Some exciting travel updates 🇬🇧🇮🇪
I'm going to the UK (and Ireland)!
Right now, I’m sitting on the train of my beloved yellow line of BART, heading to the SFO airport. And I’m going to London!
I graduated from UCLA a few weeks ago (yay) and am celebrating in the proper fashion — by dipping to Europe for a month. I’m super excited to reunite with my study-abroad friends (who I haven’t seen in a year) and adventure around the lovely British Isles.
I also wanted to share some context for those who have joined Adventure with Dennis since I’ve come back from study abroad, and introduce some important characters you’ll be hearing about a lot these next few weeks.
Otherwise, y’all would be super confused. Aaaaaand that’s not good. So let’s begin!
I started this blog back in September 2023 when I studied abroad at Sciences Po Paris. Why?
Well mainly, I wanted to have an archive of my travels and experiences, since I knew studying abroad would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The blog also had the tremendous side benefit of being a great way to keep in touch with friends and family back home. I didn’t have time to call everyone in the US, but shared a slice of my European existence by email.
During the first few weeks of study abroad, there were a bunch of events all over Paris where the exchange students at different Parisian universities could meet each other. I was at one of these events on the Champ de Mars (the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower) when I sat down on the grass, and across from me was Joe.
At that same picnic, I also met Emma and Ben, and together we went to a nearby pub to grab a pint together.
The first of many pints, in fact, that I would get with Joe, Emma, and Ben. That was the first pint I had had in my entire life, and it was an era-switching moment where I truly started becoming European. Over the next few months, they (along with Gibs, Annabel, Lara, and Anna) became some of my best friends in the world. :)
After an amazing fall abroad, I returned to UCLA in January to finish up my degree. During the first week back, I was invited to be a panelist for an event where returning UCLA students shared their experiences with students who themselves were on exchange at UCLA, and it was at this panel that I met Federico.
Federico and I quickly became close friends, especially since we studied the same thing and were both interning at BCG that summer (me in Seattle, him in Milan). We went on a bunch of adventures that quarter, and I especially loved the long dinners we had in BPlate that comforted me and reminded me of Paris.
And so, you have the characters of this upcoming epic tale! With all that being said, expect full travel blogs these next few weeks, just like when I was in Paris. I’m so excited, and hope you are, too!
Cheers,
Dennis :)
To learn more about Joe, Emma, and Ben, read Episodes 1-29, 32, and the Study Abroad Reflection. To learn more about Federico, read Episodes 31 and 33!
The lovely itinerary:
can confirm Alexandra Walk 05/04/25 did occur 👍