Pepperoni pizza?

For my second weekend trip, I traveled to Paris. The train rides were exhausting since there were 3 train switches on the way there. The switches were also stressing me out because I didn’t want to get on a wrong train or miss one of the connections. After we made it to Paris, Madeline and I still had to take more trains to get to Versailles where our Airbnb was located. I was a little scared and being extra cautious because I was told that bigger tourist cities like Paris are known for pick-pocketing.

Our Airbnb was beautiful, with a stunning view of the city. The only thing that was sort of inconvenient was that it was in Versailles, are most of the things we wanted to visit were in Paris.

Transportation in France was not my favorite. After waiting a while, we took the train, only to find out that it was not taking us all the way to Paris like we thought. So, we got off the train and ended up Ubering the rest of the way there. All of that was worth it though, because I finally got to see the Eiffel Tower, which was on my bucket list. I was surprised to see so many people standing outside coming up to you to sell you things. At one point I started telling them that I only spoke Spanish so they would leave me alone. For lunch, we went to this fancy restaurant near the tower. The food and red wine were delicious. I also tried Escargot for the first time. The flavor was good, but the texture was weird. After walking around for most of the day, we decided to go back to our Airbnb’s in Versailles to get ready for the rave. The actual concert was in the Gardens of Versailles. Tyler the Creator even made a guest appearance and at the end, they popped fireworks. The whole experience was amazing and if they have another rave next year, I would highly recommend all of you to go.

            The ride and ferry to Norderney was long, but I took advantage of that time to get most of my Neurophysiology of Music exam done. When we got to the island, we checked out our bikes. I was worried about getting a bike that was too big, but I was able to get a small bike. That night we did tai chi on the beach, which I was really looking forward to. The next day, we biked to the Baudehaus where we got a lecture on how thalasso works and how it is beneficial to our bodies. We toured all the levels and baths, as well as the pumps that were underground. After our tours, we were free to use any of the pools we wanted to. My favorite was the fire bath where the water was over 100 degrees. Then, I went with my group to do the shlick mud treatment. I was nervous about doing that since we had to be naked, but it was not bad at all. I am glad that I did it. The treatment lasted 15 minutes and afterwards all us girls went upstairs to the steam room. After washing off the mud and doing the sauna, my skin felt so smooth. The mud was so great, that I bought some to use for face masks. That was my first time being in a sauna and I loved it. I hope to go back to the Baudehaus one day.

            At the Baudehaus Museum, we learned about how the island was established and how the Baudehaus was created. It was very interesting to see how people’s beach attire evolved throughout the years, starting from heavy, long dresses, to bathing suits. We rode our bikes from the Baudehaus museum to the mudflat. When we got there, it was windy, cold and it had started raining as well. I thought I was prepared because I brought a sweater, rain jacket and umbrella. The rain soaked through my rain jacket though. It was honestly an unpleasant experience for me. I was cold, wet and had to use the bathroom. I also forgot that my neurophys exam was in my backpack, so that got soaked as well.

            After I raced back to the hostel in the rain, I took a shower and went to eat at the café that was walking distance from the hostel. The funniest thing happened at the café. I wanted a pepperoni pizza, so I ordered it with our waitress that spoke English. I didn’t see it on the menu, so I asked her if they still had any. She said “yes, its not on the menu, but we can make it for you.” When she came back with my order, there were banana peppers on my pizza!!! The pizza was good, but I later found out that if I want “pepperoni” pizza, I need to order “salami.”