In summer 2017, Paula and I (Chloe) participated in an exchange program in Le Havre, France. We stayed with host families for two weeks and immersed ourselves into French culture. During these two weeks, we went on daily excursions to some of Northern France’s most beautiful spots. 

Paula stayed with a family in the city of Le Havre, while I was situated in the rural countryside. I remember visiting Paula’s family and marveling at the movie-like interior of the apartment building. It was dark, red and polished. It was such a large contrast from where I was staying. My host family was miles away from the town and was surrounded by lush grass and rolling hills.

On this trip, we got to visit the beaches of Normandy, the cliffs of Étretat, and even the beautiful Mont Saint Michel. Normandy is rich with history, and it was incredible to visit all of the places we’d read about in history classes.

One of my favorite parts from the trip included when we went to Étretat. It happened to be my birthday, so we swam in the cold water and got gelato. It was the perfect sunny day. Looking back, I know both Paula and I thoroughly enjoyed the adventures and especially the food we tried when we were there. France was such a special journey and we definitely plan to go back! 

In the early spring of 2019, Chloe and I (Paula) traveled to the frigid land of Iceland with our families for a quick trip. The now dead airline WOW (r.i.p) offered wildly cheap tickets and we took the leap! We arrived early in the morning, gathered our luggage, and hopped into our tiny rental car. Our destination: the Secret Springs. My mom had been to Iceland before and found that the famed Blue Lagoon had become too commercial and overcrowded, and found the Secret Springs as a great escape from tourists, and much more calming. The drive from the airport took about two hours, and we unknowingly stopped at Iceland’s best rated bakery along the way. While enjoying bread baked in the ground, we watched the scenery slowly light up, and the wind quietly push the snow around. The springs were hot and watery – what can I say? Very relaxing. 

The next few days we tried to do as much as we could: go on a northern lights tour, eat at renowned local restaurants, learn about the splitting tectonic plates (we stood over a real-life schism!), explore the indoors flea market, and traverse the ancient lava tunnels. The people were very kind, and all the tourist locations were extremely concerned with maintaining the sites and not harming the local scenery. Overall, we had a fabulous time exploring and relaxing on this small, cold ancient – yet modern –  island.