Final Semester of Undergrad

School starts again on Tuesday. It's going to be a busy semester because I'm overloading again and really aiming to push my GPA as much as I can, since it'll be my last chance to do so. It might seem unnecessary because I already have a full-time job after graduation, but I don't think it ever hurts to have it as high as it can be. Who knows, I might end up going to grad school in the future as well, so it'll come in handy.

In the meantime, I already have a bunch of readings assigned to be prepared before class :( They're not too bad, but ahhh I hate reading. So I'm dreading the semester in a way. I have lots and lots of studying to do, but I also want to be able to play. :( 

Either way, I hope to have a good spring because it's the last time I'll be in this city for a while.

Paris: Château de Versailles (Palace of Versailles)

During the first week of November, I went on a trip to Paris with a group of friends. We took the Eurostar and it's about a 2.5 hour train ride from St. Pancras to Gare Du Nord. Tickets were about £160 but they can definitely be bought for cheaper if you book ahead of time. I booked mine a bit later. 

It was pretty annoying because the train broke down halfway there so it stopped for a bit and we also had to switch to another train. They reimbursed us for a cab but that was it. We ended up getting to the hostel three hours later than scheduled at 2:00AM :( It was a bit weird because the cab driver would only take cash.. not sure if that's a thing or not but luckily one of us did have cash.

I stayed at a hostel about half an hour from city centre. If you want more info about where I stayed, just let me know!

Anyways, our main activity of the day was the Palace of Versailles because we only had two days for activities and we have to deal with luggage on Sunday, so Saturday was the best day to go. I would say plan to spend ~3 hours at the palace. The RER C towards 'Paris - Versailles Rive Gauche' goes directly here, with a ~5 minute walk.

We went to the McDonalds outside the station to grab some food and was surprised to see these machines that you order with O_O McDonalds is pricier in Paris than in the States and comparable to eating elsewhere, so I would rather eat elsewhere instead.

We bought the Passport tickets online and it gives access to the Palace and Musical Garden. But we didn't even go to the Garden.. we actually thought the garden in the back (which everyone had access to) so we were confused why we needed the extra access. Ah wells..

 I had a light breakfast so I was pretty hungry T_T We went back into the city to a place called La Cuisine de Bar and they serve tartines. It's next door to a bakery that seemed famous for these biscuits that you eat with coffee; every customer left with a bag of those.

I ordered the set, which came with a salad/soup, wine/water, tartine, and tea/coffee.

Smoked duck tartine; the duck was a bit dry and there wasn't a lot so I only mainly tasted the cheese.

Foie gras tartine

Smoked salmon tartine

After lunch, everyone separated to do their own thing. I ended up going wine shopping, while others went drinking or shopping.

We met up at Le Temps des Cerises for dinner, but I was running late cuz I got lost T_T and spent an hour trying to figure out directions. 

Escargot & Charcuterie 

Steak tartare--SO GOOD T_T

We were going to head to the Eiffel Tower to see it at night but then decided to just head back because it was getting too late and the trains would stop running. We also had to wake up early for the next day, and our schedule was packed with running around the city to hit all the major tourist spots. I'm dreading going through those photos since there's so many more. T_T

Anyways, until next time!

Happy New Year!

Hi, 

I kind of just disappeared this summer without any word but I haven't really been too motivated to blog. I'm still very behind with my travel posts so at this point, I don't know if they're even worth blogging about since it's been nearly a year already. Maybe I'll just do a picture spam of them though.

For those of you who don't know, I was abroad in London this past fall. I really do like the city, it's very beautiful and has the urban feel that I desire. I don't really think I'll blog about the experience though. While I love the city, there were circumstances that prevented me from fully diving into the experience. But in a sense, that is an experience in itself. I would definitely love to come back to London, it's fairly close by, just separated by the ocean. London is such an expensive city though :(

My main resolution is to be a better friend!! I feel like I neglect people a lot/don't show my appreciation well, so I'm hoping to improve on that!

I don't have too much to say, so until next time!