..many the miles..
:: Winter break, really? ::
I know I say this every year around this time, but I really really mean it this time. I cannot believe it is almost New Year’s, and moreover, I can’t believe that Christmas is in three days and I’m not anywhere near my family. No matter though, I’m too excited for Eurotrip! In honor of the upcoming 14 days of pure extravagance, I thought I’d post one last time before 2008.
School ended kind of anticlimactically. Yes, there was a lot of partying, but since we’re not even done with classes, it didn’t feel as satisfying (even if at Princeton we do have finals when we come back). Also, there is now no one left in Paris, and I mean no one, besides just one of my friends. I guess I’m just used to people descending upon Princeton as soon as mid-December rolls around, and all I have to do is wait for them! Not going to lie, I miss home a lot a lot (as some of my friends can attest), but hey, Europe calls.
Speaking of Eurotrip, planning was a bit more complicated than I imagined. We had been pretty on top of things, booking flights and train tickets as early as we could. Then we got a little lax about hostels, which wouldn’t be a problem if we weren’t going to Prague for New Year’s. According to something I read online (which could very well be false), Prague is the #2 New Year’s destination! Did you know that? I did not. Yeah, so it turns out literally every single hostel/cheap hotel is already booked or requires a minimum booking of 4 nights, even ones not in the center of the city. I panicked a bit, but in the end, we decided to suck it up, not risk it, and booked a 4-star hotel (the only kind left). At least we’ll be ringing in the New Year in style.
So, just in case you’re interested, here’s a brief rundown of our trip. You know, if you happen to be in the area slash have some good advice for a particular city slash would like a small souvenir from somewhere besides Paris. (PS. Dates are listed in American form.)
12.24-12.26 // Barcelona, Spain >> Just me and Fawn to kick things off. We will be spending Christmas eve at a supposedly pretty cool hostel, right by La Ramblas aka going out central. I’m also excited for the (relatively) warm weather and my first time in Spain! Too bad I don’t know any Spanish…
12.26-12.28 // Milano, Italy >> Despite what everyone says about Milan being “boring” (please, I live in Princeton), I’m quite excited. This is quite the experience for another reason too – instead of staying in a hostel, we are Couchsurfing with a guy named Donald, aka staying on his couch. This may sound like the sketchiest thing ever (who knows, it could be), but I first learned about this through my roommate at PiB and it looks pretty legit. Plus, in this less touristy city (at least less than the others we’re going to), it’ll be nice to have a local.
12.28-12.29 // Venezia, Italy >> We, of course, chose Italy as the country in which to do two cities. I can’t wait, I have only heard wonderful things about Venice, and oh yeah, this is when Kevin joins us! Sad that we will only be here for such a short time, but hey, we’ve got places to go. Since the main island of Venice is very expensive, we opted for a hostel on Mestre, where the other big train station is. Cannot wait for pizza and gelato (again).
12.30-01.01 // Praha, Czech Republic >> My only repeat city on this trip (senior year PHS choir trip, anyone?), and I picked Prague on purpose. We hadn’t even planned on being here for New Year’s originally, it just worked out that way. Anyway, I just remember finding the city absolutely breathtaking last time, especially the Charles Bridge. This time around, I get to experience a 4-star hotel and the apparently crazy fireworks in the Old Town Square and the Bridge.
01.01-01.03 // Berlin, Germany >> Oh Deutschland. It’s too bad we’re not going to any of the cities where my friends at SciPo are from, but I’m actually really excited for Berlin. It’s supposedly very hip right now, and cheap haha. We’re staying at a real hotel here too, so it’ll be a nice extended break from hosteling. Oh, and I hope it snows!
01.03-01.05 // Amsterdam, Netherlands >> Need I say more? Again, I should look and see if any of my Dutch friends will be around. But I feel as if we might be too busy admiring the canals and frequenting the coffeeshops — ok and maybe seeing a museum or two — to see anyone. Back to hostels for this part of the trip, but I feel as if the only way to do Amsterdam is by hostel. So psyched.
01.05-01.06 // Bruxelles, Belgium >> The end! At first we weren’t even going to spend the night here and just go straight back to Paris, but we thought Brussels deserved more. Sure, the EU is headquartered here, but we’re more excited about the waffles, beer and chocolate. I foresee a great last day.
Man, by the time I get back to Paris I will only have 25 days left here! That is definitely something else I can’t believe. During that following week, Fawn will be splitting her time between Cologne, Germany and the beautiful Paris. It’ll be my one last stint as a tourist, tear. Then on Thursday we head to London, where I think we may be couchsurfing again (depending on how our Milan experience goes). Ok, so I lied, London is a repeat too, but I was only there for like three days in the eighth grade. Then the countdown to home will truly begin (!).
Well, until then. For now, all I can be is excited. Plus, I have missed Asians in my life (it’s true), and what better way to make up for it than to travel around Europe like true Asian tourists with my partners in crime from PiB? Expect an unbelievable amount of pictures – which will also show my new haircut! Yeah, I finally pulled the trigger and got a French haircut. Not only was it not ridiculously expensive (58 euro for a “Master Stylist”), but the place was also really nice and it wasn’t scary at all. I got my wish for a change, and I really like it. The hair guy called it a “long bob,” which is you know when the front is longer than the back, but it’s not super short like bobs usually are. Now I feel like my French transformation is complete, haha.
Since I will be busy planing, training, sightseeing, walking, sleeping, eating, and partying for the next two weeks, I will say M e r r y C h r i s t m a s and Happy New Year now! I don’t say it enough (or ever), but thanks to the people who actually do read this. My time in Paris wouldn’t be half as fun if I didn’t think anyone else cared about it.
