 |
| I found Paris |
On Saturday October 20, 2012 I gathered my luggage
and began my journey to Paris alone. Starting at 7am I left Brunnenburg to
catch a bus in Dorf Tirol where I then took a train in Merano taking me all the
way to Verona, where I got on a plane to Paris. During my journey I met a lovely
lady who assisted me with not getting lost while heading to Paris, she too was
heading to Paris. She became my guardian angel through my travel. Once in
Paris, I had to find my first hostel, taking multiple connecting metros, and
through the ups and downs I finally found my hostel and was so relieved once I
hit my bed for the next two days. I was only staying at this hostel called “Open
Hostel” for two days because the other one only allowed for you to be there for
seven days.
Sunday morning, I awoke and went for some Chinese
food for lunch. After lunch my roommate Oliver at my hostel who was a teacher
in Paris and waiting for his apartment to finish being under construction took
me on a tour of Paris for the day. Taking me to all the most popular monuments,
museums, churches, and eating a delicious crepe ending the night at the Eiffel
Tower watching it glitter for 5 minutes at the beginning of every hour starting
at 6pm to 1am.
 |
| Oliver and I |
 |
| Beautiful Sun Set |
 |
| In front of the Louvre |
 |
| The Eiffel Tower glittering at night |
Monday the 22nd I woke up at 8am, packed
my suitcase and gathered all my belongings heading out the door for my next
Hostel, which was Caulaincourt Square Hostel. I knew how to get to this hostel because
Oliver and I the day before went and found it. This hostel was a very nice
hostel being in the central of Paris in a wonderful part of the town. It was 2
blocks from the metro station, and beside a delicious pastry shop and
restaurant. The Hostel was at a cheap price for what all it offered. Every
morning starting at 7:30 till 9:30 there was a continental breakfast including
a basket of bread (croissant and a roll) and different cereal. For beverages,
you had hot chocolate, coffee, and orange juice. During the hours of 4-8 was
considered happy hour, they gave out free crepes and discounted drinks. The hostel
offered free Wi-Fi and 5 computers to be used for free. There was also a
kitchen where you could prepare your own meals as you pleased. It was like I
was back in Brunnenburg. On Monday, I did not go anywhere except for checking
into this new hostel. My day was spent working on homework for my online class that
I added, and counting down the time that my mother’s birthday gift would arrive.
Monday was her birthday, and I had bought her an edible arrangement she had no
clue. That night for dinner I found a close restaurant where I had chicken,
rice, salad, and fries.
Throughout the week of being in Paris I met some
great new friends who too was either doing a study abroad trip or was traveling
alone; I interacted with so many different cultures. To name a few; I met girls
from South Africa, Chili, Switzerland, Canada, U.S., Germany, and Hungary. Some
of these girls and I actually explored Paris together. Going to see the
Montparnasse Cemetery, Arch de Triomphe, went shopping on the famous street of
Champs Elysees, as well as visiting many more places.
 |
| Victory Angle |
I personally went and saw the Louvre which was an all-day
event; I started at 10am and did not leave the Louvre until 6pm. But I was able
to see many magnificent art pieces, including the Mona Lisa, Victory Angel, and
hundreds of statues and paintings. I also set a day aside to see the Notre Dame
where I was just in awe of how beautiful it was on the inside. I decided to
climb to the top of the Notre Dame; so paying 5 Euros I began to climb the 444
steps. I finally made it to a magnificent view; all though it was cloudy that
day with a few sprinkles you could still practically see all of Paris.
 |
| Notre Dame |
On Thursday I got together with Pedro whom lives in
Paris, he is a life time friend of Professor Cates and Mrs. Cates. When he was younger
he was an exchange student in the US at the Cates home. Before leaving for
Paris, they had contacted him informing him that I was coming to Paris for 10
days and if he would be available to show me around. Of course him being the
sweet guy he is, he agreed. Once in Paris, we went out for dinner one night,
(which I very quickly realized no one does dinner till around 8pm at night),
talk about starving! Thursday was a day set aside for Pedro and I, I got up
that morning and met with him at one of the Metro stations, where he first
helped me purchase my train ticket to leave Paris for Venice to meet up with
the group; this adventure took all of three hours to do. Once I had my ticket
in hand to leave for Venice on Sunday, Pedro took me to a museum known for its history
of Paris (Musee Carnavalet). Pedro was full of history about Paris I learned so
much through him. Once finished with the museum we went for some lunch, eating what
looked to be a nasty vegetarian sandwich but was actually really good, from
there we went and got some coffee while sunbathing in the sun; then catching
the Metro to catch a panoramic view of Paris. We went to the Galleries of
Lafayette (an 8 story mall) and went to the terrace, during sun set. Let’s just
say it was a breathtaking view. After
our day full of adventures we called it a night and separating.
