Tag: Study Abroad

For those of you who don’t know, I spent my first semester of the current school year in Europe. The University of Dallas has what is called the Rome Program. A group of 95 students, 5 professors, and a small group of staff live together for four months on the outskirts of Rome. Almost every weekend is a four day weekend, so everyone is allowed to travel outside of Italy until classes resume late Monday morning. There were also tons of class trips made throughout Italy and Greece.

For my last long weekend, I went to Dublin and Galway.

At this point, many students had gone there and I had heard nothing but good things about Ireland. Everyone there is either incredibly kind, hilarious, and/or laidback. There was not one mean person that we came across during our visit.

Our first day in Ireland was spent running around Dublin, trying our hardest to see as many things as possible. From the Ha’penny Bridge, to the Chester Beatty Library, and many, many more!

For lunch we had super delicious (and super cheap) food at an American-inspired bar. It was one of the few times I had chicken during those four months (why don’t Italians eat more chicken???).

What I remember most from that day were the rainbows.

RAINBOWS.

As in plural.

Dublin was rainy and super cold, but we welcomed with three different rainbows that day. One of which was a double rainbow!

How lucky are we?!

After spending the morning in Galway, where I ate BIG chocolate pancakes with cinnamon hot chocolate and bought a Claddagh ring to show off my singleness, we headed to the Cliffs of Moher.

Right before we arrived it had been raining quite heavily. So when we were walking along the cliffs, it was extremely muddy. Boot-ruining, mushy-sounding, feet-trapping muddy. I lost count how many times I almost fell (not off the cliffs at least).

But the views were absolutely breathtaking.

Every inch of the place was something out of a painting. The dreamy blue waters, the massive cliffs, the flocks of birds that flew at a distance, all encompassed a gorgeous scenery.

Truly an unforgettable experience.

We ended our time there with a big, hearty dinner.

Eating soup, various breads, huge slices of meat  and tons of potatoes.

After stopping by a chocolate shop for some last minute desserts, we headed back to Dublin and caught our flight back to campus the following morning.

For those of you who don’t know, I spent my first semester of the current school year in Europe. The University of Dallas has what is called the Rome Program. A group of 95 students, 5 professors, and a small group of staff live together for four months on the outskirts of Rome. Almost every weekend is a four day weekend, so everyone is allowed to travel outside of Italy until classes resume late Monday morning. There were also tons of class trips made throughout Italy and Greece.

Since Thanksgiving happens right before Winter Break, the majority of students decided to stay in Europe instead of flying back to America.

A lot of us chose to spend Thanksgiving in Barcelona.

Of course, the Cheetah Girl in me flipped out.

If you don’t know why, we can’t be friends.

I was lucky enough to visit La Sagrada Família, a gorgeous and modern church still under construction. It’s not for those more inclined to traditional styles, but it’s definigely a unique structure filled with amazing stained glass. Also, from afar the outside looks like a cavern. Particularly those in the Natural Bridge Caverns. But up close, it’s covered in sculptures and engravings of religious scenes and symbols. Even if you don’t want to go inside the actual building, I would most definitely recommend at least seeing the outside.

I also managed to go to Parc Güell. While most of the park isn’t free, it’s the Monumental Core that attracts people the most. It contains tons of cool designs and patterns that are incredibly intricate. With tons of cool columns and arches. It also gives the most amazing view of Barcelona and is where the “Strut” scene was shot in the Cheetah Girl’s sequel. It was literally a childhood dream come true!

I also fell in love with La Boqueria.

A lot of people may just wave it off and say it’s only a tourist attraction, but it really isn’t. It’s an awesome market filled to the brim with quality and cheap items. From fresh fish, to cartons of eggs, to homemade chocolates, and freshly made juice! The marketplace is gorgeous and was a 5 minute walk from our place. If you don’t do or see anything else in Barcelona, at least go to La Boqueria!

It’s definitely worth it.

Compared to my other travels, this one was quite chill. With the stress of school and the constant backpacking, having time to just stay in one place and rest was absolute Heaven. My time in Barcelona was one of the very few places I visited where I actually had time to nap.

It was glorious.

