By HILLARY CLEVENGER ’12
Staff Writer
Six weeks. Six whole weeks of glorious winter vacation? Thank you, Wellesley College. I went home to California, spent Christmas with the family, traveled up and down the California coast, read a dozen or so novels, and still had two weeks to burn until school started again. I figured I would hang at home, veg out on the couch, and exercise a little (and by little I mean not at all). I’m a free spirit; I let the wind take me where it wants to, and despite how exciting my original plans of lounging around all day until I actually needed to use some brain power, I was up for doing anything to finish off my break.
“Hey Hill, how would you like to go to Europe for two weeks?”
Those were the words that Papa Clevenger nonchalantly asked me when he came home from work one day. Now my father is not one for surprises, or for being remotely spontaneous at all, but when he told me that my sister and I can travel Europe if we plan it within the next two days, I was not about to question his sudden uninhibited generosity.
The cost: For the next forty-eight hours, my sister Courtney and I were glued to every travel website possible. You name it…Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz. Finally we found the perfect deal. Europeandestinations.com: 2 flights flying Virgin International to Paris, 6 night stay in a four star hotel overlooking the Eiffel tower, breakfast included every morning, flight back to California. Total cost: $1,800.
The flight: The flight was long, and by long I mean it took 24 hours to finally get there; flight from San Francisco to New York, eight-hour lay over, another flight from New York to Paris. Virgin Air is by far the nicest airline I have traveled long distance with. Unlimited drinks, great food, each headrest has a TV, nice staff. It was a great beginning to our trip. Total Cost: 24 hours of sleep
The food: We arrived in Paris, exhausted and jet lagged, but we only had five days to explore as much as possible, so we went and checked into our hotel, dropped our bags, and started the whole tourist ordeal (large cameras and all). The first day was spent eating. No matter how many churches we saw or museums we visited, we always ended up running into a new type of pastry or dessert that looked better than the last. The French dedicate entire stores to chocolate alone. Every corner we turned, there was a crepe stand. And the last words my dad said to us before we left the house were “try as many new things as possible, be adventurous.” And by new things, I assumed he meant everything, including desserts, right? Well maybe I took it a bit literally, but I was not complaining at the time. So here I was, walking around the streets of Paris amongst some of the most beautiful, model-thin people in the world….as I was stuffing my face with chocolate croissants and cream puffs. Total cost: priceless?? ($150)
The sights: At the airport, we were able to purchase a “Paris Pass” that allowed us to visit over 60 sights and a discounted price. Of course we weren’t able to get around to 60 different places, but with this pass, we were able to skip many lines. I would definitely recommend it as it saved a lot of time and money. In the week that we were there, my sister and I saw the Louvre, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Les Invalides (Napoleon’s Tomb), Basilique du Sacre Coeur (beautiful church), Champs-Elysees (best shopping in the world), Sainte Chapelle (chapel with world famous stained glass windows). I know it’s extremely cliché to say that I can’t pick a favorite, but honestly, they all were so unique in their own way. Total cost: $140
Quick Breakdown: Visit Notre Dame at night, it has the best views and only a handful of people are there. Wear durable walking shoes at the Louvre and dedicate an entire day to exploring its corridors. At night, visit the smaller bars and cafes as opposed to the larger nightclubs; you are in Paris, get to know its people. The popular clubs draw a large American crowd; you don’t need an inebriated eighteen-year-old exchange student grinding up on you, you can get that in the States. Europeandestinations.com was a lifesaver. It opened a whole new world up to my sister and me, as it was our first time in France. There are an abundant amount of incredible traveling deals right now, especially if you are able to leave and on a weekday. I could not have had a better experience in Paris. The stereotype that French hate Americans seemed completely nonexistent in my visit there, as everyone was extremely friendly (and supplied us with plenty of free alcohol with every meal). We visited in the dead of winter, which is supposed to be the worst time of the year to go to Paris, and I still thought it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Successful traveling is all about having an open mind, and just because it might not seem like the best time of the year, or everything doesn’t turn out as scheduled during the actual vacation, make sure to take nothing for granted, and submerse yourself into the culture every minute you are there. And remember, see as much as possible, eat even more than you see (bring a pair of elastic waist pants), and don’t sleep…you can do that at home.