Saturday, March 16: First day in Paris
To start off the trip I woke up very early, around 5:30 am, to get ready and take the Eurostar from London to Paris. I was very tired as I had only gotten a few hours of sleep due to late-night. I was with Ariana and Lauren S, and when we arrived in Paris we immediately put our bags in storage and started exploring the city.
We first went to the Latin Quarter, where we walked into the Pantheon museum. We did not plan this, but it ended up being quite the impressive visit. As it turns out, there are several incredibly famous figures from French history buried there, and it is amazing to see all of this right in front of your own eyes. One example is Marie Curie, a very famous female scientist from the turn of the 20th century. Below is a picture of the Pantheon:
Soon after the Pantheon we ate lunch and then walked around the Luxembourg Gardens. These were nice, but not nearly as nice as they might be in the Summer. A bit of a let down, but still quite enjoyable. Soon after the Gardens we retrieved our luggage and checked into our apartment (they had very odd check-in times, so we wanted to play it safe). As we were a bit tired, we actually stayed at the apartment for a couple hours, and then headed back out.
Unfortunately, the rest of the evening did not go as planned. I was hoping to go on a well-known Seine river cruise, Bateaux Mouche, but after searching for nearly an hour we could not find it. This was especially disappointing as it was raining and we were all very tired. I felt very bad as I had just wasted time for Lauren and Ariana. We finished off the night by eating at a Thai restaurant, which was actually pretty good. It was definitely nice to then get back to the apartment for some well-needed rest to more thoroughly enjoy the next day. On a side note, one picture I took on Saturday that I enjoyed was of the RER A line (the one we took from the apartment). In the below picture you can see the stop "Croissy," which is where I used to live as a kid for two years:
Sunday, March 17: Paris, Paris, Paris!
We woke up on Sunday having slept very well, and we were all much better rested. We left the apartment a bit after 9 am and headed straight for the Musee d'Orsay. I must say, this was probably my favorite museum I have ever gone into. It is simply an astonishing museum, with the best impressionist collection in the world. We only had about an hour to spend inside, which definitely left me longing for more. If I ever do return to Paris, this will be at the forefront of my list of things to do. Below is a picture of the lobby of the museum:
Our next order of business was meeting up with Katie Q, who had just taken the Eurostar that morning from London to Paris. Although we did initially have some trouble finding her (apparently we told her to go to a metro with around ten exits), we soon met up and then headed to a cafe for lunch. There I ordered a croque monsieur, which is a ham and cheese toastie with melted cheese on top. A picture of this wonderful food item is below:
Right after lunch we headed straight to the Louvre. While there I saw the Mona Lisa and a host of other renaissance paintings. The Louvre didn't quite live up to my expectations -- mostly because I only had just over an hour to spend inside, but also because I'm not the biggest fan of renaissance art. That being said, I do appreciate it, and enjoyed our visit. Below is a picture of...you guessed it, the Mona Lisa:
Following the Louvre we went to Notre Dame. As I mentioned before, I had previously lived in Paris, so it was special for me to visit a place I had been to as a kid. Specifically, I very much found it special to light a candle in Notre Dame -- linking something I did over ten years ago with something from now. A picture of Notre Dame is included below:
Our final stop for the night was the Eiffel Tower. We climbed it right at dusk, which was perfect as we could see Paris both in the semi-daylight and at night. Although it was cold, I couldn't have asked for a better Eiffel Tower experience. There's not much to say about it other than the view was stunning. I also really enjoyed seeing it with a couple people who had never been up there before, so it was even more meaningful to them. Below are some pictures from the top of the Eiffel Tower and of the Tower itself:
The rest of the night was a little disappointing, and I once again felt bad as I thought I let down the others. I had found a nice French restaurant to eat in that was supposed to be inexpensive, but we couldn't find it. When we did find it, it turned out that it had just closed which was quite the bummer. We ended up finding some random restaurant, but the staff there was the rudest I had ever seen. However, I wasn't going to let it have a negative impact on my day, and was still extremely happy with all that I had done in Paris!
