There is a saying here that I've heard a few times that you know you've been in Brussels too long if you can name 7 sauces for Frites. Being the center of the European Union and many NGOs it is incredibly common for people to live here for a few months or a year and then return to another place. As you can see, I have no problem naming seven sauces.
I'm incredibly sad to be leaving Belgium in just a few days. I really love it here, and I'm sad to leave a place that means so much to me, especially when I don't know if or when I'll be back. This has really been a great experience. I've learned so much, and I know that there is still so much more to learn in Brussels but, alas, all good things have to come to an end.
4 months ago I was sitting on a plane wondering if I was prepared for the challenge of living in a foriegn city. I'm proud to say that I have succeeded in this, and tasks that seemed daunting to me before now seem so simple.
Though I am sad to leave, I need to focus on the adventures that lay ahead. Tuesday I leave for a short bit of travel through Norway, Austria, and Slovenia (with one day in Trieste, Italy). Summer is big question mark (but what could be a greater adventure then the completely unknown?). I have my senior year ahead of me, and graduation next May.
I'm off to go pick up my dear little bro and my good friend Anna from the airport. I can't wait to show them around Brussels, and then run around Europe with them!
Thanks for reading my blog over the past few months! Sorry I've been bad at updating! This is the last update for now, though I promise to post stories and pictures of Norway, Austria, and Slovenia once I get home!
Much Love,
Em
09 May 2009
04 May 2009
For Kim...
So my dear friend Kim is a loyal reader of my blog, and she has recently pointed out that it has been a long time since I posted. Yes, I have been lazy lately, but I have also been incredibly busy. Still, the lovely Kim has such faith that I will post that she refuses to even ask me about my travels, because she so firmly believes I will update. Well Kim, and other loyal readers (Hi Grandmas and Grandpas!) I will push through. I do have two papers due Friday, though, so I'm afraid you're getting the sparknotes version.
Italy!
We were lucky enough to get two weeks off from classes here for Spring break, and we decided to take advantage of the time and head of to a place that needed time to get to and time to explore, so we headed out to Italy. We hopped on an EasyJet flight to Milan and we were on our way.
Milan- We made a loop around Italy, so we both started and ended our journey in Milan. Milan was a very beautiful city, and I could see how it would be a really amazing time if you were really into fashion, had an unlimited budget, and wanted to just spend the day shopping for fabulous clothes before having a long dinner and then hitting up the clubs. Because I don't fit that mold it wasn't my favorite city, but there were some highlights.
I truly enjoyed touring the Duomo, napping up on the roof of the Duomo, and going to Easter mass at the Duomo. I also enjoyed people watching at the Duomo, and attempting to chat with the security guard at the Duomo, who seemed to think that "Michigan" was the coolest word he had ever heard. Basically, I loved the Duomo.
I also loved the cool Gelato man that served us our first and last gelato in Italy, and remembered us and gave us an extra scoop when we came back the second time. Which was pretty awesome.
Venice- The Second leg of the Journey was Venice. Venice is absolutely beautiful! Such a beautiful city surrounded by gorgeous bright blue water with little canals weaving through the city. I loved just standing on the bridge and watching the Gondolas go by below. It was simply amazing.
Highlights include:
-Going to the top of St. Mark's (so amazing!)
-riding the waterbus (it was an experience)
- staying the the coolest campground ever that was quite a ways away from venice (again, an experience, in a good way)
-the Italian Sandwich maker that offered to teach me Italian
Venice from the Top of St. Mark's
Rome- it was absolutely wonderful! I completely adored every part of Rome, from the gorgeous Forums and Colosseum, the the high walls of Vatican city. The first day in Rome was spent exploring the Forums and the Colosseum. It was really neat to be standing in something that was so old. Later, we headed out to see the Pantheon and the Trevi fountain, and spent lots of time just walking around the city. Actually, much of the day in general was spent walking to something historical and beautiful, and then stopping to chill out near it for awhile. It was really relaxing and nice.
My second day in Rome was spent mostly at the Vatican. We set out early in the morning to beat the lines at the Vatican museum, though we still had to wait for about an hour. Then we wandered around the Vatican museum for awhile, appreciating all the interesting art. The sistine Chapel was really cool, it actually looked 3-dimensional to me.
I separated from two of my companions to go meet another in front of St. Peter's. There was much confusion, though, and with a dead phone I as unable to meet up with anyone, so I set off to explore Rome alone. I actually really enjoyed myself doing it. I went into St. Peter's (AMAZING), then check out the musuem of religious artifacts, which was also pretty sweet. Then I went to the top of St. Peters, which was also really awesome.
After that I left Vatican city and set out to explore Rome solo. I went to some beautiful churches, saw the Scala Santa, picked up my tickets to the Papal audience, and hit up Mass in English. Overall, it was really peaceful and beautiful, and I had a great afternoon.
The next day Lori and I woke up early to head to the Papal audience, which was really wonderful. It was so fun being among so many excited people, and it was really cool getting to see the Pope. That was truly a highlight of my trip.
