Europe

{Cinque Terre}

Hi there!! I spent my spring break on a school trip traveling around northern Italy and the French Riveria, and I think that it was the best week of my life! This was my first time to leave the United States, and now I want to travel forever. It was so incredible to get to see parts of the world I've only heard about. It was so special just to see the differences in culture and people. I loved hearing the langauges; Italian is just beautiful, and I'm taking French in school, so it was cool to see what I could keep up with. Also, I was traveling with friends and teachers whom I admire, and that added a lot to the trip. I spent the past year saving up for this trip; it was so worth it!

We were originally supposed to fly into Milan, but there were complications with the Italian airports the day of our flight, so we got to spend an unexpected day in Amsterdam, where our connecting flight was! That day is kind of a blur because we were all basically jet-lagged zombies. All of the architecture was stunning and intricate, and the tulips were starting to bloom, and it was just amazing because it was our first destination outside of America. My favorite part was the Van Gogh museum!

The next day we flew to Milan, where we got to spend one day instead of the planned two. Our group went on a walking tour where we got to see some historical monuments and toured the Duomo. During free time, I explored the fashion district and had my first Italian gelato and espresso. Italian espresso and gelato are the best things in the world, and I wish I could have them every day of my life. Once again, everything was stunning. I was just in awe of the Galleria.

After Milan, we transferred to my favorite destination, Cinque Terre. It was easily the prettiest place I have ever been, and it was the most unique city (or five cities) on our trip. Each little town was different, and there were lots of shops and restaurants with wonderful Italian food. Georgia and I joked that we were on a movie set, because it was just so perfect that it seemed surreal. The weather was perfect during our two days here, which made being near the ocean even better!

On our way to Nice, we stopped in Monaco for a few hours. Monaco is as beautiful as you hear, and you really just feel like royalty when you're walking down the streets there. Everything is so well-kept and just stunning to begin with, and there is a garden with some of the prettiest flowers in the world. Also, I saw Grace Kelly's grave.

Nice is the fifth largest city in France, and it has a unique atmosphere. It's also near the ocean, which is incredibly pigmented and just breathtaking, and it has a lot of history. It was basically a wonderful French city that wasn't too crowded, and there was a flower market and couture stores and macaroons! We also went to surrounding, smaller cities like Cannes and Cassis and Saint-Paul which were all wonderful as well.

Marseilles was the last stop, and it was the largest French city we went to. We went on a tour where we got to learn a lot about the city's history and important monuments, and we went to a Notre Dame church. The churches in Europe were all breathtaking and ornately beautiful and had so much careful detail. It was really windy, and it was the last day; we were pretty much trying to just stay awake and not fall over all day.

The trip was wonderful, and now I just want to see so much of the world!!

Claire