Monday, March 18: Turning 20 in Disneyland
My birthday! I turned 20 and upon waking up was given an incredible card made by Lauren and signed by everyone. The card looked like something from a professional print shop, so I was very happy that she spent the time required to make that! Anyways, today would be a really good day as we were headed to Disneyland and could pretend to be little kids again (you're never too old for Disney!).
We left the apartment shortly after 9 am and took the RER A over to Disney. At Disneyland Paris there are two parks and we decided to first enter the Disney Studios one (similar to the MGM park in Orlando I've been told). Upon entering, Katie, Ariana, and Lauren gave me a large birthday sticker, which you can see in the below picture of me and the 20th anniversary of the park (we're the same age!):
The first ride we headed for was Rock 'n Rollercoaster with Aerosmith. I had heard so much about this ride -- and how the combination of rock and speed was incredible. Unfortunately, upon riding it we were disappointed to find that no music was playing. It was still a good experience but I will definitely have to ride it again, perhaps in Florida, with the music blasting!
The other ride in the Disney Studios park that I will talk about is the Hollywood Tower of Terror. When I went to Disney as a little kid, I always saw this ride and was scared to go on, so it was good to finally ride it. Our attendant on the ride was very funny. Obviously the Tower of Terror is meant to be a "spooky" ride, so it is already fairly dark and ominous inside. To make matters more frightening, our attendant saw my birthday sticker and as the doors were closing wished me happy birthday but also good luck as he said it would be my last day on this planet.
The birthday sticker came up several times throughout the trip, as all Disney employees were wishing me happy birthday. This was a little bit embarrassing (but also a lot of fun) as it's normally ten-year-olds who get this experience. My favorite part was when we stood in line for a picture with Buzz Lightyear. He saw my sticker, did a dance for me, and then convinced a bunch of little kids to sing Happy Birthday to me. My face was definitely flush red in that moment! A picture of meeting Buzz is below:
We then headed over to Disneyland park, the second and larger park. After eating a lunch of chicken tenders (no judgment), we rode several rides. Some of these included Indiana Jones, Thunder Mountain, a Buzz Lightyear shooting ride, Start Tours, It's a Small World, and probably a couple others. These were all really great rides and because we went on a cold, rainy day in March, there were barely any lines. On a side note, it may seem like I am a Disney enthusiast, but Lauren and Katie in our group are Disney fanatics (I think they both want to work there?).
My favorite ride of the whole day (and I rode it three times) was Space Mountain. I had been to the one at Disneyland California, but this was much better. Instead of a gentle roller coaster, the French Space Mountain takes you upside down and the entire thing is much faster than in California. I was also really happy when the girls purchased me a key chain of our reactions to the camera on the ride. A picture of the screen that displayed our picture is below:
Before long, it was nighttime and the park was about to close. To finish things off, we watched the closing ceremonies at the castle. These were about twenty minutes long and jam-packed with music and animations. It was a great way to reflect on a wonderful day at Disney! A picture of the castle in the evening is included below:
Our Disney trip was not over yet! To finish my birthday off in little-kid style, we went to Rainforest Cafe, which I had not eaten at in many years. For those of you who do not know, it is pretty much a jungle with moving animals inside. There's not much else to say about that, but I do want to say that this birthday was one of the best I ever had, and really appreciated everything my friends did to make it an awesome day!
Tuesday, March 19: Versailles and travel
The day after Disney was a bit more of a "serious" day you could say. We left the apartment shortly after 9 am and took the train over to Versailles. When we arrived there we were confronted with a huge line. Although we had to wait, we luckily did not have to pay a fee to get in. This is one thing that was so great about visiting Paris -- there is little or no entrance fee if you are an EU resident (I have my Dutch passport and the others had their visas).
