PARIS!!

Well I didn’t journal in Paris for one of two reasons. One—because we didn’t have a spare minute with everything we wanted to see and do. And two—because when we did maybe have an hour LJ and I were SO exhausted (honestly we felt like we were in coma for most of the weekend) that actually forming words on paper seemed like a funny/cruel joke.
So I’m going to give a very entertaining play-by-play of the weekend and I hope not to sound too monotone J
LJ and I took off just the two of us to visit my friend Aidan in Paris Thursday night! I had been looking for a weekend to do this all semester and this was the perfect one. Aidan has been living in Paris since the beginning of September working at this internship and soaking up the Parisian culture. He lives in an apartment with his family friend, Clem and they were so amazing to let us stay with them for the weekend. We were very spoiled, had our own room and beds, and didn’t have to worry about showers in a hostel. Really nice!

Thursday our night train left Salzburg a little before 8pm and arrived in Munich only less than an hour later. There we had about 45 minutes before boarding our train to Paris (which was scheduled to get in around 930am Friday morning.) We booked a 6 person sleeper car but only three other people ended up being in the room so it was a little better. But we thought the rooms on the Superfast were tiny… Um yeah. We were greeted with two triple bunk beds, enough floor space to climb a ladder up to our beds. Beds where lying down was the only viable option. SO after surveying the situations, nervous laughter ensued, I took out my contacts, grabbed my sweatshirts, dolled out LJ and I’s dosage of TylenolPM (thanks mom) and passed out. Next thing we knew we opened our eyes and awoke in Paris! HAHA. JUST KIDDING. The night didn’t really go like that. Actually, we woke up around four times throughout the middle of the night to (what reminded us of the noises the Dementors make in Harry Potter) our window FLYING open. Not just jiggling, or coming loose. Not just rattling, or some annoying sound. We legit had the only window in our room, (conveniently next to both of our heads) completely freak out and roll up FOUR DIFFERENT times throughout the night. And each time we would freak out and wake up, and then in our sleepy haze, have to jostle the window BACK DOWN and lock it. It makes for a good story but on the other hand, having to relive it almost gives me hives.

We arrived in Paris on time and got off the train in a coma. I was alarmed to see that Aidan

hadn’t emailed me back UNTIL I looked up and saw him waiting perfectly at our platform! IT WAS SO GOOD TO SEE HIM!!! Omg I freaked out and the sleeper car turned into a distant memory as we headed for the metro to his work. Aidan tried to give us the run down on the Parisian metro, trying to convince us that it “is not that confusing.” That was funny. He showed us his metro stop for work, took our bag, and set us loose out into the city until we were supposed to meet back up with him at six. Immediately butterflies of a new city flooded but it was more exciting than anything. I called Nickie and we decided to meet in front of the Louvre (easy enough?) and LJ and I could barely contain our excitement to see their pretty faces!!!!!

The reunion was amazing, it was so great to get one of my favorites back in my life (even if only for the weekend!) They totally ambushed us and came at us from behind and I couldn’t stop hugging them both! We made our way to the entrance, got free admission for being students, and toured around really neat exhibits. We got hungry and took advantage of our surroundings and set out to find a cute café to eat at. We ended up at this very Parisian restaurant, I ate the most delicious hamlet EVER and we were looked at funny for not speaking French. What’s new.
We went back to the Louve, (I could live in there!) and then followed the tip of the Eiffel tower like the sun and made our way across the entire city to see the incredible thing. OMG I couldn’t stop taking pictures of it! I told the girls this when I saw it and I know it makes me sound like such a, well I don’t even know, but the first thing that popped into my head was Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City. Haha. We were all so happy to be together, it was sunny, we were in Paris, and I honestly didn’t have anything in the world to complain about. It really doesn’t get much better.

We were late meeting Aidan at the metro stop. Of course we were late. The Eiffel tower was so freaking amazing we couldn’t tear ourselves away! Once we met up with him we made our way to his apartment and got to take showers (amazing) and get ready for dinner. We met up with Hil and Nickie and went to this really yummy place on the cutest street ever. We caught up, enjoying wine, told stories, and had a great night. It was capped by wandering over to the Eiffel tower (of course we needed night pictures J) buying some wine and finding a bench to sit at and just stare. At midnight it lit up all pretty and sparkled. It was then that I fell in love.
We didn’t waste any time the next day. We conquered Norte Dame, this really well done Holocaust memorial, saw the Bastilles, went souvenir shopping, CLIMBED UP TO THE TOP OF THE EIFFEL TOWER, ate delicious crepes, saw many beautiful churches and took pictures of scenery I thought was fake my entire life up until now!