It was also great to just hang out with the squad.

I hadn’t been with this particular set of friends I traveled and stayed with since my first Paris trip. So being with them was really nice. We would buy groceries for our meals and make them together for meals, or for those of us who didn’t cook (like me) cleaned up while listening to Christmas tunes, or watched Blue Bloods on the tv that was provided at our place.

We would also make hot choclate on late nights listening to Nat “King” Cole songs.

As well as fresh toast with butter and scrambled eggs for breakfast, paired with awesome orange juice.

Thanksgiving dinner was amazingly.

We made mashed potatoes, mac ‘n’ cheese, tons of other stuff, and bought buckets of KFC chicken. Originally we were going to try cooking chicken ourselves, but KFC seemed like the better option.

And it was.

It was HEAVEN.

Despite missing my momma, Thanksgiving in 2018 was a wonderful experience. Not just because of the gorgeous city I was in, but mostly because of the people I spent it with.

For those of you who don’t know, I spent my first semester of the current school year in Europe. The University of Dallas has what is called the Rome Program. A group of 95 students, 5 professors, and a small group of staff live together for four months on the outskirts of Rome. Almost every weekend is a four day weekend, so everyone is allowed to travel outside of Italy until classes resume late Monday morning. There were also tons of class trips made throughout Italy and Greece.

On one of the weekends, students were offered a chance to go on a Women’s Retreat at a center in Albano.

The guys had theirs a few weekends before us, so we had a Girls’ Night watching She’s the Man, eating snacks, and having a mini dance party.

The retreat was about three days. It was a completely silent one and all meals were prepared for us (the bread was amazing with some oil, pepper, and salt).

I had never been on a retreat before so I was hesitant to go at first. But after some urging from my friends, I decided to go anyway.

It was free after all.

What was also nice about it was that while there was a schedule, no one was obligated to attend all events. So technically I could have just skipped everything (except meals) and relaxed/slept.

The only “events” I participated in was a Rosary prayer and Adoration for one hour.

My favorite part, however, was being able to just journal while looking at the amazing panoramic view of Lake Nemi. The clear, blue water was literally sparkling whenever the sun was up. The sunlight felt like absolute perfection against the cold, winter air. But it was the most relaxed I had been that entire semester.

I almost dreaded going back to campus, especially when all the girls erupted into chatter when silence was over.

It was actually painful…

For those of you who don’t know, I spent my first semester of the current school year in Europe. The University of Dallas has what is called the Rome Program. A group of 95 students, 5 professors, and a small group of staff live together for four months on the outskirts of Rome. Almost every weekend is a four day weekend, so everyone is allowed to travel outside of Italy until classes resume late Monday morning. There were also tons of class trips made throughout Italy and Greece.

London was probably one of my favorite places to visit.

It was expensive, yes, but place was just so cool.

AND it was the first time in months that everything was in English. #BLESS

The three of us stayed in, what was probably the coolest hostel I’ve been to, The Birds Hostel. It’s placed right above a bar and constantly holds fun events. Like themed trivia games (i.e. Harry Potter, Disney Villains, etc.), movie nights (in our case, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1), and had an overall cool setup. Not to mention that the people there are genuinely nice and hilarious to be around.

Oh, and the food is to die for. I most particularly loved their chicken popcorn.

We spent our first morning in Covent Garden, particularly in a tea store called Whittard of Chelsea. While I am not a big fan of tea, the shop was filled with gorgeous items and delicious smelling teas. There was also tons of Alice in Womderland themed products, one of which was chocolate that I gladly ate and shared at school later on. If not for the chocolate itself, then for the beautiful packaging.

We then scurried off to see Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace.

One of us is an art major and I, for those of you who don’t know, considered being one myself. That was, of course, before I realized I didn’t like being stressed out by deadlines when it came to art. Now you can imagine how excited we were to visit the National Gallery, where some of the world’s greatest artworks are. Although our time was limited, the one piece of art that I absolutely HAD to see was the famous Sunflower by Vincent van Gogh (the one with the vase to be precise).

My good friend and I took turns geeking out over our favorite artists and taking pictures with their pieces.

