This past weekend in Amsterdam, my friend and I were sitting outside a restaurant in Vondelpark when we heard a strange birdcall. I quickly pulled out my phone and used an app to identify the birdโI was confused when a species of parakeet popped up. A quick Google search later and we discovered that the park is known for its wild parakeets!
We scanned the sky and trees surrounding us, and sure enough, we spotted the bright green birds sitting on the branches, their colorful tail feathers fanned out behind them. We finished our food and began to walk around the park to see what else we could find. Within the span of fifteen minutes, we watched parakeets fly right over our heads, got within five feet of a gray heron standing by a pond, and saw a family of Egyptian geese. Experiencing so much diverse and uncommon wildlife right in the middle of the city was bizarre and incredible, making Vondelpark one of the most memorable parts of my time in Amsterdam.
I think the reason why my experience in the park was so special to me was that it reconnected me with nature. On our last day in Paris, my travel group decided to visit the Jardin des Plantes to kill some time before catching our train. We explored the main sights of the garden, walked under the dense canopy leading to a gazebo, admired the neat rows of flowers in the main gardens, and even saw some kangaroos in the zoo area.
Afterwards, we sat in the shade and relaxed, exhausted from our busy weekend. Visit the art museum and look at paintings of landscapes. Download identification apps and figure out what type of flower is growing out of that crack in the concrete. Watch the sunset. When I arrived in Paris, one of my biggest concerns was the threat of pickpockets. Unfortunately, I was on my own as my dear friend Kingston from Atlanta was recuperating from a night out at a Taylor Swift concert and refused to budge from bed.
A bit nervously, I went around the sights and gawked at all the beautiful scenery. This led me to a famous staircase where as I was walking down, I noticed a guy standing near the stairs. Please go, go down the stairs. I continued to get more worried that this situation was going to go wrong. Then all of a suddenโฆ she began to sing in full opera to me.
