Hello there!
Hmmm, let’s see… where do I begin? Last post I was in Barcelona, Spain and more than a lot has happened since then! I guess I’ll start by telling you that I just got back to London from my fall break. Over the course of 10 days, I traveled to three different countries. Not only am I broke, but I am pretty sure three countries in 10 days is unheard of. Bus station to airport, to train station, to more bus stations… traveling is exhausting; however, avoiding the snow in Harrisonburg and seeing the most beautiful cities in the world is worth it. First, I went to Florence, Italy, then Nice, France, and finally Interlaken, Switzerland.
“Ciao Bella!” (Hello Beautiful.) I would pay someone in America to say this to me everyday. Or, I could just walk around Italy. The smell of leather and pasta filled my nose. The beautiful authenticity of the architecture, history and just the city itself was impeccable. There were markets on every street, cute restaurants down every alley and artwork to gaze at around every corner. Ladies, if you are planning a honeymoon, go to Florence, Italy. The amount of people in love in that city is outrageous (and slightly depressing if you’re a traveling college student like me). There is no other word for Florence except ‘beautiful.’
If you think Olive Garden is good, let me tell you something… I haven’t gotten on a scale recently (and don’t plan to) but I guarantee I gained approximately ten pounds just from Florence! One, to not eat pasta every day in Italy is a sin. Two, with pasta comes lots and lots of Italian wine. Three, the only thing that makes you even happier is gelato. Yes, don’t judge, I ate gelato every day.
On our last night there, we went to the top of the city and gazed down at the famous Ponte Vecchio Bridge during sunset. Coincidentally, we all had a bottle of wine! I wasn’t mentally prepared to drink my own bottle and end up in a karaoke bar, but somehow that’s what happened. (FYI, don’t sing “YMCA” in foreign countries. That’s all I’m going to say about that without completely embarrassing myself more than I already did.) Early the next morning, hung over and in shambles, we left for the south of France.
After a seven hour train ride, we made it to Nice. Of course when we arrived it was raining, but I’m a French minor, so naturally I was more than ecstatic to be anywhere in France. We got settled in our hostel, had a coffee and explored. We walked down to the beach and my jaw dropped. The water at the Côte d’Azur is like turquoise jewelry. Everything about the area was breathtaking. One problem: a large sum of money is needed to comfortably visit the south of France. Designer stores and expensive venues were pretty much avoided. To keep us occupied, we took cheap bus rides to Monaco-Monte Carlo and Cannes (where the annual film festival takes place). After a full three days there, my friend and I left for Switzerland.
Going to Interlaken was like being in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains but a thousand times better. The Swiss Alps and the purest water in the world surrounded us. For me, this was my favorite city that I’ve been to abroad. I love the mountains, the brisk air and extreme sports. Therefore, we went skydiving over the Alps.
Our hostel, Balmers Herbage, is known worldwide and planned everything for us. We got picked up at noon, rode a bus to the airplane hangar and got suited up for the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my life. If you’re not scared of heights and haven’t gone skydiving, I strongly suggest it!
Our scenic flight only lasted 20 minutes. I could see the tallest mountain in Europe, Mont Blanc. By the way, it’s in France – not Switzerland. With a man strapped to my back, he asked if I wanted to do a back flip out of the plane. Convinced that my life was going to be over anyways, I agreed. From then on, I can’t really find the words to describe the feeling. We free fell for 45 seconds and canopy glided down for five minutes. As soon as I landed, I wanted to do it again. Unfortunately, I couldn’t talk them into it.
That night, our hostel had their annual Halloween party. They have their own club in the basement. Thankfully we were guests because by 11 p.m., there was a line to get in. Happy hour was buy one, get one and by the end of the night, we were hammered. We figured, hey, we jumped out of a plane today 13,000 feet above the ground, we deserve it. So we got our adrenaline and Halloween fix. Unfortunately we didn’t have a costume so we rocked T-Shirts and jeans… totally not JMU style.
Long holiday short, I’m alive and broke! I will be staying in London the next two weekends and staying away from buses, planes and trains!
Catch ya next time!