Last semester’s reading week, I came back home to the U.S. to see my mom before she had heart surgery. Over the holidays, I decided I wanted to travel for Reading Week (the equivalent of spring break). I landed on eastern France and Basel, Switzerland. Since I had family coming for “proper” reading week, I went from Friday (since I have no class on Fridays) and arrived back Monday afternoon before they arrived.
Since reading week is supposed to be a time to catch up on work, I had to do work when I could (like early in the morning at the airport). Luckily, it didn’t take up too much time. I was anxious about travelling alone, especially since I didn’t speak the language, but I had the best time. There was something nice about doing whatever I wanted on my own schedule. I was in bed by 8 or 9 each night.
I landed in the joint French-Swiss airport around 9 A.M. and went out the Swiss exit and took the bus to Basel. I walked along the Rhine, got pastries for breakfast, shopped, and tried leckerly, a gingerbread- like cookie from the region (which is older than the United States). Later in the day, I took a train to Mulhouse, a small town in France about an hour outside of Strasbourg. I got a curly haircut in town and bought eclairs for only 3 euro. The going rate for eclairs in Dublin is 8 euro, and I ate my weight in eclairs throughout the weekend.
On Saturday, I took the train to Strasbourg. I walked around La Petite France, went to a French grocery store for snacks (and felt sooo local when I got a tote bag at the checkout), thrifted, and added classes to my shopping cart for Pitt. I stayed overnight in Strasbourg, bought pastries in the morning, watched street performers, and bought a souvenir for my dog. I went to a sit-down restaurant by myself, something I had never done before, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought. And the food was great! Later that afternoon, I took the train back to Mulhouse (where the airport is) and got takeout from a place my hairdresser had recommended.
Monday was uneventful; I took the train to the stop outside the airport and flew home. Once I landed, I picked up the keys for my aunt’s AirBnb and ended up sleeping there. At 6 A.M. the next day, I took a bus back to the airport to meet her, my cousin, and my aunt’s boyfriend. I had the best time with them; we went to Belfast, Galway, the Cliffs of Moher, and went to tons of attractions and restaurants in Dublin that I never would have gone to otherwise. Unfortunately, I’ve had to transition back to schoolwork, classes, and final essays. But, I’m grateful and lucky for the reading week I had.