March 22-25 (Budapest, Hungary)

March 22

A great, romantic, relaxing getaway with Whitney in Budapest this weekend! We left on Thursday night on an overnight train. We bought the cheapest tickets (not a smart idea) and were stuck in up-right seats all night. Amazingly, we survived and arrived in Budapest on Friday morning. We checked into our amazing hostel/apartment/mansion/castle… Okay maybe not castle, but it was awesome nonetheless! After getting some details about Budapest from our host, we were off to Szechenya Bath to enjoy an afternoon of relaxation, tanning and culture all wrapped into one.

Groove Hostel

After throwing some essentials into my backpack, we ran to the baths- a great, beautiful run. The different pools were set at different temperatures, with different medicinal purposes to each. We couldn’t read any of the signs, so the medicinal aspect was lost to us, but we feel great now so we must have chosen right! It was a beautiful day, so we spent most of our time in the outdoor baths. We also tried out the saunas (I am not a fan due to the extreme heat, inability to breath, and the quiet/awkward atmosphere). Speaking of awkward, the people-watching at this bath was some of the best I have encountered- all kinds of people ranging from locals to tourists attend this bath, and the result is very entertaining!

Szechenya Bath

We walked back to our hostel to shower and change and enjoy a night out in Budapest. We had dinner at a great Hungarian restaurant. After walking around Budapest’s island (deserted due to the season apparently), we ended up at a club above one of the main train stations in Budapest. Although the rainbow stairs should have warned us, we proceeded into the gay club unaware of what we were getting ourselves into. We left before too long because it was not exactly our kind of crowd.

On the bridge to the island

Parliament in the background!

March 24

On Saturday, we got giant coffees (yes, we found big coffees!) and went on a free walking tour around Budapest. We explored both the Pest side (where our hostel and downtown is) and the Buda side (across the river). We learned a lot of history, and our tour guide was great! We saw Parliament, the castle, a few churches, the Chain Bridge, and so much more!

Buda side

Overlooking the Chain Bridge from the castle

After relaxing at our hostel for a little while, we bought a bottle of wine and went to have a picnic in a local park. After more people watching, petting dogs, and taking it all in, we were off to another Hungarian dinner (great again!). We then went to the Jewish district which is where a lot of bars and clubs are. We ended up at this great fallen down building turned into a bar/club where a bike race was taking place! It was definitely mostly locals cheering on their friends in this stationary bike race. It was very entertaining, and we had a blast watching this.

March 25

On Sunday, we decided to visit the baths again. We stayed there all day, helped ourselves to their workout facilities, got lunch, and had another great day in Budapest. Before we left for our second overnight train, we had a fabulous Mexican dinner. Then the miserable ride home began. But we made it, and we loved Budapest even with the terrible transport method. 

March 16-18 (Paris, France… Again!)

March 16

On Friday, I trained to Paris to meet up with the Unis family. After wandering the streets of Champs-Élysées (not pronounced how it sounds apparently... according to everyone I asked for directions) for a while, I finally found the Marriott where they were staying- one of the nicest hotels I have ever set foot in. Feeling a little out of place with my hiking backpack and yoga pants, I sat in the giant lobby to wait for the Uniss. When we got up to the room, it was all I could do not to scream in delight! Our rooms (apartment? House?!) overlooked the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe!

Right outside out hotel! 

Arc de Triomphe 

Although I could have stayed in the hotel all weekend and been happy, we left and were off to Montmarte (a small town that I visited with David as well). The Uniss bought a few paintings (one that was a cute country home that turned out to be the artist’s house!), we ate some crepes, had a glass of wine, and we were off to Notre Dame (a cathedral that I had also seen with David). There was a choir in the cathedral this time which made the giant place even more magical.

Painter in Montmarte

Wine in Montmarte

Then it was time for our boat cruise (I know, I know- I was very spoiled this weekend!). We dressed up for a great dinner boat cruise up and down the canal in Paris. We sat at the table in the very front of the boat (best seats in the "house" I think). We had four courses of deliciousness including wine and champagne!

Whit and I at dinner!

March 17

On Saturday morning, we got to take an elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower. At the second section, the elevator changes and you have to get off. At this level, panic set in and I could not go all the way to the top, but the view was still amazing!

Only one of the views for the Eiffel Tower!