Sunday we were supposed to board a train to Munich and then head home to Salzburg but all that is EURORAIL traveling, you can count on plans changing! We thought the sleeper car was a story. Hmmmm. Well we basically had the day from hell, but when you put LJ and I in any situation were bound to make it as sarcastic/funny/lighthearted as possible. We changed trains four times. Four times. Our last leg was from Strasbourgh to Salzburg (8:45pm-4:15am) and we did not get a sleeper car. I REPEAT: WE DID NOT GET A SLEEPER CAR. I’m not even going to try and describe this in any better detail because I wouldn’t be able to do it justice. But for comedic relief I will just throw some things our there:
- LJ and I (picturing that is funny enough, yea?)
- + 2 guys (around our age) –They spoke 3 languages each and when we said we were studying German the switched to that language and then looked at us like, WTF? And then nervous laughter ensued.
- AKAà language barriers
- seats that slide out (but do not recline)
- 8 (ish) hours in this room
- German quiz that morning… aka at 9am THAT morning. SO… German studying!
- new facebook friends
- rolling into our room at 4:45am… setting our alarm for 7am…sitting through 3 classes the next day in disbelief that only 6 hours prior we were in hell.


Paris was…
INCREDIBLE
Amazing
scenic
entrancing
BEAUTIFUL
foreign
& classy.

I bought a shot glass that says Paris in cursive on it with gold stars and every time I put it to good use I’ll think of the city that stole my heart♥

Next stop: OUR 10 FALL BREAK!!!! We leave tomorrow.
On the agenda: train into Munich tomorrow, staying there for a night with Abbie and her amazing parents! Friday, flight out at 4pm to BARCELONA, SPAIN!!!! Staying with Liz and Gillian for 4 nights!!! and then a little place called Dublin, Ireland….
I know what you’re thinking, do you go to that thing called school?

“No, I’m just here to take pictures and drink.”

**totally kidding, but that’s kinda priceless, huh? : )

What happens in Greece stays in Greece???

10-4 GREECE!!

"We left for Greece Thursday morning at 5am and it is Sunday night when the first opportunity arose to journal. That is HOW INCREDIBLE everything has been. I will try and briefly backtrack and hit all the high points.

Thursday was a wash, with an 11hr bus ride, not enough bathroom stops, and seats that could have been more comfortable. We drove along the coast of Italy and it was weird to take stops and see Italian everywhere!

At 6pm we finally made it to our cruise takeoff point, Ancona to board our cruise ship, the Superfast. My first time on a ship overnight J It was only one night, literally less than 24hrs… boarded at 6pm, arrived the next day at 4pm. It was a blast! The four of us had a room together, probably the size of, well let me try and do it in feet, 12x8???? MAYBE. Two beds folded out from the walls and when we got there I just started laughing… it’s all about the experience, yeah? Haha.

The girls and I did our best to shower and look half way decent before going up on deck to the discoteca, but a full day of traveling can wear a girl out. Regardlesss, we rallied and danced the night away, it was soooo much fun J I swear cabin fever hit when the drinking started…

We got off the ship and all of the craziness that went with it and headed for Olympia. We only spent one night in this (tiny!) town, and that night in the hotel is where we had our “Welcome to Greece” dinner. This little Greek lady served us the biggest feast I’ve ever had, meats and cheeses, spagetti, pork & potatoes, greek salad, we literally rolled out of there.

We didn’t stay in Olympia for long, we walked around the Ruins the next day and toured a really interesting sculpture museum. We were on our way to see where they held the Olympic races when it started pouring. It was sprinkling all day so people had jackets but I don’t mean “raining” I mean, there was our group standing in an open field full of ruins and there was a waterfall directly above us about ready to TAKE US OUT. It was a Monsoon (and I feel entitled to this word since I live in Washington, not Southern California, and have actually seen rain before.) In less than ten minutes we were all soaked. Drenched. To the point where when our bus driver saw us he wouldn’t let us back on so we had to get all of our luggage back out from under the bus and change. I was wearing leggings and they went from “kinda tight and comfy” to “skin tight, I need help pulling these off me.” If going abroad isn’t for stories like these I don’t know what is…

Next stop was Nafplion, where I am now. This is the beachy town we’re visiting, and its reputation has definitely not disappointed! Oh my. Last night was our first night here, (first of three) and it was C R A Z Y. That night we were hanging out in the hotel before going out, waiting patiently by our phones to find out we took into our sisterhood this semester…

11 NEW BEAUTIFUL AMAZING BABIES!!!!!! To say we were excited… ahhhhh we were bouncing off walls so happy and freaking out and trying to call people. Any of our sisters reading this… we miss you from thousands of miles away and are thinking of you always

♥ and to my big, who I am so proud of. I only wish I was there to watch you absolutely glow. I love you.

