“The Finale of an Amazing Month in Europe”

The last few days of my trip were the best I could have asked for: a wonderful ending to a wonderful trip.

Although a lot happened during my last few days, I think I’ll focus on two events in particular: the closing dinner / celebration and my day trip to Monaco. 

The closing dinner and celebration was nothing short of epic. After we wrapped classes earlier in the day, we started the evening by gathering with Jen, our professor, in the courtyard of our residence. Per Anna’s request, we all wore black and white attire, and I have to say, we looked good. Jen had come up with something special to say to each of us, something she had learned about us or something funny to point out about our personality. She used this forum to announce in public that she hates Celine Dion, and she said she hoped we could still be friends. Jen, of course we can still be friends. 

Clad in our black and white attire, we all went to the roof of the residence for a wonderful dinner. The weather couldn’t have been better: the sun was setting behind the hills and the temperate just hovering around 70 degrees. After we ate, Eric inducted new members and presented awards for the prestigious “Black Club,” of which I was “Member of Tha Year.” I guess that means I lead an ulta-ghetto fabulous life. Who knew, right? 

After the awards, Eric and I put on a song and dance performance for the group with our own rendition of Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s “Telephone.” Eric had come up with some choreography for us beforehand, and we executed it flawlessly. Next, we surprised one of the girls by turning the farewell dinner into a bachelorette party of sorts. The usual lingerie and lap dances followed, and two of our own boys provided the “entertainment” for this part of the evening. It was a riot! A wave of photos, dancing, and clean-up followed as we all migrated to our next location. 

We all journeyed downstairs together to the restaurant across the street, La Grappa. The name of the restaurant would soon be re-named by our group as “La Grope-a” because the gentleman there were a bit “hands on.” The made us free drinks and put up with our ridiculous antics, but they certainly weren’t hesitant to dance with the girls and flirt with them. Again, it was a mess. We were all having so much fun, though, that it just seemed comical. 

Our next destination was the beach. Very soon after we got there, there began some talk of jumping in the water. JD was first; Brittany, Cody, and myself followed soon after. I left my pants, shirts, and inhibitions on the beach, and decided once I was in the water that I couldn’t leave before effectively marking “skinny dipping in the Mediterranean” off my been-there-done-that life list. So, with the brisk water concealing me, I stripped down to nothing and swam around. As Anna Beaver would say, “YOLO: you only live once.”

Upon returning to the beach to join the rest of the group, I lent parts of my outfit to some of the girls who wanted something to conceal themselves while they jumped in the water. By the end of the night, more than half of the group had taken the plunge. Before returning to the residence, Rachel and I had a Calvin Klein-esque photo shoot on the beach. Well, actually we just started posing and finally someone caught on and started taking pictures. Again, I’ll use my word of the night (and my life) to describe it all: mess. 

The next day I woke up surprisingly early and put together a group to go to Monaco. It was our last day in Europe, and I had been dying to go the entire time. We took the one-hour and strikingly beautiful train ride across the coast and arrived in Monaco in the early afternoon.

We mad two main destinations in mind before arriving, so we hit them both, one at a time. The first was the royal palace and museum, located on top of a picturesque hill that overlooks the rest of the city and the water, filled to the brim with yachts and sail boats. We watched the changing of the guards, took lots of pictures, and toured the palace where I saw one of the most beautiful portraits I’ve ever seen. Around the outside of the paining are portraits of Princess Grace, Princess Stephanie, Prince Albert, and Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Smack dab in the middle of them all is the late Princess Grace Kelly, legendary actress and, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful human beings to ever grace the face of this planet (pun intended.) I literally couldn’t stop starring at it. 

Next, we journeyed over to our next destination, the Monte Carlo casino. We weren’t able to gain access to the main casino floor (we aren’t rock stars, I suppose), but we did go into a side room with slot machines and I was able to play a few coins. Another been-there-done-that activity. I didn’t win anything, but one girl in our group won 40 Euro and another won nearly 200 Euro! So, as a group, we came out ahead. The building the casino is housed in is beautiful, and the streets outside are lined with every luxury car imaginable. Shortly after we left the casino, we caught the train back to JLP, had dinner, packed, and hung out with the rest of the group.

The journey home was long and tiresome, but I made it fine. I’m at home now, catching up on sleep and enjoying the comforts of home before I head to LA on Thursday.

Stay tuned for more updates from the west coast as I continue my adventures in film this summer!

Living my dream,

Blake