Stepping out of my comfort zone....

Hello Pilgrims!
Once again, blogging has gotten away from me. I apologize to all of you guys who have been wondering what I've been up to! So I will be glad to share with you all. But before I do, I would like to thank you all for taking this journey with me! I hope that the retelling of my European happenings are entertaining, and makes you feel as if you were there too! I am really having a great time here. Of course I miss my family and friends back home, but I love Europe! And this has been an amazing opportunity for me to learn about myself as well as other cultures.

So....Here we go!

For those of you who don't know me, I'm really responsible and not spontaneous by many standards. A by-product of my responsibility is my tendency to over think. I often ponder every outcome then talk myself into and out of the decision several times, weighing all of my options meticulously until I'm sure that I have chosen the 'right' one, and having a backup plan in case I didn't choose the 'right' one. I especially find the decision between paper and plastic a particularly difficult conundrum (I'm kidding! we all know to use reusable bags! Ha ha).

      But one of my personal goals for my European adventure is to take myself out of my very padded comfort zone. So when some of my friends said that they were going

to catch a ride with our friend Nathan's (Ireland) rugby team to Slovenia that same day, of course I turned them down. I couldn't possibly go to another country in such short notice. I had been in class all day. I just wanted to write this paper that was due and enjoy my weekend in Innsbruck. But did my friends accept it? No, they kept goading ' Cooommmeee on! How many chances do you get to go to Slovenia?" I steadfastly stuck to my 'No'.

But considering my personal goal of being more spontaneous I was torn. Should I power through the paper? Should I go? Ahhhh, the pressure!!! Then after a few words of encouragement (Thanks J.R), I decided to go. I submitted the paper at 4:15 am, thru together a bag, let my friends know that I was going (they were pleasantly surprised), and were on our way to Slovenia by 4:30 am.

Now I'll remind you that before this study abroad experience I had never been out of the United States (heck, I've never been further west than Alabama). I'm orignially from south Florida eight hours from the Georgia/Florida Line a good, so any departure from Flordia is a pretty deliberate action. So it was a BIG DEAL that in less than 12 hours, I was informed of a 2 day trip to Slovenia was on a bus on my way there. I couldn't positively point Slovenia out on a map of Europe (I'm still not 100% sure I could do it even today :P ) I tried to stay awake but after 24 hours of being awake, I was out like a light. I woke several times to see some AMAZING landscape as we crossed Austria but I was back out just as quickly as I'd woken up.

After a pitstop and some traffic, we made it to Slovenia about 1pm. We walked to our Hostel (which was HEADS AND SHOULDERS above the Paris Hostel) to drop our bags... once there, I was informed of which city we were in. It took a few attempts to try and pronounce the city, but I finally got it- Ljubljiana. (pronounced Lub-liyanah). the capital city of Slovenia. The sky was overcast and there was a light rain, but we got to fashion our umbrellas so it wasn't that bad. Because the weather was rainy and there weren't any bleachers nor coverings near the rugby game, the Rugby captain 'excused us' from having to watch the game. 

Me with the Ljubljana skyline

So there was a group of eight

Creepy Slovenian Art

that decided to roam the city. I didn't think it was possible, but I found a city that made Innsbruck feel like a metropolis area. In the three hours we were there we climb to see the castle, and lapped the city approximately 2.5 hours. I was still funny. Everyone was in good spirits
and we made several memories. We got to see Slovenian art (a little darker than my taste, but hey). I can say that I've been to Slovenia, and I can say that I was spontaneous.

Creepier Slovenian Art

One of the pretty views I was able to see on the way Back!

I honestly think I got more from being spontaneous. I made a rash decision, and the world did not implode. SUCCESS!!

Til next time...(about 15 minutes!)

- Pella, the Pilgrim.

Time Flies: A rap up of April. ***updated

It has been longer than I would have wanted since I last posted! But no fears, I'll be thorough in filling you in on April!

A gorgeous tree outside my campus

So I've almost completed two months here in Innsbruck!  Many of the courses are taught by visiting lecturers from around the world. Because of this the classes are condensed, many of them less than a
week long in 8 hour sessions.Classes are intense but well worth it! Because my April class schedule has been so full, I spent most of the month out and around Innsbruck finding ways to entertain myself.