Highlights include:
-Pope Benedict
-Staying a hostel called "Hotel Michigan"
-The Vatican
-climbing the Scala Santa
-delicious food and wine
-the museum of religious artifacts
-living through an earthquake (it really wasn't that strong in Rome)
Inside the Coloseum
Florence- I had very few expectations for Florence, but I was very much impressed by how beautiful it was! The first thing we did after checking into our awesome hostel was head out to the Piazza Michelangelo for the sunset. Gorgeous. Then we hung out by the river on a beautiful bridge, ate a great dinner, and then walked past many beautiful buildings on our walk home.
Highlights include:
-Piazza Michelangelo
-beautiful scenery in general
-delicious food
-a 3 course dinner with wine for 12 euro
-Art everywhere
-hanging out around the duomo
-eating Vanilla gelato that reminded me of Greenfield village's frozen custard
Yay Tuscany!
Sienna was also quite beautiful. It was larger then SG. We hung out in the Campo, and took a short walking tour around town. It was so nice because you'd just be walking down a road and then out of nowhere you would see a breathtaking view. I really enjoyed it and am jealous Savvy was there for so long.
Sienna!
Highlights include:
-amazing wine
-beautiful scenery
-basking in the warm sun
-people watching
Cinque Terre- this does not refer to a town but rather to 5 towns. These towns are quite close together, and are right on the sea. They are connected by a train, but also by a series of paths, and the thing to do in Cinque Terre is to hike along these paths and get the gorgeous views of these towns, the hills, and of the sea.
When we first arrived we checked into our adorable hostel and then headed down to grab a spot on the rocks to watch the sunset and sip some wine. It was so relaxing, and really just wonderful.
The next day, Lori and I woke up early to hike the 9 km trail. It was really really wonderful. Hiking the trails was a highlight of Italy, and also ranks up there as a highlight of my time in Europe in general. The trails present glorius views. We came across winding streams, beautiful flowers, many many photographic moments, and many cats. Some of the trails were pretty challenging (I swear at one point we walked uphill for forty minutes straight) but it was truly an amazing way to experience Italy. Each of the towns were beautiful as well, and at the end we were rewarded with a nice beach to relax on. We were hoping to swim, but the water was still quite cold, but it was thrilling just to dip our sore feet into the sea.
Highlights include:
-hiking the trails
-stopping for a delicious breakfast along the way
-laughing at the strange toilets
-dipping my feet into the sea
-everything was a highlight, it was just beautiful
Cinque Terre!
Lake Como- After cinque terre we headed back to Milan which is where we were going to fly out from. Having seen much of what Milan had to offer, Lori and I set out on a daytrip to Lake Como. This was another real highlight of the trip. It was absolutely gorgeous! It's just this giant lake, with clear clear water, framed by snow capped mountains and small towns with pretty architecture.
We began the day in Lecco where we had a nice breakfast, watched lots of windsurfers, and took a lovely stroll before hitting up the ferry to the next town. After a long ferry ride (which, although slow, was a wonderful way to see the lake) we stopped in Bellagio for a bit. This town was wonderful! We found a great little restaurant where we sat on the patio and enjoyed handmade lasagna with a glass of the local wine. Then we went down by the lake to just enjoy the scenery. We lounged for a bit, enjoying the sunshine and gazing at the Alps. I read my book for a bit, then took a short nap in the grass. It was wonderful. Then back on the long ferry to Como, where we needed to go to catch a train back to Milan. Como was beautiful as well, though it was much more touristy then the other two places.
Highlights:
-Mountains
-being woken up from my nap by a little green lizard crawling on my leg
-playing with an adorable Italian child that had clearly just learned to walk
-handmade lasagna
-windsurfers
-clean beautiful water
-white chocolate Gelato
Beautiful Lake Como
Overall, Italy was simply amazing. It was a beautiful country and I feel like I could have stayed forever.
After returning from Italy I got straight to work on a research paper. Once I finished that I headed up to Amsterdam to meet my parents.
My parents visited!
Upon arriving in Amsterdam I tried to call my parents but found that, for some reason my phone did not want to call them. Thankfully, I had written down the hotel address, though I had no clue how to find it. After some problem-solving on my part, and a run-in with a biker (I was in Amsterdam for less then half and hour and, yes, I got hit by a bike) I found their hotel.
It was really great to see my parents! We were all pretty tired and were planning on having a laid-back night, so we went for a stroll around town, made a short stop in the red light district (which was interesting, to say the least), and then hopped on a boat for a boat tour, which was really great. It was wonderful to see Amsterdam from the canals, and to learn a little history about the city.
The next day we woke up bright and early and hopped on a train to the airport where we could catch a bus out to the Keukenhof Gardens to see the tulips. Thanks to careful planning, we had bought our e-tickets in advance and headed out to the Gardens.
Tulips (pic stolen from dad!)
