Spring Break

Spring Break 2011 consisted of two wonderful weeks exploring Europe with Mike. Unlike most of my fellow Calvin students, Mike and I only went to two places: Paris and Florence (we ended our trip in London, where I met back up with my Calvin group). We stayed in each location for a week. We decided that we'd rather have a relaxed, exploratory vacation instead of traveling every few days. This cut costs as well. We experienced so many amazing things that I could not capture in one little blog, so I've decided to write the highlights of our little adventure.

Paris:

• Travel: This was true going to Florence. I was so nervous about flying RyanAir and EasyJet, but they were wonderful! Punctual and efficient.
• Location: We stayed in an apartment in the Latin Quarter right next to this adorable little square with a great bakery. We were also right by Rue Mouffetard, where we bought tons of crepes!
• Luxembourg Gardens: Also in our neighborhood area. We spent an entire afternoon with a baguette, cheese, and lemonade and a pack of cards (I taught Mike how to do a bridge!). These gardens were gorgeous.
• Eiffel Tower: Mike decided that it would be a splendid idea to re-propose to me on the Eiffel Tower since "it would make everyone's day." So he did. And everyone cheered. And I felt a little bad since it was a lie. But mostly it was funny and cute. That day we had lunch on Rue Cler, which was adorable, and went to the Musée d'Orsay, which was really neat!
• The food!: Crepes, baguettes, cheese, crepes, and crepes. We found that it was really easy to eat cheap, delicious meals. We could split a savory crepe and be pretty full. Also, did I mention I love crepes?
• Monday night, after seeing the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe, we strolled the Seine with crepes (!) in the evening. It was an incredibly beautiful sunset and so romantic!

Downsides: We went to Chartres on Friday, which was tons of fun, but it was also a day full of disasters. First, we missed our train but were able to take another one. It was difficult to get to Chartres since we had to change to a bus and we had a hard time finding it. Then, a guy threw up a few seats behind us and it was really gross. Also, it was freezing that day and we were not dressed properly since the weather said it was supposed to be nice. Oh, and I broke our water bottle all over a souvenir shop.

Florence:

• Location: Once again, we had an amazing apartment in a great part of town. The guy we stayed with, Mirco, was incredibly nice and helpful. He told us to make ourselves at home. We were right by Santa Croce Square and a few minutes away from the Duomo.
• Gelato: !!! Stracciatella was amazing, but our favorite combination was Strawberry plus Fruit and Yogurt. Soooooo good. We had gelato at least twice a day.
• Museums: The Uffizi was amazing (all those famous paintings!), but our favorite was the Accademia! We didn't need to wait to get in, and I loved all the sculptures. The David was incredible. We just sat and stared at it. Plus, there was this section of old instruments that was really cool too.
• Piazzo del Michelangelo: We decided on Friday to climb one of the hills south of Florence, which happened to have an amazing view of Florence. The space itself was a giant parking lot, but the view was extraordinary. We sat on the steps of a church looking at Florence and the Tuscan countryside and ate gelato.
• Duomo and Baptistry: The Baptistry ceiling was an amazing mosaic of Biblical images. On Monday, we climbed up the dome of the Duomo and had a panoramic view of Florence. It was absolutely breathtaking. We walked past the Duomo multiple times a day, and we never got sick of it. I love the intricate detail of the exterior—all the colored marble and geometric designs.
• Fiesole: This was our favorite part of our Italy trip. We took a very cheap bus ride 6 kilometers north to Fiesole. It was a quintessential little Tuscan hillside town. There were villas and vineyards and little parks. We found one park with a swing set and spent some time there playing cards and chatting. Then we walked up a hill and through a garden, where, upon rounding a bend, we saw an absolutely spectacular view of Tuscany, with Florence nestled in the hills. We sat on the edge of the hill for a long time just looking. It was exactly what I wanted Florence and Tuscany to look like.

Downsides: We had an awful food day on Saturday (the worst fries and panini I've ever eaten), and on Sunday (Easter) I was incredibly homesick. This is the first Easter I've spent away from Grand Rapids and I did not like missing it one bit. I liked the whole "being in Florence" part, but I missed my church and my family. Mike and I consoled ourselves by buying Easter candy.

London:

• Mike and I got to London on Tuesday and saw The Lion King at the Lyceum Theater. It was a great conclusion to our trip.
• I spent the rest of the weekend with my Calvin group. We went to the Tower of London (so much interesting history!), saw Parliament and Westminster, went to the British Museum (amazing and free!!), went to Portobello Market, and went to the War Rooms, where we learned about Winston Churchill and Britain in World War II. These were really interesting activities, but my favorite part of London was:
• THE ROYAL WEDDING! Some people pulled all-nighters in front of Buckingham Palace, but I went to Hyde Park to watch the wedding on mega-screens. There were literally hundreds of thousands of people at Hyde Park, but we managed to get pretty good seats. The Brits are really good at watching things in crowds. They were loud and excited until the ceremony started, when the entire park fell silent. We would applaud after any important moment ("I do"), but after about five seconds, they would all fall silent again. It was such a fun atmosphere to be in, and thankfully it didn't rain! It was really fun to pretend to be British for the day, but there were definitely areas where my American-ness shined through. For example, at the end of the wedding, everyone in Hyde Park stood up and sang the national anthem. I, however, sang "God save our gracious Queen……Sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing."

Downside: I got sick from some veggie curry, which was no fun. Also, about an hour before we left to go back to York, I lost my wallet on the Underground. This contained my ID, driver's license, money, credit card, rail card, and apartment keys. I am as of now unable to leave my apartment without either borrowing keys from my flat mates or calling security to let me back in. Good thing all I will be doing the next few days is finally washing my socks after two and a half weeks of re-wearing them.


I am shocked that Spring Break is over, since I feel like so much time and energy has been spent focusing on it (thanks, Dad!). I just feel so lucky that I got to go to these places with Mike, because most people don't get the opportunity to travel with their fiancés for two weeks.