Euro Traveller

Bonsoir tout le monde!

After a week of travelling, I am back in Paris! It’s definitely weird to end a vacation and not actually go home (like back to the States). Instead I’m back in my little room on the island, enjoying a lazy Sunday (aka I’m actually sick after travelling and am too tired to do anything exciting). I did go to the market by Bastille again (after having to run across the semi marathon in Paris today twice) and I got a kilo of clementines for a euro, along with one and a half kilos of oranges and apples for 1,50 euros. After a week of vacation, I’m going to attempt to be healthy in Paris. Wish me luck! 

Today I wanted to write about travelling on a budget. This past week I have been in Ireland (mostly Dublin) and Scotland (mostly Edinburgh). While it’s definitely easy to eat out every night while on vacation, all the meals and snacks can add up pretty quickly. Since we’re human, and we need to eat, my friends and I found other ways to save money while travelling.

1. Stay in a hostel. When you’re travelling with friends and you’re young, this is a logical choice. Not only are hostels considerably cheaper than hotels, but there’s more of a sense of community. In Dublin, my friends and I stayed in a private room (still cheaper than a hotel), but always met people at breakfast in the mornings, or in the kitchen/common room. In Edinburgh, my friend and I stayed in an 8 bed room, and met some other Americans who were also studying abroad. Before the trip, for some reason I thought hostels were only for students or youth. But in Dublin I definitely saw some adults staying there and in Edinburgh the minimum age at our hostel was 18. So, if you don’t mind bunk beds and college students, hostels can still be great as adults! 

2. Take advantage of the coupons and brochures at the front desk of wherever you’re staying. Sometimes there are some free tickets/discounts for places you maybe wouldn’t have thought of going to. For me, in both cities we took advantage of the free walking tours the hostels advertised. Not only were they a great way to see all the big sites in these historic cities, but they were also a way to familiarize ourselves with the area if we wanted to wander around on our own. In Edinburgh, I even found a coupon for free admission to the Museum of Childhood. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to go, but it was good to know about anyways!  

3. Cook your own food. If you’re planning on staying in a hostel, you can probably find one with kitchen access. Especially if you’re with friends, you can save some money and just cook for yourselves. One night in Dublin, instead of going out to eat, my friends and I made stir fry – between the four of us, we each only paid about 3-4 euros for the meal. And if you can’t cook, you can still find cheap street food that's pretty good.

4. Bring a small suitcase with you. On vacation for a week? Sure it’s tempting to bring a large suitcase to fit all your clothes, but that also means you’ll have extra space that you might want to fill with souvenirs/things you can buy elsewhere. Only buy the essential souvenirs (which sadly for me, are a lot of things), and avoid the temptation to buy clothes and accessories just because they’re from a different country. Especially in Europe, you can probably find a British store in Paris, and etc. 

5. Watch out for tourist traps/think rationally. When you’re in a new city, you want to see as much as you can. However, a lot of the popular sites will charge expensive admission fees. Ask yourself: will you remember what you’re going to see inside the museum/exhibit? How much time do you have at the museum? Is it worth it? Admission to Edinburgh Castle is 14,50 pounds, with no student rate. It was less than an hour before closing when we got to the castle, and even though the Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny are housed there, I passed on the visit and instead just took pictures of the exterior. 

I think that’s it for my advice on travelling. Now onto my Paris updates. As previously explained, my study abroad program consists of two parts; the preparation session and the internship. Two Fridays ago, I took my second exam, signifying the end of the preparatory session. Tomorrow is the start of the twelve week internship for most of the students in my program. Due to a misunderstanding, I don’t actually start my internship until Wednesday, so I’m still technically on vacation (which is great because I don’t really have a voice at the moment…). I’m excited for my internship to start because I’m going to be working with numbers again, but I’m also very nervous and anxious. With the classes, I was always around Americans, who for the most part were native English speakers. With my internship, I’ll be working with native French speakers. Sometimes there are words that I don’t know how to explain in French, and I’m sure there are words that they don’t understand in English. I’m just hoping there are no major misunderstandings due to the language barrier. Once I start the internship I’ll let you all know how it’s going!

Until next time!

Dana