When we got there we were stunned by the amount of people that were there! You couldn't step in any direction without nearly running into that. Despite that, the tulips were gorgeous! Everywhere you looked there were beautiful flowers, planted meticulously in beautiful formations. I think we spent close to 3 hours just wandering around looking at flowers, and I am pretty sure that there were still things that we missed!
Dad and I walking on water in the Gardens (photo credit:Dad)
We headed back to the city and found our way to the Ann Frank Museum. It was very sad, but I'm really glad that we did it.
The next morning we caught a train back to Brussels and spent the day seeing some of the sights. It was surreal showing my parents around Brussels, but it was also really nice. I think that they really enjoyed seeing the city.
The next morning I got up and went to class, while my parents went on a walk that I had mapped out for them the night before. The only problem is that I didn't specify which direction they were supposed to turn once they got out of their hotel. They had a 50/50 chance of getting it right, but sadly they guess wrong. When I got to the place I was supposed to meet them I started to get nervous, but they ended up taking a cab and it all turned out fine.
We headed over the Parliament, and I showed them around my office and the Parliament as a whole. We went to the canteen to grab lunch, and I'm glad that they got to experience the chaos first-hand, haha.
We spent the rest of the day walking around Brussels and hanging out in the beautiful parks, and then we called it an early night, as we had a big day planned for the next day.
We woke up early and hopped on a train to Oostende, a coastal town on the North Sea. The town itself probably would have been a lot nicer in the Summer or on a Saturday when more people would have been there, so I didn't find the town to be all the impressive. The coastline, though, was quite nice, and it was really fun walking along the sandy beaches and seeing the North Sea.
On the way back we had the option of stopping at Ghent or Bruges, considering that they were both on the way back. Since it was a Tuesday and I figured it wouldn't be that crowded, we stopped in Bruges. It was beautiful as always, and I think that my parents really enjoyed it too.
Having Deb and Jeff come to visit was great!It was really fun to show them around and I'm super glad they made it out.
Geneva, Switzerland!
Several months ago Lori and I decided that we wanted to take a trip the first weekend in May. So we compiled a list of places that we wanted to go and decided to go to the one with the cheapest airfare. Lucky for us, that landed us a trip to Geneva Switzerland!
The trip to Geneva was great, and hassle free. We arrived late on Friday night to check into what is quite possibly the nicest hostel I've ever seen, with a really helpful staff. They gave us our free transportation pass (tourists in Geneva get to ride public transport for free!) and gave us directions to all the places we wanted to go.
The next morning we headed out to see the U.N. and hit up the Red Cross Museum. I probably wouldn't have chosen to go into the red cross musuem, but Lori suggested it and I am really glad that she did. The museum taught about some really interesting history, and was one of the highlights of Geneva.
Next, we hopped on a bus to the outskirts of town, walked across the French border (soooo, anticlimactic. There was literally no customs or Border security), and bought tickets to ride a cable car up to the top of a mountain. The cable car ride was really fun and the view from the mountain was beautiful. We spent some time hiking around and lounging about in meadows. It was really gorgeous up there.
The next day was spent wandering around Geneva's Old Town. We saw the Jet d'eau, which is a giant stream of water that shoots into the air from the Lake. That was actually really awesome. We spent time just chilling by lake and watching the swans paddle through the clear blue water. We saw the Church where John Calvin preached, and layed in the grass in several beautiful parks. It was really an amazing day. We finished the day by dining on a delicious pot of cheese fondue. Mmmmm.
Pictures (Thanks Lori!)
Mmmm, Delicious Fondue!
Beautiful!
Italy!
We were lucky enough to get two weeks off from classes here for Spring break, and we decided to take advantage of the time and head of to a place that needed time to get to and time to explore, so we headed out to Italy. We hopped on an EasyJet flight to Milan and we were on our way.
Milan- We made a loop around Italy, so we both started and ended our journey in Milan. Milan was a very beautiful city, and I could see how it would be a really amazing time if you were really into fashion, had an unlimited budget, and wanted to just spend the day shopping for fabulous clothes before having a long dinner and then hitting up the clubs. Because I don't fit that mold it wasn't my favorite city, but there were some highlights.
I truly enjoyed touring the Duomo, napping up on the roof of the Duomo, and going to Easter mass at the Duomo. I also enjoyed people watching at the Duomo, and attempting to chat with the security guard at the Duomo, who seemed to think that "Michigan" was the coolest word he had ever heard. Basically, I loved the Duomo.
I also loved the cool Gelato man that served us our first and last gelato in Italy, and remembered us and gave us an extra scoop when we came back the second time. Which was pretty awesome.
Milan Duomo
Venice- The Second leg of the Journey was Venice. Venice is absolutely beautiful! Such a beautiful city surrounded by gorgeous bright blue water with little canals weaving through the city. I loved just standing on the bridge and watching the Gondolas go by below. It was simply amazing.
Highlights include:
-Going to the top of St. Mark's (so amazing!)
