Risking My Life for London

April 18-21, April 30- May 2
London, England

The overall theme of the semester abroad: rest when you get back to the US. I came back from Nice

Park Coming in Clutch

Sunday night, had my last final Tuesday morning, spent Wednesday in Frankfurt, and flew out Thursday morning. Flights to and from Strasbourg to London are only Thursday to Sunday so to meet MK and Avery on Saturday I had to leave Thursday. When I arrived I made the hour+ commute to the hostel only to find it couldn’t store my bags and I would have to come back in three hours for check-in. I walked to a nearby park and finished reading my very academic book (Percy Jackson). Came back to check in and then got fish and chips for dinner. I walked around some more and then called it quits for the night… or so I tried. I think I could be a millionaire and still act like I’m on my last $20. I booked one of the cheapest hostels I could find naturally. I come back and get told that they’re doing work in the room and to come back in 15 minutes. I get it 45 minutes before I come back, and they’re still not done. It was already dark by now, so I retreated to the hostel kitchen and found the rest of my roommates. The work that they’re doing involves spraying chemicals, made evident by the worker

My Kind, One Toothed Roommate
Offered me a Mask

wearing a mask and the hallway reeking of fumes anytime the door opened. Eventually, the worker leaves, gas mask and all, and tells us when can go into the room now. One of the American girls asks if I want to grab a drink while the room airs out (we bonded earlier after both wanting to sue and ask for a refund). We go to the closet bar and the night gets more interesting. I’m greeted by a crackhead kissing my hand in greeting and asking us if we knew any music producers before bursting out in song. Then two 12-year-olds came in but I guess it was allowed because the bar is also a clothing and music shop (with a DJ). Weird vibe. I return to my illegal, toxic-infused room for the night.

 

HUGE for the Program
(Tap on the Picture to See Up Close)

I managed to make it through the night without dying! I walked across Tower Bridge (which is what most people assume London Bridge is) and explored that part of London. I then went on a music tour through the Soho area. I saw lots of old recording studios, and backdrops of album covers and was the youngest on the tour by about 20 years. That evening I met up with Shadi. She is living in London and did an exchange semester at my friend Eva’s university. I’ve only ever met her once when she came to our house with Eva for Christmas Eve 2021. Shadi and I went on a boat ride, checked out the Lego store, ate in Chinatown, and lots more entertainment.

Shadi I know We've Only Met Twice,
But I Would Die for You

The next day I said goodbye to my hostel and walked around with my giant duffle bag for three hours. I got breakfast and Borough Market then walked to St. James station near Big Ben. Avery and I have

Dynamic Duo: Sleep Deprived MK  
Without Coffee and Hyper Me

been planning an England trip since middle school so seeing her in London was HUGE! MK wasn’t included in our middle school plan, but middle school me hadn’t planned for Avery to become besties with her. I showed them no sympathy and immediately brought them on a walking tour of the Westminster area (Buckingham Palace, Big Ben area). After that, we went to the National Portrait Gallery and ate dinner in Chinatown. We might have done other stuff but I didn’t take pictures and can’t remember.

The next day we went to Noting Hill and tried our best to restrain ourselves. We only managed to buy scones, a ring (me) and matching jackets. The jackets ended up being the purchase of the century (I’ve worn mine every time there is a slight breeze). We walked around the nearby area through Kensington Gardens. I’ll have to consult MK and Avery because I don’t know what else we did before heading to Bath.

 

Mom Told Me She Preferred Avery's,
Avery's will not be Featured for Reference

We returned to London at the end of our trip on April 30th. We had spent about two weeks going through England and Scotland. We flew in from Scotland that morning and hit the ground running. We toured Westminster Abbey which did not win Avery over (she’s got a thing for Spanish churches). I got to experience London school kids singing “Kings & Queens” to the abbey worker. So glad I got to experience the most historical event to ever happen in the abbey.