Versailles itself was remarkable. The place is humongous and I was only able to cover a small part of it. It is somewhat appalling to see how the royals lived in comparison to the poor. That being said, there is so much history within the walls of Versailles, making it an incredible visit. Many people speak highly about the gardens, but I unfortunately had to leave our group early as I had a plane to catch to Florence. Maybe one day (hopefully in the Summer!) I can go back and see these renowned gardens. Below are some pictures from Versailles:
Following Versailles I took the train to Orly airport, which was one of the most confusing experiences I've encountered. The RER C, which is the train I took, makes several loops instead of being a back-and-forth line. You have to get off a couple times, take a shuttle, and then once you do that there are two Orly airports disconnected from each other. Of course I went to the wrong one, which added an extra thirty minutes. Upon arriving to the right one, it was impossible to find the correct gate and then when I did, I found out that my flight was delayed over two hours. Fun stuff!
The flight itself was fine, except when I arrived my phone had run out of money so I had no way of contacting Dinesh, who I was meeting in Florence. However, I used a pay phone and we just met at the nearby hostel once I took a shuttle into the city. When I arrived to the hostel ("Hostel My Friends") I was pretty wiped out. Right when I entered, the owner Nadina was so kind to me and said to not worry about paying right away. I also saw Dinesh, which was very comforting as we were unable to communicate to each other beforehand. Nadina recommended a really good place for dinner, and before long I fell asleep.
Wednesday, March 20: First day in Florence
I woke up on Wednesday having slept in quite a bit. This was awesome as I had been running on under eight hours of sleep for each day the previous week. Although I was having fun, I was by no means relaxed. When Dinesh and I tried to leave the hostel, Nadina and her boyfriend Elio stopped us and insisted that they make us breakfast. This was so kind of them and we could not have asked for a better hostel experience. After breakfast Nadina wrote down all her recommendations for us on a map which was incredibly useful.
The first order of business was for Dinesh and I to start waiting in line for the David (by Michelangelo) statue. However, after thirty minutes we realized the line would take too long and we got out and made a reservation for later in the day. We would come back later, so the first thing we did was to head to the Duomo. This was a huge basilica in Florence and some pictures are included below:
After the Duomo Dinesh and I went to grab some lunch. We went to a local sandwich shop, I Due Fratellini, that Nadina had recommended for us. There's no seating room or anything, just a place to order, but the food is incredible. Plus, it is very cheap, which always makes things better. I liked my prosciutto sandwich so much that I am including a picture below:
We followed up our sandwich shop visit by going to a gelato place that Nadina had also recommended. This, too, was incredible, and the first gelato I had eaten in a very long time. Spoiler alert: this would be the start of one gelato a day for the rest of the days I was in Italy. After the gelatos, we he headed back to the museum that holds the David statue. While I was not particularly fond of much else in the museum, I thought the David statue was amazing. Especially for when Michelangelo made it, the statue looks so very life-like, that if it weren't made of stone it would be easy to confuse for a real person.
After hanging out back at the hostel for a little while, Dinesh and I went to a recommended pasta place and we both tried wild boar pasta. It was pretty good, but the dinner was just a really nice experience as we started it off with an appetizer, had some house wine, then the pasta, and finally tiramisu. A picture of Dinesh and I enjoying this meal is below:
Thursday, March 21: Here comes the sun
As with the previous day we both slept in a fair amount. This is one thing I really enjoyed about Florence -- I got to do some things I really enjoyed and also have a very relaxing experience. Once again in the morning Nadina and Elio made us breakfast. At breakfast Dinesh and I met Chris, from California, who is on a backpacking trip through Europe. He was very interesting to speak to and I'm glad I got to speak to someone else near our age in Europe.