-riding the waterbus (it was an experience)
- staying the the coolest campground ever that was quite a ways away from venice (again, an experience, in a good way)
-the Italian Sandwich maker that offered to teach me Italian
Venice from the Top of St. Mark'sRome- it was absolutely wonderful! I completely adored every part of Rome, from the gorgeous Forums and Colosseum, the the high walls of Vatican city. The first day in Rome was spent exploring the Forums and the Colosseum. It was really neat to be standing in something that was so old. Later, we headed out to see the Pantheon and the Trevi fountain, and spent lots of time just walking around the city. Actually, much of the day in general was spent walking to something historical and beautiful, and then stopping to chill out near it for awhile. It was really relaxing and nice.
My second day in Rome was spent mostly at the Vatican. We set out early in the morning to beat the lines at the Vatican museum, though we still had to wait for about an hour. Then we wandered around the Vatican museum for awhile, appreciating all the interesting art. The sistine Chapel was really cool, it actually looked 3-dimensional to me.
I separated from two of my companions to go meet another in front of St. Peter's. There was much confusion, though, and with a dead phone I as unable to meet up with anyone, so I set off to explore Rome alone. I actually really enjoyed myself doing it. I went into St. Peter's (AMAZING), then check out the musuem of religious artifacts, which was also pretty sweet. Then I went to the top of St. Peters, which was also really awesome.
After that I left Vatican city and set out to explore Rome solo. I went to some beautiful churches, saw the Scala Santa, picked up my tickets to the Papal audience, and hit up Mass in English. Overall, it was really peaceful and beautiful, and I had a great afternoon.
The next day Lori and I woke up early to head to the Papal audience, which was really wonderful. It was so fun being among so many excited people, and it was really cool getting to see the Pope. That was truly a highlight of my trip.
Highlights include:
-Pope Benedict
-Staying a hostel called "Hotel Michigan"
-The Vatican
-climbing the Scala Santa
-delicious food and wine
-the museum of religious artifacts
-living through an earthquake (it really wasn't that strong in Rome)
Inside the ColoseumFlorence- I had very few expectations for Florence, but I was very much impressed by how beautiful it was! The first thing we did after checking into our awesome hostel was head out to the Piazza Michelangelo for the sunset. Gorgeous. Then we hung out by the river on a beautiful bridge, ate a great dinner, and then walked past many beautiful buildings on our walk home.
Highlights include:
-Piazza Michelangelo
-beautiful scenery in general
-delicious food
-a 3 course dinner with wine for 12 euro
-Art everywhere
-hanging out around the duomo
-eating Vanilla gelato that reminded me of Greenfield village's frozen custard
View of Florence from Piazza Michelangelo
San Gimignano and Sienna- While staying in Florence we took a daytrip to San Gimiginano and also Seinna. SG was amazingly beautiful. I was simply blown away by the gorgeous hills and vineyards of Tuscany. The town was quaint, but very beautiful, and the scenery around it was simply amazing.
Yay Tuscany!Sienna was also quite beautiful. It was larger then SG. We hung out in the Campo, and took a short walking tour around town. It was so nice because you'd just be walking down a road and then out of nowhere you would see a breathtaking view. I really enjoyed it and am jealous Savvy was there for so long.
Sienna!-amazing wine
-beautiful scenery
-basking in the warm sun
-people watching
Cinque Terre- this does not refer to a town but rather to 5 towns. These towns are quite close together, and are right on the sea. They are connected by a train, but also by a series of paths, and the thing to do in Cinque Terre is to hike along these paths and get the gorgeous views of these towns, the hills, and of the sea.
When we first arrived we checked into our adorable hostel and then headed down to grab a spot on the rocks to watch the sunset and sip some wine. It was so relaxing, and really just wonderful.
The next day, Lori and I woke up early to hike the 9 km trail. It was really really wonderful. Hiking the trails was a highlight of Italy, and also ranks up there as a highlight of my time in Europe in general. The trails present glorius views. We came across winding streams, beautiful flowers, many many photographic moments, and many cats. Some of the trails were pretty challenging (I swear at one point we walked uphill for forty minutes straight) but it was truly an amazing way to experience Italy. Each of the towns were beautiful as well, and at the end we were rewarded with a nice beach to relax on. We were hoping to swim, but the water was still quite cold, but it was thrilling just to dip our sore feet into the sea.
Highlights include:
-hiking the trails
-stopping for a delicious breakfast along the way
-laughing at the strange toilets
-dipping my feet into the sea
-everything was a highlight, it was just beautiful
Cinque Terre!We began the day in Lecco where we had a nice breakfast, watched lots of windsurfers, and took a lovely stroll before hitting up the ferry to the next town. After a long ferry ride (which, although slow, was a wonderful way to see the lake) we stopped in Bellagio for a bit. This town was wonderful! We found a great little restaurant where we sat on the patio and enjoyed handmade lasagna with a glass of the local wine. Then we went down by the lake to just enjoy the scenery. We lounged for a bit, enjoying the sunshine and gazing at the Alps. I read my book for a bit, then took a short nap in the grass. It was wonderful. Then back on the long ferry to Como, where we needed to go to catch a train back to Milan. Como was beautiful as well, though it was much more touristy then the other two places.
