Part 3, and final part, of my Spring Break Adventures.
The group: me, James, Dana
Oh my god, I did not expect to love Paris as much as I did. I LOVE LOVELOVED IT. It is such a nice city. You would think because it's talked up so much it would be nothing special, but it was not that at all. It's absolutely amazing.
Our hostel, Regent Hostel, was in such a great location, Montmartre ♥, and on this lively street with many little shops and restaurants galore, and in perfect walking distance from the metro.
OMG, the metro. For reasons unknown to us, the Paris metro system is so incredibly easy to navigate and use. And with all its sites spread out all over the city, we put our 2-day metro cards to extensive use.
Anyway, although our room was kind of small, it had a private bathroom, which was convenient, and it had an incredible view of Sacre Couer. The photo above is the exact view from our window, taken from the balcony of our room. :) Free breakfast was included, and god, the croissants in Paris are absolutely divine.
Definitely ate crepes every day I was there, and they are sooo good and cheap in Paris (compared to everything else). And possibly fruit tarts too because I love them. Also, seemed to notice that the Parisians eat a lot of beef/steak. At least that was all that seemed to be available in the touristy areas we mostly ventured through.
Day 1: Mar 23
James and I were completely knocked out from the Dramamine we popped prior to the flight there, so we were incredibly exhausted for some reason when we arrived.
Got lost on our way to our hostel. Damn you, Rue de Rochechouart vs. Blvd de Rochechouart, being so near each other as a matter of fact.
Explored up Rue de Trois Freres a bit.
Had so much fondue at Les Refuges des Fondues. Served wine in baby bottles, and had inscriptions all over the walls, which gave it a pretty cool atmosphere. So packed, and so much wine in the cheese, god.
Had crepes in a cafe nearby.
Talked back in the hostel.
Day 2: Mar 24
We did such a beautiful walk through Montmartre a la the Time Out Paris guide. Guh, Montmartre is gorgeous.
The wall of Je t'aime, the guy who walks through walls, windmill #1, beautiful views of Paris, a cute little park right next to Sacre Couer, Sacre Couer.
Peace monument, and relaxed by the Eiffel Tower.
Louvre, but didn't see any exhibitions because we're cheapos, and frankly didn't really care to. Relaxed by the fountain outside for a bit.
Dinner around the area.
Notre Dame.
While James and Dana rode a boat along the River Seine, I played Bejeweled on James's iPhone waiting for them to finish because I get terribly boat sick.
Dessert nearby.
Back to the hostel after a delightful full day.
Day 3: Mar 25
James went off to hang out with a friend that day, so Dana and I went off on our own.
Croque de Monsieur for lunch. Dang, that thing is thick.
A strange experience on the metro ride on the way to the Arc, and we don't know why we found it so funny. People randomly sitting on each other in front of us, a whole troop of Japanese schoolkids, and a guy karaoking like we saw in Barcelona.
Arc de Triomphe. It took us an embarrassingly long time to figure out how to actually reach the Arc because we couldn't find the underground path that got us past the traffic circle and into the middle of it. We finally reached it and climbed up the 284 steps all the way to the top, where we got a breathtaking view from the top. Relaxed up there taking in all of le belle Paris and chatted.
Stopped by a crepe stand and had fresh, crisp crepes, the way "real" crepes are supposed to made, as told by the crepe maker. They were delicious.
Luxembourg Gardens. More relaxing and peaceful enjoyment.
The market stalls along the Seine River quais. Bought one of those generic street paintings of Paris because I really wanted something to remember it by.
Walked through the streets looking for thrift stores. The streets of Paris are so niceeeeee. We loved it all. Found a section of them, and I bought an old French army jacket for €10, which I wear so much now.
Dinner at Cafe des Livres, which was this cute little cafe with shelves of books all along the walls.
Paris was definitely a spectacular end to a good Spring Break. Guhhh, Paris is definitely my favorite city I've visited during my four months here.
