PARIS, THE UK, & ITALY - OH MY

So I went to Europe! Yay!!! Saved up PTO all year for it :)

We primarily stayed in Cambridge, UK, where we got to crash at my boyfriend’s step brothers house. There, we got the chance to explore the charming town of Cambridge— primarily in the rain and dark gloomy evenings since it got dark before 4pm every day.

Some favorites of Cambridge:

We walked everywhere. We walked along the River Cam, and even got to go on a punting tour in a gondola of the University of Cambridge. We saw all the colleges of the Cambridge (and see the Hogwart inspo) and learned some of the history of the college and it’s students— such as Isaac Newton’s apple tree. We also visited The Eagle, a pub where the finders of DNA often frequented and is said they found their discoveries on a bar napkin there. We visited the Cambridge Wine Merchants where we had a port flight. Of course we visited local grocery stores and bought lots of European chocolate. And lastly, we spent New Year’s Eve at The Ivy, which was so good so fancy so cute and so fun. The art and interior was so good, and the three course meal was so fancy. A jolly good way we rang in the New Year.

From Cambridge, we day tripped to London! And it may or may not have been focused around the Sketch reservation I made, but of course also to see the stunning sights of Big Ben, Westminster, China Town, and Buckingham Palace. We took the tube from the train station to Soho where we first went to Sketch for breakfast, I 100% recommend going to Sketch and if you can only get in at breakfast, it’s cheaper anyways and you still get all the pics :) We walked through Soho to China Town, Neal’s Yard and Picadilly Circus. We then walked down all the parliament buildings and to the Household of Cavalry Museum and around the main park— which we stumbled onto a Netflix series set. We got to the Big Ben finally and took some pictures and went into a pub nearby for fish and chips, tea and a pint of beer for Tom. We finished the day by a walk to Buckingham Palace and onto the train station where we took the wrong train but thankfully made it back on a rail strike day.

From Kings Cross in London we hopped on the train through the Chunnel to Paris! Oui oui!

Literally my dream came true. I have heard Paris is underwhelming, but it was just everything to me! Fulfilled my Emily in Paris, Maggie in Paris dreams— of course finished the new season 2 when on the plane over the pond,

After the first day of settling in, we took off on the trains early first real day in Europe ~~after a bit of last minute construction of our very last minute Paris plans. We trained from Cambridge to London Kings Cross, to then Kings Cross to Paris Nord (which went through the Chunnel!). A full day of travel getting there early enough to go through customs, and hour ahead upon pulling into the Paris Station. But! We got a full 24 hours in Paris and we got every minute out of it, and I love nothing more.

We got a taxi to our hotel where we stayed a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower— which we drove by in our taxi and saw it sparkle for the first time. We got settled in for a bit, got all fancy, and walked to McDonalds a block away. It was so good. We then ate and walked to the Eiffel Tower and saw it sparkle right from the yard around it. And took pics of course. We then went into a champagne bar nearby to finish the night, and then 1 more glass upon getting back to our hotel in the lobby. We woke up bright and early, and though markets and shops don’t open super early like the states, I found a market to grab some breakfast to jump start our day— beignets, a baguette, jam, chocolate croissants, and champagne of course. We then got back to our hotel to eat and enjoy our wide open Paris window with our Paris breakfast.

Then we jump started our day! We walked to Eiffel, past it over the bridge, and up to the parliament building looking over the river to the tower. We then tried to go to Carette, the famous hot chocolate cafe, but the line was long and we were tired so we went into a cafe nearby for a crepe and cappuccino. We then continued to the Arc de Triumph, where we finally found the tunnel under the traffic to get to the Arc which was very cool to see. Then to Champs de Elysse to shop— I even got to pick out something pretty at Dior, thx Tom :)

We finished up there, took a taxi to the Louvre where we just enjoyed the outside. We then got a taxi back to hotel and onto the train station, where I finally crashed lol. We finally got home that evening to Cambridge and our feet hurt and exhausted but it was all so worth it.

Next up: Italy!

The only real planned in advance part of our trip! We flew to Florence on Monday after a delayed flight, and got into our hotel in Prato. Tom and I explored Prato—known for textiles, a bit that evening, after a 14 min walk turned into a 30+ min walk of us taking a wrong turn and being lost for a bit.We made it to a Wine Bar in town and got appetizers and wine as it’s Tuscan Country. The next day we spent with Toms Italian family in Vaiano. We ate and ate and drank their homemade wine and olive oil and ate more. It was so sweet.

The next day we visited Florence for most of the day which was so fun. I had visited before through EF Tours in school, but I love Florence! So much to do and see! For our day trip, we definitely saw lots. Tom and I saw The David in a tour, which was so so cool. We ate gelato and pizza and street vendor snacks. We stumbled upon the coolest thrift store I 100% recommend if you’re ever in Florence— Street Doings Vintage. I could’ve spent forever in there but we moved along. We walked along the Gold Bridge, and then over the bridge is where we found an infamous wine window at ! We then walked around the town and somehow stumbled into a Gucci where I bought my first designer purse for myself— monumental moment :) We finished ur our roaming around the Duomo and tourist squares. We then traveled back to Vaiano for one last dinner with the Italian family, and went into bed back in Prato. Our hotel had the best capuchins before we headed to the airport the third day, where we had some slight flight issues and last minute got the last flight back to London Heathrow after a connection in Switzerland during a crazy travel day.

This trip was everything and more. We got to do and see so much, and really enjoyed our break to the fullest. Can’t wait to go back over the pond soon I hope!