Highlights:
-Mountains
-being woken up from my nap by a little green lizard crawling on my leg
-playing with an adorable Italian child that had clearly just learned to walk
-handmade lasagna
-windsurfers
-clean beautiful water
-white chocolate Gelato
Beautiful Lake ComoOverall, Italy was simply amazing. It was a beautiful country and I feel like I could have stayed forever.
After returning from Italy I got straight to work on a research paper. Once I finished that I headed up to Amsterdam to meet my parents.
My parents visited!
Upon arriving in Amsterdam I tried to call my parents but found that, for some reason my phone did not want to call them. Thankfully, I had written down the hotel address, though I had no clue how to find it. After some problem-solving on my part, and a run-in with a biker (I was in Amsterdam for less then half and hour and, yes, I got hit by a bike) I found their hotel.
It was really great to see my parents! We were all pretty tired and were planning on having a laid-back night, so we went for a stroll around town, made a short stop in the red light district (which was interesting, to say the least), and then hopped on a boat for a boat tour, which was really great. It was wonderful to see Amsterdam from the canals, and to learn a little history about the city.
The next day we woke up bright and early and hopped on a train to the airport where we could catch a bus out to the Keukenhof Gardens to see the tulips. Thanks to careful planning, we had bought our e-tickets in advance and headed out to the Gardens.
Tulips (pic stolen from dad!)When we got there we were stunned by the amount of people that were there! You couldn't step in any direction without nearly running into that. Despite that, the tulips were gorgeous! Everywhere you looked there were beautiful flowers, planted meticulously in beautiful formations. I think we spent close to 3 hours just wandering around looking at flowers, and I am pretty sure that there were still things that we missed!
Dad and I walking on water in the Gardens (photo credit:Dad)The next morning we caught a train back to Brussels and spent the day seeing some of the sights. It was surreal showing my parents around Brussels, but it was also really nice. I think that they really enjoyed seeing the city.
The next morning I got up and went to class, while my parents went on a walk that I had mapped out for them the night before. The only problem is that I didn't specify which direction they were supposed to turn once they got out of their hotel. They had a 50/50 chance of getting it right, but sadly they guess wrong. When I got to the place I was supposed to meet them I started to get nervous, but they ended up taking a cab and it all turned out fine.
We headed over the Parliament, and I showed them around my office and the Parliament as a whole. We went to the canteen to grab lunch, and I'm glad that they got to experience the chaos first-hand, haha.
We spent the rest of the day walking around Brussels and hanging out in the beautiful parks, and then we called it an early night, as we had a big day planned for the next day.
We woke up early and hopped on a train to Oostende, a coastal town on the North Sea. The town itself probably would have been a lot nicer in the Summer or on a Saturday when more people would have been there, so I didn't find the town to be all the impressive. The coastline, though, was quite nice, and it was really fun walking along the sandy beaches and seeing the North Sea.
On the way back we had the option of stopping at Ghent or Bruges, considering that they were both on the way back. Since it was a Tuesday and I figured it wouldn't be that crowded, we stopped in Bruges. It was beautiful as always, and I think that my parents really enjoyed it too.
Having Deb and Jeff come to visit was great!It was really fun to show them around and I'm super glad they made it out.
Geneva, Switzerland!
Several months ago Lori and I decided that we wanted to take a trip the first weekend in May. So we compiled a list of places that we wanted to go and decided to go to the one with the cheapest airfare. Lucky for us, that landed us a trip to Geneva Switzerland!
The trip to Geneva was great, and hassle free. We arrived late on Friday night to check into what is quite possibly the nicest hostel I've ever seen, with a really helpful staff. They gave us our free transportation pass (tourists in Geneva get to ride public transport for free!) and gave us directions to all the places we wanted to go.
The next morning we headed out to see the U.N. and hit up the Red Cross Museum. I probably wouldn't have chosen to go into the red cross musuem, but Lori suggested it and I am really glad that she did. The museum taught about some really interesting history, and was one of the highlights of Geneva.
Next, we hopped on a bus to the outskirts of town, walked across the French border (soooo, anticlimactic. There was literally no customs or Border security), and bought tickets to ride a cable car up to the top of a mountain. The cable car ride was really fun and the view from the mountain was beautiful. We spent some time hiking around and lounging about in meadows. It was really gorgeous up there.
The next day was spent wandering around Geneva's Old Town. We saw the Jet d'eau, which is a giant stream of water that shoots into the air from the Lake. That was actually really awesome. We spent time just chilling by lake and watching the swans paddle through the clear blue water. We saw the Church where John Calvin preached, and layed in the grass in several beautiful parks. It was really an amazing day. We finished the day by dining on a delicious pot of cheese fondue. Mmmmm.
