paris, and in order to catch this bus, we had to walk down a dirt road between a chicken farm and a cemetery. After the nap of a night's sleep we had, this was a less than pleasant welcome back to Paris, but an adventure nonetheless.  Silver lining: the drive through the countryside was rather picturesque.

Fortunately, Taylor and I think the exact same way and were able to laugh at each adventure that was thrown our way. Even with all the minor mishaps, it was still one of our best trips of the semester! Cannot believe it was our last!

Last Tuesday Trip in Paris

The end of my block in the morning

Yesterday was my last Tuesday in Paris!! Taylor and I woke up bright and early to fit in the gym before making the most of our day. We finally checked out an exhibit at Hotel de Ville that I had tried to go to at least three times. Unfortunately, every time the line was too long. 3 days before it closed, we finally checked out Paris vu par Hollywood, an exhibit full of clips, costumes, posters, props and photos of American films that showcase the beauty of Paris. After quoting her so many times, it seemed only fitting to watch a clip of Audrey Hepburn in Charade on my last tuesday in Paris. After gawking at the eternal beauty of this city, we hopped on the metro up to Montmartre to our favorite spot to do a little work. We then popped back down to our neighborhood to pick up goodies at Le Bon Marche and check some more errands off our list of lasts.

For dinner, we had our final girls night at Maddi's apartment, filled with our usual baguette, goat cheese, etc... with the addition of champagne and homemade vin chaud. After sufficiently stuffing ourselves, we snuggled up to watch Midnight in Paris. While I loved this movie the first and second time, I now have a whole new appreciation for it. We were able to name every shot from the opening sequence, we have stood in front of each monument they marveled at, and we have studied each artist Owen Wilson encountered.

Watching this movie reminded me of all of the amazing opportunities and adventures I have had in Paris. Although it has been different than I would have imagined, I am so much happier with the experience I have had. I'm sure many of you who have been reading this blog from the beginning and chatted with me about this adventure before it began have been waiting for the posts detailing the vespa rides, parisian boyfriend and glamorous lifestyle. I was expecting to write them. However I quickly realized that those were not the most important aspects of this semester. Instead I have totally and completely fallen in love with Paris, which has built a relationship that will last much longer than any fling I would have had in these four short months. I am reminded of this every night on my walk home as I walk towards the illuminated Eiffel Tower. It has also fed my sense of adventure and desire to travel more than I could have imagined. I cannot wait to keep feeding it in Vienna and Budapest this weekend, and then in Australia in 2 weeks!

Today, after making pumpkin pancakes for brunch, Taylor and I went to the Rodin Museum which was absolutely stunning! The sculptures themselves were marvelous, however the backdrop of Invalides and the Eiffel Tower add a certain je ne sais quoi! Unfortunately, I now have to study for my final exam,  but posts about my last 8 days in Europe to come!

From Left to Right: Invalides, The Thinker, Eiffel Tower

Surprise!!

A few weeks ago, Taylor and I made a spur of the moment decision to surprise our friend Phoebe for her 21st birthday. She and Taylor's boyfriend are studying in Geneva, and our other friend Liz was visiting that weekend too, so it seemed like the perfect plan! We quickly bought our train tickets online and started scheming with our friend Rachel, who is also studying in Geneva. Finally Saturday arrived and we hopped on our trains (separate ones due to a booking mishap... whoops).

After a beautiful ride through the snowy country side, we met Rachel in the train station. We then quickly dropped our bags off and ran to meet them in town. Luckily, almost everyone else on their program knew and helped us with the surprise. As we were walking up the cobble stone street towards them, they turned and saw us. Tears, laughter, screams and hugs ensued. It was a perfect surprise! They had no idea, and the looks on their faces were priceless!!

We then spent the rest of the day at the Escalade celebrations, which celebrates Geneva's defeat over a surprise attack in the early 17th century. Today, Escalade is a big festival filled with children in costumes, lots of food and hot wine, and 17th century garb (including cannons being shot off). After wandering around, we went back to their dorm to rest before surprising Liz, who was flying in from Madrid. On our way to dinner for Phoebe's birthday, they met Liz at her bus stop while Taylor and I hid around the corner. As she turned we popped out to surprise her. She stopped dead in her tracks and couldn't believe it! Surprise Success! Then more tears, laughter, screams and hugs followed!

