Since we only have a few weeks left here, we decided we wanted to travel somewhere in Belgium so we got up on Sat and took a last minute trip to Brugge. Travelling to Brugge was like travelling to another country due to the fact that it's located in the Dutch part of Belgium and therefore everything is in Dutch, which we didn't know any. But it was a good experience to venture to a different part of Belgium and learn about the other part of the Belgian Culture.

Upon googleling (is that a word???) Brugge, I learnt a couple of things about the history of Brugge. I will share these facts with you =)

• The city centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Due to it's canals, it is sometimes referred to as "The Venice of the North"
• It's port is very busy and was at one time considered the chief commercial city of the world due to all the business it brought in
• It is known for still having it's medieval architecture in place. 

I had not idea it was so full of history so I was excited to go!

Before leaving my roommate gave me one key piece of advice that struck me a little: she said that it would be better for us to talk English instead of French. I knew there was a lot of tension between both sides of the country but I didn't think it was this bad. I took her advice and although I was so sad to not be able to practice my French, I only spoke English. 

Once there we saw a lot of beautiful buildings but to be quite frankly Brugge is kind of boring. Once you get past the architecture, there is not much to do there. We spent about 2 hours there before we got bored and went back home. 

Anyhow, here's a few pictures from Brugge

Town Centre. There was a fair that day but since it was raining so not a lot of people were around

Town Centre

Canal

This past weekend we decided to venture off to BUDAPEST! 

    With two weeks off for spring break, we wanted to travel somewhere but were unsure of exactly where. We decided that we wanted to go to a place like Turkey or somewhere not super "touristy." We looked for flights to Turkey but couldn't find any cheap ones. One of the girls suggested we look up flights to Budapest just to see the prices. I personally knew absolutely nothing about Budapest and frankly I'll admit that I didn't know where it was. We saw that flights were really cheap ([2 euros the way back =)] and saw that since they use a different currency (the Hungarian Forint) a weekend there would be relatively cheap. We booked the flight without giving it a second thought and prepared ourselves for the weekend. 

Once we arrived in Budapest, we had no idea how to get to our hostel or how to get around. We found a taxi company right outside the airport and decided to take a taxi to Parliament. The taxi driver was super duper nice and pointed out building along the way. He told us really cool stories and it was like we had our own tour guide. When we got to Parliament, we discovered  that there was a race going on so we didn't get to actually see it. 

We wondered around aimlessly for a while and discovered some beautiful places. We came across this beautiful basilica with a breathtaking view of Budapest. I think the architecture here is my favorite of all the places I have been to so far. The Hungarians pay very close attention to details, a fact that anyone can appreciate by simply looking at the roofs of the buildings there. 

View from basilica (notice the detailed roof)

After we wandered around some more, we figured out how to get to our hostel. Let me tell you about our overall experience with trying to get tickets for trains and buses in Budapest. We did not speak the language or understood anything and none of the people that worked there knew English or French. So far in our travels, we never had any problem with communicating but Budapest was really hard. The people were a little bit rude and has absolutely no patience with us. We ended up having to communicate with just gestures and got by with a lot of pointing. 

Our weekend in Budapest was a lot of fun and we got to see some amazing buildings. While wondering around, we found a store with Hungarian treats and the owner was so nice. He ended up telling us about the Hungarian cuisine for about an hour. I really appreciated the fact that he took time to tell us about and it and you could tell that he loved talking about it. It's people like this that make me appreciate other cultures and makes me like travelling around. Thanks to him we made it a point to try different plates in Hungary, something that we probably wouldn't have done otherwise. 

Here are some of my fave buildings and places:

church we found while being lost in Budapest 

Terror Museum about the Holocaust

Along the outside of the museum, they had a wall lined with candles for each victim

Parliament

If you ever travel to Budapest, here are some key things to know:

• learn some key words in Hungarian, especially ones about buying tickets
• Never put money in their hand: This struck me as very interesting. I don't know why but in Budapest you cannot put money in people's hands when your paying for something. You just set it on the counter. When I first got there I tried to pay for my ticket and the lady would not take my money. She just kept pointing to the counter. 
• The food is obviously very different than in America. Key things to try for a true Hungarian experience are 
• Goulash- a stew of meat and vegetables that is seasoned with paprika
• Palinka- a brandy made of distilled fruits. There's different ones and the one we took helped with digestion. It definitely settled my stomach. 
• Paprika- Hungarians LOVE paprika. They put it on everything basically =)

Well that about concludes our Budapest adventure, complete with us spending the night at the airport and sleeping on benches like hobos because our flight left at 6:00 am. All in good fun =)

"American Diner"

Since our flight for Budapest left early in the morning and trains don't start running until about 8, there was no way we could get to the airport in time. The only solution was to  to find a hotel in Charleroi to spend Friday night and then get up early and take the bus straight to Charleroi airport.

