Americans in Paris

Now that I’ve been back from Pamplona for two weeks, I’ve finally had time to sit down and summarize my last week in Europe, which was broken into two trips. The first took place in Biarritz, a beach town in French Basque country.  The town is a couple of hours away from Pamplona by bus, so a few friends and I rented an apartment there to spend a few days together before we parted ways. While Biarritz is beautiful, the weather while we were there was pretty awful, so we spent our days dodging rain and sightseeing and the evenings cooking and playing games. At the end of our trip, two friends and I returned to Pamplona while the remaining five stayed in Biarritz because they were flying out of the local airport. It was one of my few major goodbyes, since many of my friends left UNAV while I was in Budapest and Malta. This “adieu” was followed up later that evening with tearful goodbyes to two of my closest friends from the semester, Katerina and Erin.  We all said that these wouldn’t be permanent goodbyes and that we would see each other again. I have to admit that I’ll probably see Erin in Canada a little sooner than Katerina in Slovakia, but I plan on keeping this pledge.

The next morning I took an early morning flight to Paris to meet my boyfriend, Nick, who had just finished a USC Maymester in Germany. We spent three days indulging in touristy activities like visiting the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame and touring the Louvre. Here is a tip for all travelers trying to get the most out of a trip to this usually crowded museum: on Fridays, the Louvre stays open late and is considerably less crowded. We were even able to get up close to the Mona Lisa right away! It was a very Da Vinci Code moment.

I have to say, the first time I visited Paris on a layover to Italy last year, I had a very bad impression of the city. However, this second trip showed me a much better time. Whether it was the absence of jet lag, the company, or the knowledge that this was the last leg of my trip to Europe, I fell head over heels for the City of Love. It was a perfect end to the trip, and kept me from moping as my return flight drew closer.

After my weekend in Paris, I returned to Pamplona one final time to pack up and sleep for a few hours before catching my early morning bus to Madrid. I also managed to squeeze in one final walk around the Ciudadela, which was pretty nostalgic. I left my apartment the next morning at 5:30 am and touched down in Newark the same day at 7:30 Eastern time, clocking in at a cool 20 hours and officially ending my semester abroad.

While I have no more trips to share with you, stay tuned for a farewell post in which I’ll give a brief summary and analysis of my trip, as well as some do’s and don’ts for studying abroad!

Hasta Luego!