We then visited the Louvre and the Orsay museums- both amazing and so huge! There was so much to see, it was impossible to see it all, but we saw all the major works. We ate a great Parisian lunch near the Orsay museum- it was a short menu, but everything we got was great!

With such a full day, we made our way back to the Marriott to relax for a few hours before dinner. After lounging in our slippers and robes, we got ready and headed to dinner at L’Ecluse. After dinner, we decided it was necessary to celebrate St. Patrick’s day, so we headed to an Irish bar. There were St. Patrick’s Day hats on the tables and green decorations everywhere, but the bar tenders did not respond well to our enthusiasm for the holiday. In fact, I think they may not have been fully aware that it was St. Patrick's day. But we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless!

March 18

We had a GREAT breakfast at the Marriott! All you can eat buffet breakfast… you can’t really go wrong. After breakfast, we were off to Versailles. This town is about 30 minutes outside of Paris and holds the amazingly beautiful palace and gardens. This was probably my favorite part of the weekend. The gardens were beautiful (even when not in bloom!), and the palace was multiple, grandiose rooms, each outshining the next. We also saw Marie Antoinette’s house on the same property as the palace. We rented a golf cart and drove around the palace grounds, which was awesome!

Palace of Versailles

After returning to Champs-Élysées, us girls went shopping, and I finally found a pair of boots! Then we were off to our final dinner in Paris (in my new boots of course). We had a great Italian dinner, and I tried octopus! (Not too bad). I also got crème brulee! I am going to miss these amazing meals…

Outside our restaurant Sunday night

We went to bed not long after dinner because we had to get up at 5a.m. to catch our train back to Lugano.   

Video of Spring Break!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVkLEQ8mkek

March 3-11: Barcelona, Paris, Rome

Hola! Bonjour! Ciao! An amazing spring break to say the least! Let’s start with the fact that David came to visit and work our way through three of the most amazing cities I have seen.

March 3-6 (Barcelona, Spain)

I met David and Josh in the Barcelona airport on Saturday night. (Such a lucky girl to be traveling with my boyfriend around Europe!!) We got a bus from the airport to our hostel (Hostal Centric) and got settled into the cutest, nicest three-person room I have stayed in yet. From there, we went to dinner at a great restaurant called Lido that was next to our hostel. After dinner, and after being warned multiple times about pick-pocketers, we walked down La Rambla (the most famous street in Barcelona) and found the safest bar we could: “American Bar.” We made our way back to our hostel not too long after going to the bar for an early night and preparation for Sunday’s exploration of Barcelona!

Sunday morning, we got up and headed to Sagrada Familia first. This is a huge church designed by Gaudi that is still under construction. From there we hiked to Parc de Guille (Gaudi’s Park). The colorful and beautiful buildings and fountains at the top made the hike worth it! From there we headed down to the beach. The beaches and La Rambla were created in Barcelona for the 1992 Olympics to be attractive to tourists, so the beach was beautiful even in the light rain that accompanied us. And we ended up running into someone we had met on the bus from the airport!

Sagrada Familia

Parc de Guell

On Sunday night, we ate dinner and headed back to La Rambla to brave the thieves again… and ended up at the Hard Rock Café. Another great American night! We split an amazing apple cobbler and watched music videos on the big screen TVs for a few hours before heading back to the hostel.

On Monday, we went to the huge open market in Barcelona (St. Joseph’s), which is off La Rambla. There was so much fruit, vegetables, meat, candy and more! Then we were off to a park in Barcelona that holds the Olympic stadium, a castle, museums and fountains. The Olympic stadium and the castle were my favorite of these attractions. The castle overlooked a port of Barcelona and had huge canons and great views.

The market

The Olympic stadium

Outside the Olympic stadium

On top of the castle

Monday afternoon we headed back to the beach (maybe a little too much begging on my part, but the boys were nice enough to take me back). After some more pictures (I don’t know if Josh knew it was just the beginning…), walking on the sand, and exploring the boardwalk, we went to meet my middle school principal, Mr. Northrup, for dinner. Another Hill School alum ended up joining us too! He graciously paid for the best meal I have had yet in Europe- a Spanish meal known as Tapas. It is basically just a variety of appetizers. With full bellies and an early flight on Tuesday morning quickly approaching, we made our way back to our hostel for an early bedtime.