Ditta( Hungary) and I at the lake

The last couple of weeks seems like summer skipped spring this year. One week it was snowing, the next it was 78 degrees with a UV index around 9. Because of the warm weather, many of the exchange students have been spending a lot of time at Lake Baggarssee. It's a small lake and park about a 30 minute bus ride, on the other side of town. It's gorgeous to see. The water is still FREEZING cold despite the warm weather. And it's simply amazing to me that the mountains are still snow capped even though it feels like summer.

It's a little wild to think that it's so warm but there's still snow on the mountains.

Many of the Internationals enjoying the emergence of Spring!

Corndogs: Bringing together the Internationals

       So after two months abroad, it is safe to say that we are all a little homesick! It's the little things we miss, like grocery stores being open later than 7 pm and on Sundays, Reese's peanut butter cups, and of course family and friends (ha ha). We even miss Fair foods. Honestly none of us eat fair foods regularly, but you know what 'they' say: We always want what we can't have.

Fair Night!

       But 'we' say: Where there is a will there is a way! With a 'can-do' attitude, and a spirit of camaraderie many of the American's and I (Of course we included some of our international friends) organized a 'Fair night'. We cooked some American staples like corn dogs, french fries, candy apples, and other things. Fair night was a success and hopefully that can hold us over until we go home this summer!

I'm not greedy.

     So one night, while hanging out in the dorm kitchen, we had an impromptu poker night! Now I've never played poker before, but that was OK because only two out of the group had! The rest of us kept passing around the rule book, before each deciding how exactly we were going to play the hand. To show how 'serious' we were about the college dorm room poker game being played with fake money, we all decided to 'dress' for the part.

Call us Ocean's 6 ...because 11 was just too many.

No seriously... there are flowers everywhere!

    Also in April, Innsbruck had it's first ever color festival. The original color festival is held in India, and is a celebration to welcome the colors of spring. At the color festival, attendees (usually wearing white) are given powdered dyes which they throw in the air or (more often than not) at other attendees. Before coming to Europe I wanted to attend the one in Munich (since India isn't exactly close), but the Munich festival was sold out, and not having to travel out of the country made the Innsbruck festival all the more alluring.

    

Hey, is there anything wrong with my glasses? They feel funny.

Before

Getting my George Clinton on!

After

    I had a great time! How often do you get to enjoy music and friends while throwing powdered dyes at their faces? Answer: Not often, and I'm slightly glad about it, because by the end of the  festival I decided that I was everyone's favorite target.

Oh là là (Jour une)

This week was Easter Break! The students enrolled in the regular MCI classes had two weeks off (but I’m not complaining about only having one). For my first extra-curricular excursion we decided to go to PARIS!!! The entire experience was surreal. It didn’t hit me until Tuesday (the day we departed) that we were really going to France.

That morning Carly (Nebraska) ,Adam (Nebraska), and I headed out to the Innsbruck train station.  You may not know this, but the entire time I’ve been in Innsbruck I have been praying for it to snow and stick , and wouldn’t you know the very same day that we leave for Paris, it’s snowing…

Innsbruck while I was gone...

Innsbruck is such a tease!

Oh, well… I hoped it would stick long enough for me to make one good snowman…and maybe a snow angel when I got back.

They say be careful what you wish for…

Once our train arrived in Munich Carly, Adam, and I had planned to spend the day walking around the city center. What we hadn’t planned for, was the snow. There was plenty of snow to make snow men and snow angels in Munich, but the snow did nothing but taunt us since it was freezing, snowing, and we were toting our luggage around with us.

But we made the best of it. We saw the Munich Rathaus,  had lunch and ate German cuisine, then we quickly found shelter at a Starbucks near the city center. Until it was time to catch a train to the Munich airport, where we were about an hour early. But I’m not complaining because I was able to take a nap at our terminal.

Our wonderful guide, Mathilde

Warning: During this blog I will be SINGING the praises of Mathilde.

Our fellow MCI exchange student, Mathilde (France) was a godsend. She:
* Reached out to us when she found out that we wanted to go to Paris and offered to show us around.
* PUSHED BACK HER TRAVELLING PLANS in order for our travels to  overlap
* Sent us a PDF itinerary  of our Paris trip.
* And gave us step by step directions on what to do upon arrival in Paris because she wouldn't be able to meet us until the next day.
        … And this is all BEFORE we even left for Paris!

