TravelStream™ news feed for member aquasheep on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/aquasheep en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:28:27 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/858815520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/858815520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/858815520/tpod.html Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:28:27 -0400 School Trip to France

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Paris, France

On our last full day in Paris we woke up early to visit the famous Louvre, but there was some confusion about our reservations and we had to wait for hours to get in. I thought it was so neat that in order to enter the museum you actually have descend down into the large glass pyramid out front. You enter a large elevator and end up going underground to get in. It was a very unexpected and a fun little surprise. Apparently the Louvre used to be an old castle of sorts and when you go to the ground floor you can see the outline of the old part of the castle (or palace; whatever it's called). It's been over ten years. So the details are fuzzy, but hopefully you get my drift.

We saw the Venus di Milo and many other famous statues like Lady Liberty and the Goddess Athena. We also saw the gigantic mural of Napoleon crowning himself emperor of France, which is a couple stories high. I had to fight may way through the massive crowd surrounding the Mona Lisa to snap a blurry photo of her. That was really something. It's hard to believe you're seeing these things for real when you're finally standing in front of them. Quite a spectacular feeling.

Later that day we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower and took pictures. The teachers and our tour guide, Rob, took us all out for a final dinner together on our last evening in Paris. My palate was not sophisticated enough at the time to appreciate the exotic salads we were served. After that they took us on a boat ride on the Seinne to tour the "city of lights", which was really fun. I remember lots of singing on that boat.

(As a side note I'll add that we could see the Eiffel Tower from our hotel room and, being the night owl that I am, I figured out that they turned off the Eiffel's lights at 1am every night. I stayed up every single night we were there to watch it. Those little moments alone were some of the most cherished to me).
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/858855600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/858855600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/858855600/tpod.html Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:26:52 -0400 School Trip to France

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Paris, France

I remember that we had to get up extremely early to catch our flight back to Dallas. According to my notes, I stayed up until 2:30am writing in my journal and then had to get up an hour later at 3:30am. We got up reluctantly, packed our things, and got on the bus to head out to CDG (Charles DeGaull airport). Just before the bus left the hotel I remembered that I had left an entire back of souvenirs up in my hotel room (and there were a lot of them. So I was not about to brush that off). So Rob, our tour guide, zipped me over the front desk and told the concierge what had happened. (I remember he referred to me as "madamoisselle." I had a bit of a crush on Rob, so I was a little nervous around him). I got up the room, got my stuff, made it back on the bus and we headed out to the airport.

For some reason the teachers had thought that we needed to get to the airport 4 hours early. It was so early that the Lufthansa ticket counters hadn't even opened yet. So we sat there for what seemed like a long time. We were so sleep deprived and exhausted. I think I slept the whole flight home; drooling all the way. I had also lost my voice at some point during the flight, which had never happened to me before. (I thought it was rather amusing and that it made my voice sound sexy).

Anyhow, we made it back and, of course, someone picked me to have to go through customs and have my bags thoroughly checked. I was 17 and looked rather innocent. When they were checking my bags, they were asking me questions and I must have seemed so pitiful because my voice was gone and I was so tired. I think that combined with my sweet innocent face is what made the customs guy say, "You know what? Don't worry about it. Go on through." So I did...and I was the last one from my class to get the room where the parents were.

My family was there waiting for me and they snapped a blurry photo of me. You can kind of see how tired I was.

I had such a great trip, though. Laryngitis lasted for a day or two. So it was funny explaining all the photos to my parents and sounding all raspy. Anyhow, again, I had a wonderful time. I'll cherish that trip in my memory forever.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/857993400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/857993400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/857993400/tpod.html Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:50:13 -0400 School Trip to France

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Paris, Île-de-France, France

After our trip to Arles and Avignon, we spent the night at our hotel there in Aix and woke up early the next morning to catch the TGV bullet train to Paris!

We arrived in Paris around 9am and immediately took a tour bus around the city. Our first stop was the Eiffel Tower! THAT was the highlight of my trip and what I had been waiting to see. After that we checked into our hotel and then headed out for another tour of "the city of lights"; a night tour of Paris. Paris is gorgeous at night when it is all lit up. It really does give one a romantic feeling.

