So I have been in The Netherlands for about a month now and it has been nothing short of amazing. I am so happy with my decision to study here in The Hague because it makes traveling so easy! Since arriving at the end of January I have already been able to travel to France and Spain.
Since we arrived in late January we had about a week and half with no class. Sophie, Evan and I decided to take full advantage of this opportunity and booked a trip to Paris! I was surprised by how easy it was to get there (a five hour train ride). We stayed at a nice hostel called Le Regent Hostel Montmartre that was very reasonably priced and located in a super fun area. While there we got to see all of the major attractions like the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, the Palace of Versailles, etc. Besides the amazing sights that Paris has to offer, the other reason i would definitely recommend going there is THE FOOD. SO. GOOD. A Madame Croque will change your life, I have no doubt.
After returning from paris we began our first week of class, but luckily for us we only had two weeks before our Spring Break (if you call February spring…). Evan and I decided to try to find a cheap beach destination so we spent one night searching all of the internet and finally came across a great deal to Palma de Mallorca in Spain on Expedia. I would definitely recommend Expedia when flying somewhere because usually by buying a package deal you end up with a nice hotel a flight for about the same price you be paying for a flight and hostel were you to do it separate. Anyways, Mallorca was BEAUTIFUL. The beaches are not like beaches in the U.S., they’re much smaller and more like coves. Just to warn you, so you aren’t surprised like we were, wearing a top at the beach is apparently not required in Spain. The actual city of Palma is also very beautiful. There are tons of great stores to shop at and lots of little places to eat. However, my favorite part about the city was its compact size, you could walk from one side to the other in just an hour. While we were in the city we visited La Sea, the Cathedral of Mallorca and it was breath taking. We also hiked our way up to the top of the hill to visit the Castell de Bellver, a 13th Century castle. The view from up there was absolutely amazing. Besides these tourist attractions, Mallorca is known for its nightlife. February is part of the “offseason” in Mallorca, but you could still find crowds of people in the streets at 5:30 in the morning on the weekend. Some locals told us its like that EVERY night May- October so I definitely wouldn’t recommend going to Mallorca if you’re trying to get you’re beauty sleep.
The places I’ve been so far have been amazing and I’m looking forward to continuing my travels!