I would then head back to my homestay to take a little nap; nights in Buenos Aires don’t end until 6 a.m. At around 10 I would meet up with friends in the Microcentro and eat dinner at Asia de Cuba, where specialties include mango alligator. At around midnight there is a belly dancing show, and then the restaurant turns into a packed club, which keeps the energy drinks pouring to keep us all up dancing until morning.
MICHELLE CATAGNUSNortheastern University
LONDON
For me, the best 24 London hours begin in Holborn at Sir John Soane’s Museum. The modern student can explore Soane’s former residence and treasure trove of antiquities, which include the 1733 Hogarth series “A Rake’s Progress,’’ beloved and analyzed at length by the American art history student. Afterward, I might swing by Covent Garden for some traditional fish and chips, but who has time to eat when there’s so much to see? I still have to take a tour with one of the vergers in Westminster Abbey. If I’m clever and show up for last admission, my guide might save me a front-row seat for Evensong or let me sit in the queen’s chair and indulge my delusions of royal grandeur. I then must reassume my tourist status and take an early evening ride on the London Eye to catch sight of Harrods illuminated against the darkness of Hyde Park.
Throughout my day, I’ve been moving along the bank of the Thames and need only cross over the Jubilee Bridge and duck underneath to catch “La Cage Aux Folles’’ at the Playhouse Theater. Since I’m already in the area, clubbing in Piccadilly Circus might nicely round out the day.
ELIZABETH KANEWellesley College
PARIS
My ideal day in Paris would be spent in the 14th arrondissement, the quarter that I called home. With my Paris Practique in hand (a crucial map of every street in the city, cheap and important for tourists and locals), I would go to the outdoor fruit market by my apartment, wander through the Cité des Fleurs, and end the evening at a cafe, listening to a poetry slam.
