I decided to start this blog today because it is my first day of being completely on my own in a foreign country! My mom left this morning to go back home after having a 2 week travel adventure. The past 2 weeks have been absolutely amazing with my mom. We started out in Paris and as soon as I stepped off the plane I had never felt so out of place in my life. I got off the plane wearing my humboldt hoodie and sweatpants and oh the looks I got from those high fashion Parisians. I had never been somewhere either where no one spoke english; it was the start of a countless amount of new experiences. We got to Paris and had lunch in which I had my first glass of legal wine! It's so different no one in Europe cards for alcohol-I like it hehe :). Paris was definitely gorgeous we went to just about anywhere you have ever heard of. The tour we were on went really fast seeing every known site in each city. I'd have to say my favorite place was the Louvre Museum because they had so many famous pieces of art I knew, like the Mona Lisa. Everyone in Paris wears black and is all fashionista and grumpy. The food there is very different as well! They eat a lot of pastries, cheese, bread, cheese on bread, and wine! We also went to the Moulin Rouge and oh boy was that interesting. Lots of topless women and cheesy men. It was a good experience to say I got to go to it though. After Paris we went to Loire Valley, Bourges, Lyon, and Nice. Nice was by far my favorite place in France. It reminded me a little of home. It's on the French Riviera about 10 miles from the Italian border and absolutely beautiful. We had the best Italian food ever; apparently Nice used to be a part of Italy so Italian influences were everywhere. Next to Nice we went to Monte Carlo which is the richest city in the world with a ton of yachts and billionaires living in it. Oh I almost forgot! In France wherever you go you have to say "Bonjour" when entering any place-including restaurantas, stores, gas stations, you name it (they hate you if you don't, and you don't want those guys to hate you). After France we went to Barcelona which was muy bonita! My favorite was Guell Park which has all the mosaics and the longest bench in the world. I experienced my first seafood paella here which was everything I had hoped and dreamed of. We didn't get to stay in Barcelona very long so I didn't see all the city. I also experienced my first flamenco show here. I didn't realize how emotional the dancers were I loved it. After that was Madrid! Which so far was my favorite city at night; so many beautiful, historic buildings lit up. There were people everywhere too it was worse than disneyland+black friday+the zoo combined. After Madrid we departed from our group and left for Sevilla on the train. When I got here I was so amazed it is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. It's always sunny, warm, and all the building are yellow and orange. And there are orange trees EVERYWHERE! It's a smaller city than Madrid and Barcelona, but the perfect size for studying abroad. The eating schedule takes a while to get used to. They don't really eat breakfast but if they do it's at 10, lunch at 2, and dinner at 10! Haven't gotten all the way to the dinner at 10 part yet but I'm getting better. Tonight I meet everyone in my group and tomorrow I move into my apartment! I'll be living with 11 girls it'll be a good change from living alone so we'll see how that goes. I can't wait to start my solo adventure. I feel completely happy and like I've found my place here.