That night we also walked up the many steps to the Sacre Coeur in the Montmartre area of Paris. I took photos, but they didn't turn out too good.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/3/1090944000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/3/1090944000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/3/1090944000/tpod.html Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:59:10 -0400 Study Abroad 2004 - Germany & Rome

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Lüneburg, Germany

My last few days in Lüneburg were so bittersweet. After getting back from Rome I started to really miss home. Knowing that home was just a few days away was difficult for many reasons. The first reason was that, by then, I was really ready to see Stephen and my family again. I was itching to see them, actually and having to wait a few more days was tough. On the other hand, I really didn't want to leave Lüneburg behind. I had come to love Lüneburg and it was starting to feel like home.

So I spent the last few days vacillating between happiness and melancholy. I made sure to take frequent trips down to Am Sande (the downtown area) and stroll through the streets; taking it all in and absorbing as much of it as I could before I had to leave it. Not knowing for certain if I'd ever be able to come back was really kind of heartbreaking. Hopefully one day I will. But I digress.

Due to the fact that I was alone a lot in my apartment with nothing to do at night, I ate quite a bit. I discovered my love for nutella and sweet rolls. I learned how to cook bratwurst, German potatoes, and make my own spaghetti sauce. I ate and I ate and I ate. It was the beginning of some very bad eating habits for me. Comfort food, really. Plus, I was in Germany! Sausages and pastries are the best EVER there! So you have to eat. You just have to.

Anyhow, on my last day in Lüneburg I sadly said goodbye to all my friends. Tears were shed. Awkward moments were shared. Anya, my German buddy, picked me up to take me to the train station. We said our goodbyes, as well. So I headed out for Hamburg by myself. It was the first time I had traveled alone in Germany. I stayed at a hotel near the Hamburg airport. That was also my first solo hotel stay. It was kind of nice. I ate dinner in the hotel restaurant and enjoyed my last German meal. I got up at about 4am the next morning to catch my flight home.

The flight back home was a wake up call. As soon as the flight attendant brought me a diet coke (instead of Europe's Coke Light, which tastes like Coke Zero...which didn't exist at the time) and I took a sip, the reality of being back in the states finally hit me. It's a very odd feeling that's hard to describe unless you've spent a good chunk of time abroad. It was kind of like taking a step back into my past and reverting back to old habits I had finally overcome. I guess what I mean is that going abroad took so much adjusting to that after a while it felt like I had grown into a new way of living; a new set of routines. So coming home felt like taking a step back in life; even though that wasn't really the case. Again, it's hard to explain the feeling.

When I finally did see my family again, though, I was so elated and excited to be home again. The hardest part of the experience, after all, was not seeing them for over a month. Whatever the case, I had such a wonderful, life-changing experience abroad and I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/3/1090611000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/3/1090611000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/3/1090611000/tpod.html Fri, 01 Aug 2008 03:32:23 -0400 Study Abroad 2004 - Germany & Rome

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Rome, Lazio, Italy

Ah, Roma! I consider this the coolest place I've ever been. So overwhelmingly rewarding and such a rich history.

After class on a Friday afternoon, we (me, Faune, Aaron, & Ben) took our flight to Rome via Swiss Air. When we arrived we quickly found our hostel (Hostel Des Artistes), unpacked, and headed out to site see. We couldn't wait!

Before I tell you what a great time I had overall, I have to mention a few things. First I'll say that we had been used to the cool, Spring-like summer days in Lüneburg where the temperature never got above 75 degrees Fahrenheit. So the extreme heat in Rome (around 100 degrees) was quite a shock to the system. Now, the guys we were with seemed to think that all the monuments would disappear if we didn't see them all in one night...and as fast as we possibly could. Faune and I disagreed with this theory.

So Ben and Aaron were walking like madmen; following their map and darting around like little rats let out of a cage. I had been having digestive issues (to put it lightly) and was not really in any condition for heavy cardiovascular exercise. Like Faune, I would have preferred to walk at a light to normal pace and just kind of take everything in little by little; you know...absorb the feeling of the city, so to speak. The boys had trouble grasping this concept. "We gotta go! Pick up the pace ladies!" We retaliated by walking as slowly as possible, which seemed to drive the guys crazy.

So the first night was rather hectic, but we did see a lot. We walked past (notice the word "past"; referencing the pace that was so important to these guys) the coliseum, the roman forum, the pantheon and a few other monuments before finally settling down to eat dinner near the Tiber River. After dinner we walked across town to see the Spanish Steps (which, of course, were under construction, but were still pretty awesome to see).

