So I did something crazy: I stayed up all night in Paris for Nuit Blanche, an annual arts festival on the first Saturday of October that goes from 7 pm to 7 am. It was probably one of the happiest nights of my life: wandering through Paris at night looking for art, sipping wine and eating crêpes, discovering the surprises within each exhibit. I felt young and bubbly and excited with the energy of the whole city surrounding me. I…
Last weekend, during the final days of summer, I finally made it to Paris. After a few weeks of cool temperatures, the sunny warmth made the whole city glow! I remember standing on a bridge shortly after arriving and looking out over the Seine, off toward swaying trees and tiered buildings, and feeling a bit of that Paris magic I’ve read so often about. The magic definitely disappeared when I encountered the full brunt of tourist crowds, but for…
I went to London last weekend to meet up with Sandra, an old friend from Denmark. I arrived Friday morning and left Sunday afternoon, and the trip was much too short– I wish I had at least another day in the city because I loved London! Perhaps I’ll go back before I leave in December… For one, it’s a great destination for an English major like me– it not only has deep literary roots, but a great book publishing industry…
I’ve been living in Reims, France for the past month! The economic champagne capital of the world, it’s a charming city 45 minutes-by-train from Paris, set in the rolling green vineyards of Champagne. The spirit of bubbly infuses the city– even the faces of the colorful trams are shaped like champagne flutes! It feels rather glamorous to drink that sparkling golden liquid in the Unesco-World-Heritage-listed region where it was made. And yes: I fully intend on becoming a champagne snob…
I spent a day in the beautiful Irish countryside, and it was wonderful to see the gently rolling hills and ambling puffs of white (aka herds of sheep) in the distance of wherever I traveled to. Ashleigh and I began our day at Brú na Bóinne, or Newgrange, which is the site of a Neolothic passage tomb that predates the Egyptian pyramids by 500 years! From the outside, the tomb is a grassy dome with restored white quartz walls that…
A pretty dawn of soft grays and blush pinks fell over Dublin as I flew into the city, and upon touching down on the tarmac I saw hundreds of bunnies hopping around in the airport grass– this combination of beauty and slightly odd but very endearing charm was the perfect welcome to a city that has an abundance of both characteristics. I couldn’t sleep on the plane, but I wasn’t tired at all as I got my luggage, bought a…
I’m studying at Sciences Po University in Reims, France for the fall semester, which is wild because I’ve wanted to live in France ever since I was a little girl. I’ve always been whimsical, and France– with its sweet language, its chocolate and cheese, its charming villages soaked in history and elaborate architecture, its chic cities and amazing art– has always drawn me. I want to speak fluent French; it is a beautiful and melodic language that I love. It…