Van Gogh is my guy, Monet is hers.

We also made sure to visit Abbey Road (although we could’ve been run over) and Platform 9 3/4 (despite the long line).

We even made reservations to have tea at a place called Candella. It’s a quaint but beautiful place, perfect for living out one’s tea time dreams.

We ended the day with a live show of Les Misérables.

Earlier that day our group met a very nice woman staying at the same hostel we were in. She had discounts on tickets to musicals being shown during our stay, and graciously offered us to any of our choosing. Since two of the three in our group had never actually seen the production, the third a fervent fan of it, we decided to watch Les Misérables.

Despite its tragedy and dark tone (don’t worry, no spoilers here), the story was beautiful and filled with talented actors.

On our last night in London, all three of us went on the London Eye.

The initial idea was to be in it while the sun was setting. But London, however, is all fog and rain. So that plan went down the drain. But the overall experience was so much fun. The line, while long, was exceedingly fast and the views were amazing.

My two favorite things about London are 1) their Metro system and 2) Primark.

For the first point, it’s so incredibly easy to understand. And no, not just because it’s in English. But the lines make more sense and aren’t incredibly complicated like freaking spiderwebs (ahem, Paris). The Overground, which we particularly used, was never a stressful thing. We never once got lost.

Primark, which I know can be found in other countries, was first discovered by moi in London. It’s basically a cool place to find clothes and other items that will not break the bank. Unless you go overboard of course, but that’s not the point.

Overall, London was the best. With it’s red buses and telephone booths and cool accents. I definitely recommend going there and encourage study abroad students to seek out The Birds Hostel.

And remember to mind the gap!

For those of you who don’t know, I spent my first semester of the current school year in Europe. The University of Dallas has what is called the Rome Program. A group of 95 students, 5 professors, and a small group of staff live together for four months on the outskirts of Rome. Almost every weekend is a four day weekend, so everyone is allowed to travel outside of Italy until classes resume late Monday morning. There were also tons of class trips made throughout Italy and Greece.

Our class trip to Greece was basically a week-long vacation.

We went on an overnight boat, which I had never done before! Although the rooms were incredibly small and tight (four per room), the boat itself was massive. The bar was open to all and was placed right in front of a lounge area everyone hung out in.

There are two things I remember most that night:

First, there was a long drive to the port itself. It was a 7 hour drive, so by the time we got on the actual boat I had so much energy! Amongst all the other students who were jetlagged and tired, I was doing the “Wobble” like the fool that I am.

Second, the party of the top deck. Despite the chilly wind and legit fear of falling overboard, it was a lot of fun. It was basically filled with only University of Dallas kids doing random things. Like singing and rapping along to music, reading Aristophanes’ The Frogs for homework, having a dance party, and playing Ninja.

I even scraped my knee pretty badly playing Ninja too hardcore. But I won. Twice. And that’s what really matters.

So many things happened on this trip that I couldn’t possibly write about. Mostly because, to be honest, I can’t remember a lot of it off the top of my head.

But I do remember visiting some of the most gorgeous monasteries in the world. One of which was on Meteora. While the climb was a nightmare, the view was an absolute dream. With the gorgeous rock formations, and clear blue skies, and amazing landscapes that blew me away.

I will say this, however, beware of the bathrooms in monasteries . . .

Over the course of our time there, we had multiple on-site lectures given by our professors. One of which was the Temple of Apollo in Delphi.

Now at this particular archaeological site there are three different levels you can see. So on every level we had a different professor give a lecture.

In general I hate climbing, so imagine how it was for us when it began to rain. And I don’t mean just a little drizzle, but like hardcore pouring rain.

While everyone checked earlier that morning what the weather would be like, none of us could have anticipated just how bad it would be. Some of us didn’t even have umbrellas or rain jackets that day.

But despite the nasty weather that day, it was one of the most memorable afternoons those ten days.

Everyone persevered and listened to all three lectures, despite being given an out. We all chose to instead enjoy that afternoon by singing rain-related tunes and jumping in/over puddles we pretended were oceans.

This one, big insane family stuck together in the rain like pros.

Another on-site lecture we had was at Mycenae.

