Wofford Reunion-Milan

This past weekend our Wofford friends all met up in Milan, Italy for one big reunion. Our friends Mary Frances, Catharine, and Kelley are studying there so it worked out for them to host us for the weekend. The breakdown goes as thus: 4 of us from Barcelona, 4 from Coppenhagen, and 3 from Rome. As a joke we say Wofford tends to travel in packs and this weekend was no exception with 14 of us in one European city! It was nice because Mary Frances has an apartment with 3 other girls so we had a FREE place to stay! We pinch pennies anytime we have the chance, even if it means squeezing two of us in a twin bed. It was such great timing to go to Milan because it was almost the half-way point for many of us, so it was like a little taste of home seeing everyone for the weekend!

Wofford in Milan

Margaret and I got in on Friday afternoon; we are becoming quite professional at finding our way around new cities using public transportation. "Googling" is essential for all of our travels! We hung around Mary Frances' apartment for awhile until it was time to get ready and go to Catharine and Kelley's. We picked up pizza and enjoyed hanging out until the Copenhagen group arrived later that night. It was our friend Kackie's 21st birthday, so we had candles ready for her to blow out when she walked in the door. We went to a club called Alcatraz that night and it was the craziest thing I had ever seen. The club seemed as big as any indoor concert venue and it was packed from wall to wall!

At club Alcatraz

Saturday we got up to do a little touring around the city. Our Milan hosts took us to a delicious calzone place and our course we got gelato after wards. That night we participated in the Italian a-per-tivo. They compared it to eating Spanish tapas, but it was more like filling a small plate with as much delicious food as possible. You get a ticket to a cold and hot bar and you can return to the cold bar as many times as you want. Apparently Italians do this before they eat their dinner, but they probably don't make  return trips to the cold bar and feel like they need to be rolled out of the restaurant. We took it easy and just went to a bar to hang out after. It was a great weekend to see everyone and it made me really wish our other Wofford friends from school were there to join us. It was a little sad to say goodbye to the Copenhagen crew because I don't think we will see them until the summer, but in 2 weeks it is our turn to play host! The Milan girls will be making their way over to Barcelona the first weekend of March.

Candid shot walking down the streets of Milan

This weekend its just going to be Maggie and I in Barcelona. Margaret is off to Budapest, Hungary with some IES friends and Kate's parents are coming for the weekend. I am excited to discover some more things around Barcelona and the weather is supposed to be great! Maybe I will go sit by the beach and get some color on my face!

Hasta Luego!
-Langley

Prague

Hola!

I feel like I am still defrosting from the coldest, yet most beautiful, weekend in Prague, Czech Republic. Prague was one of the cities high on my bucket list when I knew I would be traveling around Europe. I heard from many people that it was an absolute must-see and it definitely did not disappoint. Margaret and I met our good friend Mary Frances, who is studying in Milan, and her roommate Dorothy. Dorothy's older sister went to Wofford and was in our sorority so it was like we practically knew her already. Margaret and I were so excited to see Mary Frances. We were anxiously waiting at the bar in our hostel when someone practically jumped into Margaret's lap and the screams and hugs commenced. Prague was covered in white when our plane landed and all I could think was, I hope I am prepared for this. I didn't bring many warm clothes to Europe because Barcelona has a very mild climate, and the bulky sweaters just took up too much room in my suitcase. The first night we were in Prague the snow was coming down really hard. As much as I don't like the cold, at least I was able to see a snowfall in Europe. Thanks to Margaret's excellent researching skills, we were staying in a very nice hostel. The beds were so comfortable and I wish I could have taken the huge, fluffy pillow home with me. Mary Frances and Dorothy got in pretty late, so we just decided to stay in and socialize with the other travelers in the hostel. I had no idea that so many people traveled Europe by themselves. We met many other Australians, British, and German people our age who were just traveling the world by themselves. I just think I would get too lonely to do that. I felt like we were having a real student-travel experience though, We taught our new international friends our favorite card games and swapped stories for much of the night.

