To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one 

of the pleasantest sensations in the world. 

– Freya Stark

So this is the final trip that I got to go on while on my study abroad adventures. I had 28 hours worth of traveling and 15 hours to spend in Paris.  Paris had its ups and downs. It was great getting to see at the sights there but the locals were mean and it was raining so our feet got really wet, but it was worth it. We got to take the ferry over instead of the chunnel because we were on a bus so that was kind of a let down. 

The first thing we went to see in paris was the Louvre, which was closed but we still got to see the outside of it.  Right by the Lovre is an arc. This arc was build at Napoleon's request because he wanted his troops to pass under an arc, but the arc de triomphe was not yet finished (he actually died before it was) so they built this smaller one for him. 

I even went to the love lock bridge and put a lock on there. It's said that if you put a lock on there and throw the key that it is a symbol of everlasting love.  Funny thing is that there a combination locks on there! Don't need a key for those! The locks are so varied from padlocks to fuzzy handcuffs!

This fountain is the St. Michel (pronounced Michelle). This is like a meeting place for the city. So if someone wants to meet for coffee they use this fountain as a meeting place. The sculpture is actually of St. Michel defeating the devil.

This statue is Henry IV who was actually very loved. He made sure at Christmas  everyone in the city received a special dish, even the poor people. He was killed in 1610 (it was blasphemous to kill a king because they were held right below God). The man who killed him was then tortured by peeling the skin in his hands back and then dipping his hands in acid. 

Lastly the Eiffel Tower. I got to go up to the second floor of the Eiffel tower because the summit tickets were sold out. I even witnessed someone getting proposed to because their friends were at the bottom holding a sign (at least I think that's what it was because it was in another language). We went up at night and it was amazing to see the city all light up. The Eiffel tower is even beautiful at night because at the beginning of every hour the lights flicker and make it seem like it is sparkling. 

We do not travel to escape life,

We travel so life does not escape us. 

-Anonymous 

              

Rome was simply amazing. There was so much to see and do, and even eat! Of course, since I love food, I must talk about that first. I could eat pasta all day every day as long as I had a different sauce, so I was in

heaven. The pizza there was so delicious. The crust was thin and the sauce that they put on was so yummy. When we went out one night, I even got a pasta dish with homemade noodles 

If it was one thing that I loved just as much as I loved the food was the buildings in the city. There was so much history within the buildings and they were build so beautifully. There was also one thing about Italy  some of the streets are so tiny! Our tour bus went up this street, we had to squeeze! American drivers are definitely not that good at driving!

Also quick fact that you may have not known, there are 940 Catholic churches just in Rome alone. Crazy right?!

 I even got to go into the smallest country in the world, the Vatican. Despite that I am not religious at all, the artwork and the history within the building was amazing. I never thought that in one hour I would see the worlds of DeVinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo. I never even thought that I would ever see the artwork of the sisteen chapel. It was all so beautiful and breathtaking. The carvings on some of the marble sculptures was beautiful done and so intricate. 

You can find these pieces of artwork all around the city on corners of smaller streets and allys. These were put in sometime in history when street lamps were not around. They came about because people would watch higher class people leave homes and special buildings and follow them and rob them. They then put these up all around the city and they would be illuminated at night with candles. They thought that this would stop crime because who is going to rob someone when the mother of Jesus is looking down on them. You may think that it is funny, but it actually did work. 

This skull and engraving is on a church in Rome  This church basically did a community service to Rome. They would risk their lives(could get disease, especially the black plague) to go fetch dead bodies out of the river or street without knowing how they died. Since they were near the river, it would flood and sometimes take bodies with it so they would have to go out again to get them. They then got the great idea to nail the bodies to the wall of the church. If you go inside, you can see human bones on the wall.







We even spent the day walking around the roman Colosseum and the roman forum.

It was crazy to actually step foot on things that were so old and had so much to do with history. I got to see Caesars house. It was just a crazy feeling!





One night when we were walking we came across a procession of priests. In this photo go can see a Bishop and a Deacon! I even got to stick my hand in the mouth of truth which it is said if you stick you hand in there and you are a liar, the mouth will bite your hand off.






I even got to make a wish in the Trevi Fountain!




 

“The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; 

it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.”

 – G. K. Chesterton

Barcelona was such an amazing, colorful, and exciting city. It wasn't on my list of countries that I wanted to go to, but I am glad that I did. There is so much to see and do. Even though I had to spend thanksgiving there and miss out on all of the trimmings back home, we made the best of it. We decided that we would have a Spanish thanksgiving and found a little restaurant on Las Ramblas and has Tapas and other dishes. It was some of the best food I have ever had. 

