Appalachian Adventures

Bringing your attentions back to the United States (for now), I present to you the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, located in the east of Tennessee, hugging the Tennessee/North Carolina state line. This magical place holds lots of personal and sentimental value for me, as I’ve been camping there every summer with my family for as long as I can remember. Spending a week of every summer plunging into icy rivers and rinsing off a thick lather of Dr. Bronner’s (all natural) peppermint shampoo, horseback riding through rolling hills and forests, and playing charades with cousins by a campfire while the crickets sing has truly been a treat. If I ever have children, I plan on taking them up to the mountains so that they can experience the magic too.

Thousands upon thousands of people visit the National Park every year, whether to hike in the park’s nature trails (some of which lead to breathtaking waterfalls), or to camp in one of the park’s ten frontcountry campgrounds, which provide restrooms, cold running water and flush toilets as well as 5-amp electric hookups in some sites. For the adventure seeker, there is also backcountry camping for backpackers.

There are so many beautiful sites to see while visiting the Smoky Mountains! Located within the National Park, Cades Cove is the sole destination of many. An eleven mile one-way road takes tourists back in time to when the area that is now the National Park was first settled, featuring the original log cabins, barns, and churches that were built over a hundred years ago. Cades Cove is also known as a prime spot for wildlife enthusiasts, and is abundant with white-tailed deer, black bears, elk, and a variety of other woodland creatures.

Even in the midst of all the tourists, park rangers, and structures present in the park, there is definitely a sort of ancient, wise, untouchable magic that is present in those mountains. While taking a stroll through the woods, or sitting on a boulder by the rushing Little River surrounded by greenery and wildlife, this magic becomes very real. 

Elkmont, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Photo by: Cydney Bergdorf

Elkmont, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Photo by: Cydney Bergdorf

Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Photo by: Cydney Bergdorf

Elkmont, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Les Rêves de la Ville de la Lumière: PARIS

Ever since I made my flight arrangements for my study abroad trip to Paris this summer, I literally have not been able to stop thinking about it! The thought of leaving the country for a month helps me get through the day, and keeps me from sleeping in my classes! Unfortunately, this semester requires my full attention, and all this constant daydreaming could become detrimental to my GPA if I don’t keep myself in check. So I thought I would just write it all out here, and get it all out of my system (yeah, like that will last).

 My mind is constantly wondering what it will feel like when the plane is making its descent onto the runway of Charles de Gaulle airport. Is that when I will catch my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower? I can almost feel the pang that I’ll feel in my chest when I see it for the first time. I can imagine the cab ride to my dorm after leaving the airport; all the beautiful Parisian architecture I’ll see, people walking leisurely with their dogs, cigarettes clutched between their fingers.

 I can’t wait until I can wake up early on a Saturday morning and walk to the nearest open-air market in my floral sundress and pick up what I need for that night’s dinner, and maybe stop by a little patisserie or a wine shop and indulge in little treats, just because I’ll be in Paris.

 One place I will make sure I go to while in Paris: Ladurée. I’ll buy myself a small box of little pastel-colored macarons and a little cup of tea and enjoy it in the original Ladurée café, built in the Baroque style over a hundred years ago.

 A simple thing I’m looking forward to: just walking around the city, taking it all in. I want to walk through the gardens and parks: Luxembourg and Tuileries. I want to walk down the little side streets and find all the secret cafés, tea shops and bookstores. I want to spend a day in Shakespeare & Co. just wandering around, and picking out all my favorites.  I want to have a picnic which is inclusive of all the French staples: du pain, du vin, et du fromage!

 Somehow I feel like every scene I have described in this post needs to have accordion music playing in the background. But, alas, that might be very American of me. There is so much more I think about when my mind wanders to Paris, I could go on for days!

Trans-Atlantic Travelin'

As some of you may know, I am studying abroad in Paris for a month this July! I literally could not be more excited; I’ve been wishing to be able to go to Paris for years now! Not only that, but to be gone for an entire month? The idea is beyond enthralling, but it’s also incredibly daunting! This will be the first time I’ve ever traveled outside of the United States, and the fact that I’m actually embarking on this journey alone makes me a little anxious. Fortunately, my eagerness to go outweighs that anxiety considerably.

So, today I finally made my flight arrangements! My flight to Paris leaves on June 29^th from Pensacola and goes to Atlanta where I have a layover that lasts about two hours. From Atlanta, I hop on your standard Air France Boeing 777 on an overnight flight bound for “La Ville de la Lumière” itself, Paris! I’ll be going the same way back exactly a month later on July 29^th.

Being the super travel nerd I am, I researched the aircraft of each airline that I will be flying on, just your standard Google search to get an idea about what the cabins look like and the amenities and meals that are included during the flights. Since my flights between Atlanta and Pensacola are only an hour long, Delta includes a small packet of cookies/crackers/peanuts and a drink. However, my long-haul flights across the Atlantic are 8+ hours, with a huge time difference in between. I don’t think a rinky-dink packet of stale crackers is going to hold anyone over for that long! After takeoff, dinner is served with two entrée choices and passengers can choose to take either red or white wine as well as other non-alcoholic beverages with their meals. How great is that?! 

Home Sweet Home

Since this blog is partially a travel blog, I thought it would only be appropriate to start where every traveler does when embarking on a journey: home. Pensacola, Florida is home to me, and I was lucky enough to live there for the first eighteen years of my life. After moving away to college, I realized truly just how much I had taken for granted.

The first thing that will come out of any Pensacolian’s mouth when asked about must-sees in the area would be…you guessed it! The beach. Pensacola Beach is home to the world’s whitest sands, crystalline turquoise waters, as well as a variety of unique wildlife. While strolling down the beach between May and October, you might find spots at the bases of the dunes that have been caution-taped off to protect the tiny sea-turtle eggs. Perhaps while boating through the Pensacola Pass, you might be lucky enough to spot the dorsal fins of porpoises swimming excitedly in your wake.

Another point of interest in Pensacola is the charming Downtown area, which is filled with small boutiques, family-owned restaurants, and a small collection of celebrated bars and clubs. Downtown Pensacola is also home to a few of the city’s annual events, including the Seafood Festival held in September as well as the Fiesta of Five Flags events in June which is held to celebrate over 450 years of rich Pensacola history.

About ten minutes west of the downtown area, Pensacola’s Naval Air Station (home to the Blue Angels, a squadron of six F/A-18 Hornets used to perform demonstrations of excellent Naval aviation to the public) sits proudly, and is home to the Pensacola Lighthouse as well as Fort Barrancas.

Four of the Blue Angels (F/A-18 Hornets)

Pensacola Beach, FL

Photo Credit to Cydney Bergdorf

Matt & Kim at DeLuna Fest 2011. Pensacola Beach, FL.

Pensacola Beach, FL.

Fort Pickens. Pensacola Beach, FL

Photo Credit to Cydney Bergdorf