Easter Vacation Part 2!

I truly have never felt more alive these past couple of months...

Now that I'm settled back in my hall on campus and in the midst of studying for my exam, I can take a breather and share the rest of my travels with you! Picking up where I left off, Paris!

The first day I arrived we just walked around the area around the Seine. There I saw the Notre Dame from a distance and added a lock to the Love Lock Bridge, or the Pont de l'Archeveche.

            

                                    

                             

Over the course of the next couple of days we wondered around the Marais District, tried macaroons, visited the Arc de Triomphe and explored the streets of Paris. We also went inside the Notre Dame and witnessed a mass, and on the last night we watched the sunset at the Eiffel Tower and saw it being lit up! I can't think of a more majestic sight!!

Nearly all of the elevated sights offer a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower!

            

        

             

I got up at 4 AM on a Wednesday Morning to fly to Florence and visit a friend from Charleston who was study abroad there. The food and wine in Florence is by far the best I've had in my whole life. Between the fresh pasta, gelato, and variety of wine I was more than happy to gain weight while I was there. My friend took me to the II Duomo di Firenze, or the Cathedral of Florence, the Accademia where Michelangelo's David is exhibited, the Bobobi Gardens that are behind the Pitti Palace which housed the powerful Medici family for many generations, and the famous Ponte Vecchio!!
The Duomo:

Boboli Gardens with an amazing view of Florence:

                                   
Ponte Vecchio:

The architecture throughout the city was stunning! You can tell that the Renaissance occurred here just by looking at the structures. 

Something that I've started doing is drinking a Coke in each country I travel to, just to experience the difference in recipe. I've drank one from Mexico, America, the UK, France, Spain, and Italy. Italy's was by far the best Coca-Cola I've EVER had.






The last leg of my journey took me all the way up to Aberdeen, Scotland where my sister lives! My body might have slipped into shock the first two days I was there, I went from warm 70 degree weather to rainy 40 degree weather, it was insane. Nevertheless, I saw some beautiful views of the country!

The shores of their beaches are made of stone, not sand! It was so cool!

I took the train for the first time ever! It took me to London, and then I caught a bus up to Nottingham and came back to the university.

It is unbelievable how blessed I am to have experienced everything that my time here in the UK has consisted of. I'm leaving in about 3 weeks and I've made friends that I will never forget, memories that I'll cherish forever, and a new insight on the world. I am incredibly grateful for everyone who has been praying for me, supporting me, and believing in me. While I am ready to be home and reunited with my family, it will not be easy saying goodbye to this place. 

Easter Vacation Part 1

First of all, in Europe they do not say spring break. That has a negative connotation attached, mainly girls gone wild/drunken beach adventures. So I quickly learned to refer to this magical month and a half off as my holiday or Easter vacation. 

I know I've done a poor job of updating, I've been swamped with coursework, deadlines, volleyball, and traveling. But I've got some time to kill, so I'm going to write about as much as possible (: 

At this point in my semester, classes are finished. We will come back to do exams for a month and then it's time for summer vacation. Thankfully i only have one exam, the rest of my assessments were essays that were due prior to break. Most people here just go home, some of my fellow exchange students are traveling as well but they are staying around the UK. As I'm writing this, I'm flying from Alicante, Spain to Paris, France! 

Alicante was beyond gorgeous. I've been to Florida, Mexico, the Bahamas, and obviously, Charleston, yet there is nothing close to this amazing city. The mountains meet the sea, the culture is rich, and the food is spectacular. I could go on for ages about the food. A friend from volleyball in Nottingham let me stay with her and her family. She took me to the beach, neighboring cities, hiking, bike rides along the coast, clubs, and local restaurants. I've never loved a city like Alicante since I first step foot in Charleston for my university tour. 

This city is bordered with the Mediterranean Sea, so I can add that to my list of waters that I've been in. (: The water was a bit chilly, but it felt good after playing volleyball all day. The biggest change that I experienced was the schedule. They eat breakfast around 9/10, lunch 3/4, and dinner around 9/10. And then if you're meeting up with some friends during the weekend, you'll get together around midnight and stay out till 6-8 in the morning. So that was an adventure! Sara took me to a city nearby, Altea, which was absolutely stunning. The buildings were white and overlooked the blue waters.

On my last day, we went for a hike up this massive mountain. It wasn't regulated by anyone, so the pathways were shabby and rocky. At some points you're using both hands to hoist yourself up on rocks. It was probably the best hike I've ever done. It takes about an hour or two to get to the top, but the view along the way is so worth it. The vegetation reminded me a little of the Lion King!