Didn't mind coming to London again because I do like seeing friends. Plus, free housing for 3 nights is really nice.
While James's and my flight to London landed without any problems, Dana's flight was delayed like 2 hours. I was getting really irritated by it because of PMS. By the time she landed, all public transport had closed for the night, so we had to take a £60-70 taxi ride to the dorms. We all finally arrived at around 1:00 am, and I felt really bad for forcing Ran and Connie to stay up late to sign us in when they had class early in the morning the next day.
Actual Day 1: Mar 21
The group: me, James, Jenny, Dana
Had plans to meet Monica at Abeno Okonomiyaki near the British museum at noon. It was pretty cool navigating the London streets on my own.
Reunited with Monica for the first time in months and just caught up over long-missed Japanese food.
Wandered the streets a bit before I had to meet back up with Dana and co. Japanese bookstore and Japanese mart, where I impulse-bought mochi and milk tea because it's been so long.
Met Dana, James, and Jenny at Shakespeare's Globe and bid Monica farewell.
Couldn't get into the Globe because we were too cheap to buy tickets.
Wandered around this mini market area and Notting Hill.
Kensington Gardens had swans!
Ate dinner at this fantastic little British place with delicious chicken pot pie.
Back to the dorms, and I just chilled in Patrick's room talking with everyone.
Played 고스톱 with Patrick til 1:30 am. :D
Day 2: Mar 22
The group: me, James, Dana, Christina
British museum. Yay for free/donation-based admission.
Covent Gardens.
Afternoon tea at Bea's of Bloomsbury. I love scones.
Camden Markets (pictured above), favorite place in London ♥, especially Stables Markets. While many things were expensive, it's definitely one of the most awesome places to get gifts because the selection is so eclectic. It was kind of like going through 50 million thrift stores, with just as many accessible food stands around.
Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace Theater for £19! Realized that I have a terribly difficult time understanding British accents. Got a huge kick out of the dancing dresses song and Billy's friend Michael.
Stayed up talking with Connie because hadn't gotten the chance the whole time I was staying with her. Yeah Tetris on her graphing calculator like old Calc times. :D
Day 3: Mar 23
Breakfast with Connie and Lillian at a place on the plaza near the Russell Square station. Warm ham and cheese croissant, freshly made, yummmm.
Headed over to bus stop to catch bus to Luton.
Almost missed it from waiting at the wrong stop up until 10 minutes before.
The pound is way too strong for me to be able to live in London. It's a huge city, but I didn't feel an obligation to see it all because it felt a lot like a more expensive New York, with less lights. In other words, I'm loyal to NYC. I couldn't see what all the fuss about London was about. A nice little break in the middle of my break to just see friends though.
Stayed at Palmerstown Lodge, way outside of the city. :( Public transport is such bitch to figure out in the city, so we ended spending hundreds of dollars every day taking a taxi back.
When we did take the bus, we all got in sharing one bus pass, which we were super surprised that we could get away with it, until we thought about it, and became pretty sure that we were riding the bus for 1/4 of the actual price, since we had split the price of one bus pass 4 ways.
English breakfast was included with our room every morning in the dining room, which was nice because I haven't had a filling breakfast in so long.
Also, did not pack properly for the trip at all because the weather forecast predicted low 50s, which I interpreted as warm, since it had been cold 30s and 40s during all of Prague so far. I don't know why I keep forgetting I'm from Texas and anything below 60 is cold. So thankful for Camila letting me wear her jacket because all I packed for the whole trip was short sleeves.
Crispy M&Ms exist in Dublin btw, omg.
Day 1: March 17
The Prague -> Dublin flight that day was practically majority NYU students.
Had to change rooms when we got to B&B because James's and my room's bathroom didn't lock. Ended up getting the couple suite lol.
Met up with Dana and ate a cute Irish pub.