It’s an archaeological site that contains a tholos tomb called the Treasury of Atreus. This tomb is shaped like a beehive and allows visitors to go inside it. Initially we were outside when our professor began the lecture. Midway through, however, it began to rain…

So this big group of Americans (except for myself and one other kid) rush to the tomb below us to take cover and finish the lecture there.

Our professor, noting the amazing acoustics in the tomb, invited students to stand in the middle where the sound was best and sing.

From Italian opera to a sea ballad to a Shakespeare recitation, we filled the tomb we glorious sound. But it was the finale that was unforgettable.

One of my best friends goes up and invites us all to sing Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver. Now throughout our semester together, there were a few songs in particular everyone knew and sang together. Such as Edelweiss from The Sound of Music, Hey Stephen by Taylor Swift, Thank You, Next by Ariana Grande, and the song mentioned above.

So altogether, in a circle with our arms around each other’s shoulders, we sing.

Loud and proud and happily.

We also spent a whole day island hopping.

There were two boats we went on where the top deck was open for seating. The ride was about 2-3 hours long, so some of us would sleep under the warm sun on the top deck or even talk with our professors. I distinctly remember how nice it felt to have the sun come down on my shoulders as the cool wind blew in my face. There was also music paying in the background along with a bit of chatter.

That day we visited two islands that were just gorgeous. One of which had awesome food and views, and the other an open beach and adorable shops. The day was spent looking at things to buy in a bathing suit and running around like madmen.

Even the boat ride back to our hotel was fun. In order to pass the time, we would play cards or hand-clapping games with each other.

The day was equal in fun and exhaustion.

Our last night in Greece was spent dancing.

There was a group of professional dancers that came to both perform for us and teach us some moves. The night was filled with loud music and sweaty people joyfully dancing the night away. I remember being in my polka dotted and flamingo print dress that I had bought on one of the islands, hair up in a ponytail, with my black ankle booties stomping the ground.

Greece was truly a one-of-a-kind experience.

P.s. Gibbs and the Kids rule.

Stephen’s Heathens suck.

For those of you who don’t know, I spent my first semester of the current school year in Europe. The University of Dallas has what is called the Rome Program. A group of 95 students, 5 professors, and a small group of staff live together for four months on the outskirts of Rome. Almost every weekend is a four day weekend, so everyone is allowed to travel outside of Italy until classes resume late Monday morning. There were also tons of class trips made throughout Italy and Greece.

I was fortunate enough to visit the City of Lights twice.

It took both times and two 3 hour visits for me to barely finish one floor of the Louvre. And let me tell you, that Mona Lisa is teeny. The museum taunts you by putting up signs everywhere saying “She’s this way” and making visitors climb stairs after stairs after stairs. And of course you do so quickly because you want to get there before the crowd gets too big. But at least I got to say that I saw it in person.

The museum is a maze. It is never ending in its treasures and beauties. The floor I explored was 1 (the others being -2, -1, 0 and 2). My personal favorite was the Denon Wing, in particular the Napoleon III Apartments.

There is also a great cafe called Hubsy that I recommend to college students visiting Paris. It is exceedingly cheap considering all the things they provide you. You pay a set fee depending on the number of hours you are there, and in return you get free WiFi and unlimited snacks and drinks. It also helps that the place itself is pretty cozy.

Lucky for us, climbing the Arc de Triomphe was free!

Since we had to stay for such a long time in Italy, everyone has student visas that made us legal residents of the EU for the time being. Apparently for EU residents it’s free to climb the monument!

The climb, while exhausting, was worth it in my opinion. The view allowed us to see not only the overall city, but also the Eiffel Tower during it’s light show. It was just a few of us, fooling around in the cool air while looking around like the tourists that we are.

During my second visit, we took a day trip to the Palace of Versailles.

Although we had purchased tickets online, the line was simply horrendous. It was so long that it created three huge loops outside the palace, kind of like a huge snake. And while the wait was long and the heat was strong, our little group passed the time making jokes and playing games.

The palace is gorgeous.

