During our three weeks studying abroad in Europe, we saw a lot of fascinating businesses, but we also got to see other iconic sites. In the United States, I have seen interesting sites such as the Statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon, the White House, and Niagara Falls. I saw sites in Europe that I never thought I would get to see.
Top Sites in European Cities
While we were in London, some of us went to see the real Platform 9 and ¾. This was an important location in the Harry Potter series, where they would get on the train to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am not a Harry Potter superfan, but I thought it was still cool to see it, and it certainly made a lot of people back home very jealous. Also, in London, we got to tour the UK Parliament. It wasn’t just any day when we went to see it, because not too far away, the Royal Wedding was taking place.
In Paris, the obvious attraction many tourists want to see is the Eiffel Tower. Seeing it in person doesn’t compare to seeing it in pictures and movies. In my opinion, it looked a lot bigger than what I thought it would be. It was even better getting to see it at night, because at the beginning at each evening hour, the tower sparkles for five minutes, which was magnificent.
In Lausanne, Switzerland, we toured the Callier Chocolate Plant, which is one of the oldest chocolate plants in the world. We got to taste so many samples of superb chocolate, which several people from our group bought bags of. Then in Verona, Italy, the so-called, “City of Love,” we saw Juliet’s balcony. This is where one of the most romantic love scenes ever occurred. It takes place in the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet.
In Austria, it was not necessarily a site that we saw, it was more of a fun activity that we did. A lot of us went paragliding, which I thought was one of the most exciting things I have ever done. We went up very high in a cable car, and then finally made it to the top of the mountain. My heart was pounding so hard on the entire way up, because of how slow we were moving, and how far off the ground we were. At the top, my instructor told me, in his Austrian accent, “When I count to three, start running and don’t stop running till I tell you to stop.” I was running so hard, even for a second in the air, until he finally told me to stop running. Once we were in the sky, my heart stopped pounding and it was very relaxing just seeing all the mountain tops in the distance.
We all had so much fun getting to see all these extra fun sites along with our company visits. There was never a dull day during my time in Europe, and it is still hard to believe how long ago this extraordinary trip was.
