Paris
A few weeks ago I went to Paris for the weekend, I'd heard mixed reviews about the city but I was determined to go since I'd never been & am in Europe, so no excuses right? Anyway, this was my first RyanAir flight and I was a little nervous that there would be some airport drama since I'd heard they're super strict with boarding protocol, carry on size, etc. Anyway there was a little drama but not about my luggage! My friend ended up not being able to go on the trip last minute, so this turned into my first solo trip in Europe. I also made the mistake of telling my parents earlier in the day that I was staying in a mixed room hostel in the red light district of Paris so it would be a little sketchy. Needless to say, by the time I landed in Paris, Tom had booked me a hotel room in the business district so I stayed in a much nicer place than I planned on! Traveling alone has its ups and downs, everything's more expensive since it's just you paying, and dinner alone at restaurants gets a little awkward so I think I drank extra wine to compensate. But, I also got to see Paris on my own time, not stay at museums longer than I wanted to, etc. so I ended up having a great time. I spent all day Saturday on a hop on-hop off bus sightseeing, which was very time effective! I went to all the main sites I was hoping to see so it was a very successful day. The main thing I have to say about Paris is that the food is absolutely incredible. I like to go to small, off the beaten track places so I went to a few family owned restaurants where I was the only non-French person, ate & drank amazing food & wine (especially the coq au vin, incredible!)
At the Louvre
French military museum gardens
Eiffel Tower up close & personal
Bratislava
The next weekend Lu & I stayed in Bratislava for the first time since I got here, crazy huh?! It was getting a little sad that I kept getting lost constantly and had no idea where I was since I was never actually in the city except for work. Friday night we went out to dinner on the river with the other international FDP's then went to an Irish bar over by our apartment afterward for awhile. Saturday we took a walking tour of Bratislava & I finally saw all the sights around, learned a little about Bratislava history, and got a little exercise (added bonus)! Afterward I spent a few hours shopping & getting ready for the Michigan vs. Michigan State game little watch party I put together. Lu & Kevin came over to watch the game, I made way too much food, and we streamed the Michigan game live from the Big 10 Network website. This was the first Michigan football game I've been able to watch since I've been over here so it was really fun & made me miss all my friends who were in Ann Arbor for the game that weekend. Sunday, Lu & I went over to the Kempinski (really nice hotel in Bratislava) & got massages since they do half-off massages on the weekends. It was a really relaxed weekend & was nice to have a break from traveling for a few days.
City center
On the Bratislava walking tour
Croatia
This past weekend Lu & I traveled to both Split and Hvar, Croatia which was absolutely beautiful, probably one of my favorite places we've traveled. It took us a very long time to get there so in retrospect we really should have made this a 3 day weekend trip. We got into Split late on Friday night & were looking forward to going out to a few of the bars but unfortunately we didn't realize that the bars close at midnight there! So we ended up just walking around for a little while & checking out the city. Saturday we walked around Split some more, did some shopping (mostly buying fake Ray Bans) & got on a ferry to head to Hvar. The weather the whole weekend was pretty questionable, it kept storming on & off, so our ferry ride to Hvar was very rocky, but we were just glad the ferry didn't get cancelled since Hvar was the main place we wanted to go. We stayed at a really nice beach resort in Hvar, I wish it had been warmer so we could have actually gotten in the pool but it was still great to just be outside by the water. We walked around a lot and went to a great Italian restaurant for dinner. The waitstaff there was probably overly friendly since we were pretty much the only tourists in Hvar that time of year, so they brought us out free shots a couple times which I was fine with :) They also recommended a great bar around the corner from the restaurant that Lu & I loved. It was a locals bar that placed awesome 90s & 2000s American music so we had a great time. The waitstaff came out and met us there too so we had fun making new local friends! Sunday we just walked around Hvar some more, took lots of pictures & then spent pretty much the rest of the day traveling back to Bratislava. All in all, absolutely loved Croatia. Lu & I were talking about how we think its pretty underrated back in the U.S., seriously everyone should go, it's amazing. Lu & I are already planning a trip back, so let me know if you want to come with!!
View of the hotel pool
By the pier in Split
Down by the water in Hvar