Saturday my last day in Paris, I decided to do the
Hop on Hop off Double Decker Tour Bus, which stopped at five well known places including
the Eiffel Tower and passed by many other places. I got off at the Eiffel Tower
and began to take many pictures, then standing in line for 4o minutes to climb
the Eiffel Tower quickly realizing that the line I was in was to climb to the
top of the Eiffel Tower. I told myself I was not getting out of line. So I
climbed all 1789 steps to the tip top, in the cold, rain, and wind. Once there
it was a magnificent view. I ended up being at the Eiffel Tower for 3 hours. I
took the Elevator back down and caught my bus for the next tour, after I stopped
for an amazing hot Nutella and banana crepe. That night I did the Seine River
cruise. It was so cold, but I sat outside to take great pictures. The cruise
was an hour long, taking you along the river to see all the monuments during
the night life when all lit up. I even got to watch the Eiffel Tower glitter
again. The cruise was so peaceful and relaxing. I definitely had a great time
in Paris, and would go back again to see the rest of the monuments I did not
have time to see. 
Sunday October 28 was another big day of traveling;
I left Paris on a night train at 7:45pm and would be arriving in Venice at
9:30am on Monday the 29th, where I would meet up with the rest of
the group on Tuesday. The night train I took was a rather experiencing trip,
but through all the trials and tribulations I found my compartment where I had
a bed and luggage rack waiting for me.
That Monday when I stepped on the train in Venice I
felt like I was in a whole another world. Although there was the typical
hundreds of people walking around, there were no more cars, busses, bikes,
trains (except for the one I just got off), there was just millions of feet
trampling everywhere and Waterbuses zooming along the canal. Once I finally
found my waterbus that would take me to my port where I had to find my hostel,
I was relieved and overwhelmed with the beauty of the place I was now in. After
about 2 hours I found my hostel again through all the tribulations, once inside
I was shown my room and never left it except to get some dinner. I was so
exhausted through all the traveling that all I wanted to do was sleep. I
actually found out that Danny had shown up to the hostel with his mom late
afternoon. But he did not stay there; he and his mom had another hotel someplace
else.
Tuesday October 30th, was the day
everyone showed up but all at different hours. The Cates came met me at the hostel
around 11am then Ramsey and Megan came in from Greece around 2pm and Danny
showing up right after them. Once everyone was all together minus Mike and
Sebastian who were still traveling from Greece, we went out for some pizza and
toured Venice while it was still beautiful. We went to a lot of shops trying on
masks, and checking out the amazing glass art work that was everywhere
throughout all the shops. Danny’s mom actually joined us later that day for
some festivities of shopping and exploring. Once the sun started to set Megan,
Ramsey, and myself said our goodbyes to Danny’s mom and we went back to the
hostel to relax, and I did an assignment for my online class. Around 9pm we
started to get worried because the guys had not shown up yet, but come to find
out they were having flight delays. They finally arrived to the hostel at 1am.
