So let's just be real about this: I'm kind of a blog failure! Ok,I admit it.From now on,I think I will just try to do small updates when I get the chance.The fact that I've lost track of the weeks means my current blog strategy is not working lol.
This entry is extra special because it's all about Reading Week (the past week and a half I just had).I spent my reading week in Brussels,Rome,and Paris and it was crazy amazing! Here is a breakdown:
- Spent the week before reading week (two weeks ago) just being crazy busy and realizing how much I love London sometimes and my London friends.We discovered a pub near my friend's dorm called "The Princess Louise" which had the coolest design (little compartments) and then learned that apparently it's a famous pub! You gotta love that about London!
- Thurs/Fri - My parents came to London! On Thursday,we went out for dinner at a fancy place with amazing desserts and then went to see the West End Oscar Wilde play "The Ideal Husband" which had an ok first act but a really good second act.On Friday,I took the parents around - we went to see a really great ballet exhibit at the V&A Museum (which I realize I need to return to because I missed like half the museum) then we went to Afternoon Tea! YES! I need to have Afternoon Tea every day of my life.By the end,I was stuffed and satisfied.Friday was Guy Fawkes Day which is a holiday in England - kind of like July 4th but with a different story.I went with "someone" to Primrose Hill,an amazing location to see all the fireworks around the city.It downpoured but it was spectacular.
- Sat/Sun - I set off with my parents to Brussels.We took a comfortable train there and arrived in the morning.Brussels was FAB.The first day we walked around alot and took in the sights.We went to the famous Manneken Pis (Peeing Boy). We also went to the Magritte Museum,tested out the Metro,went to a famous Art Deco house,and ate at an amazing Belgian restaurant.The next day we went to the Brussels National Museum where we saw Manneken Pis costumes (there are a million of them!) and then spent the rest of the day in Gent,a city about 45 min from Brussels.We filled our days with alot but it was excellent! Monday morning I was headed back to London to pack for...
- Monday/Tues/Wed - Flew off to Rome with three of my friends! Our first time with Ryan Air and it wasn't bad except for the pilot was like also a salesman and every five seconds there was an advertisement for something.We arrived in Rome...and it was raining but our hostel was easy to locate and pretty clean.The first night we found a cute place to eat,bought some Italian wine,and our roommates were two men in their thirties from Devon.Awkward.The next morning we woke up bright and early for our free breakfast and I mapped out our whole day which was JAM PACKED.We saw a million churches,cathedrals,basilicas - a crypt with dead monks skeletons (some with the skin still visible!) and lots more.We returned to our room for a quick rest to find an Australian couple had moved in.Then we were off to the Piazza Navona,a wonderful square packed full of restaurants where we found another cute Italian place where we were one of the last groups of people to leave! The next day was even more jam packed - the Colosseum,Roman Forum,Museum Capotoline (right before it closed so we felt like the only people there),lunch at an amazing tiny Italian place with the best prix-fixe meal ever,Vatican,Cat Sanctuary where dozens and dozens of cats roam around old Roman ruins and finally a good meal and gelato back in Piazza Navona,complete with new Italian friends cheering with us while watching a football match.Couldn't have been better!
- Thurs/Fri/Sat - Thursday morning I had a bit of a freak out when I realized I forgot my boarding pass to fly to Paris.I then ended up asking three different people for directions to an internet cafe (Italians really don't understand the concept of non-vague directions) before finally finding one and then heading on a train to the Rome airport where I got to experience the joy of a Rome airport security line - hint: it doesn't exist.My flight was excellent though and magically,I found my friend,Vivian waiting for me at the gate.Ultimately,this was the most relaxing part of my reading week.Having been to Paris before,I just enjoyed Parisian life with Viv.We ate yummy cookies called lunettes,walked through many gorgeous parks,saw lots of lovely paintings at the L'Orangerie where I ended up being sneaky and getting in for free.We had lovely French dinners,walked around at night in the Latin Quarter,rode the Metro to death,and even cooked our own dinner one night! Part of the fun was also getting to stay in her host mom's apartment which was just awesome after a hostel.Seeing Viv made me definitely start thinking about Wesleyan which I hadn't been doing at all before Reading Week.
Sunday - I bid Vivian goodbye and made my way back to London where,of course,it was raining.Went out on a second date which was kind of lame and ultimately tried to finish my work I hadn't done before Reading Week.
Overall,it was an amazing week! When I look back at it,I can't believe I really did all that in a week's time.I love traveling so much and it's one of the best parts of Study Abroad.
Pictures in their own post to follow...
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