SLU-Madrid

I have finally settled into my host family in Madrid and started classes. My host family is really awesome, the senora is super nice and her husband is hilarious. We are rarely at home though because there has been so much to do the first week of school. They make sure they keep us busy so we don't get into too much trouble. They have activities all day and socials during the night. These are really nice to meet different people. I thought the majority of the students would be from the main campus in Saint Louis but we have kids from all across the US and the world. Our roommate is from Ethiopia and there are a bunch of kids from Wake Forest. This weekend should be great because the school is taking us to Segovia on Saturday and Toledo on Sunday, these are our first big trips!

Paris

Ok well I'm actually in Spain now but the internet in Paris wasn't too good so this post had to wait  This was pretty much the last stop before school started and my 4 days in Paris were well spent.  If you're wondering if Paris is everything everyone says it is...it is.  If just the look and feel of the city isn't enough the the Eiffel Tower, Versailles and the Louvre will do it.  The arch in St. Louis can't even come close to comparing to the view from the Eiffel Tower.  I've been to Sears Tower in Chicago and the Empire State Building in New York and those can't even match the sight from the top of the Eiffel Tower.  Most of the people were helpful too.  The stigma that the French were rude kinda scared us but we only had one problem with any of the locals.  And Versailles if probably one of if not the coolest place we went to on the whole trip...it was HUGE! The pictures won't do it justice compared to real life.  If anyone wants to go to Paris I would suggest taking a whole day early in the vacation just to see the whole Palace because it is worth it. Also, the pictures should be up by the weekend!

Life on the River Liffey

The middle stop in my before school traveling is Dublin, Ireland.  The city honestly seems to drink away all the money they earn.  On Sunday night we walked around the city and everyone was out partying and in bars.  Imagine downtown after a Cardinals' post-season game and that was every night in downtown Dublin.  For the record, hop on hop off bus tours are huge money makers.  We have done that in every city so far and they are always filled with tourists.  In Dublin we did the Guinness tour which comes close to putting AB to shame in St. Louis.  We also saw the River Liffey, the Spire and a whole bunch of Irish history places, the picture will explain more.

First Stop...London

Alright, we made it to London and it's such an amazing city.  The buildings and history make feel unlike any American city I've been to.  One the first day we went to the Hard Rock for lunch and saw the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace.  Thousands of people from around the world were on the streets around the Palace to see this, and it happens daily so I couldn't believe the turn out.  Tomorrow we are doing a tour of the city, Big Ben, LSE, Buckingham Palace and so on.  Pics will be up with in the next couple of days since I know that's all you guys care about anyways hahah.  Thanks for keeping up with everything guys! 

Getting Ready

Hey everyone it's getting really close and I can't believe it.  So basically some people have been on me about sending postcards, posting pictures on facebook, emailing and so on.  I figure this way I can stay in touch with everyone and everyone can stay in touch with me pretty easily.  My idea was to post pictures of the places I go answer questions and basically stay in touch with co-workers, family, friends and teachers.

For those of you who don't know, I leave on the 18th with my Uncle to do side traveling before school starts in September.  We are flying into London, then to Dublin, Paris and finally onto Madrid, Spain where I will spend the next year of my life.  I hope the blog serves its purpose so enjoy and wish me luck!