 I have never been to the actual city only to the airport so I didn't know what to expect. I asked my roommate, Cassie, who happens to be from Charleroi all about it. She warned me that it was a big ugly city and to be very careful. Needless to say, I was more than nervous to spend the night there.  Once we arrived there, we saw that although the city was more dirty than most, it was just like being in a big city like Atlanta or New York. It was very urban for lack of a better word but that was to be expected. I have no complains about our hotel. The room was really nice and the beds were super comfy. It was actually very nice to stay in for a night and enjoy a comfy bed and GOOD cable! 

Katie, Alisha and I resting in the comfy bed. 

We watched an array of interesting shows that you could not find anywhere else but in Europe, England to be exact. My favorite one was this old man going around this city searching for antiques. We started it half way so I don't know exactly what it's about. What I do know is that this man found a door lock and was so interested by it. I swear he talked for like 15 mins about the lock. We laughed so hard watching this man describes the juxtaposition of the lock. Pure gold. 

We also watched an episode of The Voice England, which I was super excited about being a The Voice fan. It was the audition part, which is my fave. To show the true nerd that I am, I will admit that this was one of the highlights of the night. 

One of the best things about the night was our dinner. Believe it or not, we found a 50s American Diner, or Belgium's interpretation of it. The food was delicious although not really what you would find in an American Diner. The burger did not come with fries and was huuuge! There was no lettuce or tomato. Just the bun and meet. It was really good, just not 50s diner good. Of course since the burger cost about 7 euros, we were too poor to buy fries. Sad sad day! Chels did have a milkshake and she said it was delicious so we did have some sort of 50s meal. 

The decorations were very stereotypical (like checkers, old jukebox, old drinks) but the menu was not. But I can't complain the food was deeeelicious.  The place was really small so it felt like everything was really crowded. All the other people eating there were Belgians so they prob think this is what a true diner is like. One thing I do have to say is that the service wasn't the best. 

Pic of diner I found on Google

Since I do looove me some fries, we decided to stop at McDonald's on the way home to get some. I know I know how very "American" of us. Up to this point, we have visited a McDonald's at every place we've visited. To make ourselves feel better, we said we were just conducting an experiment comparing and contrasting the different McDonald's. It's all in the name of research =).

On Sat morning we woke up bright and early and embarked on an unforgettable journey to Budapest. Budapest stories to come soon =)

What did I do this past weekend? Oh nothing just took a little trip to Barcelona!!!! It was such a great trip and I think that Barcelona has been my favorite city in Europe so far.

We arrived in Barcelona Friday afternoon. I was staying with some family friends in a town called Girona, about and hour and a half outside of Barcelona. When we arrived, the family I was staying with was waiting for me at the airport. My friends had a hostel in Barcelona so I left them at the airport and left for Girona. Before leaving Barcelona, we stopped at one of Barcelona's most famous tourist spots: The Sagrada Familia. This cathedral was built by Antoni Gaudi, a famous architect who built a lot of places in Barcelona. Gaudi worked on this building until his death, and it is not yet finished. It is said that the building will finally be completed in 2026, on the 100 year anniversary of Gaudi's death. The architecture on this building is incredible. You can definitely see all the work that was put into it. We didn't go inside because we weren't sure if it would be worth it to pay the 13 euro entrance fee.

 

After taking pictures of the Sagrada Familia, we went to look for a place to have a snack. We actually found a Colombian restaurant about 5 minutes away from the church. We each ordered a salpicon (fruit salad) as our snack. When our order came, I saw the biggest salpicon that I have ever seen in my life. It was super delicious and made my tummy very happy. It was so big that I was only able to eat half of it though. After we were done eating, we made our long journey to Girona.

Let me take this opportunity to say that drivers in Europe are crazy!!! They are super aggressive and drive like maniacs. I have definitely thought I was going to get run over many times here in Belgium. Spain was the first time I've been in a car since I got here, but let's just say I'm glad I don't get into cars often here. The whole ride home all I could think about was how my mom would have been if she was in the car. The thought of her reaction made the trip home seem short.

During my two days in Girona, I didn't do much except eat and window shop. Girona is a small city where all there is to do is go to the mall or to the city center and do more shopping. The only touristy thing I did there was go to the "castle" and a cathedral. The castle wasn't very interesting but the cathedral was really nice. There was a tourist group of older people at the church in French, so I decided to follow them and learn about Girona's history while practicing my french. I don't think they appreciated it too much though.

I finally arrived in Barcelona for real on Sunday afternoon. We took one of those hop-on hop-off buses and were able to see a lot in a relatively short amount of time. It was my first time on those buses but I think they are definitely worth it. We got to see Las Ramblas (Barcelona's famous street full of vendors), the port, MNAC (a museum with a beautiful fountain outside and great architecture), Camp Nou (where Barca plays),  and other famous Gaudi building like La Pedrera and Casa Batllo. I really enjoyed this tour.

After the tour, I met up with my friends at our hostel. We decided to go for a walk at the beach at night. It was really nice until some drug dealers came to offer us their merchandise. They wouldn't leave us alone until I started talking to them in Spanish and told them to back off because we didn't want anything. After the beach, we went back to the hostel and chilled in the game room. We met some other Americans who were playing the guitar. We started singing with them and it was really fun. On Monday, we decided to go to a famous market in Barcelona. All the food looked so delicious and fresh! Too bad we had to take a plane that afternoon because otherwise I would have bought some good things. 

