Eyjafjallajokull volcano

The countdown has really begun. My flight back to the States is on May 29, so that leaves me with roughly 5 more weeks here in St. Andrews. It’s definitely going to be bittersweet. I’m anxious to get back home, but St. Andrews has become kind of like a second home after living here for 9 months. In all seriousness, I actually wonder what it’s going to be like next year, not being able to wake up any morning I want and play golf, having class more than two days a week, not jet setting to different countries on the weekends…

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It’s pretty much a fact that no matter how prepared you are, you’re probably going to be spending a few hours in the airport before your flight. Follow these tips and you can be spending that time relaxing at your gate instead of standing in lines.

1.  Get to the airport AT LEAST 2 hours ahead of time, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the layout. Check-in and security have always been ridiculously slow, but now they are taking even longer with the new regulations introduced in the last few months. (You can thank the Christmas Day bomber and the guy who thought it would be a good idea to jump past security gates to kiss his girlfriend for most of the tightened security.) What if you actually make it through check-in and security quickly and you’re left with an hour before your flight? Enjoy it because at least you won’t be the guy running to the plane as the door closes.

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We woke up Sunday morning, grabbed a cup of coffee from this place down the street from our hotel, and then made our way to Notre Dame.  We had seen it from far away the day before, but we were actually going to attempt to get into the church this morning. I say attempt because it was Easter Sunday, and the crowd that was lined up to  sit in on mass was longer than the line to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower that morning.

We ended up meeting with a few friends who were studying in Dijon, France, before mass, and after battling the locals and dedicated church goers, we finally made it inside. I’ve been to a ton of churches and cathedrals in every country I’ve been to so far, and after a while, they all start to look the same. I have to say though; Notre Dame was like nothing I’d ever seen. The detail in all of the stained glass windows and the architectural elements of the church itself is incredible, especially when you take into account that it was built in the 12^th century.  I can see why people call it one of the finest examples of French architecture not only in France, but in the whole of Europe (learned that while I was there).

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I’m sure by now, most of you have heard of StumbleUpon. You probably use it as an alternative to Facebook when you need to procrastinate, or just click away at the Stumble button when you’re bored in the middle of class. (For those of you that haven’t heard of it, don’t worry, I’ll introduce it later.)

What most people don’t realize is that StumbleUpon is actually a really valuable resource if used correctly. The great thing about StumbleUpon is that you can tailor your stumbles to your interests.

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Speaks for itself

Finally made it to Paris this past weekend. I met a few guys from Holy Cross on Friday night and we came back to St. Andrews yesterday. I’m actually pretty impressed that we met up with no problem seeing as two of the guys were coming from Copenhagen, one from London, and of course me from Scotland. We’re getting good at this traveling thing.

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