 The flight was nice, and once again (thank the travel saints) there was no one beside me! We landed in Paris then had an interesting adventure trying to find the Roissy bus that would take us from the airport to the Opera Garnier near the city center. After arriving at the city center we were a little turned around at first as to how to find the subway station, to get to the exit closest to our hostel. Thankfully a French guy saw us struggling with the map on the wall and went out of his way to direct us to the right train station (the one we were at lead OUT of the city). His gesture surprised us, because prior to this trip everyone was warning us how that Parisians are notoriously rude and unhelpful.

My First Hostel Experience…

After a short train ride we arrived to the stop closest to our ‘highly rated’ and cheap hostel that Adam had researched and found. I can only confirm that it was cheap… Carly and I were sharing a 'private room with bath'. The twin beds each had an embroidered quilt about the density of  2-ply, which usually I wouldn’t mind but it was 40 degress F ( 4 Celsius) outside, and had the hostel had NO central heating.  By the way, did I mention I’m from Florida? Carly and I slept in our coats and jackets and were still cold! The hostel boasted about the private bath in our room, but neglected to mention the showerhead lacked a holster. Carly and I were thankful that it was only one night! At least I can say that I have stayed at a hostel.

The ceiling at one of the subway stations

The next day our guardian angel Mathilde met us at the hostile to show us around. She helped us buy our metro tickets and navigate the Parisian metro system. A one-day metro ticket allowed you access to not only the subway, but the buses and even some lifts in the city. We first dropped off our belongings at the hotel in which we’d be staying. (The hotel was sold out the night before because of a soccer match between France and Spain nearby, apparently that was a big deal...).

And So our first day in Paris began…

Mathilde guided us up the subway, and told us there would be

"Hey sister, go sister, soul sister..."

a surprise once we were out. So with anticipation we hurried out of the subway and what is the first thing we see? We were in the Pigalle section of Paris, right in front of the Moulin Rouge! Mathilde then lead us to a bakery where I had my first French croissant and a hot chocolate. Hmmm…Maybe it was because it was fresh, or maybe it was because it was French, or maybe it was because I was sitting in Paris, but that was the BEST croissant I’ve ever had.

Best Croissant EVER

After breakfast we walked around the Montmartre area of Paris...




We saw ‘Le mur des je t'aime” or the ‘I love you” wall. The phrase is written in more than 200 languages.  I thought since English is first language, “I love you” would have been easy to recognize. However, it took us a few moments to find the phrase in English. I actually found the Spanish and the American Sign Language equivalents before I found English phrase. In reflection, maybe that was the artist’s intention. No matter how different the cultures or languages are, when you look at the big picture: Love is Love. It's not as different as we would think it would be. (Sorry guys, please forgive the cheesiness. I just got back from PARIS!)

Le Sacré Coeur...

Walking up to Le Sacré Coer

Stained Glass

After The 'I love you' wall we went to Le Sacré Coeur. Inside the Catholic Basilica was beautiful! I’m not sure if it was only because it was Holy week, but there were services going on. And despite the ongoing of services, there were hundreds of tourists walking around the church taking pictures… That was definitely and experience. The detail that the architects and builders put into the building was spectacular. There were several stained glass windows depicting Christ and his disciples. Simply Amazing.



After the church we went to heaven  Maison Georges Larnicol: Le Petit Musee du Chocolat. A chocolate lover's dream. Everything in the store was paid for by the milligram. I was impressed by the chocolate sculptures.

It’s a Small World …

The 'surprise filling'

We were off again. We were all a little hungry so we found a little ‘hole in the wall’ restaurant. Our wonderful Mathilde, ordered for us in French (isn’t she just wonderful?). I had never had a breakfast style crepe before. For those of you who don't know (because I didn't), when a menu says 'eggs' in Europe, it's going to be served over easy (unless otherwise specified). I pretty much like all of my food to be served 'medium-well" so cutting into my crêpe wasn't my favorite surprise, but it was a good crêpe regardless. During our meal, the lady dining beside us asked Mathilde for directions, turns out she was an Chicagoan. Then (I presume) after hearing our party chat with the Chicagoans beside our table, the only other guests in the restaurant (it was a VERY small restaurant) mentioned that they were Americans too. Turns out they were from Winter Springs, Florida. So we had a good chuckle when announced that I was a UCF student studying abroad. Imagine… Move a thousand miles away from home, then visit Paris on a random weekday, to go to lunch in a random off the wall creperie, just to sit beside a family who  are practically your neighbors.

