After studying abroad in Lille, France, for a month last summer, it was almost a completely different city for me this winter.

After we purchased two cheap bus tickets online, my friend and I headed out to Paris to explore the fashionable, romantic and bustling city.

After spending a weekend in Dublin, Ireland, I returned to Lille exhausted but in good spirits, full of Guinness and memories of Irish Christmas jumpers.

My European adventure has come to a whirlwind finish: exams are done, I said goodbye to my new friends and I made my way through airport security three times on Friday. I'm very glad to be home, but at the same time, I already miss Europe. I met some really cool people and visited some amazing places. So in honor of my trip, I decided to do a post about my favorite moments and memories of the past six weeks.

Best meal: When I was staying with my friend in northern Italy, we visited her grandmother. She lives in a small mountain village and cooked us a traditional Italian dish for dinner: chicken and polenta, served with homemade cheese and homemade wine. It was so simple but so delicious. The polenta, a sort of cornmeal-based dense bread, soaked up all the sauce from the chicken, which was juicy and fell right off the bone.

Favorite food: In general, my favorite type of food on this trip were crepes. They were consistently delicious everywhere I went in France,...