A change in plans...

Hey guys!

So, as you know from the beginning of my last post, a volcano in Iceland is wrecking havoc in Europe and causing mass chaos for air travel. People in my program who left last Wed for weekend trips are still stuck, and are likely not coming back until Friday!

I was really hoping I would still be able to make it to Barcelona, but sadly our flight was canceled today. We looked into a ton of options to get there- renting a car, taking a looong overnight train, anther flight- but nothing was working out and we just decided it didn't make sense to try to go somewhere that was impossible to get to! I am really sad, but have come to terms with it! I have seen and done so much, I really cant complain and now this just gives me an excuse to come back to Europe ASAP preferably with my sister Jackie to see Barcelona with my own tour guide.

Today when we (by we I mean me and my friend Kelly who I was supposed to go with) learned our trip wasn't going to happen, we decided to try and plan something else. We could stay in Lux, but we will be doing that for our last week and a half and knew if we wanted to travel one last time, this was our chance. We floated ideas for Munich and Switzerland, both places I hadn't been but wanted to go. Kel had already been to Switzerland, however, and the real draw for me to go there is skiing, and I just didn't think it would work out this weekend. I asked around to some teachers and our student activities coordinators for suggestions for weekend/day trips and a lot of them suggested places in Belgium (Antwerp) and the Netherlands (Maasterich). Kel and I decided to look into all of these many options- Belgium, Netherlands, and Munich- at the train station where you purchase your tickets and the employees can look up schedules for you. Complicating the situtation was our Eurorail pass scenario- I have one day I can use to go anywhere left and Kelly has two- so basically wherever I go (unless its all in one day) I have to buy a train ticket home. Plus, Kels pass expires Sunday, so we need to do our traveling by then. We were already planning to miss class Friday (and we both don't have class Thursday) so we decided to just check what was open in the next few days, especially since trains are super packed right now because of air chaos.

We were a little scared because we had so many questions, but luckily the nicest lady ever at the train station helped us and was so so nice!! First, we asked about Munich but then ruled it out because we wouldn't be guaranteed a seat on a train and the ride is a painfully long 9 hours which just seems like way too much at this point in the semester when I am tired and getting a bit sick of traveling. Then we asked about Belgium, and learned that you can get a ticket roundtrip from anywhere in Lux to anywhere in Belgium for 18 euro, what a great deal!! We decided this was an excellent option and kept it in mind, it was especially good because if my eurorail ran up and I had to buy a return ticket, it was extremely cheap and easy!

Then, we asked one more question just for the heck of it. Essentially, if you have a Eurorail pass you can travel on any train for the amount of days you have, with some exceptions. For the busiest, fastest trains you need to book seat reservations quite early, sometimes months in advance, just to have a place where you can use your eurorail. The train from Lux to Paris is one of these trains, and normally books up way ahead of time. I know what you are thinking, "Care you have been to Paris twice and once was for a week!" But I'm sorry, I can't resist it and I especially couldn't resist the idea of one last day there in the gorgeous spring weather (temps are finally in the 60s here in Europe). Also, I had planned on doing major shopping in Barcelona, and since I won't be there, I figure the next best place to shop is def Pareee! And,if I could go in one day, I could use my last Eurorail day and get a great value for my money (without eurorail roundtrip would be 180 euro)! Plus, Paris is only 2 hours by train, so it is a quick and easy trip! (Now that I have justified my Paris obsession I will move on haha.) The very nice lady at the train station was super accommodating and looked up every day in the next 5 to see if there was any small chance we could get reservations to and from Paris for a one day trip....it looked like nothing was available until she checked Friday and we got extremely lucky- there it was- two seats together leaving on an early morning train and coming back late afternoon! Woo hoo, it was fate I think. So, in summary, here is my plan for the next few days...


Wed- go to French class, then enjoy the lovely weather in Differdange. Eat cheese and bread for dinner in the park while drinking wine, then enjoy a night out at Das Boot.

Thurs- Spend my free day exploring Lux City even more! I have visited the city pretty frequently, but still don't feel I know it as well as I could! I am excited to walk around all day, act like a tourist, and take it in. I may even go on one of those open air bus hop on/hop off tours. Go to a concert that night that the school is putting on.

Friday- Wake up at the crack of dawn and go to Paris for one last day with one of my closest friends! She wants to visit Mussee D'Orsay, and I want to check out Musee D'Orangerie, so we may split to do that. Then we are going to spend the afternoon shopping, eating crepes, and exclaiming about how "belle" everything is while wearing berets.

Saturday-Sunday- Take advantage of the cheap tickets to Belgium and go for our last overnight trip. We haven't decided where we are going yet, but we think we may do Antwerp or the Belgian Coast on the North Sea. We are leaning towards the Coast, because on the way we could stop in Bruges. Bruges is the first place I visited this semester, and it was great, but super cold. It would be fitting if it was the last place I visited too. We plan to have a relaxing, girls weekend in Belgium filled with lots of chocolate, frites, and beer! So fun.

In the end, I am sad about Barcelona, but pretty excited about how nice all these plans came together! Its like the old saying goes, when life gives you Volcanic ash, go to Paris and the North Sea....


XO

Care