CEPA Study Abroad Program Blog: Trip of a Lifetime

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Trip of a Lifetime

My shadow on the final leg of our trip.

We have safely returned from our trip to Europe and I must confess that with so many activities and sites I failed to keep up-to-date with this blog. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t have a gazillion photos to post, as I have so many it’s unreal.

Paris!

Rachel-Arc de Triomphe

When I last left you, we were in our 1st week at Strasbourg. We had been to Triberg Waterfalls in Germany along with a tour of Hansgrohe. Our journey continued shortly after completing our classroom studies at the University of Strasbourg by the 2^nd week. We moved on to the city of Trier where we were toured Porta Nigra, the Amphitheatre and Roman bath sites. The city square in Trier was beautiful and offered a farmers’ market and the restaurants and shopping were wonderful.

From Trier we finally headed toward Paris. What can I say about Paris other than to tell you it exceeded all expectations. From the Eiffel Tower, to the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre to the Palace of Versailles. And let’s not forget Notre Dame Cathedral and a quiet surprise in St. Chappelle. Paris also offered the opportunity to ride on the subway or the metro as they call it. That in itself was an educational experience in moving from point to point and knowing which train to take to get to your point of interest.

Our final destination from Paris was Antwerp, Belgium where we toured the Port of Antwerp which is the import and export destination of probably the majority of goods from all the places we visited. We also got to tour the World Diamond Center. Belgium is a huge market for diamond trade.

All in all, study abroad did not disappoint me. Yes, I was tired, we walked so many miles each day, but the enthusiasm of our group and excitement to see and experience everything we have read about or seen only on TV or magazines kept us going. I am forever changed with this experience. I have seen so many things, experienced a different way of living and have come away with so much knowledge of a world that is outside my small San Angelo. Given the opportunity I would recommend Study Abroad to anyone. It will forever change you.