Pictures (Thanks Lori!)
Mmmm, Delicious Fondue!
Beautiful!18 April 2009
Ireland!
Right after returning from Strasbourg I started packing for Ireland. I work in the office of an Irish MEP, and I was really excited to see a place that I had heard so much about.
In order to get our cheap flight we had to leave at 6:45 am, which proved to be especially difficult since we were departing from a "Brussels area" airport that is an hour bus ride away. We had to take a taxi to get to the train station in time to catch the 4:30 bus to the airport, but after a few taxi difficulties and an hour long bus ride we were at the airport and ready to go.
The first thing that we did when we arrived was check into our hostel, and then set out in search of a full Irish breakfast. Our plates were piled high with sausages, potatoes, beans and toast, bacon, and some kind of "pudding" that I later learned was made of pig's blood (who knew?). It was delicious, and enough to keep me full for the rest of the day!
The rest of the day was spent walking around Dublin. We took a tour of the Guinness Factory, wandered around O'Connell Street, stopped into Christchurch Cathedral, and lounged in the sun near St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was a really wonderful day!
The next day, we woke up bright and early and hopped on a tour bus out to Wicklow county to see the beautiful countryside. We spent the day riding the bus through beautiful hills and valleys, and had lots of time to get off the bus and walk around. I was blown away at how beautiful Ireland is! The hills were so gorgeous, and I was just amazed by it. It was also great to have our tour guide pointing out some subtle but beautiful things, explain to us why the lake was the color of Guiness, and go over some of the history of the region.
We stopped for lunch in a little town, and had a delicious carvery lunch. Then we set out to spend the afternoon in Glendalough, a really gorgeous little section of Wicklow.
Glendalough was the location of St. Kevin's monastic order, and there were lots of interesting stone towers and ruins of beautiful old churches. We wandered around, marveling at the beautiful forests, the sparkling lakes, and the towering mountains. We were all just completely blown away by the beauty.
After a full day of exploring we headed back to Dublin, excited to see more of Ireland. We wandered around the Trinity College Area and St. Stephens green. Then we hopped on the DART (Dublin Area Regional Transit) to go see the sunset in Howth.
Howth is a little fishing village about a 25 minute DART ride from Trinity College. When we arrived we strolled along the water, and watched the sun set over the rocky shoreline. It was simply perfect.
We set off in search of fish and chips, but as we walked along the water we heard some strange noises and decided to investigate only to find several seals swimming nearby! This was such a wonderful surprise and a real highlight of the trip! It was so cool to see these animals up close. I don't think my camera did it justice, but it was truly amazing.
After about 20 minutes of snapping pictures and marveling over the seals we left in search of some fish and chips. We stumbled upon a nice place that gave us a pretty good deal for some fresh fish and chips, and then headed to the pub to chat it up with the locals and watch Ireland take on Bulgaria in football.
We chatted with a former sailor who told us all about his days sailing and assured us that, having traveled all around the world, that Howth was the best place in the world. Ireland ended up tying with Bulgaria, but despite the anti-climatic result we really had a blast hanging out with the locals.
The next morning we packed up bright and early, were met with more taxi troubles (I seriously have the worst luck with taxis) but found our way to the airport anyway and headed home. It was really sad to leave Ireland. It was just such a beautiful country, the people were very friendly, and the convenience of being able to speak english was truly a comfort. Though I know it won't happen before I leave in May, I really hope to be able to visit Ireland again soon.
Pictures!
St. Patrick's
I saw this spray painted on the side of a building in Dublin and I thought it was pretty cool.
In order to get our cheap flight we had to leave at 6:45 am, which proved to be especially difficult since we were departing from a "Brussels area" airport that is an hour bus ride away. We had to take a taxi to get to the train station in time to catch the 4:30 bus to the airport, but after a few taxi difficulties and an hour long bus ride we were at the airport and ready to go.
The first thing that we did when we arrived was check into our hostel, and then set out in search of a full Irish breakfast. Our plates were piled high with sausages, potatoes, beans and toast, bacon, and some kind of "pudding" that I later learned was made of pig's blood (who knew?). It was delicious, and enough to keep me full for the rest of the day!
The rest of the day was spent walking around Dublin. We took a tour of the Guinness Factory, wandered around O'Connell Street, stopped into Christchurch Cathedral, and lounged in the sun near St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was a really wonderful day!
The next day, we woke up bright and early and hopped on a tour bus out to Wicklow county to see the beautiful countryside. We spent the day riding the bus through beautiful hills and valleys, and had lots of time to get off the bus and walk around. I was blown away at how beautiful Ireland is! The hills were so gorgeous, and I was just amazed by it. It was also great to have our tour guide pointing out some subtle but beautiful things, explain to us why the lake was the color of Guiness, and go over some of the history of the region.
