BONJOUR LES CITOYENS DU MONDE!!!
So sorry to keep you fine folks waiting on posts for so long! Turns out traveling takes up a LOT of time (who knew :p). But fear not, this unplanned hiatus is over and our blog, as you can see, has been completely redesigned for spring, yay!
So, wow…it's been over a month since my last post! As I mentioned before, this is mostly due to travel, but sickness and laziness are also factored in somewhere. The important thing is that I'm here now and have a month's-worth of experiences, realizations, and info to share!!! I won't be covering everything that's happened as Laura and I are planning to write jointly about the shared portions of our spring break, but I will give details about some other great happenings!
I suppose the best way recount everything is in chronological order. So, I'll start with the first and possibly most significant part of all my travels: My first official trip to Paris, France!!! Now, to really understand the impact of this trip, you've gotta realize that I've been waiting to go specifically to Paris since the tenth grade (which is a really long time for a French nerd). Personally, I believe you truly haven't seen France until you've been to Paris. Apart from housing one of the most famous monuments in the world (La Tour Eiffel), Paris's elegance is something unmatched by any other place in the universe. I'd always assumed this city to be the quintessence of a dream, and it certainly lived up to expectations! I arrived on a Friday afternoon and, after meeting Laura and our friend Dana at the train station, we took the metro to our other friend Taylor's gooooorgeous temporary home in the 7ème Arrondissement. Dana, Taylor and I explored the area/ate a DELICIOUS couscous dinner and then met up with Laura again for the grand finale of the night…CLIMBING TO THE TOP OF THE EIFFEL TOWER (okay, we rode the elevator but same diff)! The distinction between visualizing something in your head and seeing it in person is enormous. For those who haven't been, The Eiffel Tower is literally the most impeccably structured , intricately detailed monument I've ever seen. It's positively stunning, especially once it starts to glitter! Standing in front of it was breathtaking, and being on top of it was even more-so. I hate to use a cliché, but the feeling was absolutely synonymous with being on top of the world! The view of Paris, shimmering below in all its glory was more captivating than anything I've ever seen! Though nothing can quite compare to this experience, the rest of my time in Paris that weekend was more than spectacular! My friends took me to several of their favorite restaurants and sights, I saw Notre Dame (at least from the outside!), used the metro several more times, rode a carousel (I know, baller), AND shopped on the Champs Elysées (and the song doesn't lie… "il y a {vraiment} tous que vous voulez aux Champs Elysées")! Though this trip ended rather more abruptly than I would have hoped, it was overall magnificent and was an excellent way to start off my travels!
The following week, I returned to Montpellier and fell sick with the flu (the reason why I didn't update with deets about Paris while they were fresh in my mind, which probs would've been better but y'all get the gist). Anyway, at the end of the week, I went back to Paris to fly out to Ireland with Laura and Dana (more info on that trip to come, promise, but I will tell you this: IRELAND IS THE BEST PLACE EVER)! We stayed there for a total of 4 days and then Dana and I went on to Scotland, which I can talk about! We arrived by plane at night then took a shuttle bus from the airport to the hostel we stayed at. Once at the hostel (which was a complete contrast to our one in Ireland), we went to our room. This first room (we had two), complete with orange walls, peeling butterfly wallpaper, and striped rainbow bed coverings, legit looked like it was designed by a colorblind Care Bear with bad taste. Thankfully, we stayed there only one night and switched to a more spacious, less eclectic room for the rest of our trip. After moving our things in the morning, we went on a walking tour of Edinburgh and learned a lot about Scotland's history (including the gruesome fate of William Wallace, poor guy…). We also ate at The Elephant House Cafe (where J. K. Rowling wrote most of Harry Potter!!!) and saw the exterior of Edinburgh Castle, which is pretty boss. The next day, we visited our friend Morgan from W&M and got to see the University of St. Andrews (yes, where Princess Kate met Prince William)! It was a beautiful day and we saw soooo much great stuff! Though I wasn't beyond fond of Scotland (mostly because of the currency, stupid Pound), this day in particular definitely made the trip worthwhile ! We went back to France the next day and I spent a week in Paris before departing for Rome with Laura and Taylor (whose details will also come later :) ).
What's happening now that my traveling's done, you ask? Well, I got back to Montpellier last week and pretty much plunged into a sea of midterms and schoolwork (hooray). But, since I only have 4 more weeks of classes, I guess I shouldn't complain. Besides classwork, I've been working towards finalizing a lot of my summer plans, which means applying for jobs and signing up for summer classes (fun fun). On the upside, I'll be in Williamsburg if anyone reading this will also be there (Burg party, whaaaat)! So that's about everything new with me…I also learned a lot about myself and life from traveling that I'd like to share, but I'm too lazy/tired to get philosophical and I really want to post now lol! So rain check on that topic as well!
Until then,
Mari
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