All the Glamour and Glitz: Viewing Versailles

We just got back from Carnaval celebrations so I thought I would do a quick entry on our trip to Versailles.

On Sunday, before we left Paris, we took the RER to Versailles. It was definitely worth the trip. Versailles is absolutely gorgeous. I loved all the decorations inside (It is interesting how the king’s room is the least ornate — I guess since no one else was meant to see it?) 

I thought the grounds were just as impressive as the building. The parks and The Grand Canal were beautiful. I can only imagine how they would look in the summer!

Tomorrow afternoon, we leave on a night train to Prague. I’m excited for our first night train experience.

I might try to post an entry about Brussels tomorrow, but I have a lot of homework to get finished before we leave for the week so it might not happen.

Anyway, since photographs are worth a thousand words, here are a few from our trip to Versailles.

Chris at the Versailles doors.

It's so beautiful.

Me at the Hall of Mirrors

Absolutely beautiful parks

Part of a chapel.

Chris decided to put a crown on my head.

In Love in the City Known for It: Our Valentine's Day Weekend in Paris

I apologize for not writing about my weekends lately. I have developed what I have affectionately nicknamed “the gunk.” I was sick a few weeks ago and Chris caught it.

Chris has been sick since before we left for Munich and still hasn’t gotten better so I ended up catching it from him again. Now we are both sick. Hopefully we will get better soon since Carnaval break starts tomorrow and we will be traveling for a week straight!

Anyway, enough about the gunk. On to more interesting things- like our trip to Paris.

Going to Paris was an absolute dream come true. I have been wanting to go to Paris [and France in general] since I first started learning French as a 12-year-old. Nine years later, there I was, taking in the beautiful architecture in this spectacular city.

La Tour d'Eiffel <3

The trip couldn’t have been more perfect. Paris met all my expectations and then some. What a beautiful, amazing city with so much history. I was in love.

On Thursday night, Chris and I took the Thalys train to Paris. Once we got settled into our wonderful hotel, we went to a great restaurant called Bistro de Breteuil.

Side note: Did you know that “bistro” is actually a Russian word? During a war, Russian soldier would go into French cafes and say “bistro,” which means “be quick!” in Russian. Thus, French cafes started putting up the word “bistro” in front of their cafes so that the Russian soldiers would know it is a place for a quick bite. Interesting how it caught on and is now all over!

The food at Bistro de Bretuil was delicious. We ordered off a “prix fixe” menu, which included an apéritif, bottle of wine for two, entrée, plat and dessert. I even tried escargots! (Those who know me know that I am hesitant to try new food.) Everything tasted great, especially my crème brûlée. As Chris put it, “it was the best crème brûlée ever!”

Afterward, we took a walk around the city at night. It was absolutely spectacular.

The next day, we took a free tour around Paris. Our tour guide told us all about the history of France’s most powerful city. I have learned about French history in my US History and French classes so it was amazing to see all of the historically important buildings. The 3.5-hour tour took us all along the banks of the River Seine from Notre Dame to the Louvre, the Palais Royale, the Grand and Petit Palais, the Tuileries Garden, the New Bridge and ended near Invalides.

Me at the Jardin Tuileries

Afterward, we went on the Champs-Élysées to shop and see the Arc de Triomphe. Then Chris took me on a night river cruise on the Seine River. It was amazing to cruise down the river while the Eiffel Tower was doing its light show and all of the other buildings were brilliantly lit.

Me at the Champs-Élysées

The weather on our first day in Paris was beautiful- we didn't even need jackets! It was about 60 degrees and Parisians told me that it was the first beautiful day they had had in months! 

Amazing Sunset

The next day, we went to see the beautiful churches, Notre Dame and Sacré Coeur. The view of Paris from Sacré Coeur was amazing. The church is located on a hill, and though the steps weren’t too fun, the view was definitely worth it.

Sacred Heart Church

The Notre Dame was beautiful on both the inside and outside. The stained glass windows inside were breathtaking.

Chris at Notre Dame

Stained glass windows at Notre Dame

We also went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, which was a really neat experience. If you can’t tell already, I adored this city. We also walked to the Opera House to see it up close and ate some pastries at a patisserie nearby. I love patisseries- so many delicious desserts in one place!

Us at the top of the Eiffel Tower

We tried to go to the Louvre, but we got there an hour before it closes, and apparently you can’t get tickets that late. It’s okay because we are meeting Chris’s parents in Paris in two weeks so we can see it then!