Snow coming down in Prague

Old Town Square at night

We slept in and pulled ourselves out of our comfy beds to venture out into the city of Prague. I literally suited up into as many layers I possibly could for the bitter cold outdoors. Every time we went inside a building it was a process to take off and then put back on all our layers again. Luckily after lunch we found a free walking tour. It was a great way to see much of the city and learn some of its history. I have always been a sucker for World War I and II historical events so I really enjoyed hearing Prague's involvement in both of those wars. I think we were about frozen by the end of the tour so we headed back to the hostel to defrost and find something to do that night. We were approached by someone in the Old Town Square who told us about a pub crawl around some of the bars and clubs. For a flat cover charge, we thought it would be a great way to experience Prague nightlife. It was such a fun time! Prague really caters to the younger-student crowd because there were so many other pub crawls going on at the same time. Also everyone speaks English! When we first arrived it was hard to break the habit of saying "gracias" and "perdono". I guess that means I am really assimilating into Spanish life!

We slept in on Saturday and decided we would venture across the river to Prague Castle and the Cathedral. We walked across the famous Charles Bridge and made it to the smaller area of the city where it seemed more residential. There was snow on the ground everywhere so walking got pretty sketchy for us unprepared Americans. Most people had on snow boots, but our boots had no traction at all. To get up to the castle we had to walk up quite a few steps and while we thought sliding up that was scary, walking down was a whole different story. We were clutching the railing like scared old ladies, but thankfully no one fell.

Margaret, Dorothy, Mary Frances, and me

The Cathedral at Prague Castle

Charles Bridge

While we were walking around we kept seeing signs that were advertising the ballet, Swan Lake. We all kept thinking how awesome it would be to go see a ballet in Prague. Just being curious minded, we walked up to an information desk to see what the tickets for the show would be like. To our astonishment they were only around 30 euros for the very front section of the theater. Since we knew we all had to get up early on Sunday, we figured this would be a great way to relax, but still do something for the night. We also found out we didn't even have to dress extremely nice for the ballet  because none of us had really brought nice clothes. The ballet was very good, it was evident that it wasn't the most professional company putting it on, but you get what you pay for right? Its still neat to say that I say a ballet in Prague though! Before the ballet we found a restaurant called Lemon Leaf. Margaret and I freaked out because it was just like one of our favorite restaurants in Spartanburg called Lime Leaf. We thought it was a sign and we HAD to go eat there. I even got Pad Thai which was just as good as the Pad Thai at Lime Leaf.

Swan Lake!

We got up early on Sunday and headed to the airport. I would love to go and visit Prague again in warmer season, but I am glad I got to see it covered in snow. The architecture and sites are just like nothing we have seen, or probably will see because the rest of our adventures are in Western Europe, while Prague is in Central Europe. I am so glad I got to go visit Prague and see great friends at the same time. There were many laughs and funny stories which made this my favorite weekend yet. Although it might be beat when Wofford invades Milan next weekend! A big group of our Wofford friends studying in Europe are making the trek to Milan, so it will be a big ol' reunion for everyone! I can't wait and I'm sure there will be many stories to share! 

Hasta Luego!

Langley

Andorra

Hola!

This is a very late post, but I was waiting on my friend to add pictures because I know this blog is not very interesting unless there are pictures that go along with my stories. One of the first weekends we were here in Spain, my friends and I decided to take an easy weekend trip and go skiing. Thanks to suggestions from Charlotte, we decided to go to Andorra in the Pyrenees Mountains. Andorra is a very small country in between France and Spain. We were able to find a bus that could take us round trip for relatively cheap. We got in Friday and skied all day Saturday. It was my first time skiing since high school, so I was a little apprehensive about how well the day was going to go. I was very surprised about how fast I picked it up and it felt like I had just skied the year before. It was our friend Kate's very first time skiing so we all pitched in and helped her learn. It was really fun and easy because Kate was a quick learner. We had her going down blue slopes by the end of the day! At one point Margaret, Maggie and myself ventured off to try and figure out how to get to the top of the mountain. We thought the trails would be clearly marked like they were in the US, but no. We ended up slipping and sliding down an icy red trail, which we later found out was comparable to a black diamond in the US. I think our hearts stopped a few times down that run, but the views of the Pyrenees were incredible. I always think I am more of a beach person until I am on top of a mountain and the views are just unbelievable. I just wish pictures did them better justice,

On the top of the Mountain in Andorra

You can tell by our attire that we weren't exactly skiing fashionistas. We got some stares and whistles for skiing in leggings, but at least it wasn't extremely cold. I ended up shedding some layers by the end of the day. The trip to Andorra was a great first weekend out of Barcelona and everything went very smoothly. We kept saying how grown up we felt to organize the bus ride, book a hotel, and rent skis without our parents help. Now all of that seems so easy because we have many more trips to organize for the rest of the semester!

Riding the gondola up the mountain

Hasta Luego!
Langley