Brittany Davidson - Farewell France

Brittany Davidson is a senior marketing major and economics minor at the Sam M. Walton College of Business. She is from Dallas, Texas, and is participating in the CIMBA program in Italy this summer. Links to her previous posts can be found at the bottom of this entry.

I have now been home from Paris for a week. I wanted to take time to readjust and make my way from Paris to Dallas and up again to Fayetteville before writing my final blog. Looking in retrospect is always best anyway. I don’t know if it was the nostalgia of being in a new country once again or that I was done with classes and had parted ways with my new acquaintances at CIMBA, but Paris is now my favorite city I have ever had the chance to visit.

Different than the rest of the places I went this past month (I still love Italy), Paris has a mesmerizing draw to it. For such a large city, it has the laid back feel, not to mention the cleanliness, you couldn’t find in NY or another big U.S. city. Also, as opposed to Italy, the French move at a quicker pace and one that we Americans are more used to. Paris has a booming economy and it shows everywhere - from the cafes sprawling out on the streets and helpful hotel service to world renowned shopping. Since we didn’t want to waste our time, the first thing we did was get our hands on a tram map and circle all the major sites to hit when in Paris. Luckily, since this was the last stop of the trip, I was finally feeling travel savvy and picked up the tram with ease.

Starting out on our final days, we made our way to the Louvre, where we saw not only the beautiful triangle glass museum itself, but the Mona Lisa (it is smaller than you would think) crowded by dozens and dozens of people trying to snap their photos in front of it. In between sightseeing towering cathedrals with gorgeous stained glass, we got “lost” in the streets bombarded with people and their dogs (the French apparently bring their dogs with them everywhere they go- no joke). One street was the famous Charles De Gaulle, to be exact - Paris’s most expensive shopping avenue. This is also the location where Napoleon’s Arc de Triumphs stands in the middle of a busy roundabout surrounded by streets you wouldn’t want to be caught trying to run across.

We devoured some authentic French food, all of which included eggs and crepes, and last - but certainly not least - we went to the Eiffel tower by night. After a 2-hour wait in line, we made it to the elevator, which made my legs weak watching us rise to the top. From the top, though freezing at night, it really is a perfect view of the whole city. Right in front of you in one direction is a view of the Seine River accompanied by river boats taking tourists on night light dinners, and in each direction there are house tops and buildings for as far as the eye can see. The tower even lights up at night and blinks the way it would as if it were a ride at Disneyland.

Overall, four days in Paris weren’t enough to cover everything to be seen, but something tells me I will be back in the future if I have anything to do with it. Flying home, I finally felt like I was getting the hang of things. Taxi cab drivers can be haggled with, meals take a little longer, and history is impossible to escape. Leaving was a very bittersweet feeling. Part of me was excited to come back and see my friends and family who speak English 24/7, but the other half wanted to stay for another month and soak it all up again. All in all, it was a memorable experience that cannot be traded!

Brittany Davidson
 
Previous Posts:
Italy Bound!
Week One in Italy
When in Rome...
Italy's Florida

Brittany Davidson - Italy's Florida

Brittany Davidson is a senior marketing major and economics minor at the Sam M. Walton College of Business. She is from Dallas, Texas, and is participating in the CIMBA program in Italy this summer. Links to her previous posts can be found at the bottom of this entry.

This past long weekend, about 15 of us CIMBA students ventured to Rimini, Italy. Rimini is a small beach city on the east coast located about 3 hours due south of campus by train. Excited for the beach and a more relaxed weekend, we didn’t consider our timing.

Italian’s hardly ever get time off of work for holidays, so when they get the chance they take as much advantage as possible to take a vacation. Rimini apparently was a chosen destination by many. The beach and surrounding views were, of course, still gorgeous with small mountains off in the distance and perfect weather. But the 100-something beaches were packed with Italian families from their youngest up to the elders. This gave us a real chance to see Italians in their true form, and we picked up watching a game called Bacio, kind of like cricket which is very popular among the older crowd.

We all took this weekend to do exactly opposite of what we had been doing. No real site seeing (besides an old Roman Arc) - just riding bikes, renting dinky boats, and of course something we have all become accustomed to love about Italian culture - enjoying a long delicious meal. This time fresh seafood was included.

