3 countries, 5 cities, 10 days.
I took advantage of my 10 day fall break and traveled to Berlin, Rome, Florence, Paris, and Versailles with some friends. Needless to say, I was exhausted after this trip, but had many wonderful memories, have become more culturally diverse, and have strengthened my friendship with some great people.
My first destination was a 3 day trip to Berlin, Germany. As soon as my friend and I got off the plane, we went straight for a huge pretzel and a brat, both of which were delicious! We stayed at a hostel that was 5 minutes from the Berlin Wall and the downtown area of Berlin. I liked the vibe of the area in which we were staying- It was full of young people who were hip and laid back. One of the days we went on a bus tour that highlighted the major attractions of Berlin, which included the international embassies, a Holocaust memorial, “Checkpoint Charlie,” Tiergarten, and a very beautiful cathedral. The architecture of Berlin was unique, beautiful and ornate, distinctive from the rest of Europe. The language barrier was ever present, and we had a very hard time communicating, especially since Spanish and English are so dissimilar to German. We found a cute pizza place near our hostel, and went out for drinks and burgers another night (sounds like I was in the US!). My favorite part of Berlin was walking along the Berlin Wall and looking at the beautiful murals along the wall. Berlin was a lot colder than I expected, and though there were some interesting things to see, I would have to say it was my least favorite city I visited.
We were in beautiful Roma for 4 days and stayed in a hostel with a 5 minute walk to the train station Termine, which proved to be very advantageous when we took a day trip to Florence. We visited the typical tourist attractions found in Rome, including The Trevi Fountain (both during the day and at night), Piazza Navona, The Spanish Steps, The Pantheon, The Colosseum, etc. On our last day, we visited Saint Peter’s Basilica as well, and saw the Sistine Chapel. I absolutely LOVE the Roman style architecture and the cobblestone streets, even though they take a toll on your feet. I had margherita pizza or pasta for dinner/lunch, and gelato for dessert every single day, and loved it. I even experienced the nightlife- One of my friends from Loyola who is studying abroad in Rome took us to a club called Mood, where we danced and let loose for a couple hours. We lucked out because the weather was so nice when we were in Rome, so we were able to explore outside all day.
Florence was a nice day trip away from the hustle and bustle of Rome. We took a train about 4 hours away from Rome. We saw “David” by Michaelangelo, toured some churches, climbed a lookout point of the city during the sunset, and discovered a castle. My favorite part of this voyage was standing over a bridge at dusk and looking at the gorgeous cityscape. I went with a close group of friends, so that made the experience even more enjoyable.
The more I think about it, the more I realize Paris was my favorite city to visit so far, and was a lot more beautiful than I originally expected. My favorite/most surreal part of Paris was going to the summit of the Eiffel Tower at night with my two friends. The whole time I had to keep reminding myself where I was, and the view was absolutely breathtaking. The Eiffel Tower “sparkles” for 5 minutes on the top of every hour, so I was able to see this from outside the Tower, as well as at the summit! We visited the Rose Window at the Notre Dame Cathedral, but not before we stopped for some CREPES from a street vendor. During my 2.5 days there, I had a caramel crepe and a nutella crepe (which was by far my favorite). We also visited the Mona Lisa at the Louvre and went to Museo d’ Orsay, which houses some of my favorite pieces by my favorite artists, such as Cezanne, Monet, Rodin, and Degas. Our last stop was at the famous Lock Bridge, where couples write their names on a lock and chain it to a bridge. I was blown away as to how many locks there were… So many, in fact, that my friends who brought a lock to put on the bridge had a hard time finding a place to put theirs! Needless to say, it was a really sweet end to our trip.
We visited Versailles as a day trip on our last day. The city is a couple hours outside of Paris, and there we visited the Palace of Versailles which was INCREDIBLE… Definitely worth the travel. The palace was built for the Spanish royals in the 1660’s, and this was probably the most expansive, beautiful, and ornate palace I have ever seen. We were on a time constraint, and couldn’t view all of the palace or the gardens, which are extremely expansive and are the major attraction of the palace. I would love to go back someday and finish touring the palace.
What I have noticed:
-Europeans and PDA- No boundaries
-Paris is very expensive. One morning, I paid 7.50 euro (around 10 US dollars) for a chocolate croissant and half a cup of coffee.
-Germans cannot locate the spot where Hitler committed suicide, because it is now a parking lot.
-German men= very handsome.
-The Museo d’ Orsay (in Paris) was the old train station that was turned into a museum.
-You have a high chance of getting hit by a bicycle in Berlin. No mercy.
-If you are a student, museums are typically free. I don’t think I paid for entry to one museum while traveling.