I had suspected that Thanksgiving was going to be a difficult time to be away from home and that I would experience a great deal of homesickness. However, it was actually the two weeks prior to Thanksgiving that I felt down. It rained almost every day in Florence, got dark at around 5 p.m. and I hadn’t talked to my family or friends back home in a while. I just felt lonely, depressed and a little defeated, as I had also had a few bad classes in computer graphics.
As Thanksgiving came closer, though, I gradually started to pull out of my funk for three main reasons: 1) ISA organized a Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant open to all of their students 2) as the lives of my family and friends became less hectic around Thanksgiving, they were able to Skype with me and cheer me up, and 3) My friend and I planned a last minute whirlwind weekend trip to Paris for the day after Thanksgiving until Sunday night.
Getting out of my apartment for the Thanksgiving dinner with my friends here was definitely the best thing that could have happened to me. We all came together that night, being nicer and more accepting towards each other than usual; each thinking that the others might be having a hard time being away from home for the holiday. When we all gathered at the restaurant, I was touched to see that I.S.A had filled the room with Thanksgiving-esque decorations, from a “Happy Thanksgiving” banner, to fall-colored garland strung throughout the room, to the corny Thanksgiving poem they put on each of our plates. And the restaurant did an admirable job trying to imitate an American tradition in Florence, where there only real knowledge of Thanksgiving comes from the dubbed Thanksgiving episode of “Friends.” We had apple cider and said a toast, and then were given our first course, (Italy just can’t comprehend putting everything out at the same time,) pumpkin soup, which was excellent. Then we had turkey, peas, onions, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes. Aside from the mashed potatoes, which were mashed to the point of soupiness, although still good, everything was completely on-point. The waiters even brought out any extra turkey and vegetables they had and put them on the tables, creating an almost family-style atmosphere. Finally, the meal was finished with a slice of apple pie, which was tasty, albeit incomparable to my aunt’s homemade pumpkin pie, but given Italy’s preferences for cakes and all things ridiculously sweet, it was quite a feat. Truly, it was the nicest American holiday I could have asked for in a foreign country, and being with my ISA family helped to lift the last bit of the depressed fog that had surrounded me for the week prior.
Thanksgiving in Florence
Then, we were off to Paris, taking a quick and dirt-cheap flight on Ryanair, (definitely the best bargain airline in existence, in my opinion.) From the moment I arrived, Paris stole my heart. It was beautiful, (although very, very cold,) and had a feel of greatness that seemed to just hover in the air. Each city I’ve been too, I feel, has had a different “aura,” for example, Florence, to me, gives off a an air of great tradition, with an easygoing, if slightly arrogant swagger, while Dublin has a beautifully haunted and gothic feel. Paris, though, was bustling, modernity and history coming together seamlessly.
We stayed at St. Christopher’s Hostel, which I chose because it was the top-rated hostel in Paris on hostelworld.com. That rating? Yeah, it’s for a reason. While it was a little pricier than Avalon House or A Casa Di Amici, (although, to be fair, everything’s pricier in Paris,) it was definitely the best hostel I’ve stayed in. We stayed on the all-girls floor in a six-bed dorm, (mostly because it was the only room left since we booked so late,) but to be honest, not having half-naked boys roaming around at all hours of the day and night was pretty nice. The rooms were incredibly spacious and had big cages underneath to store your stuff, (I think you can buy a lock if you wanted to lock your cage, although I didn’t feel it was necessary.) The bathrooms were also bigger, and while the shower stalls still had the push-button, which meant the water only stayed on for about a minute unless you continuously held down the button, the stall themselves were much bigger, making things like shaving a much more pleasant experience. The beds were the standard bunk beds (the pillows were oddly small like the ones you get on a plane,) but there was a curtain in each bed so there was a little bit more privacy, which was nice in case someone had to turn the lights on at some unfortunate hour. The one thing I didn’t like, even though the website advertised free Wi-Fi, the Wi-Fi was decidedly not free. Even though it didn’t cost much at all, I still like to know up front what I’m getting.
The hostel staff was incredibly nice, and everyone I spoke to spoke some English, although the reception desk generally had a much better grasp of it than any other staff members. The reception was open 24/7 and they gave us a GREAT recommendation for a free (yes, you read correctly, free,) walking tour. The kids that do the tour are studying abroad in Paris and are native English speakers, and work on a tips-only basis. They don’t pressure you to tip at all, but my friend and I were so impressed by the tour we each gave 5 Euros. The tour is run by the New Paris division of New Europe tours, and if you’re going anywhere in Europe, you should look to see if they have a group there. They also run other tours in Paris, such as a Montmartre tour and a pub crawl. The other tours cost money, but are still cheap in comparison to a lot of other tour groups. Based on our awesome experience with the walking tour, my friend and I signed up to go on the pub crawl later that night, which took us through the Montmartre nightlife district of Paris, which was an amazingly good time, (although we barely slept at all.) The leaders of the pub crawl were just as nice as our walking tour guide had been, and watched out for us the entire way, (I witnessed them force the bouncer to throw this guy out of the bar that had been following these two Australian girls the whole pub crawl.) Pub crawls are also a great way to meet people your age from all around the world, and in fact my friend and I had an awesome time talking to this group of British guys who were doing a weekend trip from a university in Bath.
Another thing I loved about Paris was its Metro system, which was easier to navigate than NYC subways and stopped everywhere. It was the cheapest and easiest way to get around, and actually was both really cheap and really easy.
I fell in love with Paris as soon as I first glimpsed the city, and I want nothing more than to be able to go back, really soon. It was an amazing place with a great vibe, and I didn’t experience any coldness from the Parisians that I was expecting. I am so thankful to be having the experience of my life with some great friends, new and old and to everyone who has helped (or is currently helping,) me to make all these great things happen.
Hope everyone had a great holiday! 
-Caitigirl