When we finally got home that night, I was sweating profusely. It was a hostel, but I figured they'd have towels for us. They didn't. So I couldn't shower because I had no way of getting dry. Also, there was no air conditioning (fairly common thing in Europe), so it was really hot. When I'm indoors and hot, I get really irritable and frustrated easily. I went to the Internet room to kind of wind down and see if Stephen had written. After my long day I wanted so badly to hear a familiar voice (in the form of email). I was so happy to see that Stephen had written a long, loving email to me. As soon as I opened it, however, the hotel staff cut the power off to the computers and I lost the email forever. Never was able to recover it. So I was having a very frustrating evening, which I felt bad about. After all, I was in ROME! I was so lucky to be there, but the evening had just been so hectic. I am not a person who enjoys rushing. So I finally went to sleep and called it a night.

Fortunately the next morning, the ringleader of Urgent Walking Posse, Ben, decided to go his own way; leaving me, Faune, and Aaron to take our time and relax a bit more. So the first thing on our agenda was the Vatican City (or La Cita del Vaticano). We stood in line for about an hour to get in. The Vatican City is really quite amazing. The size of it is pretty impressive in and of itself. Once we got inside the walls we headed for the Sistine Chapel (La Capella Sistina). THAT was amazing. The colors were so vivid and the detail was unbelievable. Technically we weren't allowed to take pictures and the place was crowded. So I snuck a quick flash-less photo that didn't come out that well. (We also saw Kelsey Grammer there. He had his own private tour guide. We snapped photos nervously).

Later that afternoon we visited a small artifact museum featured in the movie "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (where Matt Damon passes by a giant sculpture of a foot. I don't know if you remember that, but I did). I almost lost my purse that day, but a kind, Italian police man had saved it for me when I came back looking for it. "Molto Grazie, Signore!"

Rome is fantastic! There is just SO much to see that it can't really be done in 3 and half days, but we did our best. We toured the coliseum and the Roman Forum. We had a great time. But all that walking in the 95 degree heat made my ankles swell to ginormous proportions. I have pictures of that, too. It's insane. They're at least 3 times their normal size.

Please, go to Rome. You won't regret it. I think everyone should go. It's one of the most amazing places on the planet, I believe. And I don't use the world "amazing" lightly.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/3/1210272300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/3/1210272300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/3/1210272300/tpod.html Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:06:40 -0400 Study Abroad 2004 - Germany & Rome

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Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

After our convoluted train route we finally arrived in Köln!

The very first thing you see when you exit the Bahnhof is the colossal Kölner Dom (a giant, Gothic cathedral; the city's most famous landmark). The dome (or "Dom" as it's spelled auf Deutsch) is the most massive cathedral I've ever seen. It's really a site to see. I took several pictures before we headed out to the Reiseburo to find a hotel.

This was a very spontaneous kind of trip because we hadn't made reservations anywhere. We were told there was a reiseburo (travel office) right near the Dom. So we found it and I got to practice my German by asking if there was hotel nearby where we could stay. I was the most advanced speaker in the group. So I felt pretty cool about that. The people at the reiseburo were very helpful and found us an inexpensive hotel a few blocks away. We all shared the same room, which had about 5 single beds and a bathroom just down the hall. So it was perfect for our little ensemble.

After settling into the hotel we headed out for shopping and dinner. Cologne is SUCH a shopper's paradise. There is just store after store after store. We're talking designer shops like Gucci and Versace, along with smaller mom and pop souvenir stops. It was very metropolitan, which I like. We later stopped for, you guessed it, Italian food again. This time it was pizza and then a quick stop for cappuccinos near the dome.

The next morning we woke up early, so that we could climb the giant tower of the dome. It took us about an hour to walk up the steps, but we sang and had a merry time, thanks to Alejandro. Alejandro was a fellow USAC student studying abroad with us. He was such a jovial, optimistic person that it was always a joy to be around him. As we walked up the tower he serenaded us ladies with Mexican folk songs, some of which I knew from "I Love Lucy" and sang along with. Singing was fun in the tower because our voices carried and echoed. We then started to sing Ave Maria in a very silly, exaggerated way. I guess the happy spirit we were in was contagious because a lot of other tourists and visitors actually started to join in. We had such a great time. Once we got to the top, the view was unbelievable.

