Shelby Pickering sr., was able to spend a part of her summer traveling Europe. Pickering left for Europe on June 27, and returned home on Aug. 2.

Shelby Pickering met up with her sister, Samie, who had already been studying abroad in Europe. She visited Belgium, Italy, France, Austria, the Netherlands, and England. Shelby, who has always wanted to travel, went on the trip for the experience.

Much of her time was spent sight-seeing. While in Europe she went to the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre in France, where she got to see the Mona Lisa. In Rome, Pickering was able to see the Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Coliseum. While in the Vatican, Pickering saw the famous art piece School of Athens by Raphael.

Pickering’s favorite place from the trip was Italy. “I loved the countryside,” she said. When Pickering went to Italy, she had to take a train ride in that was three hours long. “Yeah it took forever, but the countryside was beautiful.” 

She also liked that she was able to be in such a historic city. “It’s just amazing to think that thousands of years ago they built this city.”

Another memorable experience from Pickering’s trip was her visit to Westminster Abbey, in London, England. “They have Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin buried there, and I stood over Charles Darwin.”

While traveling through these countries, Pickering struggled with the language barrier. She said that most people knew basic English, but she still found it very difficult to talk to them. “This one guy in Brussels started talking to me in French, and I was like ‘No France’,” Pickering said. “Then he tried to talk to me in English, but I could not make out what he was saying so I just pretended I could.”

After looking back on her trip, Pickering said if she went on the trip again, she would plan it better. “I didn’t go over with much of a plan at all which I thought would be kind of cool. But it actually made things a lot harder and more expensive,” Pickering said.

She also hopes that she will be able to study abroad and live in Europe someday. Pickering’s trip to Europe was not inexpensive though. The plane ticket for the trip was $1400.

The rest of the trip cost about $3000. “When I was young, my parents started a savings account for me, and put some money in it for a starting balance,” Pickering said.

When she was younger, Pickering would not spend her money. After a babysitting job, or helping her dad, she would save all the money she had earned.

Pickering also got a job a little over a year ago and would save 70 percent of her paycheck and spend the other 30 percent. She was able to save up $2000 by the time she started working.

Pickering tried to save her money while in Europe by grocery shopping instead of going out to eat every meal. “If I were to eat out every time, it would have been a lot more expensive than it was,” Pickering said.

While in Europe Pickering had to pay for her own expenses. She said that London had the most expensive public transportation out of all the places she went. “We spent almost $85 on the Tube system alone.”

After looking back at what she had spent on the trip, Pickering said that she “shopped way too much. That was probably the bulk of my expenses.”

Pickering would recommend the trip to others, but she says it is not for everyone. “If you go over on a budget you cannot be picky.”