Galavanting around Luxembourg :)

Today was a whirlwind of adventures over here in Lux... They sure do keep us busy! So far (out of 2 days...) today was my favorite. We saw a lot of the country and some important sites, as well as some fun ones too :)

After morning lectures, we headed off to do some "field trips." The first stop was the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial. It was a really moving sight - and sad, because many of the soldiers were so young - and reminded me of pictures that I've seen of Normandy. We only had 20 minutes to walk around and see everything but it was both beautiful and heart wrenching to see and experience.

The feel of the German memorial was much different... not only did the sun go away but it was just a bit grim in general! Each country (the USA and Germany) pay for the care of their respective memorials.

Later, we headed back into the city for some wandering. There were so many interesting shops and restaurants and important buildings...most of which looked like castles!

Here I am hanging with a GIANT lion in front of the Hotel de Ville. Alex said this guy would look nice in front of his house...

We went into a beautiful and very old Catholic church...the stained glass was amazing...

Then we headed to...the CHOCOLATE HOUSE!

Note the blankets on outdoor benches...so people can cozy up and still eat outdoors where they can examine passers-by. Almost every restaurant is like this!

The Chocolate House is right across from the Grand Ducal Palace. There's always a guard out there. 

A big group of us went into the Chocolate House and decided to try a few different things. We each had a "chocolate spoon" - there were tons of different flavors - which would be stirred into a cup of warm milk to make your own drinking chocolate. DELISH.

The 5 of us nibbled on 2 different kinds of cake too... 

After all of the exploring we went to CACTUS which is a Luxembourg hybrid of Walmart/Target/a grocery store. We navigated a bus ride there and back. I needed a new power adapter and a few things to eat in my apartment. We spent at least an hour (?) roaming around and looking at all of the things they had there (I was mostly obsessed with different kinds/brands of food) and finally came back with the essentials. I got some rice and almond milks which I adore at home, and some apple sauce, and some speculoos, which was amazingly delicious!!!

After all of the navigating and running around and French-speaking (?!?) I feel more at home in Luxembourg, even if it's only my second day here. Tomorrow will be the final day of integration, with Sunday as a day off before classes on Monday.

We have arrived! (mostly in pictures :).

We have arrived in Luxembourg...and it's amazing! I do miss my routine at home but I'm constantly amazed and enthralled by the new things I am seeing every minute!

First we flew to Newark, where the weather was so bad that hardly ANYTHING was flying out... our flight did go out but we sat on the plane for two hours (I had already just about finished Austenland).

Excited to get a pillow and blankie for this 8-hour flight.

This was my longest flight ever and also my first international flight. It was sort of an odd feeling, like time travel or something... I didn't sleep a wink and watched all of season 3 of Downton Abbey. Time well spent.

In addition to a dinner, bfast was also served on the plane. I think we're getting closer to a real croissant!

We finally landed in Zurich... on the way down I took a lot of pictures out the window because this was my first time seeing the ground of another country. It was really bizarre!

We enjoyed flying from Switzerland because if the chocolates they gave us... And the more chocolates they gave us when we had to switch planes due to maintenance issues...

When I finally arrived in Luxembourg City, my host mother left me to unpack and ran out to get lots of gluten free foods! She knew I prefer to eat less gluten and was really sweet and accommodating about that.

Lunch at the chateau today... Veggie quiche and soup!

Exchanged some money and had euros to use for dinner... Which was an omelette (omelette are not very photogenic so a pic of the $$ instead!).

After a day packed with lectures, a scavenger hunt, and filling out paperwork to declare our arrival, we spent the evening exploring around. It was very cold and rainy but so worth it... This is such a beautiful, old city!

More stories and details to come in the next few days :)

Jetting off to...Luxembourg!

I can't believe that it's actually time... after a year of build-up, months of detailed planning, and a very meticulous packing job...today's the day.

Since Luxembourg has a campus for my university, all of our credits transfer very smoothly. There's nothing in particular that I am going to "study," but I will continue my classes as if I was in Oxford. I am finishing my French minor there, taking a business course for my business minor, and working on some Arts & Sciences classes as well. Weekends are left open for traveling and adventuring, which we've been working on planning very carefully. 

What we've planned so far...

• My 20th birthday in Paris - this trip isn't exactly finalized...but we hope to spend January 31-February 2 seeing Chenonceau Castle and Versailles. For those of you that don't know...I have been reading about Versailles and the French Royal Family since seventh grade. There's one book in particular that I like to read about Marie Antoinette (in fact I've read it four times)...it'all very intriguing to me. It would be amazing to come full circle and walk the halls that these people lived in and see it in real life, instead of in pictures. I'm excited to see the grandeur myself. (I know this is very touristy of me.)
•  A weekend in Belgium - from February 7-9...plans TBD...
• A week in the United Kingdom - now this is going to be an exciting week (February 14-21)! We've planned a low-key weekend in Edinburgh, where we haven't scheduled much but hope to hike around, soak in Scotland, and relax for a few days. Hopefully we see the universities (St. Andrews), and possibly the National Park. On that Monday we'll head down to London, where we'll (hopefully) see The Eye, go to a street market on Portobello Road, see the changing of the guards at Buckingham, see War Horse in the New London Theatre (we splurged on tickets), and then go on a day trip for a guided tour of Stonehenge, Windsor, and Bath. 
• A study tour back in Paris - I guess this is the part where I should clarify that I've studied French for the past 8 years and am a French minor. We're headed to France many times over the course of the four months and I couldn't be more pleased :) This study tour is a bit of a mystery so far but we know we'll be there from the 21-25 for a Media class. 
• An Eastern European study tour - this is looking farther ahead, but we'll also be spending some time seeing Eastern Europe! From April 11-16 we'll tour around and see Prague and Krakow, and maybe one other city but it is slipping my mind at the moment...

Other activities of interest...

• Running around Europe! I've looked and looked for good races to do or travel to in Europe but these are expensive and often on a date that won't work out. So we'll be running around for fun in Europe! I can picture myself frolicking in the fields of Scotland now :)

• The Chocolate House in Luxembourg. Need I say more?
• Eating real gelato in Florence. It was actually PB Fingers that gave me this idea... and now I can't get it out of my mind!

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This morning started like any other (except that I woke up extra early - for me - to say good bye to my mom before she went to work). I woke up and had my cup of coffee with almond milk. I did mix it up a little...instead of clementines I had a piece of American croissant for bfast...trying to get into that European state of mind and all.

Otherwise things were very normal...woke up and read all of the news and did some emails...bundled up in the 10-degree weather and ran. Not very far because I didn't have a lot of time...but I did get that last run in!

Saying goodbye in CLE.

Right now we are on a layover in Newark... It sure is snowy!

We have another layover in Zurich tomorrow... Good thing I brought lots of snacks!

See you in Luxembourg!