Later that night, after eating dinner and shopping for beer mugs, we happened to catch a fireworks display along the river. They had a live orchestra playing Wagner classics and it was just such a momentous occasion. It was one of those life moments where you realize how lucky you are to be alive and how completely happy you are in that very moment. The only thing that would have made that moment better was if Stephen could have been there to enjoy it with me. I really consider that to be one of the best moments of my life. I'll have fond memories of Köln forever.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/3/1088110800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/3/1088110800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/3/1088110800/tpod.html Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:38:08 -0400 Study Abroad 2004 - Germany & Rome

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Lüneburg, Germany

We took the ICE bullet train to Hanover and got to sit in first class. That was short lived, though, as we made our connecting train to Lüneburg in an older, slower train. We finally arrived in Lüneburg (where we would be studying and taking our courses at the Universität Lüneburg) around dusk. I met my German "buddy", Anya, who I had been emailing a bit before I left. We had agreed to only speak German together, so that I could improve my speaking skills. After the long train ride with rowdy kids and lugging my bags around all day, I just didn't have it in me. So she agreed to speak English with me for that evening and that evening only. She drove me to my new apartment and then gave me a quick tour of the school grounds before we went our separate ways.

At this point, culture shock had set in and I became very emotional once I got back to my apartment by myself. My cell phone had not been working all week and I had had no way of contacting my family. I ended up buying a phone card and was finally able to call home from a payphone. My phone card only had 5 minutes of talk time so I had to speak quickly. I remember my voice quivering as I said 'goodbye' to my mom. I had to tell her to call Stephen to let him know I was okay because my time had run out. (They later fixed my cell phone and all was well in that arena).

There was no TV in my apartment to take my mind off of things. Since it was my first night in town, I didn't know the city at all and I was all alone. That was perhaps the most alone I've ever felt. I was trapped for the evening. It was a very emotional night. I mean, I was excited to be there, but I needed some familiarity. I did manage to pull myself together and kind of arrange the room how I wanted it. It had been so hot in Dallas, but Lüneburg was still freezing at night and I hadn't packed for cold weather. So I shivered through night.

Once culture shock wore off I began to fall in love with this charming medieval city. The gabbled roof tops in the downtown area are so quaint. It feels somewhat like a gingerbread town, but it's got quite a modern feel as well because of the amount of shopping there is downtown; not to mention the number of places to eat with wonderful food. They even had a McDonald's right smack dab in the middle of downtown. You could barely tell it was a McDonald's though, as it was just inside one of the regular old building. Pretty cool.

I enjoyed Lüneburg more than any city I visited in Germany. I have such fond memories and hope to go back some day. I learned a lot in my language courses there and just felt really at home after a while.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/858728820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/858728820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/858728820/tpod.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:00:28 -0400 School Trip to France

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Paris, France

The Musee d'Orsee was really exciting. It's an impressionistic art museum that had been converted from an old train station. So the ambiance alone was really interesting; not to mention all the Van Goghs, Monets, LaTrecs, etc., that were hanging there. I ended up loving this museum even more than the Louvre.

Later that night we finally had some free time. So Melissa and I took the metro to the Hard Rock Cafe and then walked around Paris a bit. We had a fabulous time doing so.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/858691800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/858691800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/858691800/tpod.html Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:08:50 -0400 School Trip to France

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Paris, France

We woke up early our third day to drive to Versailles to see the famous palace of Marie Antoinette and King Louis XIV. The grounds are extremely vast and the interior of the palace is incredibly ornate and decadent. I remember having to dodge the Japanese tourists because they were in a huge group and they were really aggressive about getting pictures; pushing me and my friends out of the way. I don't mean to make generalizations or anything, but that's what happened.

There was so much to take pictures of, though, that I couldn't blame them. I had trouble restraining myself on that front, as well. I thought it was interesting that Marie Antoinette and Louis XIV had separate bedrooms and that she was forced to give birth in her bed while the whole kingdom watched. That would have been really hard. The Hall of Mirrors was interesting, too, but I didn't get a very good picture.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/858630600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/858630600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aquasheep/2/858630600/tpod.html Sun, 25 May 2008 18:21:13 -0400 School Trip to France

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Paris, France

On our second day in Paris we stopped at Notre Dame to have a look around and feel a bit reverent. It was the first time I had ever been inside a cathedral; especially one so rich in history. The stained glass windows were magnificent. At seventeen I was really in awe of the whole thing.
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