Me at the Louvre

I was so grateful for the opportunity to speak French all the time. I have been taking French in school for almost 10 years now, but I rarely have the chance to talk to native speakers. It was so exciting to see that French people understood me, and that I was able to keep lengthy conversations going in Paris. 

Egyptian obelisk and Eiffel Tower at Sunset

 Well, I feel like this blog entry has already become too long so I will write a separate entry about Versailles tomorrow. We are taking day trips this weekend. Tomorrow we are going to Bruges (in Belgium). Friday we are planning on going to a city in The Netherlands, possibly Rotterdam or Utrecht, and on Saturday we are planning on visiting Amsterdam!

We are also done with school now for a week because we get a Carnaval break! During Carnaval, we are headed to Prague, Vienna and Switzerland. I will keep y’all informed about our adventures!

Love,

Olga 

In Six Days, Europe is My Playground.

Six days.

In less than a week from today, I will be on a plane to Amsterdam.

I still don’t have much packed. Pretty much wishing my suitcases would pack themselves.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Baylor in Maastricht program, Maastricht is a city in the southern tip of the Netherlands, about 30 minutes from Belgium to the west and close to Germany to the east. Our program includes a EurRail pass, which allows for train travel around Europe. We only go to school from Feb. 7 to Mar. 31, with a weeklong break for Carnival. We also don’t have classes on Fridays so we can travel during our three-day weekends.

The pink dot is Maastricht, my future home for three months!

I can’t wait to explore Europe. I have been yearning to go back to Europe since I moved to the United States. I love everything about it — the public transportation, the slower pace of life, the absolutely gorgeous cities.

Everyone keeps asking me for a detailed itinerary for my trip. Truth is, I don’t really care. I just want to explore. I want to complete immerse myself in the culture. I know I want to go back to Switzerland. It was my favorite country that I have visited, and I still remember it clearly, even though the last time I was there, I was only six.

I know I want to see Paris, visit my aunt in Poland, visit Kim in Belgium and explore Italy. Other than that, who knows? For once in my life, I am extremely excited about not having plans. I can’t wait to make Europe my playground.  

Packing: How Much Does Your Life Weigh?

Every night after I come home, I step over the empty suitcase next to my bed.

It’s no secret that I hate to pack, even for vacation. I have moved 15 times in my life, and I hate the process of packing my entire life away in boxes.

Even though I am incredibly excited to study abroad, I am not excited about trying to pack up everything I need for 90 days.

When I talked to my mom about packing, she told me not to pack much. “No one in Europe will know if you bring three shirts or 50. Pack lightly.”

It got me thinking, how much stuff is too much? When I am backpacking through Europe, how much will weigh me down?

It made me think of Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) in Up in the Air, who traveled with just his backpack.

Ryan Bingham: How much does your life weigh? Imagine for a second that you're carrying a backpack. I want you to pack it with all the stuff that you have in your life... you start with the little things. The shelves, the drawers, the knickknacks, then you start adding larger stuff. Clothes, tabletop appliances, lamps, your TV... the backpack should be getting pretty heavy now. You go bigger. Your couch, your car, your home... I want you to stuff it all into that backpack. Now I want you to fill it with people. Start with casual acquaintances, friends of friends, folks around the office... and then you move into the people you trust with your most intimate secrets. Your brothers, your sisters, your children, your parents and finally your husband, your wife, your boyfriend, your girlfriend. You get them into that backpack, feel the weight of that bag. Make no mistake your relationships are the heaviest components in your life. All those negotiations and arguments and secrets, the compromises. The slower we move the faster we die. Make no mistake, moving is living. Some animals were meant to carry each other to live symbiotically over a lifetime. Star crossed lovers, monogamous swans. We are not swans. We are sharks.

Ryan Bingham didn’t really believe in relationships; he said they weighed a person down. I hate to say this, but I used to get it. I used to not let anyone in because the more someone knows about you; the more you are weighed down. Like Ryan Bingham, I having been working on letting people in.

With that on my mind, I am still ignoring my packing.  I will probably ignore it until a week before we leave. But I really don’t think that it should matter.

Once this adventure is over, I know I won’t remember what outfit I was wearing when I visited Paris or Rome. What I will remember is what happened during this incredible experience, and most importantly, the people with whom I will be sharing the adventures.