It’s the beginning of the end, as our last days in Paris are starting to fly by. And as it gets closer to Christmas time, Paris gets more and more magical which is going to make it even harder to leave this place. Sometimes I am jealous when I see pictures of people flying all over Europe to really cool destinations, but then I remember that Paris is the most amazing city in the world (I’m not biased, I swear) and I realize that there is no place I would rather be right now.

Off to Paris we went after classes on Thursday.  Paris was a must see on my list while studying abroad in Milan and my dream has finally come true.  Friday morning Emily and I headed out to get breakfast at a cute little cafe we found where we got chocolate croissants, orange juice, and coffee.  We then headed to the Musée d’Orsay where we met up with Haley, Olivia, Maddie, and Nicole.  This was my favorite museum of the trip as the 5th floor is all impressionist paintings.  It was amazing to get to see works from Monet, Man

I don´t know when Cinderella arrived at the ball thanks to her fairy Godmother, but I´m sure it was around 9pm. She only had until midnight to dance with the prince.

This familiar story… is happening in real life.

Getting here at Salamanca around September (31st August to be exact) thanks to my fairy Off-campus study center & IES, I have fallen in love with this city and danced and danced with him–now I´m anxiously watching my clock as it will soon (very soon!) hit December.

Crappy Souvenirs: Miniature Eiffel Towers

We’ve all been there, you’re standing under the Eiffel Tower and five men congregate around you, shaking palm-sized miniature Eiffel Tower replicas on key rings.  “One euro!” they call, “Lady Gaga! One Euro!”  We’ve all entertained the notion.  “One euro?  I could buy a souvenir for all of my friends

Last weekend we went hiking in the mountainous part of La Alpujarra, a region of Andalucía that’s about an hour and a half bus-ride away from Granada.  La Alpujarra couldn’t be situated at a more stunning spot.  Located between the Sierra Nevada and the Mediterranean, containing five different types of ecosystems in less than 40 km, it has both the rugged, sublime beauty of the mountains along with the gentler beauty of the sea.

Two weekends ago I was lucky enough to have the chance to go to Barcelona with a friend.  We had two great days full of wandering the city and seeing the sights, but without a doubt my favorite of Barcelona’s many wonders was La Sagrada Familia.