We stopped for lunch in a little town, and had a delicious carvery lunch. Then we set out to spend the afternoon in Glendalough, a really gorgeous little section of Wicklow.
Glendalough was the location of St. Kevin's monastic order, and there were lots of interesting stone towers and ruins of beautiful old churches. We wandered around, marveling at the beautiful forests, the sparkling lakes, and the towering mountains. We were all just completely blown away by the beauty.
After a full day of exploring we headed back to Dublin, excited to see more of Ireland. We wandered around the Trinity College Area and St. Stephens green. Then we hopped on the DART (Dublin Area Regional Transit) to go see the sunset in Howth.
Howth is a little fishing village about a 25 minute DART ride from Trinity College. When we arrived we strolled along the water, and watched the sun set over the rocky shoreline. It was simply perfect.
We set off in search of fish and chips, but as we walked along the water we heard some strange noises and decided to investigate only to find several seals swimming nearby! This was such a wonderful surprise and a real highlight of the trip! It was so cool to see these animals up close. I don't think my camera did it justice, but it was truly amazing.
After about 20 minutes of snapping pictures and marveling over the seals we left in search of some fish and chips. We stumbled upon a nice place that gave us a pretty good deal for some fresh fish and chips, and then headed to the pub to chat it up with the locals and watch Ireland take on Bulgaria in football.
We chatted with a former sailor who told us all about his days sailing and assured us that, having traveled all around the world, that Howth was the best place in the world. Ireland ended up tying with Bulgaria, but despite the anti-climatic result we really had a blast hanging out with the locals.
The next morning we packed up bright and early, were met with more taxi troubles (I seriously have the worst luck with taxis) but found our way to the airport anyway and headed home. It was really sad to leave Ireland. It was just such a beautiful country, the people were very friendly, and the convenience of being able to speak english was truly a comfort. Though I know it won't happen before I leave in May, I really hope to be able to visit Ireland again soon.
Pictures!
St. Patrick's
I saw this spray painted on the side of a building in Dublin and I thought it was pretty cool.
Wicklow
So Beautiful!
A lake the color of Guiness
So Beautiful!
A lake the color of Guiness
Stone tower in Glendalough
Tombstones with the hills in the backround. Beautiful!
Is was soooo pretty!
View of the sunset over the ocean from Howth
Seals!
Tombstones with the hills in the backround. Beautiful!
Is was soooo pretty!
View of the sunset over the ocean from Howth
Seals!
As Promised...
Pictures!
Strasbourg:
Petit France! Beautiful!
Really a very pretty city
The Office in the Parliament
The Parliament Building
Look Mom, I hung up my clothes!
Strasbourg:
Petit France! Beautiful!
Really a very pretty city
The Office in the Parliament
The Parliament Building
Look Mom, I hung up my clothes!01 April 2009
Leuven and Strasbourg
So, it's been a busy couple of weeks. I've felt particularly lazy and probably wouldn't be updating this right now except that if I don't update before Italy I will get so far behind there will be no catching up. Let me rewind a bit.
Two weeks ago Lori's friend Jasmine came to visit from France. Jasmine is in an immersion program in Bordeaux, and so she was particularly handy to have around because she is fluent in French. She was also just a lot of fun in general.
Lori and Jasmine had decided to take a day trip to Leuven, and I thought I would tag along with them. Leuven is a neat city that is about a half hour long train ride away. It has a large student population. We went for a few hours to look around. We enjoyed some churches, hung out in the Markt, chilled in the park in the sunshine (there were tons of students around and I felt like I was hanging out on the quad at UR), and ate the most delicious ice cream.
Now I know that I'm going to get crap for this later from my parents, but I really do need to pause to tell you about this ice cream. I don't care if I get criticized for being food crazy or "writing as if I work for food network"; I am alerting you to this for the greater good of humanity. I have recently encountered the phenomenon known as Speculoos and, I believe, that it may change the course of my life forever.
Speculoos cookies are these thin, crunchy little cookies that are sold here in Belgium (and apparently the Netherlands and France) and they are the most delicious thing ever. My favorite part abouot Speculoos cookies is that they come in many different forms. Recent discoveries have been Speculoos ice cream (in Leuven), Speculoos Mcflurries, and my (personal favorite) Pate de Speculoos. That's right folks, some clever entrepenuer had the idea of grinding these up these fantastic cookies and mixing them with butter or something, to form a speculoos spread! What could be better then being able to spread sugar-cookie flavored deliciousness onto anything you want.
So yes, I had tasty ice cream in Leuven.
After our afternoon in Leuven we came back to Brussels and tried out this really interesting bar called "Le Corbeau" (translates into English as "the raven"). This place has been described as a "Brussels legend". Basically, it is an average bar 5 nights a week. On Fridays and Saturdays it is also an average bar, until about midnight. Once the clock strikes midnight a DJ starts blasting music and the entire bar leaps up on top of tables, chairs, counters, and any other surface and dances! It was just so much fun, but before I knew it the weekend was over and I was shipping out to Strasbourg for the Parliament's monthly plenary session.