The Girls in on the roof.

After Lunch we headed off to the Galleries Lafayette. Now again I would like to thank Mathilde. If I were visiting Paris on my own, nothing good would have come from me going to this this ENORMOUS shopping mall. There are only two ways that would have turned out:
1)  I would have blown my entire allowance for my remaining time abroad, or
2)  I would have not bought anything and subjected my self to an unnecessary amount of torment


But the Gallaries Lafayette was beautiful. It had a domed and decorated ceiling… and a rooftop terrace where we had an amazing view of the city from the top! I never would have known. I will be honest, I had to put on blinders, and use a lot of self-restraint leaving the mall. Hermes to the Left. Fendi on the right. Prada behind you. Louis Vuitton down the hall. *Ouch* (It still hurts). 

Chocolate and vanilla

After the Galleries Lafayette, Mathilde led us to the most consistently awesome Macaroons in the city. La Duree. Yum…I had no idea that they came in so many flavors! I had one as a child that had coconut(which isn't my favorite) in it and thought that all macaroons had coconut so I have been turning them down for YEARS! Boy, did I miss out!.

Next we were off to see the Opera Garnier in the daylight. On the walk there Mathilde told us how to look Parisian:

My 'Parisian' look

1) Look mean

2) Head down

3) Walk quickly

Looking “Parisian” was our first defense against pickpockets and grifters. Along the way she would point out the different gimmicks people were using. Also speaking English makes you a bigger target. Thanks to Mathilde keeping us on our toes, we were able to avoid many snares that entrap tourists in Paris.

Pièce de résistance...aka the Eiffel Tower

Finally, after seeing it in the distance all day… we were off to the Eiffel Tower! On the way up to the Eiffel Tower we saw the Calvary school. At the Eiffel Tower we got the youth prices (In Europe you are a youth, and therefore entitled to a discount until you are 26). Mathilde and Carly climbed the stairs for the second story of the Eiffel Tower, Adam and I wanted

This is an illusion. I'm not really holding the Eiffel tower.

to go all the way to the top of the Eiffel tower so we got in line for the elevator. Unfortunately the top level of the tower was closed  for an hour when we when we  went to purchase the lift ticket. But maybe that was for the best since once we got to the second level of the tower if was about a 10 degree temperature drop and …another 30 minute queue to get to the highest level of the tower. So we enjoyed the vista, took some pictures and hurried back down the tower towards warmer climates.

When Adam and I finally made it back down, Carly and Mathilde had been joined by Dan  (Nebraska), another MCI student. He had been traveling on his own and met up with us in Paris. Adam had a  few “must eats” that he wanted to attend so off to find Angelique's We couldn't find it, but we did find another on his list. . I had a croissant. (I think I am now in love with croissants).

Mathilde and I in front of the Hôtel de Ville

Are you there Quasimodo?

After the early evening snacks we went off to Notre Dame. Being Wednesday night, they were holding mass so we were not able to go inside. But at least we were there! We continued to walk around .Everywhere you go there is going to be a beautiful building with history and a story.Not too far from Notre Dame was Hôtel de Ville, the Paris City Hall.

What's Paris without cheese and bread?

Dessert for dinner, I do what I want!

We finished the night with a bite to eat.  I sampled Carly and Mathilde's bread and cheese platter, because it just looked so French! And you never turn down dessert. I wasn’t that hungry, but when you are in Paris, you can’t ‘not eat”, and what better place to try crème brulee than in Paris,
right?

Adam ordered Escargo... I wasn't as brave.

                                                                                                                                                

our appetizers

Then off to the hotel… Carly was a lot happier with these accommodation (as was I).

Part deux coming soon!

-Pella 
PS.
Random Pictures below... 

Chocolate!!

Of course the chocolate shop has a chandilier

I wonder who get's this Easter egg?

The Paris Day 1 Crew

Me in front of the Opera Garnier

Mathilde guiding us

Me under the Eiffel Tower

Adam and I waiting for the Elevator on the Eiffel Tower

On the Eiffel Tower

One of the spots declared a 'must -see'

I don't even like cherries and this looks good!

Ooohhh.... so this is why they call it the 'City of Lights'

I always wanted one of these...