Wednesday was the group adventure day, all the
students met with the Cates at the port at 9:30am; where we quickly realized
that the day was going to be full of rain and high tide. Not realizing the extremity
of the weather we all got onto the waterbus heading to Ezra Pounds home (The
Nest) where Mary was waiting for us. Once there, Mary made us some of her
amazing hot tea (Earl Gray) and read us some Cantos while the Cates went out
and got us some breakfast. Once the Cates returned with, doughnuts, croissants,
cake, cookies, and a variety of drinks, we all had our portions with a belly
being content till lunch we all left with Mary being our tour guide. She showed
us some churches, bridges, canals, museums, a place where Gondolas were made
and many more. By the time we got to the next port to take a waterbus to go see
San Giorgio church and San Michele (where Ezra Pound was buried) everything was
flooded due to the high tides, we were walking in water that was already ankle
deep and thigh deep in some places. When we got to the port where we trying to
catch the water bus the water had raised even more, Tony was carrying Mary
through the water in the mist of me trying to jump over a wave of water coming
in when I was wiped out and went for a swim. I was now soaking wet and dealing
with a camera that had too fallen in the water. After that we had all agreed that
the weather conditions were too bad and went back to “The Nest” where I could
dry off, and Mrs. Cates made some spaghetti for lunch and Mary bought a slice
of pizza for everyone. While at Mary’s home, we had a lesson on the Cantos,
listening to Mary read the Cantos in Ezra Pounds home was just amazing. You could
really feel a connection with the Cantos and Pound through being in his home
At 4:00pm the group had an excursion to the Academia,
where thankfully the Cates had previously made reservations, allowing us to
skip the line and not stand in the rain, flood, and cold. While at the Academia we saw some beautiful paintings
done by artists who were from Venice. After we were done with the Academia the
group split from the Cates heading back to the Hostel to put on some dry
clothes and relax till 7:30pm when we were meeting up again for dinner. While heading
out for dinner, we heard sirens going off which meant the flood was coming and
going to be even worse than what it was during the day. We quickly ate and
headed back to our safe grounds.
Thursday November 1st, was the day we departed from Venice heading
back to Brunnenburg. Around 7:30 that morning we heard the sirens going off
warning about the flood, not realizing how bad it was till the hostel manager
told us, we quickly changed clothes and all put on flip flops to conquer the
flood. Once outside we then realized how bad it was going to be for us trucking
through the water with our entire luggage in tow. We were all walking through
ice cold, nasty knee high deep water all the way to the waterbus which was
taking us to the train station where we were meeting with the Cates. On the
bus, you could really see the devastation caused by the flood, it felt like we
were dealing with Hurricane Sandy, but just not as bad. Once the group was all
together we had lunch and waited for our train to depart at 1:30pm.
Finally arriving back in Brunnenburg at 7pm we all
went to the local pizza stand and got some pizzas, then coming back to our long
missed temporary home where most of us unpacked and Skype with our families to
tell about our adventures. The weekend consisted of us all recuperating from
our break and catching up on much needed sleep.
In all everyone had a great fall break, Mike and Sebastian
went to Munich for a few days and then meeting up with Ramsey and Megan in
Greece where the four spent their time having fun and experiencing a lot of
culture. While Danny’s mom came and visited him and they went to Naples where
Danny has family at. Danny had a great time seeing his mom and visiting with
all his family. He said one of the best parts of the break was eating all the
different types of amazing foods. The Cates went on a Royal Caribbean Cruise to
the Greek Isles. They too said that they had a blast seeing and meeting new
people and cultures, although there was way too much free food on the cruise.
 |
| The Cates Cruise. |
I hope you enjoyed our 12 day journey we all experienced.
It was a once in a life time ordeal and was much needed. I am thankful that
through all the separations, everyone had a great and safe trip. I am glad that
we are all back together again though. We finally have ONE MORE MONTH till we
are back in the states.
Here is a link for you to view the flood of Venice the day we were leaving. It made national news!
Submitted By: Amber Hicks
Three
wonderful months drew to an end but not without several exciting events
occurring. Our last two weeks in Dorf
Tirol were busy with workdays, classes, Thanksgiving, outings with the family
and a delightful, delicious Farewell Dinner.
Also, one last adventure in Munich, Germany was a highlight for the
group.
The weekend
prior to the last week was spent relaxing and packing. The students were busy studying for their
final exams and we had our last Sunday tea with Mary. The week began with Tony and I enjoying
dinner with the family in Merano on Monday night. The pizza was so good! Rainy weather prevented us from having a
workday the last week other than cleaning the croft and our apartment. Exams went well. Everyone was excited about the farewell
dinner in Sizzo and Brigette’s apartment.
Brigitte out did herself with the meal.
Everyone’s plate was clean and hardly any scraps for the animals.
We are home
safe and sound. What a WONDERFUL
experience! Hope all of you have enjoyed
our journey. We had an amazing group and
THANKS to Mary, Sizzo, Brigitte, Michi, and Nik for opening your home to
us. Most of all, thank you St. Andrews
University for allowing this opportunity to your students and to the both of us.
