Sorry
for the lack of posts! I’ve been traveling and busy with midterms (yes, I’m
actually doing some schoolwork) and my poor blog has been neglected.
Last
week for my spring break my mom came and visited me in Europe. We met in Paris
on Saturday morning and spent a few days in the city. I really like the city,
but I do think it’s slightly overrated. I think there are places in Italy,
Switzerland, and various other countries that are just as romantic and exciting.
However, the baked goods in France are to die for. My mom and I tried a
chocolate croissant a day into our trip, which was a day too late. We got at
least one croissant a day for our remaining time in Paris. The weather wasn’t great, but
thankfully we went up the Eiffel Tower on the sunniest morning and managed to
snap some good pictures.
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| Sacre Coeur |
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| No caption needed |
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| View from the Eiffel Tower! |
We
didn’t go to the Lourve, which was fine with me because I don’t really fancy
museums and the Mona Lisa is (in my expert opinion) rather ugly. However, we did to go to the Musee d'Orsay to see Monet's water lilies and visit the “Love Lock” bridge in Paris –
formally known as the Pont de l’Archeveche.
Our
journey in Switzerland took us to Luzern and Interlaken. Luzern was an adorable
small town – famous for a medieval bridge and flocks of swans which arrived in
the 17th century as a gift from Louis XIV thanking Switzerland for
protection the Swiss guards gave him.
Interlaken
was just as beautiful as I remember it. Nothing more needs to be said about
this place except if you ever get the chance to go – without hesitation, do it.
We
took a train to Jungfrau, which is the third-highest mountain in the Bernese Alps. Snow and wind
severely limited our view from the top, but looking out the train window on the
way up the mountain more than made up for it.
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| At the top of Jungfrau! |
From
Interlaken we went back to Basel where we boarded a night train. The night
train was really cool – we each had our own bed in a little cabin to catch some
much-needed sleep. For our last major travel day we spent a few hours walking
around Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. The canals really beautified
the city, but it was a little too touristy for my taste.
We got back to
Nijmegen Thursday night and I went home after my mom went on her way to a
nearby B&B. The next day I took her around Nijmegen and we got lunch at my
favorite spot: Bagels and Beans (how American – I know).
Saturday
we went to Keukenhof (“kitchen garden” in Dutch) in
the Netherlands. The country itself is known largely for tulips, but the
gardens have hundreds of different flowers. According to the Keukenhof official
website, seven million flower bulbs are planted every year. The gardens are
only open from mid-March to mid-May but the recommended time to go is
mid-April.
The next blog post will arrive within the next few days. Stay tuned.
