12 Days of Christmas Wish List – Europe Edition

Allison Body is a student at Rockhurst University and an ISA Classmates Connecting Cultures blogger corresponding with a 3rd grade class in Texas. Allison is currently studying abroad in Prague, Czech Republic on an ISA Fall 1 program.

I am trying to collect souvenirs for friends and family as Christmas gifts, but nothing I find is quite as spectacular as what I wish I could bring home.  So here are all of the things I wish I could bring back with me, set to my favorite Christmas song, “The 12 Days of Christmas”

12 Scoops of Gelato – Somehow I don’t think the gelato in the States is going to be as delicious as in Italy.

Eating gelato with my friends in Rome
Eating gelato with my friends in Rome

11 Old-Fashioned Tins – Everyone knows me as the girl who collects tins.  I have tins from all different countries and I finally had to stop buying them because there is no way I can get them all home.

My roommate Brinda took a picture of all of these tins in Amsterdam for me.
My roommate Brinda took a picture of all of these tins in Amsterdam for me.

10 Beautiful Skylines – I have been to 10 major cities, and I wish I could somehow bring home the best view of each one, because pictures never seem to capture it.

Just dropping in on Florence for a bit.
Just dropping in on Florence for a bit.

9 Priceless Paintings – I have seen so much famous art!  The Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s David sculpture, and so much more.  I will miss dropping by museums to see the world’s best art every weekend.

8 Trams a Movin’ – I love riding the trams and all public transportation in Prague.  It is so peaceful and so convenient.  I wish Kansas City or St. Louis had such good public transportation.

7 Flea Markets – Some of my favorite activities in cities like Budapest and Paris have been going to random markets and bazaars.  So many different scarves, tins, and other odds and ends… I could wander through them all day.

6 Fabulous Museums – Sometimes the museum buildings are just as cool as what is inside them.  I have tried to go to a museum every Wednesday when I don’t have class, and even though I haven’t been 100% successful, I have definitely been to quite a few.

Just imitating the Venus de Milo statue at the Louvre Museum in Paris!
Just imitating the Venus de Milo statue at the Louvre Museum in Paris!

5 Potravinys – A potraviny is a mini market in Prague.  There is one right by our apartment that we visit almost every day, and the two men who own it know us now and always take time to talk to us… I will definitely miss them!

4 Walls With Murals – There is so much street art here!  Murals on the Berlin Wall, paintings on the side of parking garages, and tiles in the shape of space aliens on buildings.

At the mural gallery of the Berlin Wall remains
At the mural gallery of the Berlin Wall remains

3 Christmas Markets – I have been to Christmas Markets in Vienna, Prague, and Olomouc (a city in the Czech Republic), and they all have plenty of good food, lots of Christmas lights, and all sorts of little gifts.

Enjoying the Christmas Markets in Olomouc!
Enjoying the Christmas Markets in Olomouc!

2 Paris Apartments – One of my friends and I decided while we were in Paris that we want to live in apartments there with shutters and flower boxes.

…And A Plane Ticket Back to Praha– I have to come back here someday, and I wish I could bring everyone with me to show them the city I love!

This is my last post…thank you for following my Prague and European adventures!  As we say in Prague… na shledanou (goodbye)!

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