Spring break has a different meaning from high school to college, and from college to a semester abroad. It might start out as a trip to Disneyland or Hawaii and then transform to Florida or Cabo. In Europe, Spring Break has a different meaning. While we are sure to plan trips on most weekends that we can, these trips typically span from two to three days max — with the glory of no classes on Fridays providing permanent three-day weekends. Spring break opens a whole new dimension of time: 10 days. This new phenomenon has students scrambling to try and cram as many destinations as they can manage, both for the sake of exhaustion and finances.
My friends and I planned our trip to start in Dublin, move to Paris, and finish off in the South of France. It just so happened that two of my friends had birthdays during the break, so we tried to plan according to where they wanted to be for each of their big days.
Having never been to Dublin, let alone Ireland, I was blown away by St. Patrick's day and all the festivities it entailed. After buying out the store of green apparel, we stationed ourselves among the rest of the crowds, patiently awaiting the parade. As far as the eye could see, green filled the streets. People of all ages were decked out from head to toe in shamrocks, stripes, and tall leprechaun hats. Beads draped people’s necks and little ones sat on their parent’s shoulders for a better view. Groups of friends were leaning out of their balconies and gathering outside of pubs to watch, as bagpipes paraded through the city, playing tunes merriment. To join in on the celebration, we cheersed with Guinness at The Stag’s Head and enjoyed fish and chips — a very different scene to our next stop.
In Paris, we were thankfully granted the best weather we could have asked for. For the four days we were there, blue skies and sunshine accompanied us as we walked 10 miles a day from the Louvre to the Notre Dame, along the river Seine, and Les Jardins Luxembourg before ending at the magnificent Tour Eiffel. Along the way, we enjoyed crêpes and croque madames and I, of course, ordered escargots (snails) at a bistro close to the Eiffel Tower. We walked up the many steps to get to both l’Arc de Triomphe and Sacre Coeur to marvel at the beautiful view of the city. My favorite part of all was picking up two fresh baguettes, cheese, grapes, jam, and salami, and having a typical Parisian picnic on the grass just next to the Eiffel Tower. It was divine. Being fluent in French, I got to practice conversing with locals in the grocery stores, restaurants, and patisseries. No one does pastries like the french. When we had the chance, we made sure to grab loads of pain au chocolats, croissants, (more) crêpes, pear tarts, quiches, and baguettes from the local boulangeries.
Our last stop was a more tranquil getaway from our previous fast-paced travels. We spent our final days of Spring Break by the coast in Nice, strolling through the palm trees, sunbathing on the pebbled beach, and visiting the morning markets to buy lavender, soaps, teas, and painted sketches. We ate lunch in a cute plaza in Old Nice, where we walked along the narrow streets and through the orange and yellow-colored houses. We also got even more crêpes, with my crêpe count tallying up to a total of seven. We did a day trip to Monaco, where we visited the Casino in Monte-Carlo, and took a short train ride to Cannes for dinner. Some nights, we relaxed in our Airbnb watching Ratatouille and eating Nutella-filled crêpes with buttered french cookies.
As our break came to a close, we marveled at all we were able to do. Studying abroad had allowed us to travel throughout Europe and expand even more upon our cultural immersion. We made sure to enjoy all the local cuisines and see the beautiful sceneries of these unique countries. This spring break will truly be remembered and I'm thankful for my study abroad granting me these amazing experiences.
Excited about the possibility of traveling to all these destinations?
Studying at John Cabot University these are just a short flight away!