I'm In Europe

Hey people in America!

As you may know from my Facebook/Instagram I'm currently doing a study abroad program in Europe. I've been here for about a week and a half and have about 2 weeks left! I'm loving Europe just as much or more than I've always imagined I would. It definitely hasn't been a let down! 

We started off in London which was probably my favorite city so far. Eh, it might be tied with Amsterdam at this point. 

My favorite part of being in Europe was taking the river cruise tour and walking around London, near the London Eye. There were so many street performers, shops, and festivities going on! And along with that everything you look at is just beautiful! Old and beautiful. 

But tied with the river cruise and walking around London at night, the countryside won me over as well. I am determined to live in the English countryside. And what's amazing is that it's right outside the city. You go from sheep, cute little English houses and green fields to city. And seeing the cute little kids in uniforms that look like something from Harry Potter made me happy. London was magical! 

The only thing that wasn't magical about London was the housing we stayed in. We stayed in London Temple housing and each room was filled with 6 people. 6 girls to 1 bathroom is not a good thing! Not at all! But things only got worse when we had 9 girls bunked per room in Amsterdam. 6 girls to 1 bathroom is manageable but 9 girls to 1 bathroom is nearly impossible. 

Amsterdam was lovely though! We had great continental breakfast at the hotel and the city was just as the pictures show it but so much better! I had no clue that Amsterdam is called, "bike town." The name is given rightfully so! There were a million bikers lining the streets, almost running into each other, into walkers, and into cars. There were many more people biking then driving cars which I thought was very eco friendly! And it was just awesome in general because they're getting better exercise than us Amaericans and being more adventurous as well in my opinion! 

Europe is also eco friendly in that they have you buy plastic bags at the grocery store. They don't just give them away freely. So you really have to think about if you need a plastic bag. Also, the toilets have two buttons for flushing. One for if you pee and one for #2. The pee button uses less water than the other, which is pretty dang smart! Also, the toilet paper isn't in rolls. It's in little pieces folded up so you tend to use less per visit to the bathroom, which I think is also pretty clever! 

I also didn't realize that Amsterdam is prostutue central! The red light district was crazy and interesting but made me sad for the women that get paid to be treated as objects. 

One of my favorite parts of Amsterdam was going to the windmills and to the fishing village. Those places looked straight off of Pinterest! 

Now we have made our way to Paris which is my least favorite city so far. We went to Versailles today which was very pretty! But the city itself hasn't impressed me as much as London and Amsterdam. I'm excited to be here though and am especially grateful to be in a hotel room with only one other girl. It makes getting ready much easier! And our hotel is so cute and quite fancy and clean. 

I'm thankful for this opportunity and can't wait to continue on in my journey to Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and Austria! I'll keep you all updated whenever I have a chance :)