Adventures with Alicia

study abroad fall 2016 - send me your name & address if you want a postcard or something

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So long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, goodbye! #finallygoinghome (at Paris Aéroport - Charles de Gaulle (CDG))

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Found the Eiffel Tower 😊 #paris🇫🇷 (at Arc de Triomphe)

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Hogwarts is always here to welcome us home 😍❤️⚡️ #harrypotterandthecursedchild #somuchbetterthanthescript (at Harry Potter and the Cursed Child)

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Up! 😍 (at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London)

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Last stop before the parentals leave! It's been the best fam vacation ❤️ (at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg)

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Beautiful sunset in #berlin 🇩🇪 (at Bundestag)

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Who knew something so salty could be so beautiful? #chandelier #madeofsalt (at Wieliczka Salt Mine)

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Done with my last class! Thanks for a great semester, WU 😊(It's an Austrian/German thing to knock on the table at the end of class - like clapping but better) (at WU (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien))

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My favorite part is going up the ski lift ⛷#skiing #mountainviews (at Schmittenhöhe)

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There's something magical about a library like this that makes you actually want to study 📚 (at Rijksmuseum Research Library)

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Couldn't ask for a better friend on a rainy day in Madrid ☔️#lotsofpuddles #andcarsdrivingby (at Palacio De Cibeles. Galeria De Cristal)

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Me encanta chocolate con churros 😍 #ilovehotchocolatewithchurros (at Chocolatería San Ginés)

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Czech your privilege #lovetrumpshate (at John Lennon Wall)

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I thought I held it together pretty well until I was watching Hillary's speech. Something about the quote made everything seem real, but it's hopeful for a better tomorrow. It's a reaffirmation to be strong and keep fighting when everything seems to go wrong. I've written it down here to never forget to believe.

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Venice, Italy - October 28-30, 2016

Venice is finally off the bucket list! Rumors that it’s about to become “Venice-land” soon could definitely be true with the amount of tourists there! The main touristy area is crowded ALL the time. I swear it’s actually worse than Disney. 

The canals are super cool though at times I wished I could cross at places that weren’t bridges. It made traffic 100% worse and walking everywhere inconvenient. 

Out of everywhere I’ve been, I did the most shopping here. Lots of murano glass items to look at, venetian masks, and much more! I also had amazing food (lots of seafood! I missed seafood so much). 

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Zagreb, Croatia - October 21-23, 2016

Zagreb may be a capital, but it’s super tiny. I almost love it more because of that. My favorite things were the Museum of Broken Relationships and the Museum of Illusions. Both were really fun and highly entertaining. 

Going on the free walking tour was also one of our best decisions because our tour guide was amazing and really brought the city to life for me. 

We had amazing food there: strukli and ćevapčići. We also did a wine tasting, which probably wasn’t one of my better decisions. The wine was great, but I started feeling extremely sleepy halfway through. Note to self: go for the 3 wine tasting instead of 6 next time. Don’t be ambitious. 

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Rome - October 14-17, 2016

I flew to Rome for a weekend! Despite being thousands of years older, Rome actually reminds me a lot of New York City. They’re both very big, crowded, touristy, and more than a bit dirty (that grunge kind of feel, you know?). 

We got to see the sights at night, letting ourselves get lost. In the morning we headed towards the Vatican and waited in long lines to see St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums. Heading up the dome at the basilica was a great decision, despite the endless stairs we had to go up. The Sistine Chapel seemed underwhelming after how much it’d been hyped up. It wasn’t what I was expecting at all. Overall though, completely worth it. 

Day three was spent at the Colosseum and Roman Forum. I didn’t think I would enjoy it so much, but seeing the Colosseum in person was breathtaking. Pictures really just aren’t the same.