Back in Paderno this week for our final week of classes, we were treated to a true Italian formal dinner as a goodbye to our time spent here. All 271 students were bussed in wearing our nicest attire to a hotel in the neighboring town of Crespano. There we had a 5 hour meal, which began in the garden for appetizers and proceeded with 4 courses in the dining room. The scene looked like a wedding reception. It was a perfect ending to school, however I am not quite done yet.

I am headed to Paris on Friday for the last 4 days of my experience. I am sad to be leaving Italy, but I have enjoyed every minute of it and feel that I have gained some perspective regarding other cultures and learned how to accept culture barriers that might never change. For example, Italy does things at a much slower pace than Americans. This isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, I think that even though Italians could learn a thing or two from Americans about running a business, we - in return - could learn a thing or two about enjoying the small things in life. Anyway, I am looking forward to all Paris has to offer and hope I can catch my flight on time!

Brittany Davidson


Previous Posts:
Italy Bound!
Week One in Italy
When in Rome...

Ashley & Holly - Greetings from the Athens airport!

Ashley Shelton & Holly Hilburn are participating in the study abroad program in Greece this summer. Ashley is a senior broadcast journalism major and business minor from Fayetteville, and Holly is a junior political science/journalism major and business minor from Little Rock. They are both members of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Links to their previous posts can be found at the bottom of this entry.

As we wait to board the flight home, we are looking back at this past month and cannot believe how fast the time has flown. We have spent our last few days on the island of Santorini, home of some of the most beautiful terrain in Greece. Santorini is a volcanic island located in the Southern Aegean Sea. It’s only a 25 minute flight from Athens. Santorini has black, red, and white beaches. For the most part, we took our time wandering these beaches, renting ATV’s and enjoying fantastic food. Some of the group also toured the volcano and were even able to take a dip in the caldera’s hot springs. We found Santorini to be the perfect tourist town with the people so accommodating, the food so divine, and the scenery so picturesque. We are all hoping for the chance to return to Santorini at some point in our lives!

It’s safe to say that our entire group fell in love with Santorini. It was the perfect ending to the perfect study abroad experience. It’s hard to believe that, in this time, we’ve taken two classes, visited countless museums, experienced ruins all over Greece, and become so close as a group. We are working on setting a date for our study abroad group’s ten-year reunion trip back to Santorini!

Ashley & Holly

Previous Posts:
Hello from Athens, Greece!
Second Post from Athens
A Historical Tour of Athens, Greece
The Temple of Poseidon at Sounion
Spain & Egypt (and a guest post from Quincy)

Brittany Davidson - When in Rome...

Brittany Davidson is a senior marketing major and economics minor at the Sam M. Walton College of Business. She is from Dallas, Texas, and is participating in the CIMBA program in Italy this summer. Links to her previous posts can be found at the bottom of this entry.

Over the past week, I, along with the remainder of the Arkansas students (and some Alabama, KU and Tennessee students), travelled to the cities of Rome and Florence. We made an exciting group for a very exciting trip.

I don’t even know where to begin. Although we spent only three days and nights in each of the cities, I could have stayed for weeks. Rome is amazing. In between the Colosseum, the Vatican, and the Pantheon we managed to site see for hours on end without notice. One of my favorite sites was walking through the expansive Roman ruins, and even though they are jumbled today, you can still visualize what the Roman Forum must have been like during its heyday. The best choice we made while in Rome was taking a “hop on-hop off” tour bus that stops at every major and minor site when crammed for time. Bus stops are located all over Rome so you could go at your own pace, and it was inexpensive. At one stop, we got lost in a posh shopping district where I only had the money to window shop, yet I still loved looking around. Luckily, Maria (another U of A student) had a friend in Rome who guided us in the right direction at night to help us get away from the touristy part and into the more local area of Trastevere where we enjoyed dinner and meandered around.

After a short three-day week of classes back in Paderno, we were off to Florence. Call me crazy, but I loved Florence even more than Rome. The closeness of everything in the city makes the need for transportation useless, which was refreshing after Rome, especially when our hotel was located near Santa Croce. Though it's close quarters, there is so much art and history to be seen in Florence. After climbing the 463 steps to the top of the Duomo and taking in the breathtaking view of Florence in its entirety, I was sold. Visiting the neighboring Baptistery, Uffizi (Italy’s largest museum) and the famous “Golden Bridge” didn’t hurt either. Unfortunately, we only saw the replica of the David, but I am guilty to admit that I doubt I could tell the difference in a picture.