We left our luggage at the hostel and then headed off. Our first stop was Santa Croce, the sight of tomb for some very remarkable people. Just two examples are Galileo and Michelangelo. It was mind-boggling to be in the same location that all these important historical figures were buried. The Santa Croce had some very nice views and possibly the best part was that it was very sunny for the first time in the trip. Some pictures from Santa Croce are below:
Our next stop was a wonderful pizzeria, again recommended by Nadina. This place is so good that when I posted pictures on Facebook, a friend told me she too had been there when in Florence. Also, one thing I loved about this place is a large portrait of the three owners who look like very chill dudes. The pizza was amazing, so a picture of it is below:
Following the delicious pizza Dinesh and I ate another gelato, and then walked to the nearby gardens. Although we had to pay for entrance, these gardens were amazingly beautiful. Especially given the fact that the sun was shining, we enjoyed just relaxing and seeing all the beauty. Some pictures from this garden are below:
Following the gardens we walked to Piazza Michelangelo, which is known for having the best view of the city. There's not much else to say about it, except that it felt really special seeing the city from above that I had just explored. As such, below is a picture of me and Dinesh at this spot:
That was the end of our Florence trip, as we then walked back to the train station. The train to Rome was actually really nice -- I had purchased business class seats for us as they were the same price as economy! This meant a welcome drink and very nice leather seats that could recline. When we arrived in Rome, we were greeted by the five others who were there -- Lauren W, Megan, Ben, Josh, and Conor. It was really nice to see them and hear how their stays in Barcelona was. Before long, I fell asleep to get ready for the next day!
Friday, March 22: First day in Rome
We woke up on Friday around 9 am then headed out around 10. We first went and grabbed breakfast, but unfortunately the place we went to wasn't so good. Anyways, our first order of business was to head to the Vatican City. There was a lot of commotion surrounding this place as the new Pope had just been elected! Once there we first went inside St. Peter's basilica, which is quite beautiful. I even went into the prayer room to say a little prayer. A picture from inside the basilica is below:
We then unfortunately got split into two groups. The area around St. Peter's basilica is huge, so it was easy to accidentally get separated. And we did. As a result, the group I was in (Conor, Ben, Megan) went separately into the Vatican Museum, which includes the Sistine chapel. The museum was extensive, and as such I wish I had an audioguide to tell me what I was looking at most of the time. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures inside the chapel, but below is a picture of one of the rooms in the museum:
Following the Vatican museum we had a very late lunch (think 4 pm), but I still had a very good pizza (by the end of the trip I was all gelato/pizza'd out!). We were able to get in contact with the other group and met them outside the Pantheon. I quickly went inside it, but didn't have much time to take it in. However, I really enjoyed going inside. We then walked over to Piazza Navona per my dad's recommendation. It was a nice place to just hang out, and there were very pretty fountains (and I ate a gelato).
Following the Piazza it became dark outside so we went to the Trevi fountain to make a wish. This was a very special moment for me as I had seen in so many movies people tossing a coin over their shoulder and making a wish. I made a wish very important to me and if you want, you can cross your fingers that it comes true! Below is a picture of me and my friends at the Trevi fountain:
Following the fountain we all walked to St. Maria in Trastevere, also per my dad's recommendation. My favorite part of this little side trip was attending part of a church service there. We were in this amazing church, and so it was very humbling to happen upon a service there. A picture from inside the church is included below:
To end the night we went to an awesome pizzeria, which was recommended by one of Dinesh's friends who had been to Rome. I had a pizza with buffalo cheese on it (which I kind of ordered by accident, stupidly thinking buffalo cheese meant spicy) and it turned out to be a pizza from heaven. After dinner it was a long walk back to the hostel that I navigated, but we were all very happy with our day in Rome.
Saturday, March 23: Amazing dinner
Saturday actually got started on a fairly slow note. The group that I was with slept in longer, as the other group was going to spend the morning back at the Vatican to see the museum. Unfortunately Conor woke up very sick, which I felt very bad for him as he would miss out on a good day in Rome. The three others in our group (Ben, Megan, and myself) first went to this cafe that I had seen highly recommended, but unfortunately their doors closed as we approached it. So instead we went to the breakfast place from the previous day, which was not so good again.
I also made a reservation for seven people at a local restaurant that was supposed to be not too expensive for our final dinner of Spring Break. More on that later. We then walked and met the other group near the Colosseum. I had found a place for lunch and we went there. It was pretty good, but unfortunately it was some very slow service, which was a shame as it affected our next plans.
