Hey everyone, I am finally back in the United States again and have gotten over my jetlag! Europe was awesome and I’m so glad I was lucky enough to go. I met so many amazing people and saw so many amazing things! Out of all the countries I went to, Switzerland surprised me the most and Italy was my favorite. France was first and we went to many different places like the Louvre, Versailles, and the Eiffel Tower (which was my favorite! My friends and I had a blast climbing all the way to the top and racing down :) ). In Austria we learned a traditional Austrian dance, which was a lot of fun. We each stayed with our own family in Germany and for three days got to experience the life of a German teen. Switzerland like I said, was the country that surprised me the most. Everyone had told me that it was beautiful, but I didn’t expect it to be as breathtaking as it was. We didn’t spend that much time there, but I would love to go back there someday. We stayed in the mountains in Switzerland and met up with the New York People to People group on the boat ride to our hotel. It was pouring rain and was the loudest and craziest boat ride I’ve ever been on. Italy was last, but certainly not least. It was where we spent the most days. On our first day we went to Venice (which is my favorite city in Italy) and rode in gondolas! We also went to places like the Catacombs, the Coliseum, and the Vatican. Our last day in Italy we had a scavenger hunt around Rome; we separated into groups and had to use the map to find different tourist attractions like the Trevi Fountain. When we were there we had to answer a question like, ‘how many columns are on the Trevi Fountain?’ to prove we actually we there. Oh, the gelato was DELICIOUS! I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to have regular ice cream again!
I had a fantastic time in Europe and I’m so lucky I was able to have this experience. I’ve now been to so many beautiful places and seen many things people never get to see in their life. I mean, how many people do you know that can say they went all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower? I also met some great people who, over the course of three weeks, have now become some great friends. I had such a great time and maybe I'll get to do it again next summer :)
P.S. If you're wondering about the title, our group song was I Gotta Feeling and we would listen to it every morning on the bus. It was insane when we all got into it! haha
P.P.S. The picture at the top is me with a couple of my friends sitting outside our hotel in Tuscany, Italy! The view was gorgeous!