Sporting the Jacket Again

MK went Avery back to the National Portrait Gallery while I wandered. We then got soft serve and revisited the London sights now that they weren’t sleep-deprived. The next morning I was super excited for. Up until now, I had done most of the London we’ve done in my February visit. Today was going to be new stuff for me. We went to the Tower of London and got a tour from a beefeater. Right after I

exited the crown jewels, only seeing about half of the Tower, I got a call from the Airbnb person. Turns out I only got it for one night instead of two and we needed to be out of there two hours ago. Whoops. Mary Katherine thankfully came with me and we rode the hour to get there, frantically packed our stuff, and tried to find another place all while I held back my stress/tears/anger. We found a hostel and moved our stuff. We met Avery at Tower Bridge three hours later. To boost my spirits and feed my belly we went to Borough Market. If there’s one thing I can rely on it's food. We got mushroom risotto,  doughnuts, and the famous chocolate-covered strawberries. The evening ended at Shakespeare’s Globe for a performance of “Much Ado about Nothing.” I have beef with Harry Potter now because what was my man doing with only two lines? He was AMAZING (as was everyone else). The acting from the actors had everyone dying. Honestly, the best Shakespeare performance I’ve seen. I said goodbye to Avery the next morning. It was a very sincere “See ya later, have a good flight.” Mary Katherine and I then made our way to the airport and headed back to show her Strassy!

From AP Lit to Shakespeare's Garden

Good day mate!

Pain, Train, Automobiles (The Sequel)

April 12-14
Nice, France

All good things come to those who have a horrible commute to get there. When I committed to go to Nice I forgot how big France was. Three of my students are abroad in Milan this semester and I agreed to meet them in Nice for the weekend. Train tickets were extremely expensive, so I decided to do a 10-hour overnight FlixBus to Marseille and then take a two-hour train to Nice. As I was walking to the bus stop, I couldn’t remember if I grabbed my sunglasses or not. Thinking I had enough time (bc my apartment is 10 minutes away from the stop) I went back to grab them. I went back to the bus stop to wait. Shortly after the bus was supposed to arrive, I checked its location and it was on its way to the next stop without me. The bus had left 15 minutes before it was supposed to. I always arrive early in case that happens, but this time I used the extra time to go back to my apartment. To make matters worse, I had my sunglasses with me the whole time. I booked the next bus to Marseille which would leave in an hour. The downside was it had a connection in Leon at 3:30am. Thankfully the bus took longer to get there, so I arrived in Leon at 4:30 with my connecting at 5:15. The FlixBus area was under this bridge and to make it sketcher cops came because there was this big fight. All I want to do is get on this stupid bus. So I wait and wait, and wait. The bus NEVER SHOWS UP!!! I’m stranded in Leon. To end this horror story, I got an Uber to the train station and got a train to Nice. I will forever have beef with FlixBus (I’ll go on to ride with them four more times).



But as I mentioned earlier, all good things come to those who have a horrible commute to get there. Nice heard that I thought Bruges was the best and it decided to one-up it. I had an hour to kill before my students arrived, so I walked to the beach. On the way there I stopped at the market, got some pineapple, and ate it on the beach. I love my Strasbourg A&M group, but I didn’t know them before studying abroad and we don’t have many mutual friends at A&M. With my students, it felt like I was back at A&M. I also just love them and it's always good to surround yourself with people who are obsessed with you.

2nd Attempt bc We Took Our
First Pictures at the Wrong Turn

We checked into our hostel and then walked around before catching the train to Monaco. I was expecting a little more based on the hype. Other than the fancy cars that drove by, and all the yachts parked, it looked like most cities. We spent a few hours there just walking around. We went into the casino and I got my picture taken by the famous F1 turn. It’s the sharpest turn in the F1 circuit (I know that because of Andrew). My life is complete knowing I’ve been to the set of the Monte Carlo movie.

Academic Weapon
                                                   

The train we were supposed to catch back got canceled, so we had to board the next one. It wouldn’t have mattered except I had to be on a Zoom soon for business honors about my internship class. I ended up using one of my students' phones to zoom in (because mine was almost dead) on a very crowded train. I lost connection and gave up about 12 minutes into the 30-minute Zoom. Hopefully, it wasn’t important.

The next day we went to the market and then the beach. At the market, I got five prints. In my defense, they were all pretty and two were for my roommates. I also got a smoothie and pastry. We chilled at the beach and then I chilled in the freezing water. When I got out a Northern Irish guy was talking to my students. We talked for a little and as we went to get lunch he asked if he could come. He stuck around for lunch, and another market, and gelato, and a park. He was with us for the whole day. Normally I wouldn’t mind, but he was kinda annoying and we couldn't talk about anything A&M-related without having to explain it to him. On the bright side, the gelato was amazing and the park was my favorite part of Nice.

Typical Park Attire

Still Thinking About That
Sandwich

My students left around 11 the next day, while my flight wasn’t until 7. I got another salami sandwich (got one the first day) and ate it at the beach. I think my dad’s spirit possessed me as soon as I came to Europe because not only am I eating sandwiches all the time for lunch, I’m eating salami sandwiches. As I was chilling on the beach, a man came up to me and after a very awkward conversation with lots of pauses on my part (to hopefully get him to leave) he asked me if I wanted to work on his boat. Sir, call me when you find someone dumb enough to believe your story and fake boat picture. I went back to the park and walked around the rest of the day, before heading to the airport and flying back. Knowing I had a flight back was the only thing that got me through my horrible commute to Nice.

Wouldn't You Stay up All Night and do
a 12hr Commute for Them Too 😍

Seeing my students was amazing!! We swapped our traveling stories and we got to talk about mutual friends and what’s been going on at A&M. I didn’t know how much I needed to talk to people back home. I’ve been really bad about communicating with my A&M friends because of the time zone, and I also don’t want to come across as bragging when I tell them how I’ve been. So, I’ve kinda been out of the loop and missing my friends.


Nice became my top city after that weekend. Part of it was the company, part of it was finally seeing the sun, and part of it was having a chill beach weekend. It did make coming back and having to study for my last final horrible though. I think I studied maybe 3 hours.

View from our Hostel
(Got Bug Bites bc we Kept our Door Open Though)

PS: Sorry for the long wait. After Belgium, I stayed in Strasbourg because I had finals. Then after Nice, I had my last final, and immediately set off to London and have been traveling since. Ask MK, I’ve been stressing over not updating my fans.

Au revoir!

Saw Jesus on Easter

March 29-April 1
Luxembourg, Luxembourg & Bruges & Brussels, Belgium


I think part of my Lent was having to not travel on the weekends. And thank goodness Easter brought with it the end to my traveling drought. I spent any free time I had the past two weeks trying to figure out where to spend Easter and I ended up with my last resort: Belgium. Then it turned out to be one of my favorite trips.


I was still figuring out my plans on Tuesday when I asked my Hungarian friend in French culture what her plans were. She was going to Luxembourg and Belgium with the girl from Ohio and California. I went to London with them, and the girl from California had invited me on the trip earlier. So I joined them. I booked an earlier train to Luxembourg because it was a bit cheaper than the one they were going on. On Friday, I got to the train station and couldn’t find the train number on my ticket, so I just matched it with the time to see what platform. There was only one 7:50 so I thought it was fine, despite being a little hesitant. After about 15 minutes I realized that I was headed to Switzerland and not towards Luxembourg. I accidentally got a ticket for the 7:50pm train and not am. It’s usually in military time, so I’ve gotten used to disregarding the am and pm. I got off at the next stop and bought a ticket back to Strasbourg and then another to Luxembourg. I had a connection on the way to Luxembourg which was a bus. When a small white van pulled up, I was a little surprised. It was not what the term “bus,” or the professional printed-off ticket was implying. Regardless, I hopped on and rode in the 8-person van the last hour and a half to Luxembourg.

Wall of Luxembourg >>> Wall
of China

The only reason I wanted to go to Luxembourg was because it’s so close and I’ll probably never go again. I could spend a hot sec there and then check it off my list. And that’s exactly what I did. There was the ‘Wall of Luxembourg’ as I deemed it and that’s about it. We walked along it, near it, ate lunch, and dipped. The only good thing was the fact that tickets from there to Bruges, even factoring in the cost to get to Luxembourg, were about $100 cheaper than leaving from Strasbourg.

The Whole City Was This Cute

If I'm Lost Look for Me at
An Art Museum 

I got to Bruges that night. The next day I went to an art museum. It wasn’t big but it still had impressive art and ranged from the 13th century to modern art. I then walked around. It was raining so I took every opportunity I had to go into stores. It's a tourist city so there were lots of cute stores. I then ate and went on a walking tour. It stopped raining and the tour was super informative. I learned that Bruges used to be a port city but then the sand bar went up and they lost their access to the coast. As a result, they lost their whole industry and became a poor city. Because of this, the city was never able to change architectural styles and modify the city, so the city center looks just like it did in the 13th/14th century. My favorite thing that I learned was that there was a convent that operated a brewery on the side. After the tour, I got a waffle from a place the tour guide recommended. It added to the holiness or holy week. I then walked, picking up some trinkets for the rest of the day.

The Basilica

On Sunday, I went to mass at the Basilica of the Holy Blood. There is a relic there that is believed to be a cloth with the blood of Jesus. I went the day before and it was a small church so I got there 35 minutes before to make sure I got a seat. When I tried to go in, a lady stopped me and when I told her I was there for mass she didn’t believe me. She then tried to convince me to not attend mass by saying that it was going to be 2 hours long, and they were going to lock the door so I couldn’t leave. After reassuring her that I was in fact ok with those falsified stipulations, she let me in… to an empty church. Less than five people were there. Mass was an hour (like I assumed), they didn’t lock the doors (because people came in late) and I stayed the whole time. There were 11 priests and they blessed us with the relic twice. Mass was at 11 so I got out around noon. I continued my exploration and ate Belgium fries. That evening I headed to Brussels.

All That My Dad
Remembered from Brussels

All of the museums were closed on Monday and Europe celebrates Easter Monday more than Easter Sunday so almost everything was closed. I just walked around the whole day trying to kill time before my 6:30 bus ride back. I saw all the landmarks, and most parks and walked two hours (one there and one back) to see a church. I clocked in a little over 16 miles.

I rode the 8-hour bus back and got back around 2:30. Bruges now tops the list

of favorite places I’ve been this semester with Brussels (due to circumstances)

is last.

Dream Combination

Locked In & Locked Out

March 15-28
School, Library, Lauren’s Apt. 

Let me start this by saying: I had it coming. I knew eventually I would have to do some schoolwork. The two weeks after my mom and Liz left I spent grinding. I know you don’t want to hear how hard it is to work on a project and do some readings while living in Europe, so I’ll save you. BUT… I did have a 3-day intensive class and got locked out of my apartment (I have every right to complain about that).

In Europe, they have intensive classes where the whole course takes place in the span of a few days rather than the whole semester. I had to take one because I was very limited on what marketing classes I could take here that would count. It was last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 8:30 to 5:30 (Friday it was 6:30). We were assigned groups and played a simulation that was supposed to mirror running a company over a few years. We had products that we had to research, design/redesign, launch, market, and more. The instructions were 69 pages if that tells you anything. To add pressure, we were competing against other groups and ranked by our financial results. There really wasn’t any lecture, just fast-paced grinding. We were kinda thrown into the wind and did our best. I’ve had better weekends here.

We Were Team S
RIP

On Saturday morning, we finished the simulation and then had to work on a presentation. It was due at noon and then my group presented at 2:30, so I went back to my apartment for lunch. When I leave in the morning for class, I always put my keys in my purse before and then grab and go, but when I come back I always put them down. So when I arrived, I put them down and when I left, I thought they were in my purse. This wouldn’t be a problem, except for the fact that my door (along with every European door) locks automatically. As soon as I closed the door, I realized my mistake. I headed back to class and quickly texted the apartment people because when I moved in they told me there was an extra key. Class got done at 5 which was great, but the apartment people hadn’t texted me back. The French don’t answer anything past work hours and no one works on Sundays, so I thought I was screwed till Monday morning.

My Makeshift Bed
(Blanket not Featured)

Lauren (my A&M friend for those who need a refresher or haven’t read my previous blogs), kindly offered me shelter and food in her apartment. At some point during the 50-minute walk over (because I act like the tram doesn’t exist), it started raining and I almost booked a flight back home. At Laurens, I was treated to ramen, wifi, her clothes, and a spot on the floor. In return, she got free entertainment. At some point in the night, I was showing her OJ Simpson's TikTok account because when are sleepovers ever normal. Shortly after, I started watching YouTube videos on how to break into an apartment and was making makeshift tools out of my plastic water bottle to break in. After practicing on Lauren's bathroom door, I finally utilized the tram and tried breaking in. As soon as I saw the door, I knew it wasn’t going to work. After some failed attempts and only minor damages to my university ID card and water bottle tool, I gave up.

Sunday morning I got a call and picked up the spare keys. At 12:30 on Sunday, I finally got to enjoy my weekend.

Au revoir!

PS: We got 2nd to last in the simulation game after being last the whole time

Flew in a French Translator

March 8-17
Munich, Germany & Strasbourg
Featuring: Mom and Liz

My mom came to visit me because she knows I’m not coming back, Lizzy came so she could brag to all her friends. I met them in Munich, and then they visited me for a few days in Strasbourg before they headed to Lucerne, Switzerland.

Okayyy Germany

I got less than 24 hours in Strasbourg before I caught a bus to Munich. Whenever there is a train strike, FlixBus becomes my bestie. This time it was the Germans and not the French on strike. It was close to a seven-hour ride. Although hearing about my mom and Lizzys' experience with the trains, my journey was better. I'm a professional traveler now, so I had snacks, a pillow, a blanket, and movies downloaded. At one point during Cheaper by the Dozen, I looked out the window and realized we were driving through the mountains. I think it was the Black Forest. I arrived close to 10, so I headed to the hotel right before my mom and Liz crashed.

That's Lizzy not Me

We spent most of Saturday at the Dachau Concentration Camp. It was the first concentration camp and used as a model for all the others. Visitors can go into the buildings, and one was filled with information plaques. We then returned in the evening and went into a few churches. I then introduced them to Rituals. It is a fancy European Bath & Body Works that we’re obsessed with. Liz was sold. We then went into an H&M home and a H&M with a cafe and makeup section. Cultural shock. We also went into a Lego store. In every Lego store we’ve been to, they have the country's landmarks. So, I’m tempted to make a whole Instagram post of my travels, but they’re all the Lego versions. In one of the churches we went into we decided to go to mass there that night rather than Sunday morning. After, we went to dinner. I got another schnitzel, and we got a dessert that was similar to bread pudding.

She Twinned with Me, not the
Other Way Around

Just a Little Tipsy

On Sunday, we went to a former palace. It was the first palace I’ve been in on this Europe trip. We had the free audio guides and were listening to every audio in each room, until about halfway when we all collectively gave up. The rooms were just as pretty when you didn’t know anything about the history of it. Afterwards, we went to a beer garden. I don’t know the names of anything because I was just following my mom and not planning. I got coke at the beer garden. But don’t worry, I still got drunk. There was a band playing music, and I was getting flashbacks from the polka episode in The Backyardigans. We walked around after and saw a random Michael Jackson shrine on someone else’s statue. Who did it better Lizzy or Me?

We caught the train back to Strasbourg Monday morning and I became a tour guide for a city I leave every weekend. Although, I was showed up just a little because my mom has seven years of French under her belt. I showed them Primark, and they were not fans 😢. They were fans of tarte flambee though. I took them to our go-to tarte flambee place. They are a traditional meal from our region in France. It’s a flat crust with cheese cream and onions, ham bits, and any additional topping. It's good, but for €6 it’s delicious. Before dinner, I showed them around and we went into the business school.

On Tuesday morning we walked around La Petite France, which is my favorite area. When you look up pictures of Strasbourg it shows you that area. Mom then bought me a coat, which meant Lizzy wanted something too. I came back for two back-to-back lectures, which were both oddly online. I think my mom and Lizzy went on a walking tour. About an hour into the lecture, I logged out of Zoom because the professor still had not joined. She sent an email later saying she had problems, but all of us could get on, and it said on our end that the host never joined. This is the same professor who has canceled five previous classes, so I’m not really buying it. Liz and Mom were already off on their adventure, so I just stayed in till my other one started. We got dinner at the best restaurant I’ve been to in Strasbourg. After those two restaurants, I was out of places to take them for French dinner. My mom found a good one for the next day, so I was saved.

Wednesday I spent all day at the business school, while they went to Colmar. After my class got out at noon on Thursday, we had a picnic near the river to celebrate the first sunny day Strasbourg has seen this year. I’m excited for it to finally get warm here because that’s the Europe I want. We went on a river boat tour. I finally learned a little about the city I've been living in for two months now. Mom and Liz left that evening, and I finally had their clutter out of my apartment. Now I’m just waiting for Mary Katherine to get here. I stayed here this weekend because I suppose it’s about time I study during my study abroad. I’ll also be here next weekend because I have a class all day Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I’ll go back to easy class and travel the week after, don't worry.

Au revoir!
 

My French alter-ego was on Full
Blast for Them

A Redhead and a Leprechaun Walk into an Irish Pub...

March 2-5
Dublin, Ireland


I traded in Gamez for Cunniff. I went to Ireland with a redhead, and I was the one with more Irish

The Nashville of Europe

ancestry. 

Before leaving, I asked an Irish student in one of my classes for a good town recommendation near Dublin. He proceeded to write me a whole recommendation list with things to do, restaurants, pubs etc. God bless the Irish! It was our guidebook for the whole trip.

We arrived Saturday afternoon just in time for dinner and pubs. The main street was all lit up and filled with crowds. We went to a pub on the strip that had a band. You know that one commercial where everyone in the bar sings Sweet Caroline? It was giving that. The bar should have been a karaoke bar the way that everyone was singing.

Sunday morning we had perfect weather, so we spent it all outside. We walked around Trinity’s campus and it was only slightly better than A&M’s. We saw the Dublin castle, Temple Bar, and St. Patrick's Cathedral all from the outside. We then went to the Botanical Gardens. There were a few greenhouses, and the Glasnevin cemetery attached. We spent lots of time in the rainforest greenhouse because it was amazingly humid and warm. That night, we got dinner at Nando's because Lauren is obsessed with One Direction, and One Direction was obsessed with Nando's. Ask me about my Nando's hostess story later because I need to tell it dramatically in person. 

On Saturday, we went to a neighboring town, Dalkey. The town had one main street. We went to the coast and nearly got blown into the water. We got too close at one point and got soaked by a spray of a wave. We returned to town to go on an interactive tour at the Castle & Heritage Centre. When we arrived, we checked it out, and the employee convinced us to come back for a tour. The tour took place in an old castle and was led by people in character. There was an old medic, a guard, and a cook. Anytime they needed a participant, I volunteered. We headed back to town after that. We got dinner, and it was pouring, so we called in early.

Asked a Group of Guys to Take our Photo
Only to Realize They were American

We headed to Howth the next day. That town has been the best place I’ve visited so far. There was a hiking trail that went along the coast. It was a Lizzy type of hike: nice and easy. We had the trail to ourselves. After, we went into town for some calamari and fish and chips. You could easily forget that you were in Dublin, and not the east coast. The American in me was then restored by eating Auntie Anne’s at a mall back in Dublin. There was also a T.J. Maxx to complete the experience. We then started the long night ahead.

I Prefer a Coke

So… we bought a 6:00am flight out of Dublin and not a hostel for the night. We thought that since we’d be waking up so early, a hostel wasn’t worth it. So a Tuesday night bar crawl was the logical thing to do. After the mall, we sat at a park in Trinity till it went dark then went to the business school for about an hour. First bar we went to I got a Guinness. I’m not surprised that the same Irish who eat unseasoned boiled potatoes are the same Irish who drink Guinness. It was not too tasty. But I finished (my half pint). We then went to another bar and I got a cider. I don't think two bars can be considered a bar crawl, but they were too comforting to leave. We stayed there till closing at midnight. For a Tuesday night, they were both full. Since my Irish classmate gave us recs, the bars we went to were old and non-touristy. We headed back to the hostel to grab our bags and ate our leftover cold fish and chips in the lobby with our hands. There weren’t many options for the bus that takes you to the airport, so we got the 1:00 one and decided to get to the airport early. We chilled at the airport for a few hours before our flight. I'm really glad we had the time to do day trips because we got the best of both worlds. If I go back I'd love to just do the small towns. If the weather was 30 degrees warmer, it'd be a perfect country.

Au revoir!

Little Does he Know there are Bows
and Arrows at my House

City of [Concert] Lights

February 29-March 1 & March 6

Paris, France

When in Paris, eat like the French. At the beginning of our trip, this consisted of McDonald's, grocery store pizza, a bag of chips, a baguette, and a train station salmon sandwich (unintentionally). Our end of the trip consisted of Chipotle and bread. Remi would be so proud. 

Everyone Mistook us for Parisians

We pulled a Monte Carlo- we went to Paris, then caught a plane elsewhere. We had a week off for our spring break (which they called winter break), and my friend Lauren and I wanted to go to Dublin. Lauren and I partnered up for spring break because she needed to be in Paris by Thursday to meet her mom, and I needed to be in Munich by Friday night to meet mine. Plane tickets to Dublin were super expensive out of Strasbourg, but cheap out of Paris. Visiting Paris would also give us more to do over the week.

We caught a train out Thursday night and were too tired to do much. We checked into our hostel and walked around, eventually stumbling on a McDonald's. Lauren’s first time in Paris started with being told “bon appetite,” as we got handed our McDonald's meal. Because I had already been to Paris, and Lauren was seeing the main sights with her mom and sister, we made no plans. We walked over 14 miles, wandering around in the cold and rain. We started with the Tuileries Garden, which is located right next to the Louvre. We then walked down Champs-Elysees and went into the stores, as an attempt to get out of the rain. The strip has lots of designer and popular brands. There was a building in the shape of a Louis Vuitton suitcase, but we never went into it. We had to order macarons from the McDonalds on the strip. Not gonna lie, they were delicious. The strip ends with the Arc de Triomphe. We then went to the National Library of France because it was one of the only free things inside. By the time we got out, it stopped raining and was sunny! We got a grocery store lunch and were off again. We walked along the river and saw Notre Dame. It’s still under construction from the fire, so we couldn’t see the front up close or the inside.

Trees to the Right Blocked the Crane

We finished the night with a 1975 concert! Originally we were going to fly out on Friday, but Lauren loves the band and saw that they were performing, so we decided to leave on Saturday. She said tickets are really hard to get in the US, and we were able to get floor tickets the week of for Paris. The concert was a whole theatrical performance. The stage was like a '70s house with couches, TVs, rugs etc. The lamps would all be flickering in sync at times, the TVs would show live footage of the band or videos, and at one point Matty Healy, the singer of the band, was on the roof. MK heard me going off about it in detail on FaceTime, but I’ll spare you all the details. Just know it was one of the coolest things I’ve seen!

When we booked our flight it said Paris (Beauvais). That is the equivalent of saying Houston and having the airport in College Station. Make sure to check where you're flying out of in advance kids! It took us 2 hours to walk to the train station, take a train, then a bus to get there. Because of the train times, we left for our 4:00 flight at 10:00.

We arrived back in Paris on Wednesday morning. I went to Musee d’Orsay. The museum is free if you are an EU student, so I just flashed my student visa and got in. They had an impressionist floor which had art by Monet, Van Gogh, and Renoir. We took a nap because we hadn’t slept since Monday night (read about our Dublin adventures to know why). Our night ended at a jazz club. Shoutout to my Aledo neighbor Jenna for the recommendation. The music was great, but the people watching was a 12/10. It's a super famous club. The old people owned the dance floor. If I could add videos to this blog it'd be full. I caught a six-hour bus the next morning because it was super cheap. With a water bottle and bag of bread, I got on and headed back to Strasy!

Au revoir!

When the College Kids Showed Up

The jazz club: http://www.caveaudelahuchette.fr/