EuroTrip

I'm back in Vienna after 9 days of traveling! I went on a "whistle-stop tour" of Europe with Emily and Jorie (two friends from DePauw) as well as one of Jorie's Vienna rommmates, Karly. The trip was wonderful. We saw 7 cities in 9 days: Venice, Rome, Milan, Nice, Paris, Mannheim, and Munich. Below, I'll limit myself to 3 memorable moments for each city, which might be a bit difficult...

Venice
1. We lost Karly at the very first train station. We were on different cars, and she failed to get off at the right stop. She got off soon after, and we ended up finding her a few hours later. It was hectic for a bit, and we're all glad that IES requires us to carry cell phones with us at all times.
2. While wandering around the city, we walked into a random Carnival mask shop. The worker there seemed happy to have customers. He let us try on masks, showed us how they're made, and modeled some for us.
3. I ate my first Italian pizza. Mmm...

Rome
1. For lunch we ate pizza on the Spanish Steps.
2. We went on a walking tour and saw all of the big sights. Also, it was a great way to learn some of the city's history.
3. I ran into 3 of my roommates. Twice. They were in Rome for about 3 days.

Milan
1. We met up with Liz, a fellow DePauw junior studying abroad. She showed us around the city.
2. I went to a dance club. I hadn't danced in a while. It was international student night, so it was cheaper, and they had a free sushi bar.
3. We walked through some incredibly expensive department stores. It was kind of cool to just look at the things that are at the height of fashion. Apparently purple is "in" right now.

Nice
1. The beach was beautiful, even though it was too cold/rainy to swim in the afternoon.
2. We found an awesome playground, and climbed on this red rope apparatus for about half an hour.
3. Went went to bed early...it was much-needed.

Paris
1. Mike Beeman, one of my fraternity brothers, is living in Paris for the next two years. He met us at the train station, and did a lot of things with us over the two days we were in the city.
2. We went to La Musee D'Orsay, which houses paintings by Monet, van Gogh, Cezannes, Renior, and a lot of other awesome impressionist artists.
3. We went to the very top of the Eiffel Tower around sunset. The view of the city was gorgeous. Also, the tower sparkles at the beginning of every hour. It's not just a thing they do in the movies - it's real!

Mannheim
1. Jessi Strong, a recent DePauw grad, allowed us to sleep at her apartment in Mannheim, where she's studying under a Fulbright grant. She let me wash my sandals in her washer! They smelled awful and stuck to my feet, because they had gotten wet in Rome and never had the chance to dry.
2. We sat in a park and drank 1 Euro cappucinos. A nice monetary break, considering how expensive most of the touristy cities were.
3. We made tacos for dinner! I think it was the first day I didn't eat pizza or pasta (or both).

Munich
1. We got to the city just in time for the Oktoberfest parade.
2. We spent several hours in various tents, talking and meeting people from all around Europe.
3. Carnival rides! I went on the swings (which were incredibly high), a roller coaster, a haunted house and another ride that just did a lot of flipping.

Now I'm back in Vienna after day 1 of classes. I'm starting to get into the classroom mindset...hopefully it doesn't take too long.

I love you all.