Dinner with Mr. Northrup

Tuesday morning we caught the bus to the airport and we were off to Paris, France!

March 6-8 (Paris, France)

After figuring out how to get to our hostel (Maison Bacana just outside of the city center), no thanks to the very unhelpful people working at the airport, we were greeted by a very friendly, very flamboyant French man. It turns out he owned the little bed and breakfast that we would be staying in for the next two nights. He was very helpful and offered us drinks and snacks while he told us the best things to do in Paris. From there, we were off to explore again! Josh and David got their first Doner Kabab at a restaurant near our bed and breakfast (which they loved!), then we went to Montmarte.

Outside our bed and breakfast

Montmarte is a little town outside the city center that holds a beautiful cathedral and cute shops and restaurants. We got our first French crepe and explored this area of Paris for a while before heading to the Moulin Rouge area. Going to a show was just a bit outside our budget, so we settled with taking some pictures outside. There are many... well I’ll just say interesting stores in this area of Paris (the red-light district of Paris to give you a better idea). We went to Buffalo Grill near Moulin Rouge (sticking with our American theme) and enjoyed a few drinks. We met an American who came to Paris because his wife was running a half marathon, so it was interesting to hear what they had done around Paris. From there we metroed back to our home away from home.

Church in Montmarte

Crepe!

March 7

We enjoyed a great breakfast at Maison Bacana on Wednesday morning before beginning our full day of seeing Paris in its entirety.

We started at Notre Dame Cathedral- a beautiful church in the center of Paris. The inside was huge with beautiful stain glass windows and a gothic architecture. Outside of the Notre Dame Cathedral is a bridge full of Love Locks. The story behind these locks is that if you and your love fasten a lock on this bridge and throw the key in the river, your love will last forever. Of course, David and I bought a lock and did this!

Notre Dame

From the bridge we made our way to see Charles de Gauge, the Eiffel tower, and the Louvre (where the Mona Lisa is). Along the way, we looked for the places where my parents took their honeymoon pictures- such a fun scavenger hunt, and so awesome to think that I was standing in the exact place where my parents once stood!

Charles de Gauge

After all this exploring we went to a small bar and relaxed for a couple hours before going to see the Eiffel tower at night… Even with the rain and the cold, this was one of the coolest things I have seen- the tower was literally sparkling and all lit up!

We enjoyed a great dinner in the Latin district of Paris then went back to our bed and breakfast for our last night in Paris (we would be getting up at 4 the next morning to catch our flight out of Paris!).

March 8-10 (Rome, Italy)

On Thursday morning, we woke up at 4:30 a.m. to catch the train to the airport. Our host kindly left us some great homemade bread for breakfast. We flew out of a small airport called Beauvais that is 1.5 hours outside of the city, so we had to take a train, then a shuttle bus, then we made it to the tiny terminal!

Once in Rome, we took a shuttle to our hostel (Metropolitan Guesthouse). This was the worst place we stayed. It was a very small room and had a strange smell. It still wasn’t horrible though, and we enjoyed our time in Rome as much, if not more, than the other cities we visited. Our host at this place gave us a map and told us all the places we needed to hit in Rome. After he provided us with a free lunch (always a plus), we were off!

We went to the Colosseum first (and I got in for free! Apparently it was ladies day?). It was unbelievable to walk around this amazing structure. We spent a couple hours in awe before going to explore some other ruins in Rome. Once outside the Colosseum, we were confronted by a gladiator offering to take pictures with us. Naturally we excepted this offer and snapped quite a few pictures with him before he told us we owed him 10 Euro for his service…  This was our first experience with Roman people trying to take your money any way they can!

Inside the Colosseum

We walked around Rome for a while enjoying the street performances and the amazing architecture before we found a place called Magnolias to eat a traditional Italian pasta meal. After dinner we went got Gelato then went to a bar called “Drunken Ship.” (Every bar we’d been to thus far was American, why not continue the pattern right?) About an hour later, our waitress from Magnolias walks in… Josh noticed her first and was excited that she had come to party with us! In fact, David left his credit card at the restaurant and she had come to find us and return it!   

March 9

Friday morning we went to Vatican City. We saw the Vatican museum and Saint Peter’s Basilica. A beautiful, sunny day and amazing history all around us made the morning a great one. The people chasing us around trying to force us to buy whatever they were selling was no so great though. After Vatican City, we went to the Trevi Fountain (threw in the traditional three coins), the Pantheon and the Spanish stairs. We accomplish a lot!

