City-States and cappuccinos: a split experience of Europe with twice the fun

It’s official: Our second weekend of separate trips has passed, and Summer and Kayla have been reunited once more. To celebrate, we made matching charm bracelets and earrings at a vintage jewelry warehouse in Fulham on Monday. One of these days we may take this whole “best friends at home and abroad” thing too far and end up with matching tattoos…

This week we are excited to offer you life lessons through another split recap of two trips: one to Monaco with Summer and one to Greece with Kayla.

We’re happy to announce that in a week’s time, you will enjoy a much more cohesive piece as we will (finally) be together on the same weekend trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, where we’ll provide the long-anticipated verdict on the purse-making activities. Before we get to that, though, you’re in for another slightly chaotic and hopefully educational tour through two countries in 1,400 words or less. Ready? Let’s go.

Summer from Monaco:

Monaco was always on my bucket list, mostly because I figured that rubbing elbows with the super-rich might somehow make me richer by association; unfortunately, it didn’t. But I did get to live the high life for a weekend—or at least pretend to. I flew into Nice, France, with two Johnnies also on the London program and spent the night there in a shockingly nice Airbnb considering we weren’t paying much for it. We were starving so we decided to get our hands on some French McDonalds (I give it a 5/10). After getting a good night’s rest, we woke up the next morning and took a train into Monaco.

Our first stop? The legendary Monte Carlo Casino. Walking through its grand doors, I felt like I should have been wearing diamonds and plotting a heist. Visitors are allowed to enter the room full of slot machines for free and are also allowed to try their hand at the games. The other part of the casino, where games like blackjack and poker are played, requires a paid entrance fee, and you must abide by the semi-formal dress code.

I gambled exactly €20, because hey, I am still a broke college student, but just being in the same room as people casually tossing down hundreds of dollars was enough to make me feel like a high roller…well, almost. After pooling money together with my travel companions, we ended up winning a grand total of €2.46. Although it may not be much, we can now officially say that we won money in the Monte-Carlo Casino.

Then came the part that I was the most excited about: walking the iconic Formula 1 track. It was oddly quiet without the roar of engines but, in my head, I was already doing laps like I was Lewis Hamilton (keep in mind I am a terrible driver, and this is all a fantasy). The infamous hairpin turns? Nailed it—on foot, of course. Monaco’s scenery almost made me forget I was on a track famous for high-speed crashes. The stunning ocean views alongside the route were much more my speed: calm, crystal-clear and way less likely to result in a car flipping over. Now let’s talk about the ocean. It’s so blue and perfect, it looks like someone forgot to turn off a photo filter. I stood there, soaking in the view and thinking, “this is the life.” For a few moments, I genuinely believed I was living in a postcard. Little did I know that postcard was about to be crumpled by the chaotic travel gods.

Here’s the plot twist: Our flight was canceled. Nothing brings you back down to earth from a weekend of glamour quite like scrambling for a rescheduled flight and realizing you’re super close to being stranded in France. The next morning was a blur of us sprinting through the airport like we were back on that F1 track to narrowly catching our rescheduled flight. So, what did I learn? Monaco is stunning, rich people are real and no matter how luxurious the trip, the universe will find a way to humble you. Staying calm and flexible is the name of the game.

Kayla from Athens:

This weekend was an opportunity for me to revisit a city that I explored two years ago when I visited my older brother Sam (SJU ‘24) during his study abroad program. I continued the tradition by visiting Johnnie friends who are studying there for this semester and annoyed the crap out of all of them by saying, “I remember going there last time,” all over the place. Friday kicked off with a hike up to the Acropolis and a visit to the Acropolis Museum. The trek up the slopes was steeper than I remembered, but it’s an incredible view and literally allows you to walk through history. The museum is one of my favorites that I’ve ever been to (high praise), which made it a must for a revisit and should make your list if you ever find yourself in Athens.

This is where I’ll insert a caveat: Do as I say, not as I do. I am obsessed with museum shops but even more so with Greek history and myths since I was a kid (anyone else raised on Percy Jackson books?), so the damage I did to my bank account in the gift shop this second time around cannot be overstated.

Essentially, you can slap a picture of an Athenian Owl on anything, and I’ll buy it—I literally have one tattooed on my arm because I love them so much. You can imagine how this went for me…my poor credit card limped all the way home.

Moving on to the important stuff: food. When I was here two years ago, we had fantastic meals, and this trip was no exception. My friends took us to great Greek and Italian restaurants, and of course gyros were our last official meal there. Freddo cappuccinos were the Greek iced coffee I worshipped and ordered every day last time, so I desperately needed to repeat that behavior. Still just as good.

This weekend was hot, reaching 89 degrees on Sunday in Athens before I returned to 52 degrees of cold wind and rain in London that night. Clearly the weather was a welcome break, so obviously we ended up at the beach during this trip. The sunburn from Spain last weekend only got a little worse…don’t be like me, wear your SPF. While the promise of Mediterranean sun probably would’ve been enough to entice me to visit Athens again, having CSB+SJU friends on the Greece program is what got me there.

When this edition of The Record releases, you’ll be almost finished with Bennie and Johnnie Week in honor of Homecoming back on campus. Trust me, they’re not joking when they tell you that your connections with members of the CSB+SJU community can help you academically, professionally and socially for the rest of your life.

Enjoy your time celebrating the people who are part of your current and future CSB+SJU family. Who knows, maybe they’ll give you an excuse to go to Greece someday.

One last thing: I wouldn’t be me, and this wouldn’t be a true recap of a trip to the cradle of democracy, if I didn’t plug a reminder to get your voting plans in place.

We dropped off our absentee ballots at the US Embassy last week before heading out for the weekend, so it’s crossed off our lists. All you lucky folks back in America have it even easier, especially with early voting now open in Minnesota and other states.

Register if you haven’t already (registration deadlines in a few states are fast approaching), get to the polls to vote early or vote absentee and get it done. It’s what the ancient Greeks would want.

Another week has come and gone, and we hope you enjoyed your whirlwind cross-Europe read this edition. We don’t know about you, but we’re ready for a trip a little closer to London…cue the bagpipes in the distance