When we left the restaurant, we headed straight for the Colosseum, which we really wanted to go through. But it was 4:35 and upon arrival we found out that the last visitors were allowed in at 4:30. It was pretty disappointing knowing that daylight was nearly gone and I had seen pretty much nothing in Rome that day. However, a picture of our group by the Colosseum, as well as one of Ben and the Colosseum, is below to make things better:
After the Colosseum, we sat in a nearby park for a while and then walked over to Campo de Fiori. Although this had been recommended to us, there was not much to do there, but I think that had more to do with the time of day (evening) than anything else. Following that we all got a gelato at a place that is supposed to be the best in Rome (review: pretty darn good). We then walked back to our hostel to relax and change before dinner.
At 9 pm we walked to Mamma Angela's, which was located nearby to our hostel, for dinner. All aspects of this dinner were just perfect. The food was so good -- I had house wine, veal in a wine-based sauce, fries (I know what you're thinking, but the waiter recommended these as the best fries he's ever had!), and tiramisu. And we had amazing conversation, where everyone shared their favorite and least favorite (but mostly favorite) memories from our week-long adventure. After the dinner we just hung out back in the hostel and had some fun there, but anyways, below is a picture of us from the dinner:
Sunday, March 25: Colosseum and back home
On Sunday I woke up a fair amount earlier than the previous days -- those of us who were taking the later flight on Sunday wanted to fit in the Colosseum before we left. Anyways, we left our luggage in the hostel and then took the metro over to the Colosseum. That visit was lovely for several reasons. First, I had learned all about the Colosseum back in high school Latin class. Second, there is so much history within the walls of the Colosseum, and it is even more interesting when accompanied by an audioguide. A picture taken from within the Colosseum is included below:
Following the Colosseum we took the metro back to the hostel, grabbed our things, and then took a shuttle over to the Ciampino airport. Unfortunately for us our flight was delayed for two hours. To make matters worse, we were flying Ryanair -- my first experience with them. And I think this will be my last, unless I don't have other options. I understand that it's a low-cost airline, but they are barely on-time, there is bright yellow screaming at you from inside the plane, the attendants look miserable, etc. They even come on the intercom multiple times an hour to offer lottery tickets. On the other hand, Vueling airlines, which I took from Paris to Florence, was also low-cost but did not have any of the junk that comes with Ryanair.
Anyways, once we arrived in London we took a shuttle back to our flats and settled back in. Prior to this break I had never once considered the flats like "home" but I got a little bit of that feeling upon returning as I was coming back to something I knew well. One thing I can say for sure is that I got a very nice rest that Sunday night!
Reflection and Video Project
As I said in the opening paragraph, it was a blessing to have the opportunity to go on this week-long adventure through Europe. I visited a city I used to live in (Paris) and also found new treasures in Italy (Florence and Rome). Spending a week with my friends, albeit three different sets, was better than anything I could ask for. And from a knowledge point of view, I feel as if I know so much more about these areas now and am very glad to have visited several museums.
One thing I would like to talk about is the video project I started on Monday. As you probably recall, Monday was my birthday and I turned 20 on that day. A few weeks ago I watched a TED video titled "One second every day" by Cesar Kuriyama. In the video Kuriyama goes on to talk about how he has documented his life with one second of video per day. This means that in one year, you have about six minutes of footage, and in a decade you have over an hour.
Throughout college I have kept a journal of what I have done, and here in London I have kept an even more extensive one. I've also tried to publish blogs for friends and family to read. While these are great ideas, and I will most likely continue them, they don't quite do the trick for me. There's something about going back and reading on your life that doesn't seem that interesting. When I watched the TED video, Kuriyama had a second clip from each day. These clips not only track what you've done but also your mood. They also instantly bring back tons of other memories. I am excited to have started this project on my 20th birthday and hope to continue it for a long time! Plus, taking one second of video is about one-thousand times quicker than writing!
Looking forward, I definitely hope to visit more of Europe at some point. There are so many places that I have yet to visit. However, traveling is expensive, so I think I will need to wait until after I land a job before I visit more of Europe. I am crossing my fingers that this opportunity will present itself to me somewhere down this road. As always, thank you very much for reading, it means a lot to me. :)
Love,
Jorian
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