Vatican City

St. Peter's Basilica

Trevi Fountain

We ate dinner at a place near our hostel. The waiter brought us bread, and since we were starving we ate that pretty quick. When our check arrived, we realized that the bread cost 4 Euro! Another Roman rip off! After dinner we were planning on calling it an early night… But David was determined to see the Colosseum at night so off we went. And thank goodness we did! It was almost as cool as the sparkling Eiffel tower!

March 10

On Saturday, David and Josh flew to Milan, while I trained there. We met up in the Milan train station and went to see the beautiful Duomo of Milan before heading back to Lugano. On Sunday, David and Josh got to see all of Lugano and the expensive price of everything here! I think they enjoyed the beauty that no other city can compare to though. All in all… a fantastic trip! Thank you Josh and David for coming to visit- I had a blast with you guys!

Feb. 24-Feb. 26 (Nice, France)

Feb. 24

On Friday, we arrived at Nice in the late afternoon, and I was somewhat disappointed by the city- it was dirty and crowded and not the quaint beach town I was expecting. We made it up the hill to our hostel, quickly changed and headed straight for the beach (desperate to take advantage of the great weather… We thought 60 degrees was flip-flops, jeans, and t-shirt weather). Needless to say, our walk to the beach was pretty cold and we got some stares. The majority of those on the streets were wearing parkas… The beach was pebbles, not the sand that I was expecting, and it was beautiful! Once out of the train station area, Nice becomes a beautiful beach and boardwalk type place with cute little shops and stands all over the place. Carnevale was also happening in Nice, so there was a giant ferris wheal set up as well as costumes and confetti all over the place, which made the atmosphere that much better.

After soaking up the rays, we made out way back to our hostel for the happy hour specials. Half the group decided to stay in, but Marlee, Nichole and I decided to explore the night life of Nice. We bought our ticket for the tram and hopped on- each stop on the tram has its own little tune, which is very entertaining. About ten minutes later, the police force invaded the tram demanding to see everyone’s tickets (a common occurrence apparently). We showed them our tickets and, to our horror, we were promptly led off the tram. After revealing our passports and after a very rude, very broken English attempt at explaining where we were at fault, we realized hadn’t validated out tickets once on the tram. We were each written up and each had to pay a 30 Euro fine. A huge damper on the night, but we still made it to the recommended Wayne’s Bar and had a blast listening to live music for a couple hours. 

Feb. 25

On Saturday, at the suggestion of our hostel, we decided to visit Monaco and Cap d’Ail. Monaco was absolutely gorgeous- as the wealthiest country in the world, you would hope so! (Fun fact: 0% unemployment rate there and the most millionaires and billionaires per capita in the world.) We explore the docs with the unbelievable yachts (hot tubs on board most of them) then head to the famous Monte Carlo casino. Unfortunately, it didn’t open until two so we couldn’t go inside (not that we were in the appropriate attire anyways), but with the wide variety of fancy cars, designer shops and upscale people I can only imagine how fancy the casino is!

In front of the doc

Me, Naomi, Marlee, Caroline, Ashlee, Nichole, and Shelley

From Monaco, we caught the train back towards Nice and got off at Cap d’Ail. This is a little beach cove in the French Riviera. It was so amazing! We sat out on this terrace and enjoyed the great weather and views. There was a little running path along the cove that Marlee, Nichole and I walked along for a little ways.

Cap d'Ail

We had dinner at our hostel and sat around a table in the common room of the hostel talking and hanging out. I started getting sick earlier that day, so I decided to stay in while everyone went out. I had downloaded “The Hunger Games” books (thanks Mom!) so I wasn’t completely bored.

Feb. 26

On Sunday, Nichole, Marlee and I went for a run up to a waterfall/overlook in Nice. The view was stunning and so worth the hard run up! We then ran down along the beach for a little while before stopping to stretch and sit on the beach.

After laying on the beach for a while, we went to the flower/produce/soap/spice market along the beach. There was so much great stuff, it was hard not to buy anything! (The 30 Euro fine took enough of a toll on my budget). With the run, the beach time, the exploring and the overall great day, we lost track of time and ended up having to run to the train station to catch our train.