My Stenden Journey of a Thousand Miles - by Wadzanayi Chitambo (part 4)

Studying in the heart of Europe, in the student town of Leeuwarden in the Netherlands, gives our blogger Wadzi many opportunities to discover more of Europe. In this blog she describes her trip to Paris, accompanied by her fellow 'Bali' students. Mile by mile eventually all European roads lead to Paris....

All European roads lead to Paris

There is an expression that you can not say you have been to Europe without having visited Paris. That seems like a cliché, but like many others I had always dreamt of going to Paris. It arguably is one of the most famous and monumental cities in the world. Lucky for me, I am so blessed to have my beloved friends Shantika and Andras, who took the courtesy of making this dream come true by surprising me with a trip to Paris on my 20th birthday. The ability to travel freely in and out most of the countries in the European Union also happens to be one of the many perks of having a Schengen visa.

Casual blending at Notre Dame

The great thing about studying in a first world country is that there is an abundance of modes of transport one can make use of, for instance train, car, bus and plane. With that being said we found it to be most feasible to travel by car, plus it would make an awesome road trip. To be honest, I actually had no clue what this journey had in store for me or where exactly we were headed. I had just been instructed to pack my bags for the weekend and was told that we were going on an adventure. So it almost felt like a kidnap, but the good kind, if there is such a thing. It took me by surprise to finally arrive in Paris and could not believe that I was really there in flesh. Words alone can not explain the feeling of excitement and how overwhelmed I was at this moment and time. It really did feel like a dream come true.

Eiffel Tower. Beautiful by day, beautiful by night

As a perfect way to start off our little excursion, we took a visit to the Eiffel Tower right after having arrived. It was just as beautiful as I had imagined, but much more elevated, as if it would scrape the stars in the sky! It looked as though it was made of a tonne steel laces. It is an unwritten rule that one must visit the Eiffel Tower should they ever find themselves in Paris. I myself can relate to this, as it is one of the monuments in the world that should be at the top of your to-do-list and /or bucket list.

French architecture at its best

The school timetable and workload from Stenden is not so hectic. It still gives you a little bit of room to squeeze in some leisure activities as a way to loosen up and get some time off from the books and enjoy. That way you can make the most of your university life. A wise man once told me that there is no point of studying in Europe if you are not going to explore it whilst you are there. Which is indeed a valid point as it also becomes part of the World of Opportunities that Stenden offers. What better way but to study and explore the world at the same time. Such exposure will also be of great use in the future, as a person who has seen more of the world is most likely to be familiar with working and adapting to all sorts of different cultures and backgrounds. Being culturally intelligent is a quality that is increasingly becoming a necessity in today’s hospitality industry.

Some say the grass always looks greener on the other side and it certainly did look great in Paris, if I do say so myself. The architecture alone was mind-blowing, all the inscriptions and carvings on the buildings show the artistic culture of the city. The weather was also great, as the colours of autumn were starting to show on the trees, with some of the autumn leaves already falling. This makes the walk down to the Arc de Triomphe even more enjoyable. It was like brands galore walking down Champs-Élysées, a street full of all the brands one can imagine. This would make a perfect illustration of a shopaholics  heaven.

It is such an extraordinary feeling to be able to witness and explore these national monuments that you once learned about in history classes, read about in novels or seen on television. It was as though history was being awakened, being able to walk through the Louvre museum, which happens to be one of the world’s largest museums. The Louvre is situated in Paris’ first district and exhibits nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century. It is also famous for being the home to Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, as well as for being the humble abode of King Louis XIV. It was such a great opportunity to visit this monument and to thereafter enjoying a picnic in the Louvre Palace’s garden.

This trip to Paris was just a glimpse of Europe and I honestly cannot wait to travel more around Europe and explore all the other monuments out there. That experience will most certainly be shared in the upcoming blogs, as a tribute to my Stenden journey of a thousand miles. Till then…

Photo Credit to Andras Szemes, follow him on Instagram (@szemesa) for more stunning pictures like these.

Raspberry selfies on the road.