The next week was going to be spent in London, Paris, and back in Copenhagen. A week that was going to be full of some interesting stories to say the least.
After a long line in customs and a solid 3euro spent on wifi I was in Londontown greeted by my Brosef who left his luke warm beer behind. I was excited to see my family, and of course have a beer or two! Getting in pretty late left me no time to site see, instead time for a little shopping. The Topshop in London is AMAZING. But with the statement "would you really pay that much for that" several times over from my sister, I came out empty handed. Rough life. The night was capped with a hipster dinner of traditional English fare. I can say that I enjoy Fish n' Chips and not their organic cider.
The next day was spent rummaging through the flee markets. There were soo many vintage items my sisters head was spinning, much of our excitement was to our brothers dismay. I came away with two necklaces and a hand stitched purse. EXCITING. After walking the streets and enjoying the people watching we split ways. My mom and my sister enjoyed the sites of London, while me and my brother were on the hunt for Arsenal tickets. Bucket List of mine is to go to a European soccer match. They are wild, drunk, and from the looks and sounds of it a TON on fun. to our dismay we could not find tickets since this was such an anticipated match. We settled on a quick Carlsberg to drown our sorrows. Since we had so much time to kill I insisted that we find Chipotle... Every study abroad students dream when they visit London. We did find Chipotle.. that was under construction. May have been the worst 10 seconds of my life. We met up with the family later and settled upon staying in again that night. Me and my brother picked up some thai cuisine as well as had ourselves a mini bar crawl before we put dinner on the table. Knocked back a couple more beers than went to sleep, early wake up tomorrow for the Chunnel!
*** If you were wondering, I did not see a single London site, except maybe a phone booth. Accomplishing task you if you ask me.
The Chunnel is an interesting and freaky concept. Traveling by train underwater is an easy way to drown in my opinion. To my mothers dismay we did not see any water as we went underneath it. A quick 2.5 hours later we arrived in Paris. Time to secure our bags and not make my mom look like such a vulnerable tourist. Pickpockets galore in Paris. The thing about Paris is the need for French, which the only French speaking member of my family is my mother. Same mom who hopped in a random "cab" in Rome and paid 90$ for a ride that maybe should had been 15$. We were a little concerned to say the least. But In the end she did Great! Add on the 1000+ times me and my brother said Bonsua/Bonjour and we were practically french.
After being in Paris for 3 days I can honestly say it is beautiful. I had my doubts that is for sure, but I find myself sitting here typing wanting to go back. The lights, the monuments, the food... AMAZING. The one monument I could have gone without is the Louvre, given we spent a whole 30 minutes in it covering the staples like the Victory statue, Mona Lisa, and some others pointed out in the pamphlet. I say it all the time that I wish I was more appreciative of Art, Im just not.
Paris was also amazing due to crazy happenings....
1. The first is our trip to Normandy, the historic site of the WWII battle. Getting there was the challenge. If you were smart you would join a tour group that drives a bus straight up there. If you were Wright you would rent a car the day off and hope to god it worked out. In Europe automatic cars are not readily available, so we were stuck with an manual. My sister was SOO excited when our eyes all turned to her, the only person in the family who knew how to drive a stick shift. Lets just say that our lives flashed before our eyes a couple times and that car will never run again judging by the harsh smokey smell. Thank god we got insurance, and the hell out of that rental car lot. But back to Normandy, it was awesome. To see the cliffs that our soldiers had scaled and read about the troubles they encountered is rewarding. You learn about all this in history class but to see it is a different thing. I am so fortunate to have gone.
2. The second was our trip to Monet's hometown. I have always loved Monet and his famous Water Lily paintings. To see the actual pond and gardens where he drew inspiration for these paintings was incredible. You could truly point out what he was looking at. I would recommend it for an out of the ordinary day trip from Paris since its only an hour outside the city, and the cute little french town will make anyone happy!
3. The FOOD. Baguettes on Baguettes on Baguettes as well as croissants, eclairs, meats, cheese, etc! We became regulars in the three days we were there at some bakery. They were even comfortable enough to mock my brothers french. But the best meal by far was my sisters trip advisor find of a french restaurant right off the eiffel tower park. My family cant say enough how good it was. Goat cheese and roasted red pepper salad, Rump roast, Scallops, Truffel salad, non fried calamari, and deserts that melted in our mouth. If I knew the name of it i would tell you to go back, just fabulous!
4. The fourth mot amazing thing was the Eiffel tower. It truly is spectacular. I know the french hate it but boy do the tourists love it. Make sure to hit it at night time on the hour when it comes alive with light. You will understand the need of every study abroad student to upload a picture in front of it once you see it for yourself.
With our time ending in France it was off to my hood, Copenhagen! I was excited to show my family around, only wishing we had more time. It was the shortest leg of the trip by far. The thing about Copenhagen and my lack of appreciation for most things historical, is there is not much to do if the weather sucks. We took advantage of the nice weather by sitting outside on Nyhavn with a couple of beers and hours to kill. I was aslo glad to have my family there so they could see, and i could justify, how expensive Copenhagen is. My mom now knows why her credit card bill is maybe close to 10,000$. Dont worry I am paying her back...eventually.
I was so fortunate to have two weeks of loved ones visiting. It really makes studying abroad great that you can share your experiences together and have an eternal bond overtime of that one time at the one place in Europe. Many more trips to come with the fam, thinking Eastern Europe or the countryside of Ireland.
Another day of saying goodbye to someone meant yet another day of me leaving on yet another adventure. This time is was a two week last hoorah through Berlin, Prague, Krakow, Vienna, and Munich! going out with a bang and a huge history lesson. I really cannot believe I am almost done with my studying abroad. I seriously need to win the lottery or learn how to count cards because there is no way I am not coming back to every country in Europe before I die.
Off to the region of great beer, lots of sausage, and a whole lot of history..
Cheers from Chels :)
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| Another Raint Day in front of the Arc de Triumph |
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| Claude Monet's Home |
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| Omaha Beach |
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| Nyhavn |
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| The Car that will never live again. |
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| Christmas Card worthy shot :) |
