Our final stop in our Italian adventure was to the Eternal City, Rome. Although it got off to a rough start trying to find our way to the correct bus and finding our way to our hotel, we had three wonderful days in Rome. Rome definitely has a lot to offer over 2000 years plus of history. It’s a grand city, but definitely walkable and you’ll be able to navigate your way around the city in no time.
I’ve been incredibly lazy here. I wrote about my time in Venice with the intention of completing the rest of my Italian journey soon after, but it’s now been more than two months since I’ve been in Italy and I’m still trying to motivate myself to write. Alas, let’s see how long it takes me to finish this post!
Florence is a very art-y city. Italy was the site of the Renaissance and you can see much of the art from that period there. It is also home of the beautiful Duomo Cathedral, which is the place you usually see the skyline views over Florence from. We packed the entire Florence experience into two days there, but it was an experience of a lifetime.
When people see me, they often ask me where I was born or where my parents are from. They are always surprised to hear that I’m American. People think I’m more Latina that I am. The truth is, I’m actually quite a bit Scandinavian. My great-great-grandmother immigrated to the US when she was just 15 years old. My mom and grandma had contacts with our Swedish family, so I decided to take a trip to meet my family and learn about the past.
Antwerp was the last leg on our tour of Belgium before heading to Amsterdam. It’s a short train ride from Ghent, and it’s possible to see almost everything in a day. Antwerp is home to one of the biggest ports in the world, renown for its shipping; it’s the second largest in Europe. It’s also got quite an interesting backstory to its name.
I was nervous to fly and didn’t sleep much. There was a plane crash the week before, so I was freaked out. Luckily, our flight took off and landed safely. The only problems I had were the turbulence and the guys jabbing his elbows into me throughout the flight. We arrived to a rainy, cold Luxembourg. Being typical Erika, I left my umbrella in Spain.
Tip: If you are going to visit Luxembourg, do it when it’s sunny. And don’t go on a Sunday.
If you ever find yourself in western Germany, I highly recommend a trip to Cologne, or Köln, in German. Hometown of Heidi Klum and the Köln Dom, it’s a great day trip! From Dusseldorf it’s about a 30 to 45 minute drive. We parked on the outside of town and took a train into the city.
During my junior year of high school, we had a German exchange student in our school. I was lucky to have sat next to her on the first day of class. I always loved asking her about how things are different in Germany. Since I was over in Europe, I thought it would be cool to see if I could visit her for a few days. She agreed and so it was off to explore a new country!
After a short night’s sleep from New Year’s, I hopped on a train and a plane and headed for Dusseldorf, Germany.
As of today, I have finished my fourth week of school. After a very emotionally overwhelming first week where I just wanted to quit, things have settled down and the students have become more used to me. The second ESOs even beg to go with me! (And I love them, too!) I’ve almost been here for as much time as last time I was here. Although times definitely get trying and school can be overwhelming, I would say I’m overall enjoying myself. (Thanks, mom, for making me stay). So to celebrate one month, I’ve developed a list of unusual and surprising things from my time here.
On Friday, my friends and I decided to meet up in Barcelona for a fun weekend after a long week of classes. Chelsey came from Andorra with a ride from a teacher from her school, Erin lives just outside of Barcelona and was able to take a bus and a metro, and I decided to take the train up there.
I am now just a week away from my departure to Barcelona! It honestly doesn’t feel like I’m about to leave the States for the next nine months! So to build up the excitement, I thought I would come up with a list of ten places I would like to visit while I’m in Europe!