from Paula Rawls '10

Before leaving, I set a goal to experience as much of each city as the trip offered and not hold back when it came to opportunities of tours, museums, events, and even types of foods.

I knew the only thing I would regret would be not becoming completely immersed in the cities.

Amsterdam is much more beautiful than I could have ever imagined with its Amstel River, the idyllic storybook windmills, the emerald green grass and cozy gardens away from the city area.

In addition, Amsterdam is much more focused on preserving history through architectural laws (shorter buildings than many other cities, stricter laws on tearing down buildings and on building new, etc.). It is actually a very unique city and I really enjoyed being there!

Brussels has some similarities to Amsterdam, but Brussels is less crowded and definitely has fewer bicycles. Both places surprised me with how open they are to Americans and with the extreme diversity and beauty.

The churches in Paris definitely exceeded my expectations. The detail put into the architecture as well as the statues and paintings is breathtaking and the beauty of the history of Catholicism and the honoring of saints is something I really enjoyed witnessing, especially in the Notre Dom and the Sacre-Coeur.

So much of Paris is absolutely gorgeous, but the amount of poverty, homelessness, and gypsies begging in the streets was a big disappointment. I did know that this is a problem in Paris, but seeing it was even worse and it gets tiring and tedious to be constantly alert of pick pocketing or purse snatching while you are trying to look at the beauty of the city around you.

But getting to see the different facets of Paris was an incredible adventure.

Exploring London too was a remarkable experience from the Tower of London to Buckingham Palace to locating the Beatles’ Abbey Road.  Ambling across the zebra-striped crosswalk made famous by the Beatles was exhilarating!