My spring break was amazing. I flew to Rotterdam in The Netherlands, took a train to Amsterdam, flew to Hamburg, took a bus to Berlin and then flew back home to Nice. I could write for hours describing each and every detail of my trip but then this blog would be way too long. Rotterdam had this giant arched building called the Markthal that looked like the shape of the train stations in Milan but all of the walls were covered in a bright colorful mural, and the inside of the building was all food stalls. It was heaven. 
We rented bikes in Amsterdam?and were there for Kings day which was crazy fun. The buildings are beautiful and the city was amazing.?
Then there was Germany. I wish I had more time there. First we went to Hamburg and I tried this horrific traditional meal that sailors would eat that was basically corn beef hash, an egg, a pickle spear, a fish, and purely disgusting all around.
Berlin was so full of history. Almost all of the buildings had been destroyed or damaged and had a story behind them. The walking tour is a must.
When I finally returned I realized that finals were upon us. I had one week with 2 classes. Then Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of the next week I had my last elective (Audit) three days in a row 9:30am-12:30pm and 2 to 5pm. One thing you should know, if I haven’t already mentioned it, is that the french REALLY like to smoke. Whenever we had our breaks I always assumed they were coffee breaks…sometimes I even walk around the corner and grabbed some quiche, well I quickly realized that the rest of the class (minus a few Scandinavians) would step outside to smoke like 3 cigs and then return to class. After my elective, I had about 5 days to really kick it into gear on the studying front. I spent just about all 5 of them studying for my fixed income final. You see, many of my classes had 100% of the class grade depending on your final grade. So I was a bit stressed.
My roommate left for Peru and my friends’ roommate moved out so after falling asleep studying at their apartment a number of nights in a row, I finally just decided to move into their empty room(they offered first of course). We had our own little study group and I was now only 10 minutes away from school instead of 30 which helped me immensely. It was especially helpful due to the fact that my bus pass expired. Oh yes and because I thought it was unnecessary to pay for another month when I had less than two weeks left in France, I got a 50 euro ticket for riding the tram ONE STOP to the bike rack, I was going to bike to school and I was running late. The best part, I left my wallet at home so they wanted to take me to the police station because they want you to pay immediately. So I missed a quiz and had to call a friend to borrow 50 euros. It was a great morning. I packed my suite cases and moved to my friends’ apartment that weekend.
The finals were in rooms and we were spaced out a lot more than they do for finals back home, they actually?had quite a lot?of students they just split them up into separate classrooms. I had to use a french calculator so that was fun. I thought for sure my finals were going to be the death of me. I survived though and now I just wait for my grades.
After finals I scrambled to get my last few gifts for family back home. I went to Grasse the beautiful village in the hills in the French Riviera that they call the Perfume Capital and I got to go to Cannes ?during the film festival on my last night there. It was bittersweet to leave. I immediately missed Europe when I returned home. I think I was in France during just the right time, I got out right before peak tourist time, the Promenade des Anglais along the beach is literally covered with people. They look like ants from above and the bike lane barely exists anymore. All I can think about now is how to get back. internships, backpacking, post-grad trip, I’m addicted now.