The rest of the night was filled with yummy food, lots of champagne, and great friends! The next morning we woke up, put on our reindeer onesies, which we purchased in London, and made pancakes, eggs and coffee. Unfortunately Taylor and I had to catch our train back (still in our onesies), but the quick trip was way more than worth it. I know that this was a surprise we'll never forget! Being all together again makes me more excited to go back to Baltimore in January!!

Week at a Glance

I Spy on my walk to my Sorbonne course...

Although it may not seem like it to you, I am actually here to study and these past couple weeks have been full of assignments... hence the lack of exciting mid-week posts. With only one week left of classes, all of my assignments are culminating. Fortunately, my work load is a bit less than that of Hopkins, therefore I have been well-prepared.

My walk home

Last Thursday, I gave a 30 minute presentation with two French students in my French grad class on sustainable development. Thankfully, it ultimately turned out well, not without a few glitches along the way, of course. The paper on our presentation, that accounts for the other 50% of our grade, is due today. Joint Seminar: check!

Festive walk to school

On Monday I gave a presentation on the artist Piet Mondrian and the role of trees in his work. I have one more exam for my art history class, then that class is finished as well. Yesterday, Taylor and I gave a presentation on Man Ray for our final for our Political Culture course. Fortunately we finished it a couple weeks ago, in preparation for this crazy week! One more class down! Tomorrow, I have an exam and a paper due for my academic writing course, then I am finished with assignments for that course too!

Soundtrack to study abroad

Fortunately, I was well-prepared for this week and finished most of the work ahead of time in an attempt to alleviate any possible stress. I have been quite enjoying this stress-free lifestyle... hopefully I can continue it. This preparation also freed up time Monday evening and Tuesday to play around Paris with my big-big in my sorority and one of my closest friends Lauren and her friend Saya who were popping through Paris on their european travels on their way home from six months in Africa! As I've mentioned more than a few times, there really are no words to explain just how wonderful it is to reunite with great friends!

Can't believe I go home two weeks from tomorrow!!! Prepare yourself for sappy posts to come...

When in Rome...

Rome definitely wasn't built in a day, but this weekend my friends Liza, Amanda and I managed to successfully pack its incredible monuments, delicious food and thousands of years of history into about 36 hours.  On Friday afternoon, Liza and I hopped on a plane to meet Amanda, who is studying abroad in Rome, for a fabulous weekend. After arriving later Friday night, we enjoyed an amazing meal before meeting up with more friends for drinks. For someone who wouldn't touch fish six months ago, I am proud to say that I am still dreaming about the spaghetti with tomatoes and sea bass we ate. Saturday we were up bright and early to fit in as much as we could.

After sufficiently caffeinating with delicious cappuccinos, we headed towards the Vatican. Even through the torrential downpour of rain, the streets of Rome were still beautiful. The architecture and fading painted walls were so different than any other city I have visited. While Paris feels historical, it is so evident just how ancient Rome is. We started in the Vatican Museum and made our way past brilliant art, through the Raphael rooms to the Sistine Chapel. Words cannot begin to explain how breathtaking it was (see sneaky photos below). I was very lucky to be touring with two art history majors who could help explain these masterpieces.

We then enjoyed a wonderful lunch of pizza and the best gnocchi I have ever had, before shopping and wandering. Around every corner, you are casually presented with a spectacular church or ruins. We admired the Spanish steps, gazed at the pantheon and threw coins into the Trevi fountain. Not that I could wish for much more these days...Each monument was just as spectacular as the next. I was consistently pinching myself, and just thinking about the centuries of history that took place in the city was overwhelming.

Saturday night we met up with a friend from Hopkins who is also studying in Rome and his friends who were visiting. I have been seriously missing my guy friends while in Paris, so it was so nice to have a much needed testosterone boost. After another wonderful meal, we went to a club in the Villa Borghese. This spectacular villa was used as a party villa in the early 17th century... so I guess we really did do as the Romans do?

Sunday morning, Liza and I woke up, packed up and walked to the Coliseum. I will let my photos do the talking, since I am still in awe of this breathtaking venue.

After a lunch that continued our streak of amazing meals, Liza and I hopped on the train to the airport and headed back to Paris. I cannot choose one favorite trip, but this one was definitely one of the more extraordinary ones. Just thinking about the history of Rome while actually standing in awe in front of the monuments is a breathtaking experience.