Hey guys! Can you believe this is my second to last study abroad update? It feels like I touched down in London yesterday, and now I’m preparing to buckle down into exam mode for the end of the semester. I know you guys have been keeping up with me on Instagram (wink, wink) but I’m here to give you guys a peek into what the last few months have been like since my last update!
PS – I gave my blog logo and my blog itself a teeny-tiny facelift since downloading the Adobe suite! I hope you all like it 🙂
TRAVELING – Easter Break
At the start of my Easter break a couple of weeks ago, I was getting lots of “don’t you ever go to school?” messages. Here’s the thing – I actually wasn’t at school because my break was three weeks long! I agree, that is an exorbitant amount of time for a break, but I’m not complaining. The long break allowed me to travel to tons of places, and it offered me the opportunity to see my family, too!
European Tour
My family visited the first week of break, and it was absolutely amazing to be reunited with them here in Europe. I can’t tell you how happy I was to see them, especially after the homesickness I spoke about in my last study abroad update post. We went on a whirlwind tour, visiting London, Paris, Florence, and Rome! I will admit that I was stressed at the idea of traveling that much in a week, but it was truly an amazing experience.
Out of all of the places we visited, my favorite was Florence (by far!). Even though it was packed with tourists, the overall laid-back lifestyle was just what I needed, and I think it provided my whole family with a sense of ease. I highly recommend tacking Florence onto your next venture into Italy for that reason!
More than anything, though, I am so happy that I was able to share the experience with my family. Being moved to tears at the sight of St. Peter’s Basilica, seeing the Eiffel Tower, and walking the Ponte Vecchio…none of it would have been nearly as amazing if I wasn’t there with my family.
London & Ireland & Barcelona
Once my parents left for the states, I was off on a journey to Ireland, back to London, and Barcelona. If you think that’s a lot of traveling, you would definitely be right! I’m not gonna sugar-coat anything you guys – it was a struggle getting through the last leg of that trip. By the time I got back to Sheffield I was so tired that I just sat in my room & didn’t move for at least two hours!
Regardless of how tiring it was, I wouldn’t trade that adventure for anything. Ireland was out of this world – I probably won’t ever get tired of talking about how much I loved it there, and I’m already dying to go back. It is the perfect mix of nature and vibrant city life, and on top of that the people are so friendly! The highlights of my trip included visiting the Long Room at Trinity College, GUINNESS, seeing the Cliffs of Moher, and hiking Howth Head.
I got to see Aladdin on the West End while I was in London to celebrate my cousin’s birthday, which was absolutely incredible. I love musicals, and getting to spend time with my cousin again was something that I held close to my heart. We also visited the House of Minalima, which featured all of the graphic design art that was created for the Harry Potter films. How cool is that??
I also really loved Barcelona. Even though Ireland was surely a hard act to follow, Barcelona captured my heart in a completely different way. It’s beautifully rich in culture, history, art, and architecture, and it was the perfect place to get lost in. A full-fledged post on Barcelona is coming your way next week, so stay tuned for that!
Weekend Trips
Following my adventures in Ireland and Barcelona, I was in Sheffield for a glorious week of sunshine. Although I love traveling, it was really nice to be in one place for once. My friends and I picnicked in Weston Park on the first day of the “heat wave”, and it was so much fun.
Amsterdam
However, my love for being still didn’t last for long, as that weekend I hopped on a plane to Amsterdam! I’ll admit that I was a little reluctant leaving at first, as it was my first trip (ever!) alone to another country.
I soon found out that I had no reason to be worried, as Amsterdam was amazing! I think I may have loved it just as much as Ireland (if not more? oops?), and I think that is partially because I did it alone. You can follow me around Amsterdam in my most recent vlog – I visited a bunch of museums, walked around the canals, and generally had a wonderful time.
I’ve been going back and forth with doing an in-depth travel diary, so if that’s something you’d like to see let me know!
Copenhagen
Okay, now this study abroad update has served its purpose – ya’ll are all caught up! I was in Copenhagen this weekend with Kay and Caitlyn, and we had such a great time. Copenhagen is such a laid-back and beautiful city, with views of the ocean, a theme park, and so many photo ops. It was cool going on a trip with two other bloggers because we clicked instantly and helped each other take photos!
I really hope I get to go back to Denmark one day, as the people are so friendly and it just seems like a great place to explore. This was the last of my cross-Europe travels, and I think it was the perfect way to end off my trips. (Thankfully), the next time I’ll be getting on a plane is to go home to New Jersey!
Exams & End of the Semester
Speaking of, exam season is approaching and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t stressed to the max. The school system here is really different in that you have to keep track of your own progress constantly, and I feel as though I didn’t have enough time to get adjusted to that method of studying. This might sound crazy, but I’m actually really excited to take a break from traveling and get back into my school grind, because it’ll offer some stability in my life whilst reducing stress. Thankfully, I only have two exams and a paper once my coursework assignments are handed in, so that (hopefully) shouldn’t be too bad.
I’m going to miss England a lot, a lot more than I thought I would! I’ve really fallen in love with England and Europe in general, and I pray that I’ll end up back here again more than once in my lifetime.
Still, I am excited to be home again. I know it’s going to be weird re-adjusting to the US and my whirlwind-busy-crazy life, but I can’t wait to see my family, Michael, and my dog Hudson!
Final Thoughts
Thank you guys for putting up with my crazy-long posts – if you got this far, you’re the best!! I love that this blog can be both a source of therapy and [hopefully] entertainment for other people, and I’ve never been more thankful that I started blogging.
I’m going to be filming a study abroad Q&A for my YouTube channel sometime soon, so make sure you leave me a question or two in the comments!
What’s the best place you’ve ever traveled? What are you curious about when it comes to study abroad?