We even spend a part of the day on the beach. We got to put out feet in the Mediterranean sea and even got to embrace the European beaches and saw a naked man. On a tour that we took later in the weekend, we found out that the beach in Barcelona is man made and the sand that we were sitting on was actually imported from the Sahara Desert in Africa for the 1992 Olympics. Even though it was still warm outside, the water was FREEZING! 

While we were there we took a few walking tours, one about 

Gaudi and the other one was more of a history tour. On the Gaudi tour, we got to learn a little about him and also see some of his works throughout Barcelona. We saw a few buildings that he designed. He was known to always go over time and the money budget, but the money was always someone elses. His greatest work was the Sagrata Famililia which is a huge church is Barcelona. It is such a beautiful building and the design is so amazing. It has been worked on since the late 1800's till this day and it not expected to be finished for 15-50 years. There are 4 sides to the chuch and they all tell a story. The first side tells of the birth of Jesus, the second tells the story of the apostles, the third tells the story of Jesus's dealth and the final (not yet completed) side is called the glory side which is Jesus rising into heaven. They actually just finished the inside of the church just two years ago.

We then took the metro up to Paruell which is another place that gaudi designed. The park is so beautiful and colorful. This is a place where a lot of artists and musicians 

go to play for the public. Actually Barcelona has a lot of this throughout the city, some good and some bad. 

We even got the chance to go to the Olympic park where they held the 1992 Olympics. It was awesome to actually see a place where the Olympics were held because the London Park is closed until next year. We got up to the top of the hill just in time for sunset so it was so beautiful.

We stayed up there to see the magic fountain show. They sync up the fountain to music and add some color. It was such a great show. I've never seen anything like it before. 

The one thing I love about traveling is learning about the cultures and traditions of other countries. While I was there, I learned of two Christmas traditions! I have put links below the photos to learn more!

Caganer 
is a figurine depicted in the act of defecation appearing in nativity scenes in Catalonia and neighboring areas with Catalan culture

Tio De Nadal
a character in Catalan mythology relating to a Christmas tradition widespread in Catalonia. It does leave candies, nuts and torrons. Depending on the part of Catalonia, it may also give out dried figs. 

We even got to meet people all over the world from right in the US, to Canada, chili, New Zealand, and Brazil. That is one reason why I love hostels. You get to meet people from all over the world. 

I would definitely go back to Spain again, High School Spanish actually came in handy!

"My favourite thing is to go where 

I've never been." 

- Diane Arbus

Scotland was so amazing and beautiful. We got lucky and actually has nice weather despite how cold it was. We lucked out with no rain. I would love to go back again someday and maybe try to witness some of the highland games. The city was great! Some of the buildings were so old and the road on the Royal Mile was made out of cobble stone. There were so many hidden ally ways that if you went back into them, you found yourself in a garden or court yard. It was an amazing city with so much to see and do. There were so many different pubs and shops to go into. 

This is called the Mercat Cross. Basically, back in the day, this was the market place. People came here to shop and trade and also share their daily gossip. It was also a place where news was shared and live punishment and execution was held. For example, if you were caught stealing, they would take you here and nail your ear to the door for 24 hours. People in the town would come by and throw their rotten food at the person and also human waste. You had two choices, stick it out for 24 hours and then be released, or rip your ear off the nail. If you ripped your ear off the nail, it would leave a scar that would forever show you as a criminal and a coward.

This item can be found in a grave yard.  It is used to  

protect graves from Grave Snachers. The Medical

school only got 2 bodies a year to do the dissections 

and anatomy lessons so what started happening is 

people would find freshly buried bodies and dig them  up and sell them to the medical school for around 7 pounds per body.  If the family couldn't afford something like a  mausoleum, they could buy something like this. If they couldn't afford this, family members would sit on the grave 24/7 for two weeks until the bodies were not deemed "fresh" enough for dissection. 

There is also a volcano that is 
in Edinburgh. The first day we were there, we attempted to climb it. I was the only one who gave up because lets face it, i'm not the least bit enthusiastic about exercising.  I made it about half way and even then, the view was amazing, you could see the whole city.

We then took a bus trip into Glenco, The Highlands and to Loch Ness. It was breathing. Everything was so beautiful and green. There were so many hills and mountains. I've never seen a mountain with snow caps on it before so that was a first. I couldn't get over the fact that I there.

We then got to go on a boat ride on Loch Ness and hear tales about the Nessy. We tried to find here, but like the others before us, we failed. 

 But my most favorite part of the trip was getting to stand outside the cafe where J.K. Rowling started her ideas and writings for her Harry Potter books. We also went into a grave yard where there was a headstone for one, Tom Riddle.