The carnival was closed by the time we finished dinner. :(
In fact, a bunch of stuff was closed by 9:00 pm. D: Except for pubs. We're too used to the cafe culture of Prague to not go out and chill over dessert after dinner, so since all of us were kind of tired from the flight, we just went back, which took us a while because we couldn't find a bus stop. Eventually gave up and took a taxi.
Was sad I didn't get to participate in St. Patty's Day festivities nor parade around the streets wearing one of the awesome St. Patty's hats around everywhere.
Day 2: March 18
Hop-on, hop-off bus tour, which is actually a fantastic way to get around and see all the sights in the city because Dublin is a pretty small city. €12 with student discount.
Trinity College is soooo nice, omg. The campus is so pretty. Was really tempted to buy a €60 college sweatshirt.
Lounged on the grass of St. Steven's Green (pictured above). A local high school marching band (?) played ABBA's "Dancing Queen" in the pavillion next to us, which was quite entertaining.
Lunch at Cafe Irie ♥, definitely my favorite place of all of Dublin. Cutest little cafe ever, with well-priced food, huge portions, and surprisingly in the Temple Bar area! Nicest waitress ever too, and two levels of thrift shops below the cafe. :)
We didn't feel like walking around anymore, so we just stayed on the bus and looked at all the sights from the top of the double decker. Lots of cathedrals, Guiness factory, President's house, and other sights.
Funny incident - Actually seeing Christina in line at the Guiness factory in the super long line that wrapped around the factory.
Browsed through a bookstore and then chilled at a chain coffee shop.
Went back early because had to wake up early the next morning. Had Thai/Chinese from next door for dinner and sat in the B&B dining room, talking and eating.
Tried to buy drinks nearby, but had to be 21+. "Are we in America again, wtf??" Thank goodness the owner of the shop next door was the nicest guy ever and called the shop to let us buy drinks.
Camila joined James and me in our room for a chill sesh before going to bed.
Day 3: March 19
Woke up super early to catch bus tour to Wicklow/Glendalough.
Pretty nature-y sights. Ireland is such a beautiful country. Lake Tea, a lot of pretty green grass and mountains or whatever, and the location of the scene from PS I Love You where Gerard Butler meets Hilary Swank for the first time.
Lunch at Avoca Village, which is the exact location of some famous Irish TV show.
We really hated our bus driver because he just would not stop talking and blasting loud ass music. That bus ride was so bumpy, and I was so sad and mad at myself for forgetting to bring my mp3 player along to not have my head hurt. I'm so grateful for Camila letting me listen to her iPod.
Dinner at Bewley's, which was a lot less pretentious than it looked.
Chilled at a cafe in the Temple Bar area.
Relaxed in Jenny's room numbing our brains with TV watching stand-up on Comedy Central (Night at the Apollo). Very relaxing end to the trip.
Day 4: March 20
Had to check out from the B&B early, so James and I just headed to the airport early to meet Dana to go to London.
Our flights weren't until 8:00pm, so we stayed in the airport food court for 8 hours, playing ERS and other card games and talking for so long.
Ate McDonald's for both meals, no shame.
Dublin is such a nice city. While expensive, if I had to study abroad somewhere other than Prague in Europe, I'd probably choose Dublin (ie. Trinty) because it's super cute.
The people are also sooo funny and nice, omg. I've never met friendlier people. They seriously are so quick-witted.
Barcelona was on my list of musts to stop in Europe. Not gonna lie, part of my expectations came from the joyous sensations of listening to Plastiscines's "Barcelona" (a la Iris's mixed CD :)).
But it didn't let me down. I loved it. Barcelona is such a beautiful city.
Our planes were delayed both times, to and from Barcelona, which was unfortunate, but luckily we had each other, we, being the girls, Christina, Jenny, Dana, and I. Barcelona was our girls trip. We wanted one trip away from the guys to kinda do our own girl thing.