Of all the cities that I have been to since I came to Europe (which is only like 3), I think Barcelona is my favorite. I like it better than Paris, which is saying a lot.

We have our spring break in April so we are trying to figure out where to go. Let's see where our next adventure takes us!

So one of my dreams finally came true and I got to go to Paris this past weekend! It was beyond what I imagined it would be! Paris is one of the most magical cities that I have ever been to. Since we were only there for a weekend, we tried to do as much as possible as quickly as possible. 

We got to Paris on Friday afternoon, dropped off our bags at our hostel (more on that later) and went to the Louvre. I was so excited to be there and took lots and lots and lots of pics. I definitely forgot to bring my camera charger and I fully blame the Louvre for draining my battery =)

After two hours in the Louvre (pacing ourselves very very quickly) we went to Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. Seeing the Eiffel Tower at night was one of the highlights of the trip. Seeing the tower on TV is nothing compared to seeing it in real life! There was a light show, which made it much more magical! We didn't get to go to the top but I'm planning on doing that during my next trip (which will be soon I hope!!!)

The next day, we started our day off with a trip to Versailles. The day was cold, gray and rainy, but we were not going to let the weather stop us from seeing Paris. Versailles was awesome! It's incredible to think that people actually lived here and to try to imagine what their lives must have been like. We didn't go inside but we walked around the gardens. 

After our trip to Versailles, we went to Montmartre, which is the artist district. We went to Sacre Coeur. It was beautiful and it was awesome to see all of Paris from the church. After Sacre Coeur, we went to see Moulin Rouge. I really liked the movie so it was nice to see the Moulin Rouge. The shows were way too expensive so we couldn't go inside.

After that we walked around the Champs-Elysee and saw the Arc de Triomphe. The Champs Elysee was super busy! I'm very proud of myself from restraining myself from going inside the stores! As you guys know, I am a sucker for stores and shopping. 

We stayed at a hostel called Peace and Love and it was awesome. We were very worried before we got there because it had awful reviews, but it was much nicer than the reviews said. Our bartender, Milan, was great and super nice! The whole staff was great! I will definitely stay there next time I go back. 

In our intensive French course we learnt a lot about the history of Belgium. This class taught me a lot because I honestly didn't know much about the country. One of the main things I learnt was that the country is sort of separated into two sections: the French part and the Dutch part. These two sections are referred to as the Wallonia section (French-speaking)  and the Flanders section (Dutch-speaking). These two parts do not get along and are like two completely different countries. As a matter of fact, they have two different governments. Which makes governing the country a lot more difficult. 

One interesting thing about these two sections is that Brussels, the capital, is located in the Flanders part. Even though the city is officially bilingual, most people speak French there. 

There are three national languages in Belgium; Dutch, French and German. There is also separate governments for each language. 

So in total, there are about 5 different governments in Belgium. As you can tell, trying to get anything done for the country would be ridiculously difficult. 

This might be one of the reasons why Belgium didn't have a president or other governing leader for a couple of years. They do have a king , King Albert II, but he has limited power. 

Before this course, I had no idea that Belgium government was this complex. I found all this information very interesting. 

I imagine that if the government was like this in the states, it would be total chaos. Nothing would get done because people would have to jump through many many hoops to do something. I could not even imagine not having a president. Honestly, I'm surprised the country isn't more messy than it is. 

This video explains all this in a way that not only makes it easy to understand but is also very entertaining:

So I have been in Belgium for exactly two weeks and I am finally all settled in. I have finally found the cheapest grocery store, which I go to almost on a daily basis. Here in Belgium, you basically buy the groceries you need for the next day or two, for a week at most. It's not like going to Walmart (which I have to say I miss) and doing your monthly grocery shopping. I also found the mall, which might not be the best place for me to go. 


Belgium has been great, except for the voyage from the airport to Louvain-la-Neuve. The trains were running late, so we had to change trains about 5 times. The worst part was that many train stations don't have elevators, so we had to carry our heavy suitcases up and down several flights of stairs. Needless to say, when we finally arrived to the university, we were all extremely tired.  Other than that, Belgium has been amazing. 


One of the highlights of these past two weeks was our trip to Bruxelles. Bruxelles is one of the most beautiful cities that I have seen. The architecture is breathtaking! 

There is so much to do and see. One of the things we were the most excited to see was the Mannekin Pis. It's a statue of a little boy peeing, but there's a great story behind it. Legend has it that there was a fire and the little boy peed on it to extinguish it. So they made a statue in his honor. We thought it was going to be a grand statue. Everywhere we went in Bruselles, we would see the Mannekin Pis. In chocolates, in key chains, in very interesting bottle and wine openers, and in postcards. Once we actually found it, we were a little disappointed in its size. It was much more little than we had expected it to be. But it was dressed in a cute a little outfit. 

We had to do an intensive French course these past two weeks to get our French up to par. Today was the last day of class and we now have 4 days off to travel. Guess where I'm going.... 


PARIS BABY!!!