While abroad in Europe, it’s very common for students to take weekend trips. Whether it’s a train to another part of your host country, or jumping on a plane to spend two days in a neighboring country, traveling is easy here. Little did I know that when my friends Olivia, Faith, and I began planning our spring break, we were planning one of the best trips I’ve ever taken.
Spring break is the longest period of time where we don’t have classes, so we knew we wanted to make the most out of the nine days we had. We agreed that we would begin in Paris, then onto Ireland, and end in London. Soon, plane tickets were booked, itineraries were set, and tours were planned. In the blink of an eye it was 4 a.m., and we were in our taxi on the way to the airport.
I’ve always dreamed of visiting Paris. As an art history major and someone who loves painting, I’ve always wanted to see the city where so many artists have come to find inspiration and community. I can’t even comprehend how surreal of an experience it was to land there and be surrounded by the fashion, culture, and architecture of the historic city.
Taking the metro from the airport into the city, we found ourselves searching for coffee in the second arrondissement. Paris is divided into twenty arrondissements, each of which are a different administrative district. Each has a different postal code number and typically has a local monument. For our time in Paris we stayed in the first arrondissement, whose monument is the Louvre. However, having to wait to check into our Airbnb, we grabbed breakfast from a bakery called Copains and sat in a nearby park.
I’ve always said that people look like their pets. Sitting in the park, there were countless dogs who each looked like their respective owners. There was one man with his dachshund, who both stood in between the trees watching others. It was so peaceful, and the trees were just beginning to bloom. Soon after chatting for a while and eating our pastries, we were off to drop our suitcases at the apartment.
Arriving at the building, there were complicated instructions on where to get the key and how to get into the building. The key was in a laundromat next door, and there were multiple doors we had to get through. When we finally got into the apartment, we realized that it was an older and slightly moldy room.
From the information on Airbnb we knew that we would be sharing a bunk bed, however what we didn’t realize was that the top bunk was so disproportionately tall and incredibly close to the ceiling. We also came to notice that each wall in the room had a mirror, each at their own awkward height. We ultimately got ready using these mirrors and went off to spend time before our Louvre visit.
While walking around, we stumbled upon what I believe was the best burger from a restaurant called Dumbo. It was a simple smashburger, having only onions, pickles, ketchup, mustard, and american cheese. After having been awake since 4 a.m. and only having a small pastry, it was the greatest thing I have ever tasted.
It was now pouring rain, and we were relieved to finally make it to the Louvre. I couldn’t comprehend the size of the museum. It has over 35,000 artworks ranging from ancient Eastern Mediterranean from 7000 BCE, to 19th century European paintings. Some of the most notable works from the museum are the Mona Lisa and Liberty Leading the People. There were children rolling on the ground who obviously didn’t want to be there, college boys in their young-twenties dressed as mimes, and hordes of tourists. One of my favorite pieces was Francisco de Goya’s Portrait of Mariana Waldstein.
On our second and final full day, we went to the Palace of Versailles. Being outside of Paris, we hopped on the train and stayed on until the last stop. We walked around Versailles until we reached the palace, its massive scale being unlike almost anything I had ever seen. Walking around inside, there were many historical portraits and paintings. It was so interesting to see how the places around the world or even Versailles looked at the time the paintings were done. After we walked through the historic hallways, we went outside to the gardens. With it being early March, the flowers were just beginning to grow.
Heading back into Paris, we wandered around the Eiffel Tower and the Seine River until sunset. We walked to Le Relais de I’Entrecote, a famous restaurant known for its simple menu. The meal only has a walnut salad, followed by sirloin steak in a famous secret sauce, and french fries. After waiting outside in line for a while and having spent all day walking around, the meal was very good and what we needed. On our walk back to our apartment, we caught the Eiffel Tower sparkling in the distance. We went to bed early, because the next morning we were heading off to Ireland.
Around 11 a.m. we boarded a Transavia plane that had bright green seats and music playing. An assortment of random artists including the Backstreet Boys serenaded us as we took our seats. A few hours later, we were walking across the tarmac and into the Dublin airport. My roommate’s eSIM wasn’t working, meaning she couldn’t send any text messages or use her phone without wifi. We sat down to fix this, however we ended up sitting directly next to a man who was playing the piano louder than I’ve ever heard the instrument played.
Some songs later, her phone was fixed, and we hopped on a bus to head into town. Our hotel was very nice, with the bunk bed not touching the ceiling this time. After changing, we went out to explore the cloudy city. It seemed as though our tradition on our trip was eating cheeseburgers because we wound up at Bunsen Burger. According to some sources, this is ranked one of the best burgers in Europe. I’m inclined to agree with this because all three of our plates were empty.
Walking around pubs, the crowds and musicians were lively and fun. People were dancing and singing along. One woman started playing the spoons, and then suddenly multiple people were playing the spoons. We came the week before St. Patrick’s Day and they were already handing out hats to celebrate the holiday.
The next morning we woke up early and walked north of the city. One of the events we were most excited for was the tour we had booked to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway. After we got onto the bus we realized that had we been any later, we would have missed the bus. It was a few hour ride across the country and after a number of early wake up calls, I was dozing off. Eventually I woke up to our tour guide Josh telling us that we were at the rest stop. Stretching before we would drive to the cliffs, I watched as the sun came up.
After we began driving again, Josh gave us some history of Ireland. He also informed us that he works on a cruise line and that the timing for everything of the day is very strict so as to avoid getting stuck in traffic. He told us that if we were late, he would leave without us; and his tone made me believe that he would in fact leave us if we were late. Driving through the windy roads of Ireland, it was amazing to see how beautiful the landscape was. When we made it to the cliffs, almost immediately after stepping off the bus I was blown over by the wind. The gusting was so strong that water from beneath the cliffs was being tossed upward. My hair by the end was soaked in salty seawater and had a wave to it.
On our drive back, we made a pitstop in Galway. The town was so cute, and it was here that I got one of my favorite souvenirs. I’d wanted a Claddagh ring weeks before we had stepped in Ireland. The ring is a symbol of love, friendship, and loyalty, which is symbolized on the ring by a heart, hands, and crown. I’d tried to get one in Dublin, but they didn’t have my size. When we ended up in Galway, I tried my luck there and did end up finding one. It was also more sentimental because the ring originated in Galway. Heading back to Dublin, we spent one more night before our flight to London.
Opposed to our two day stays in Paris and Ireland, we spent the last four days of our break in London. It was so beautiful with its big red tour buses and notable landmarks. We went to a number of museums, The British Museum, the Tower of London, Tate Britain, Kensington Palace, and The National Gallery. In the National Gallery I saw Monet’s Water-Lilies and Georges Seurat’s Bathers at Asnières.
However, the museum I was most excited for was Tate, because they have my favorite paintings, Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent. I teared up when I saw it and spent over 20 minutes just staring at it. The details are so delicate, and the way Sargent is able to capture the scene is just indescribable.
Although we had a number of museum visits, our London trip was very calm. Walking around the city or taking the metro, it was such a cool experience to begin somewhere and get to a completely different area of town. One time when we were getting off, we came up the stairs and right in front of us was the Palace of Westminster.
It was inevitable, our spring break came to an end. It was one of the most eye-opening and enjoyable experiences of my life and I still cannot believe that I’m studying abroad.