The March Update

Goodbye March, Hello April. Some might see this as the transition from winter to spring, but Deutschland begs to differ. I am currently sipping Abuelita hot chocolate and watching it snow. At least I’ll get to see some snow this year?

I don’t want to disappoint, but March wasn’t as action-packed as February, but it gave me a minute to prepare for an action-packed April. However, March brought full-on spring weather. Almost every day was warm and sunny and all the flowers bloomed. Consequently, I spent every waking moment outside and got sunburned, and ate an unreasonable amount of ice cream.

The first weekend of April, I went to Heidelberg with two friends. We did a little walking tour for our friend and had yummy Indian food. The next day, my friend Emma and I went to a local town for the flea market to find it was closed. Instead, we took a little walk, caught up over bakery breakfast, and then hiked up to a little castle thingy. It was all fun and games until Emma couldn’t figure out how to get us down. We did end up hopping a couple of vineyard walls… sorry?

The next weekend I went to a church conference in Stuttgart with a friend from school. It was SO fun. I have really missed my church in the US this year, and this conference filled me up. Also, there were a ton of random German celebrities with were cool and somewhat strange to me. In the end, it ended up being a big Jesus dance party, which is pretty fun. I was also really impressed with my German comprehension throughout the entire day. Almost all of the service was in German, and I was able to understand and enjoy the day. Then, my host family and I went to an outdoor zoo park thing and had Italian for dinner on Sunday.

The next weekend was super chill. My host dad had colleagues over for lunch, and of course, my host mom’s food was absolutely delicious. Then, we spent the rest of the day hanging out together, and I finished two books. On Sunday, we drove to a local town and had ice cream along with the rest of Germany. It was insanely busy. After our sugar fix, we went to a bird park and fed ducks, goats, and even a peacock. Despite not being the most action-packed weekend, I really cherish these moments with my host family.

Visiting family in Paris during the last week of March was by far the highlight of my month. Firstly, I finally got to see family! Seeing familiar faces after being alone for so long felt like a breath of fresh air. My homesick brain also picked on every similarity between my aunt and my dad and the rest of his family, which simultaneously hurt and made my heart happy. It would be an understatement to say I am excited to see my parents soon. Anyways, I got to catch up with my family, and it was lovely.

SECONDLY, I got to go to Paris!! How crazy!?!?!? My brain keeps revisiting this time last year, when moving to Germany was just a distant dream. It is truly bizarre how much life can change in a year, and how blessed I am to have seen all that I’ve seen and done all I’ve done. I got to live my little girl Parisian dreams.

Paris was obviously beautiful. We had the most perfect spring weather and I was able to see so much of the city. We started off the day by walking to Notre Dame and along the river to the Lourve. Then, my cousin and I spent a few hours walking through the Lourve, and WOW it was amazing. Not only the hanging art but also the palace itself is stunning. It felt unreal. We finished off the day by walking up to Montmartre and the Sacre Couer for sunset. The elevation gave a surreal view of Paris’ cotton candy pink skies, and the Sacre Couer is crazy beautiful. There was a service underway when we visited, which was really cool, but I am looking forward to going back with my parents in a few weeks and checking out the inside.

The next day, we woke up early and drove out to Versailles. The intricacy, grandeur, and size of the palace are difficult to put into words. It truly represents the craziness of the French monarchy. We were able to take an audio tour, which gave all sorts of interesting insights into the meaning of the beautiful rooms. The palace carries so much history, and I was particularly taken aback by the beautiful ceiling art with references to the French monarchy and mythology. Everything in the palace was intricately planned and deliberately crafted, I think can’t imagine the worker’s headaches.

After Versailles, we rushed back to Paris for the sunset. We were able to go to the top of the Eifel Tower for sunset, and it was amazing. The sky melted into a rainbow before us, but the best part was watching the city lights come alive at night. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as magical. I understand why the artists flock to the French capital now. After the sunset, we picked up nutella banana crepes and sat across from the glittering Eifel Tower. It felt unreal. We also stopped by Champs Elysses before heading home to see the famous city arc and shops.

On Sunday morning, we drove my cousin to the airport for her flight back to Boston, and then my aunt and uncle dropped me back off at the train station. As sad as I was to leave, I am so excited for my upcoming April.

March was a good month for me. Spring brought me an overload of happiness and the sunshine made the ordinary and difficult parts of exchange more bearable. I hope to bring these good feelings into April with me. As my exchange winds down, I am trying desperately to soak up every single moment. I am so grateful for everything so far, and I know these next two and a half months will be jam-packed with memories.

Lastly, I want to end with my favorites of the month. I read six books this month. My favorites were Her Name in The Sky by Kelly Quindlen and The Secret History by Donna Tart. I would recommend Her Name in The Sky for fans of Perks of Being a Wallflower and coming-of-age fiction. It really hits all the feels. I rarely cry over books, and I cried several times. And I would recommend The Secret History to fans of more serious novels, deep characterization, and dark academia. It is truly a modern literary masterpiece. I am so excited to start Tart’s The Goldfinch. I didn't watch any TV this month, so I don’t have anything to report there. My favorite podcasts right now are “Miss Congeniality” by Eli Rallo, “On My Mind” by Ava Jules, and good-ole classic NPR news to keep on the world. Music-wise my current favorite song is “Bags” by Clairo, I have listened to it an unhealthy amount of times this month. I am trying to listen to more happy music to boost my mood, and my mother gave me her love for the Indigo Girls, and they always cheer me right up.

All righty folks, that’s all I’ve got for this month! I’ll see you after April. It’ll be a big one between my sixteenth birthday and my family’s trip to Germany. Make sure to keep up with me on Instagram (@lucyholaday) and YouTube (@Lucy Holaday).

Thank you for reading, until next time,

XOXO

Bookish Babble