  

Here is a far away picture of the rock we hiked, you can tell how massive it is when you look at the 4 story houses to the right of it!  Below is a closer picture of the rock.

You have to walk through this cave to get to the other side of the mountain to start your hike! Below is the trail that we walked alongside the mountain, it leads you all the way up to the top.

Lastly, this is a view of the city from the cave. So breath-taking! 

A completely random sidenote; they use fresh oranges and make orange juice daily with a pulper machine. It's literally the best juice I've had in my life. It's so much better than the kind in the states. And they also buy their bread daily, for a euro, it was so yummy to have fresh bread each day!

As I mentioned, I'm headed to Paris right now. My moms are meeting me in Paris, so I'm very excited to finally see them!  I'll be there for 4 days and then I'm off to Florence for several days! Finally I'll spend a week and a half in Scotland until my term begins! 

Tips: 

When making plans for Easter Vacation, use Facebook if you can. Here in Nottingham University there is a page specifically for exchange students for the spring semester. There you can post where you wish to visit and others will reply. Ultimately giving you some people to travel with. 

Also, if your university requires you to move out during the holiday, instead of lugging your belongings around Europe, try to find others who are storing their things in a room. So you can split the cost. Better yet, see if you can find a friend who lives off campus who doesn't mind letting you put your things at their place so it won't cost you anything!

While on the topic of belongings, I've chosen to fly everywhere because it's cheaper and faster. Since I'm living out if a suitcase for a month, it was pretty much inevitable for me to check a bag. My airline, Ryanair, charges you the cheapest fee if you pay for the bag when you buy your ticket. You're allowed various weights, I selected the 15 kg option. This doesn't seem like much, but it's actually over 30 lbs. So it's a good way to go. To cut back on fees in Europe, the airlines try to handle everything online before arriving at the airport. So be sure to take care of printing tickets, boarding passes, etc. before you leave for your travels, or else they charge outrageous amounts at the desk. 

Remember my tip to get involved? It's essential. My friend Sara, who let me stay with her this week, and I met through volleyball. Another friend let me stay in her apartment when my halls closed until my flight to Spain. People here are so nice and very helpful!

Wanderlust.

So I've been here for a little less than a month and it has been positively magical. I think I'm still in the honeymoon phase of being in a new country. I'm not complaining though. (:

Classes are in full blast, last week I only had one day of class due to course being rescheduled/cancelled. It's been somewhat of a challenge staying on top of the course load due to the fact that they do not assign much work. It is expected of you to find readings on assigned topics and come back prepared. They don't have many assessments either. So it would be quite easy to slack off and not stay engaged. It helps that I have friends who spend a good amount of time in the library, so I am able stay on top of my schooling.

I went to Oxford this past weekend, it was so gorgeous. It was a school sponsored trip that went for a day. They dropped us off and let us roam the city freely. There was a free walking tour that lasted about 2 hours, we saw most of Oxford this way. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day. (: We even saw places where Harry Potter was filmed!

The basement of this bookstore was massive, it continued under pieces of Oxford University! 

Anne, Camille and I! These two lovely ladies are from France (:

The four of us (Anne, Camille, Ina, and I) outside this amazing cafe. Their food and drinks were amazing. It's the oldest coffeehouse in England, they were established in 1650! 

In front of a library that was donated by a doctor who avoiding reading at all cost. (: 

                       In front of the Bridge of Sighs.                              Found a phone booth! (:

The infirmary and library scenes in the first Harry Potter film were shot here! 

Behind this gate was the highest, most esteemed, college in Oxford University. Being accepted was immensely hard, but once you're accepted you get to do what you wish. Apparently they give you money to do whatever research you want, attendance isn't required, and you can come and go as you please. I'm so jealous!  

The rest of these pictures are gorgeous buildings throughout the city. Some are churches, shops, and libraries. 

After venturing to this amazing city, I'm ready to go on the next trip! I'm spending a weekend in Dublin in March, so I'm excited for that. (: I've joined the volleyball club on campus, so I spend a few nights a week training with them! I've discovered a yummy coffeehouse in the city center, I'm in love. They brew their coffee with Italian Espresso! I finally went to see Frozen with a hallmate in this vintage-y cinema. It was so good! I can't believe I waited so long to watch it.

Well I've been procrastinating, trying to put off researching for a paper. I best get to it, I hope everything is going well on your side of the ocean. (: 

Until next time, (: 

♥always,

e