hello from the other side: January 2016

Week #2

Well to say this week was the craziest week of my whole life would definitely be an understatement.

Monday the 18th:

We woke up at 4 am to get to the airport to fly to Amsterdam !

Here is me & the Allisons with the Amsterdam sign. We made it & I passed out the entire hour flight there...starting the week off exhausted...

solid selfie.

We then got on a train to go from the airport to the central train station. We then put all our backpacks in lockers so that we had the whole day to explore. Took about an hour...40 people is way too many to travel with hahaha

But once we got into the city I was honestly in love. It was a beautiful (yet freezing) sunny day in Amsterdam.

I loved all the buildings and architecture.

Come on, now thats honestly gorgeous.

And there were bikes..EVERYWHERE ! I wanted to spend so much more time there, but I really did love Amsterdam so much...even with all the weed smells...EVERYWHERE !

This is Aly, she's the best.

We got to go to 2 museums which was such a fun time. Got to see this incredible piece of work titled, Girl with the Pearl Earring. I am just in awe of the amount of famous artwork that i get to see being in these incredible places.

Mostly I kinda fell in love with Amsterdam.

We also walked a total of 13 miles today so my feet were absolutely KILLING me. And there was a lot of confusion with transportation so it was definitely a looooong day, but also incredible !!

Tuesday the 19th:

This is us on the bus back into the city...All of us definitely overwhelm everyone...

The canals were beautiful

Here with the Allisons !

Then we got the incredible experience of seeing the Anne Frank House. It was hands down the best part of being in Amsterdam. I have read her diary, but being able to be there was something very special to my heart.

She was such a young girl in such a tumultuous world. I couldn't ever imagine having to live life like she did, and yet have all these dreams.

Being there reminded me of my love for history and the stories of those who came before us. She is a pillar of strength to me when I feel like my world is crashing down. I loved this experience so much !

We then went to the Van Gogh museum. We may or may not have gotten lost on the way cause Mama Martha (our professor) is honestly an olympic fast walker ! You have to do a jog in order to keep up with her walking skills. She just gets reeeeeaaalllly excited to see all the art, so she walks really fast haha

Also had a waffle with nutella for lunch. It was better than waffle love in provo. SO bomb

This is Jess ! She is cousins with my cousin Morgan. So we have decided that we are now cousins as well. She is so cute & is one of my favorite humans I have met so far !

I truly loved the short time we were able to spend here in Amsterdam.

Then we got on the train to go to PARIS ! So much to see, so little sleep.

WE MADE IT TO PARIS !

We were all pretty loopy in the Paris metro station. Which is so dirty compared to the London tube...dont know how I feel about that haha

Slept like a baby. Hannah was my roommate so that was the biggest relief cause she is the best !

Wednesday the 20th:

Here we are, in actual Paris ! Also this metro card we had to use the whole week. This little piece of paper was honestly the death of me. Almost lost it 17 times at least...

HIIIII seriously dying. So beautiful. Also so so so cold.

We went to St. Chapelle & it was beautiful. The stained glass windows killed me ! I just can't even fathom their ability to create these incredible buildings !

Here is Kailen, we were all so cold when Greg was talking our ears off in the shade. 30 degrees.

Here is Ellie. We too are very cold

Just loving this all !

Here is Notre Dame !

Then we were craving Pizza hard core. So we ran into some english speakers which was a total relief, and they lead us to an amazing pizza place ! They were so nice ! When we said we were studying from Utah, he joked that we were Mormons, and then thought it was funny that we actually were. So obviously we had to get a picture hahah

ciiiiii pizza

YAY Eiffel Tower !

It is honestly massive !

Me & Jess

Me & Allison & Chloe

Me & Kailen

Me & Jess & Hannah

This is the group of girls who I met up with at the airport ! We took the tube with all our luggage & it was definitely a sight. Love them all !

Also hi, crepe # 1 of the trip & I was definitely a fan. (nutella crepe)

Also went to the Louvre which was amazing ! got to see the Mona Lisa !

This was me & Kailen appreciating all the art we saw. Mature? maybe not. But always a good time

Thursday the 21st:

Went to the Louvre in the morning & it was glorious.

Also found the love lock bridge & it was so cute

We went to the musse de' orsay & that was my most favorite museum we went to the entire time ! It was made in an old train station & I loved every second of it.

Luncheon on the grass

This was the best part of my museum experience. Monet is honestly one of my all-time favorite painters. This one for some reason is extra special to me. I may have teared up a bit cause I was just in awe of this amazing piece of art.

Also this was lunch. The most perfect panini bagutte & crepe #2. Shared with Aly

Also went to the Arch de Triompe

This was the view from the top !

Love all these girls so much !

Also met up with Patrick ! He is studying abroad in France & we met up & it was so much fun ! It was nice to hang out with someone from home !

Love this girl

Sunset was honestly breathtaking

Crepe #3. SO GOOD ! Crepearie of St. Germain

Friday the 22nd:

We went to Versailles ! Which was incredible & enormous !!

hall of mirrors

just the beginning of the massive garden !

Then we went to Chartres. It was beautiful & the cutest little french town ! I really liked the french countryside much better !

Ate lunch, panini's at the cutest little place ! I loved it ! Except we had to run about a mile to the train station & almost missed our train ! It was crazy