For those of you that are unfamiliar with the procedures of the European Parliament, every month the Parliament meets for a plenary session in Strasbourg France. There is a huge building there, and they all have offices. Many of them have interns that work only one week a month. They also have trunks that they load into the back of these trucks in Brussels that carry the trunks to Strasbourg. Basically, the entire Parliament packs up and heads to Strasbourg for no reason other then to appease the French and to ensure that the EU is officially the most inefficient institution in the world.
Anyway, despite my thoughts about the entire purpose of moving to Strasbourg, I was really grateful for the opportunity to go and to see all the cool things that happen in Strasbourg. I hopped on the train Monday morning very early in the morning, and spent 5 hours listening to music, and fighting for leg room with some Eurocrats from the Socialist party who (ironically) were not so good at sharing space.
When I got off the train I had few hours to walk around and tour the city, so I set out to stroll about Strasbourg. I was completely amazed with how gorgeous the city is!! The architecture is beautiful, and there are several pretty cathedrals and churches. I walked alone the river and enjoyed the architecture. Then I set out to find Petit France, a little cluster of beatiful little buildings. They were really pretty. I snapped about a thousand pictures, enjoyed the sunshine, and mentally praised France for having clean public bathrooms.
After a few hours of touring alone, I started to get a little hungry, so I looked for a kebab restuarant. When I went into the little restaurant the shop owner was incredibly nice to me. He listened carefully to my bad French and guess that I was from Germany. I was flattered. It was nice to not immediately be pegged for an American.
The plenary session begins at 5 on Monday, so I walked across the city to find the Parliament building. The Parliament buildings are beautiful! They are set up on both sides of the river, and have a little hallway/bridge that crosses completely over the river, which I thought was super cool. I had a ton of difficulty learning to navigate this new (and enormous) building.
Two weeks ago Lori's friend Jasmine came to visit from France. Jasmine is in an immersion program in Bordeaux, and so she was particularly handy to have around because she is fluent in French. She was also just a lot of fun in general.
Lori and Jasmine had decided to take a day trip to Leuven, and I thought I would tag along with them. Leuven is a neat city that is about a half hour long train ride away. It has a large student population. We went for a few hours to look around. We enjoyed some churches, hung out in the Markt, chilled in the park in the sunshine (there were tons of students around and I felt like I was hanging out on the quad at UR), and ate the most delicious ice cream.
Now I know that I'm going to get crap for this later from my parents, but I really do need to pause to tell you about this ice cream. I don't care if I get criticized for being food crazy or "writing as if I work for food network"; I am alerting you to this for the greater good of humanity. I have recently encountered the phenomenon known as Speculoos and, I believe, that it may change the course of my life forever.
Speculoos cookies are these thin, crunchy little cookies that are sold here in Belgium (and apparently the Netherlands and France) and they are the most delicious thing ever. My favorite part abouot Speculoos cookies is that they come in many different forms. Recent discoveries have been Speculoos ice cream (in Leuven), Speculoos Mcflurries, and my (personal favorite) Pate de Speculoos. That's right folks, some clever entrepenuer had the idea of grinding these up these fantastic cookies and mixing them with butter or something, to form a speculoos spread! What could be better then being able to spread sugar-cookie flavored deliciousness onto anything you want.
So yes, I had tasty ice cream in Leuven.
After our afternoon in Leuven we came back to Brussels and tried out this really interesting bar called "Le Corbeau" (translates into English as "the raven"). This place has been described as a "Brussels legend". Basically, it is an average bar 5 nights a week. On Fridays and Saturdays it is also an average bar, until about midnight. Once the clock strikes midnight a DJ starts blasting music and the entire bar leaps up on top of tables, chairs, counters, and any other surface and dances! It was just so much fun, but before I knew it the weekend was over and I was shipping out to Strasbourg for the Parliament's monthly plenary session.
For those of you that are unfamiliar with the procedures of the European Parliament, every month the Parliament meets for a plenary session in Strasbourg France. There is a huge building there, and they all have offices. Many of them have interns that work only one week a month. They also have trunks that they load into the back of these trucks in Brussels that carry the trunks to Strasbourg. Basically, the entire Parliament packs up and heads to Strasbourg for no reason other then to appease the French and to ensure that the EU is officially the most inefficient institution in the world.
Anyway, despite my thoughts about the entire purpose of moving to Strasbourg, I was really grateful for the opportunity to go and to see all the cool things that happen in Strasbourg. I hopped on the train Monday morning very early in the morning, and spent 5 hours listening to music, and fighting for leg room with some Eurocrats from the Socialist party who (ironically) were not so good at sharing space.
When I got off the train I had few hours to walk around and tour the city, so I set out to stroll about Strasbourg. I was completely amazed with how gorgeous the city is!! The architecture is beautiful, and there are several pretty cathedrals and churches. I walked alone the river and enjoyed the architecture. