Elizabeth Bennet by Day, George Washington by Night

February 20- 26

London, England 

“At a pub with good friends, good music, and English with an accent. What can be better?” Who am I to disagree with the wise words of George Gamez? At the time, there really was nothing better. I went with two A&M girls and then two other Americans. One is from California and the other is from Ohio. While all the exchange students talk and work together in class, people stick to their home area group for weekend trips. We got in on Thursday evening and went straight to the hostel. Everyone slept in, while I hit the ground running. By the time the others left, I had walked to Big Ben, strolled around St. James Park, saw the changing of the guards, ate lunch, and was at the British Museum. Gamez vacation

England and Its Traditions 🙄 

 style wins again. When I went to Buckingham Palace, there was a crowd that seemed to be waiting for something. I looked up the changing of the guards and saw that it was at 11 that day, but it was only 9:50. I overheard people talking about the route and gesturing and my mind went to ‘a royal’s about to stroll through’. I started searching for any royal events happening, but nothing was coming up. I then decided to ask a security person and he told me the crowd was for the changing of the guards. I decided to stay, despite being a little crushed over the no royal sighting. I waited for about 35 minutes before I heard the band. I was off to the side, so I only got to see the soldiers march in and out. At about 11:30 I called it quits because it wasn't that entertaining and I had been there forever. I made my way to the British Museum, eating a BLT on the way. Thank goodness the museum was free because it was mid. I spent about an hour and a half there, spending almost all my time in the Greek and Roman section. 

The Pub was Pubing
                                                 

After that, I passed the National Portrait Gallery, so I decided to go in. This one was definitely worth my free admission ticket. It housed a lot of royal paintings and the plaques told you a little bit about the person. My favorite room housed a collection of paintings of random people. At the time these were painted, portraits had become no longer a thing for the elite. I loved the royal portraits with all their glamor, but it was giving too much history textbook vibes. I walked around some more and eventually met up with the lazy bums to go see Big Ben. We took pictures and window-shopped before we split. They went to the British Museum, while I went to the National Gallery. I loved the National Gallery. I got to see Van Gough’s famous sunflower painting, some Monet’s, and tons of Renaissance. I was there for about two and a half hours. We met up there before dinner. We ate pies at an old pub and I’ve never loved the British more. It was a vibe.

My Favorite Room in the Portrait Gallery

The two non-Aggies rented a car to go see Stonehenge and a park that was featured in the Pride & Prejudice film. Assuming this could be my one chance to do it, I joined them. To get to the car spot, I hopped on a double-decker bus and got to see the city. The drive to Stonehenge was about an hour and a half. For most of it, we were driving through the English countryside and I saw sheep! The Ohio girl was confused as to why I was so excited to see sheep in a field. Parking for Stonehenge was far out, so

Just Your Average English Park 

Me and Some Rocks
                                                   

we walked 30 minutes through some fields to see it. I was having my Jane Austen character moment. We spent about 10 minutes looking at it because there's not much else you can do, then walked back. We drove 30 minutes to the park. All I knew was that The Temple of Apollo was there, which is where the iconic rain scene in Pride and Prejudice takes place. Turns out, everything there should have been in the movie. We were there till closing, walking around. We got back to London that evening and hit up a bar. I hadn’t eaten all day because there weren't any options where we were.  After having some leftover pizza from the Aggies, I got a sudden surge of energy I'd been lacking. I was doing a Michael Jackson impersonation, had no filter, and wore my sunglasses most of the night. I took on England like I was George Washington. At the bar, we got a cider and it was delicious. We were there till they closed at midnight. After some more shenanigans, including trying to fit six people in a telephone booth, we called it a night. We left the next morning.

 

Britain Once Again Unable to Handle America 

I didn’t see many of the big London sights, but I’m holding out for when Mary Katherine and my friend Avery visit in April. Originally, I wasn’t going to go to London for that reason, but it turned out the trip was much needed. We’ve been doing smaller cities/towns and there’s only so much wandering around and admiring the architecture I can do. Plus, I needed to feel proud of myself for knowing the language of the country I was visiting. I’ve never been so happy to order my food and read the navigation correctly.

Class update: In French culture, I learned that the French are required to have 25 days off a year and if they work longer hours they are considered inefficient. Getting the student visa was the bane of my existence, but for 25 days off, I’d do it all again for a work visa. We also learned about their strikes. The French transportation system has filed for strike for the whole 2024 years, which means that they can go on strike anytime that year without going through the process (bc apparently there is one). They’re seeing the Paris Olympics as an opportunity to make a statement and the French government knows this so they’re being extra nice to them. Good thing I’m far from Paris and leaving in May. I’m getting used to being over here so my normal week doesn’t seem interesting enough to write about, but it’s still great. I have three more class days till Spring Break. I get done Thursday at noon and still don’t have a destination. I don’t feel like I deserve a Spring Break because as my mom says, ‘You're on vacation,’ but I won’t complain about a vacation during my vacation.

Shoutout to my 10 readers. Comment and use code: BringMeGift, to win a chance to get a gift from my travels. 

Merci et au revoir!

If Darcy Ever Told Me He Liked Me Against
His Better Judgement

Pain, Train, Automobiles

February 12-19
Nancy & Metz, France & Frankfurt, Germany


I know not all stereotypes are true, but why did the protesting French and strict Germans have to be? An A&M girl and I made plans to go to Paris last weekend, and I was really looking forward to it. We were unable to get train tickets though because the French transportation system went on strike. We thought we could cheat the system and make use of our German neighbors. There is a train station in Kehl, Germany, which borders Strasbourg. We looked at tickets coming out from there but it was either not available for cities we wanted to go to, or super expensive.

Nancy with the Standard European   
Grey Sky

On Friday, we ended up doing a day trip to Nancy, France because we had some friends that went and said it was cool. Well… Nancy was not fancy. We got bored after two hours and booked a train to Metz,

Hear ye, hear ye

France. Metz was a little better. There was a free museum we went to. It made mostly Greek and Roman artifacts, which I enjoyed. One room had several skeletons on the ground. I wanted a picture lying beside them, but there was a security guard in the room. We then walked around checking out different landmarks. There was this castle-gate-looking thing. It makes it hard to believe that dragons are not real when I see things like that. It was raining most of the time in Metz, but the rain here is different from Texas. We walked around in the rain for hours and left more dry than wet.

That night we were on a mission to get out of Strasbourg. After messing around with the train apps, we decided to get a 5:35am bus to Frankfurt, Germany. I woke up at 4:30 for it. I am only a morning person when it involves travel. The

Bratwurst #1 
                                                     

thought of going somewhere, allows me to get out of bed. After sleeping most of the route, we arrived at 9:30. We went to the center and checked out a church. I don’t think I understood how German Strasbourg is. The buildings look identical. Around lunch time we stumbled upon a market area. All I wanted was bratwurst and a strudel and I got both ahhhhhhh! We ate our bratwurst, then I ate some of my apple strudel, and then we got another bratwurst. We checked out an art museum. It was mostly filled with Renaissance and modern art, with sadly no Impressionism (sigh). After a quick nap at our hostel, we searched for dinner. It took us a few restaurants because they were all crowded on a Saturday night, but we eventually found one. I ordered a schnitzel and it was delicious. I don’t know why I had this theory that the Germans did not eat well. Maybe all those World War movies where they’re eating stale bread got to me.

Frankfurt Skyline

Our bus left at 10:30 the next morning so our plan was to grab a pastry and hop on. We grabbed a pastry but did not hop on. Discretion advised: If you are a responsible person who gets annoyed at people who are not- please stop reading (Mom, this pertains to you). So we did not bring our passports [insert gasp from Mom bc I know she kept reading]. We haven’t needed them in any of the places we’ve traveled because we’ve remained in the EU. This is the only trip where I did not bring it, and of course, they want it. We apparently needed it to get on the bus, yet somehow that did not pertain to the one we took there. They wouldn’t let us get on the bus without showing them our passports, so the best we could do was get a refund and find a train out. Thankfully, the bus was at the train station. We bought tickets and we were ready to get out of Germany. Frankfurt was amazing on Saturday, but Sunday morning was horrible. I saw pickpockets pickpocketing, someone passing out, and all sorts of shenanigans. I was so relieved to get on our train. It was a very pleasant 2 hours and then we got on our second train. We get on, and not only is it crowded with standing room only, but a baby is crying, and there's a homeless person next to us who smells horrible. Over the next few stops, a guy comes on with a bike and a lady comes on with a huge Disneyworld-size stroller with no kids inside. Oh wait, but it gets worse. I had been listening to music to drown out the crying baby, when my friend tapped me on the shoulder to tell me someone just threw up. Sure enough, there is vomit sliding down our side of the train. As if it wasn’t crowded enough, everyone is now moving to one side to avoid the spillage. Our stop was 10 minutes away, or else I think I would have cried. The two times we've gone to Germany we’ve had a horrible time getting out. I’m starting to think there’s a German curse.

As far as class goes (because that’s what I’m technically over here for) they’ve been good. The French education system doesn’t give out homework so I’m chilling till projects and tests come around. Finance has been pretty simple and I like the people I sit next to. My Luxury Brand Management class is super interesting. The luxury industry navigates its own way and I never understood the hype till now. My professor has worked in the industry forever so the fact that I can hear his perspective while in luxury capital France is amazing. I can’t say too much about my Strategic Brand Management class because out of the past four classes, she’s canceled three. I get done with classes a week after my original date because of it. My French Culture class is still my favorite. I love hearing about how the French think and live. The class also shares how their countries relate and differ so it’s basically a world culture class.

Me if I had Another Semester with Tons

of Test and Homework

Off to shoot a One Direction music video in London.

Au revoir!

Clowning Around Switzerland (in Wigs)

February 10-11
Lucerne, Switzerland

Earlier in the week we decided we wanted to go to Switzerland. I had repeatedly heard not to go to Zurich, so I picked Lucerne and Interlaken. Our group consisted of one of the A&M girls and then the

Me Sneakily Taking a Pic

two boys we went to Baden Baden with. The other two A&M girls had other plans. We got an early train ticket leaving at 7:50. As the train started pulling away the A&M guy came, barely missing it. We were a little sleepy on the train, mostly looking out the window quietly. Then at one of the stops, three clowns got on and sat directly across from us. It took everything in me not to laugh and to remain calm. It was a rough 45 minutes. When we got off the train there were a few people in costume, and we started to suspect that something might be going on. Those clowns might have been in costume and not on their way to a birthday party or circus. Since there were only a few people in costume, we suspected a little convention or event. We asked someone at the train station

and they said it was a festival taking place today around 12:30.

We then explored part of the town staying relatively close, so we could go back to the train station when the A&M guy arrived. The town itself is what you would imagine Switzerland to be. When the fog cleared there were mountains surrounding us. It painted a great backdrop for the cute buildings and wooden bridges. On a trail up a hill, we walked alongside an old wall and found some goats and a pig.

As we were walking the streets, we saw more and more people in costume. I was so disappointed in not having anything that we went to a store to try and find something. The other girl and I were about to buy costumes, but there were no dressing rooms to see if they fit. I decided to buy face paint instead. While we were waiting at the train station, I painted my face as a doll. Shortly after, I bought a pink wig to complete the look. When we arrived the streets were relatively empty, and in about 3 hours the streets had become packed.

You Know I Can't Resist Dressing Up

The only thing I can compare it to is going to New Orleans as a foreigner and you just so happen to arrive on Mardi Gras weekend. This was THE festival. We just so happened to pick the right town on the right weekend randomly. I could not get over our luck. The festival was like an insane Halloween. I could have taken pictures of everyone’s costumes because they were so elaborate. Every costume looked like it took weeks to make. Most people were in group costumes, which made it even better. There were stands throughout the town where the bands would play for about 15-20 minutes. Afterward, they would walk throughout the street to the next stand. All the bands had a theme complete with large masks and matching costumes. The festival consisted of people walking or standing throughout the streets drinking and throwing confetti at people. So, we spent the whole day admiring the costumes and listening to the bands, eventually clocking in about 11 miles.

The Looks of a Good Weekend   

We decided to stay an extra day in Lucerne and not go to Interlaken. We hadn’t booked the train or hostel for Interlaken, so it was no big deal. On Saturday the town was quiet. I think the festival was taking place later that day, but it wouldn’t be as big. We explored more of the town since we didn’t get much time on Saturday. We walked along the lake and then took a boat cruise. The boat was about an hour and took us further into the lake and returned. We got to see the mountains from a better view. It was amazing and well worth it. After, we got on the train back. We had a two-hour stop in Basel where we just walked around. We arrived back in Strasbourg around dinner time and chilled. I was way too tired to stay up and watch the Super Bowl, which would have started a little past midnight. But I watched Usher’s performance on YouTube first thing Monday morning and continued to sort through my very full camera roll from the weekend.

Switzerland marked my 10th country to visit! Still a ways to go to reach all 195, but don't worry I'll get there. 

Too Cool for Switzerland to Handle

On to hopefully country #11.

Au revoir!

Temporarily Stranded with Large Bathtubs

 

January 29-February 9
Strasbourg & Baden Baden, Germany

Super late update, but it wasn’t that interesting of a week. It was still better than the average week in College Station though. The week we got back from Rome, I only had one class. So, I only had 3 hours of commitment that week. I’ve been averaging about 7 miles each day. I don’t use any of the public transit, choosing to walk everywhere because I have loads of time. Some of those miles are just from my walks around the city.

Baden Baden

We went to a spa town called Baden Baden in Germany on Saturday. There were a few inside and outside pools with different temperatures. I preferred the hot tub temperature ones. The town itself was alright. It was a resort town, so it had expensive stores but was not architecturally glamorous. There was a super fancy casino that we checked out, but we couldn’t go into the gambling room because we did not fit the suit and tie dress code. We ate at an Italian restaurant because there weren’t too many German ones. The chef had pictures of all the celebrities who visited, including Al Pacino and Victoria Beckham. We asked and the chef did not want to take a picture with us RIP.

We never get return train tickets when we go places because we don’t know what time we’ll leave. We went with two other guys (one A&M guy and his friend from Georgia he’s made). They told us to get return tickets, but we didn’t listen. When we decided to look for a train ticket back that evening, there

Our Honest Reactions

were options online, but the app wasn’t allowing us to book them. We went to the train station to see if we could get a ticket there. We looked at tickets to Strasbourg and the only option was a train leaving the next morning, plus it would be 825€ for the five of us. Panic ensued. Not wanting to succumb to the fact that we were doomed, I started messing with the ticket machine. We then figured out that the tickets were for a different Strasbourg city in Germany, and Strasbourg France wasn’t even a destination offered. So, I decided to look for tickets to the neighboring German town of Strasbourg. Thankfully there was that option, so we got those tickets. The plan was to ride it to that town and then take the subway into Strasbourg. When we transferred to our second train though, the final destination was Strasbourg, meaning the ticket booth was just stupid. Did we learn our lesson, and now get our return tickets beforehand? No. Because everything turned out fine, and the tickets were actually cheaper than they were online. So it went better than planned (minus the 30 minutes of panic deciding which bridge we were going to sleep under that night).

We’ve become huge soccer (football) fans since Strasbourg has a national team. We went to watch the game at a bar Friday night and then went to the game the following Wednesday night. After their loss Friday, the 3-1 win Wednesday was great. We only got 3 seats together, so I sat in the row below next to some enthusiastic fans. I tried my best to fit in by screaming, cheering, and gesturing along with them.

I finally had my first full week of class. I’m in five total classes but one of them is just three days back to back so I do four on a normal week. After the previous week, the four were welcoming. I needed something to do other than walk the city. 

Off to Switzerland!!!

Au revoir!


PS: We ate dinner with a Vietnamese guy, and he told us that Charlie Puth was the biggest celebrity crush and pop star over there and it made my week. I could have had 100 guesses and never picked that man.