With it’s black and white tiles and elaborate gold ornaments, the palace was indeed beautiful. A friend and I even had a meal there. Albeit a little expensive, but delicious nonetheless (with a much cheaper dinner that night). Their orange juice was probably one of the best I’ve ever had. It even came with their own fancy bottle and label! 😀

I was most excited to see the Hall of Mirrors, but ended up falling in love with other items within that room. While the mirrors were indeed impressive, it was the multiple chandeliers and painting-covered ceiling that made me awestruck.

We ended the trip with some macaroons from Laudurée. Expensive, and small, but delicious! If you ever visit one, make sure to get a ribbon there! There’s blue, green, lavender and pink.

My favorite part of both my trips to Paris was seeing the Eiffel Tower at night.

After the trip to Versailles, we took our macaroons and sat down in an open space right in front of the Tower. It’s a clear, grass field that is open to the public and perfect for seeing the entire Tower.

There were tons of people there.

Families with their children playing around, couples taking romantic photos, and groups of young adults just like us having picnics.

We watched the sun set right before the light show began.

The rest of the night was spent eating our macaroons, making funny videos, and dancing along to “Stand By Me.” It was one of my favorite moments in the entire semester.

And while I was blessed to see Paris twice, there is still so much more to see and do there!

Such as climbing the Eiffel Tower (once I earn more money, of course).

And visiting Saints Chapelle with all its glorious stained glass!

And the booklover in me must of course visit Shakespeare and Company too!

There is still so much wonder to discover in the city that I have yet, and will hopefully one day, see for myself.

I will, however, warn future fellow university student visitors that Paris is very expensive. It is a very hectic place and their Metro system made my head hurt.

But Paris will always have a special place in my heart, as it was the first time I had ever traveled somewhere without any parental OR school guidance. Not to mention that it’s also the first, and I proudly proclaim the only, place I was ever lost in.

For two hours.

Alone.

With a dying phone.

It was truly an experience to remember.

For those of you who don’t know, I spent my first semester of the current school year in Europe. The University of Dallas has what is called the Rome Program. A group of 95 students, 5 professors, and a small group of staff live together for four months on the outskirts of Rome. Almost every weekend is a four day weekend, so everyone is allowed to travel outside of Italy until classes resume late Monday morning. There were also tons of class trips made throughout Italy and Greece.

Our first class trip was to Souther Italy, otherwise known as Campania.

One of the few places we went to was Amalfi Coast. It’s famous for it’s delicious lemons and gorgeous beaches. We spent the morning strolling around, visiting churches and eating delicious lemon treats. My favorite was the lemon-flavored granita, which is basically a fancy version of a slushy.

We were told that the Amalfi beach inspired many Greek stories, like the Sirens in The Odyssey. The day was unbearably hot and humid, making the blue waters that much more welcoming. We all practically ran towards the cool waters, with sweat dripping down our faces and backs.

As beautiful as it was, however, the waves were hella wild. They kept throwing us against the sharp boulders, covered with mushy algae and sea urchins. I even almost fully stepped on one. Eventually I just gave up actual swimming and stuck to the shore.

The sand there wasn’t even sand either. It was instead small pebbles that burned like the sun and were painful to walk on barefoot.

Some kids even went cliff diving. In theory this is a pretty cool (probably insane) idea. If it weren’t for the height. Or the 20 minute nonstop swim to it. Or the crazy waves. Or the sharp boulders. One of us even hurt their leg and had to put it in a cast. A lot of us also got cuts and bruises.

The Amalfi Coast, while gorgeous, was not in the least relaxing or calm.

We ended the trip in Positano, where some of my favorite memories are.

Like the dance parties in the hotel lobby and the sunset watching at the beach. Especially the beach.

It was about a five minute walk from the hotel we were staying at, and almost everyone wanted to watch the sunset there for our last night of the trip. The beach, unlike the one at Amalfi, was calm. With soft sand and warm waves that gently rocked us about.

The sky was magnificent. A complete gradient of colors that reflected off of the waters like an impressionistic painting. One moment it would be orange and yellow, and in another purple and pink. With this as our gorgeous backdrop, everyone sang songs and acted like complete fools. For that one night everyone let loose before heading back to work the following morning.