studentsineurope

Cagliari is one of my favorite cities in Europe. It’s beautiful, urban, gritty, historic, and located on a beautiful stretch of beach (you can’t beat that!). Any time is a good time to visit Cagliari, but if there’s one time that’s better than all the others, it’s the annual weekend in May known as “Monuments [...]

To express “Happy St. Patrick’s Day” in the Irish language, you should say
Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!
which literally means “Blessings of St. Patrick upon you.”
and sounds like: /ban-uck-tee na fay-luh paw-rig ur-iv/
This photo shows the beautiful madness that is Dublin on St. Patrick’s Day. The parade in full force, you can barely move through the [...]

If you’re anything like me, spending St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland is (one of the many things) on your ‘things to do before I die’ list. Kind of like ringing in the new year in Times Square or watching the fireworks fall over the Boston Pops on July 4. The Dublin St. Patrick’s Festival is [...]

A stuffed blonde monkey with his paw up in warning, a pair of slingback heels mounted on a tire, a porcelain vase… topped with a head.
Ah yes, another art fair has begun.
This time it’s in Rotterdam – the new Amsterdam alternative (think Chicago to New York or Berlin to, well, everywhere). Cheaper, tougher and not yet laden [...]

If you are at all interested in the traditional music and culture of Ireland, you would have a ball at the Temple Bar Tradfest, a 5-day festival celebrating all things Irish. This is no Paddy’s Day parade pandering to tourists – Tradfest is the real deal, each year hosting a spectacular lineup of some of [...]

If you thought a fat man in a red suit coming down your chimney was a strange way to get presents, meet La Befana, the Christmas witch. La Befana is an old woman who brings gifts to Italian children on the night of January 5, the eve of the Feast of Epiphany, which celebrates the [...]

If you’re looking for a hot place to ring in 2010, you couldn’t do better than Rome. The warm weather makes thronging through the streets a pleasure, and New Year’s Eve – or Capodanno in Italian – is a big deal in the Eternal City, with lots of free fun and a serious, city-wide party. [...]

This weekend I went to check out Museum Night, the much beloved annual affair in Amsterdam where thousands of people flock to 40+ of the city’s best museums until 2 a.m. (see: A Night at the Museums).
Because I had gone to the bigger museums like the Van Gogh and Rijks Museum last year, this year [...]

The decorations at Fiesta de Gracia are ever changing and certainly the basis of the uniqueness of this traditional festival in the Gracia district of Barcelona.  Students in Europe, backpackers in Europe, Vacationers in Europe, Families in Europe…this festival is for everyone and here are a few specific examples of the types of excitement you [...]

Spain’s festivals are some of the craziest in Europe if not the world. From street-wide food fights at La Tomantina to dodging angry bulls at San Fermin, there is no doubt that Spain has some of the wildest festivals of Europe. At Barcelona’s Festival de Gracia an entire district of the huge tourist destination is [...]