Stephanie's Abroad Stories

4/2/14

Millau contains the tallest bridged in the world. It spans the valley of River Tarn near Millau, France. At the top of the hill it was very windy! It was hard to hold our flags and take nice pictures without our hair running wild.

4/2/14

Carcassonne was a windy city and deserted. There were no people except our group wondering the city. We weren’t allowed inside the castle as well. We didn’t stay long, thankfully. It is probably better in a warmer climate.

4/1/14

This palace is completely covered in gold! The rooms are beautiful as well. It took me 2 hours to get through the palace, but I didn’t get to look in detail at anything. I never expected this palace to be this giant! The best part for me was standing in the hall of mirrors because this room is where history was made years ago.

1/31/14

Paris is the eternal city of love. We visited the Louvre Museum, Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, and Moulin Rouge. It feels like a dream walking through this beautiful city. You see Paris in movies but I never thought at 18 years old I will go to Paris! This is amazing already.

3/30/14

Brussels is the home is Belgium waffles, the Atomium, the peeing boy fountain, and European Union. I felt very patriotic in Brussels.

 

3/29/14

The free city of Amsterdam. The coat of arms represents fire, flood, and the Black Death. It is an open city allowing citizens to smoke marijuana, eat mushrooms, and drink alcohol freely. This city on Euro Tour was my favorite because the people were open to anyone. It felt like an accepting place and fun city. I will be back to the city!

1/29/14

The weather didn’t get too horrible like New Jersey but the temperature did drop below zero. The amount of snow we received was nothing compared to the United States. It was a pretty easy winter.

 

1/23/14

Ashley and I took the train to Gdynia, another sister city of Gdansk, and walked quickly to the Aquarium. This Aquarium was positioned at the far end of a long block and took us 30 minutes of walking from the train station to the building. We walked as quick as we could but the cold was faster. By the time we entered the building, our feet were numb in our boots. I was wearing 2 pairs of socks inside my UGG boots and it still found a way to numb my feet. We spent the whole afternoon in the warm building looking at the fish. It was fun taking pictures with the fish. Our walk back to the train station wasn’t fun, but the day was nice.

1/22/14

Sopot is one of the sister cities with Gdansk. Ashley took me here and unfortunately the weather was cloudy and below freezing. All my layers and big coat was not a match for the cold winds. The trains run from Sopot to Gdansk every five minutes. It is easy to get from city to city. Sopot also has the reputation of being the biggest party city for young people in the area.

Sopot is the home of the longest wooden dock in the world. It measures to be 598 ft long. There were also waves in the Baltic Sea for the first time because there are never waves in the sea. We saw waves, seagulls, and some snow. We didn’t stay long on the dock but I went as far out as the slippery snow let me.To warm up we went to the curvy house. In the curvy house there were two cafes. We drank hot chocolate and rubbed our numb fingers. It was a cold day but very nice city. It would probably look nicer in the warm sun.

 

1/20/14 – 1/26/14

Gdansk, Poland is the birthplace of Polish Solidarity. It is a city in the north that is the staple place for ships and ship making. This city is full of history and has the most beautiful Old Town in Poland. I spent one week in Gdansk with Ashley from New York. She showed me around her city and even took me  to the sister cities of Gdansk. We laughed and had tons of fun together. We went to a club on Friday night and it was so much fun! Everyone heard we were Americans so even though it was a 21+ club, they let us inside anyway. Polish boys were dancing with us all night. We also met up for beers with her friends from school. This week was the best and I think Gdansk is my favorite city in Poland.