Ciao!

Brittany Davidson

PS. If you ever get the opportunity to visit Florence, head to Gusto Pizza. There is no sign outside, so you will have to cross to the local side of town and ask around for directions. We waited for two hours with the locals who were eating and lined up for more. Best pizza ever.

Previous Posts:
Italy Bound!
Week One in Italy

Ashley & Holly - Spain & Egypt (and a guest post from Quincy)

Ashley Shelton & Holly Hilburn are participating in the study abroad program in Greece this summer. Ashley is a senior broadcast journalism major and business minor from Fayetteville, and Holly is a junior political science/journalism major and business minor from Little Rock. They are both members of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Links to their previous posts can be found at the bottom of this entry.

For our four-day weekend, our group split into two groups. Three of us went to Barcelona, Spain and 14 of us went to Cairo, Egypt where they enjoyed their adventures through the pyramids. Since both of us went to Spain, Quincy Jordan is our guest-blogger here to tell you all about Egypt!

A trip to Cairo, Egypt by Quincy Jordan:

Pyramids, Sphinx, King Tut, scarabs, sand, and mummies are the main things that come into your head when you think of Egypt. Most of our group was fortunate enough to experience one of the great wonders of the world. In one day, we traveled to three cities and looked at many pyramids, some more kept-up than others. At each of the pyramids, we ventured inside to look at the tombs. To get inside the pyramid, we had to climb the outside for around a hundred feet and then once in the opening of the pyramid, we had to fully hunch over and practically crawl another couple hundred feet to make it to the small enclosed tomb. Ignoring the hard crawl, the heat, the stale air and the lack of artifacts, it was a very rewarding experience. Our group also took a ride to the sphinx on the backs of two hump camels. If anyone ever says it’s like riding a horse, do not believe them. It is rockier than a horse but still a wonderful part of the Egyptian culture.

Our second day consisted of a visit to the Egyptian Museum and a Nile dinner cruise. Most of us agreed that the museum was more rewarding than the pyramids. To see an entire civilization's history first-hand was very enriching. It was also very interesting to learn that because Greece and Egypt were the two major powers in the ancient times, their cultures are very much intertwined. Some of the things we have been learning about and seeing in Greece were talked about in Egypt. After the museum, we all met to take a ride down the Nile. The Nile is surprisingly not as wide as we had imagined and is a very smooth ride. One of the most memorable sights on the second day was hands-down the King Tut exhibit and the mummies. The mummies were so well-preserved that some still had hair, eyelashes, and finger nails. It was a very interesting experience.

Overall Egypt was a very rewarding experience and one that none of us will ever forget.

A trip to Barcelona, Spain by Ashley and Holly:

Our small group of three that went to Barcelona hit the touring hard on the first day. We started out our trip by going to the National Art Museum. This incredible building houses sculptures, paintings, objets d’art, drawing, engraving, posters and photography. Their collections explain the general history of Catalan art from the Romanesque period to the mid-twentieth century. To check out some of the works that we saw visit http://www.mnac.cat/index.jsp?lan=003. To say the least, we quickly got lost in all of the art and were absorbed in the museum for the rest of the day.

The next morning, we got up and were classic tourists as we purchased tickets to board a double-decker bus that took us through the city. We stopped off at the Cathedral of Barcelona, Guell Park, Gaudi’s House, and Sagrada Familia. Architecture is a main attraction in Spain, with an emphasis put on the work of the late Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi is most well-known for Cassa Vicens, Palau Guell, College of the Teresianas, Crypt of the Church Colonia Guell, Casa Calvet, Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, Park Guell, and Sagrada Familia. Sagrada Familia was our favorite stop. This is the unfinished work of Gaudi and a masterpiece already. Gaudi was a devout Catholic and he certainly made this cathedral his most incredible work of art. Inside there are large multi-color columns that resemble the pattern of tree branches that reach up toward central pendants. The cathedral will be finished in 2020 and still has some amazing features still left to be built.

Our three days in Barcelona were wonderful! We enjoyed the cuisine that relied heavily on meat. We were happy to get back, though, and see the group who traveled to Egypt!

Previous Posts:
Hello from Athens, Greece!
Second Post from Athens
A Historical Tour of Athens, Greece
The Temple of Poseidon at Sounion