What a trip to choose for a girls trip. I forgot that Barcelona was like, the city with the number one pickpocket reputation in Europe. The first evening the four of us walked around, we were immediately being followed by this creepy guy who would not leave us alone (he made me scream when he snuck up behind me unbeknownst to me). This kind old lady let us take save haven in a closed bank and warned us (en español) about the dangers of looking like helpless female tourists in the area.
While there were a good amount of people who could speak English, Christina and I, being the only Spanish "speakers" of the group, actually did a hell of an awesome job understanding the Spanish. (humble brag) Before the trip, I didn't feel comfortable at all with my Spanish ability, seeing as I only took up to Spanish 3 four years ago and never really had to touch it since. I was so amazed at how much I understood and could say when I got there though. Like no joke, I understood just fine because I was able to catch keywords and still remembered what they meant. Guess those three (four) years didn't go to waste after all.
Day 1: Feb 26
Parc Güell (picture above) - omggg, the architecture was just so unique there. A lot of the stuff in Barcelona was designed by Gaudi, whom I'm assuming is a Barcelonan architect. Either way, he is fantastic. Even though it was packed with tourists, it was still such a breathtaking spectacle. And you got amazing views of the city from the actual 'nature-y' part of the park.
La Pedrera - We didn't go inside because we were cheap, but another Gaudi building.
Plaza Real - We didn't even know that it was an actual site when we stumbled upon it for lunch, but it was a really nice place to just chill. Paella for dinner the night before, and paella for lunch here. :9 I couldn't get enough.
We walked by Las Ramblas, which is just a bunch of touristy stands, and reached the harbor at the end to see the water.
There's this one little street that I can't remember the name of :(, but it's all vintage stores, so we roamed through there for a bit but didn't buy anything because everything was way expensive.
We had Tex Mex for dinner and omgggg, I wish I had been hungrier because Rosa Negra's burritos were to die for. HIGHLY recommended restaurant.
Sagrada Familia - Another Gaudi creation, which is this huge intricately-designed church. I swung on a swing aimlessly for a good 15 minutes or so on the playground next to it, and it felt so good because it was my first time on a swing since middle school. I forgot how much I loved swinging and how relaxing it was.
We then went to visit this fairy bar that was pretty much like Rainforest Cafe but stepped up a notch. You felt like you were in some fairy jungle when you wandered through it. It was jampacked full though, so we called it a night and watch The Proposal at the hostel because Jenny had never seen it before. :)
Day 2: Feb 27
Book market - It was just books and knick knacks spanned across 3 blocks it seemed and the finds you could find! Dana bought the complete works of Shakespeare for 10€, which was pretty awesome. We said how we wished New York had something like this, but when we thought about it, Brooklyn probably does, but then again, none of us ever thought to look for a book market in NY.
Parc de la Ciutadella - When I thought "parc"s couldn't get any better. This park was huge and soooo nice. It was super relaxing with all the green grass, and as we walked through it, we also discovered other things, like fountains, and a mini lake, and some nice ass architectural structures as well. The men creating huge bubbles with twine for the kids added a delightful touch to the whole atmosphere. ♥
Had lunch at a Greek place nearby lol. (Totally just learned that pitas were a Greek thing.)
We strolled through Las Ramblas (and got awesome expensive ice cream scooped into rose petals onto a cone!) but then ended up sitting and talking and relaxing for our last couple of hours in Barcelona until it was time to go.
By the way, I loved our hostel Mambo Tango. The staff was super friendly, and the common room was super cozy as well. And they let us store our luggage there after checkout until our flight in the evening.
The only thing I couldn't (and could never) get used to was having lunch past 1:30 and dinner after 8. Outside of those designated mealtimes, only tapas were served at places. You legit could not get a real meal unless it fell within the specific mealtimes. Did not bode so well with me and my sporatic appetite.
All in all though, Barcelona was so lovely. Definitely one of my favorite stops in Europe. :) I'm going to have to go listen to the Plastiscines now.
