Wanderlust (Old)

dinner by the Seine

Versailles

Bus on the ferry

My weekend in Paris was a blur of metro rides, sketchy hostels, and McDonalds. This was the most unplanned and crazy trip I had ever been on. We took a 9 hour overnight bus and once we landed in Paris we realized that no one looked up the directions to get to the hostel. Then we couldn't figure out how to buy a train ticket because none of us had euros and the machine wasn't accepting our cards. Also we couldn't understand French which was a little problematic. Then we finally got on the metro and realized that we had a million stops to get to our hostel and we were going to miss our check-in time so for a brief period we thought we were going to be hobos for the weekend. When we finally got to our hostel we realized it was in the sketchiest area possible. Also, pretty sure a few of us got but by fleas from sleeping in those hostel beds. Urgh. Then we spent 3 hours looking for the Tour de Eiffel which you would think isn't hard to find in Paris but apparently it is. On the way we stopped at Montmartre which was beautiful but the highlight of the day was finally seeing the Eiffel Tower. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and eating crème glacée in the lawn by the Eiffel Tower. Seeing it light up at night was truly a magical experience. We had dinner on the steps of the Seine with the Eiffel tower in the background which was amazing. The next day we went to Chateau de Versailles which was literally the most beautiful building I have ever seen and probably will ever see. I could kind of understand why the French wanted to cut off Marie Antoinette's head. Judging from the looks of that palace she was definitely living the life while her people were starving. Sunday we went on a tour and saw the famous lock bridge, the outside of the Louvre, Notre Dame, Champ Elysees, and the Arc De Triomphe. Sunday night we headed on the bus to go back home to London. Around 2 AM the bus got on a boat. We were on a bus...in a boat. It was literally the weirdest experience ever. Not sure why but the bus took a ferry instead of the chunnel and the whole thing felt like a hallucination because I was so tired. The boat reminded me of the library during finals week with people sleeping everywhere and walking around like zombies. I have also eaten at McDonald's more this past weekend than I have in the past few years. Also, water was more expensive than alcohol which was super weird. The trip to Paris was...interesting but there is no place like home and I am glad to be back in London.

I've been in London less than a week and I'm already in love with this city. It is just one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I will probably ramble about how much I love Europe for the next three months so I thought that before I start doing that I should talk about a few issues with studying abroad in London so you know its not all unicorns and rainbows over here.

1) Spending all your money on travel/ going out means no money for food. I'm always, always  hungry. I literally think the last time I felt not hungry was in America. My meals this past week have consisted of microwave noodles, microwave pasta, bananas, and bagels. Yum.

2) Having constant near death experiences every time I try to cross the road because I always forget which way to look since they drive on the opposite side.

2)  Head injuries from getting hit by double decker buses while looking out in the road for cars is apparently very common. While that may sound laughable I actually think it might happen to me

3) Their use of military time. Why?!!

4) Everything is so expensive. When you come to Europe you want to do everything and see everything but you most likely don't have an unlimited budget. The more I look at maps of Europe the more countries I want to visit!

That being said London is amazing and I'm super excited for this semester and all of trips we have planned. I'm so thankful to have this opportunity and I promise I will try to post more often to keep you guys updated.