After our celebration we hit the bar scene. Literally. We danced and sang and declared our love for Greece… and it was then that I realized how much you can miss if you anything but blink. Keeping my eyes open, breathing deep, and enjoying it; no one can ask me to do more."

10-5 Third night in Nafplion

"We definitely left a mark on this city. Last night we took to conquering not only land but sea, and went skinny dipping!!!! The water was amazing, I would usually be skeptical of swimming in the dark water past midnight but we were feeling good (ha) so not a problem.

Today we went and saw the Greek Amphitheatre. So peaceful, serene, and humbling. Just like Eva said, it was very theraputic and reflective. You could just sit and hear nothing but the nature around you. In this chaotic world we live in, I think we forget to realize how powerful silence is. It does something that no other feeling can. We toured some ruins after that and then bused up to the amazing fortress on the hill for a view that is unlike anything I’d ever seen & took way too many pictures!

I think I’m doing better on getting a handle on this whole homesick thing. The idea more so that anything is what gets me all worked up. It’s October, one month officially under our belts. The month feels like a year with how much we’ve already done, seen, learned. One month here and we’ve already visited four countries, been on a cruise, and can slightly get by with our ever expanding German vocabulary. Alyssa told me the most important thing anyone ever told her while abroad was not to miss home too much, because when you’re home you’ll miss Salzburg. I understand and appreciate that but it is easier said than done.

Last night LJ, Holly, and I had an amazing dinner date right on the water. It was seriously out of a movie. We were close to the only people in the restaurant and loved it. It is so nice to be able to order wine at dinner, something I will definitely miss when I get home and have four months to wait till my 21^st. We order 2 ½ liters of wine and ate delicious salads and chicken and had the BEST time. It was so relaxing, the three of us had the such a fun time, talked about boys, moms, missed ones, school, delta. (I’m getting more and more excited about the idea of taking a little in the spring… I’m such a mommy with no baby L)"

10-8 ATHENS

"Well Athens was an adventure, and unlike Nafplion, two nights and three days was plenty!! I didn’t know if I would love Athens because it is a huge city and further inland than the gorgeous beach town we just left days ago. But I really, really liked it! We stayed at a very nice hotel, went to restaurant for dinner where we got wine and dessert on the house (pays to be cute American girls, yeah??) haha… and we did enough sightseeing to write a book about. The tour of the Acropolis was unlike anything I’ve ever done. Its literally a city in the center of Athens, raised hundreds of meters high so you can see it even if you’re a mile outside the city. The tours are long, yes, but when I catch myself thinking about how I would rather have slept an extra hour, I try and remember why we are all here. There is so much to learn here, and of course I might rather be souvenir shopping around the streets than listen to Jim babble about Socrates, but I wouldn’t want to do Greece any other way.

Since the city is SO intense, when it comes to night life, 30 college students + a dirty, unfamiliar city, + too many people = hard to plan/get anything done. But I guess this equation just adds to the priceless stories that make a trip all the more worth it...♥"

10-10 Superfast Round 2 (utoh…)

"On the Superfast headed back to Italy where our charter bus is waiting to take us back home. I miss Salzburg!!!! Our cute, clean, little town that we have been away from for too long. Delphi was really fun, very small similar to our first stop in Olympia.

We ended up getting the majority of our group rallied and to a nearby discoteca. It was literally like 100 meters from our hotel. We were all SO exhausted (this being our 8^th on the road) and I was tempted to call it a night and boycott going out all together but you cant really sit in a hotel room IN GREECE while your friends are at a discotec. So we all danced the night away… once again. When in Greece, right???

We rallied on the Superfast too, you have to go out hard when its your last night in Greece. It was more mellow then Superfast Round 1 but still a little crazy."

~~~~~~~~

"Greece was way crazier than I ever could imagine. Too many funny stories, inside jokes, hilarious “I can’t believe this is happening” moments. I am so happy to be heading back but at the same time Greece was just too amazing to let go of. Our group got tons closer, I consider even some of the beta’s and theta’s friends now.

♥We drank too much, always forgot our maps, indulged in the food, and let loose.

♥We forgot our hotel room numbers, ate meals that consisted of pecans, gummy bears, and Sour Cream and Onion Pringles out of our backpacks, and every morning woke up with a new bruise we couldn’t explain.

♥We went sovenir shopping crazy, were 9 times out of 10 hung over on every morning tour, and got countless noise complaints from other hotels guests.

♥We saw so much, took pictures I will look at forever, and without a doubt had the time of our lives."

~Cheers to Greece… I couldn’t have asked for more.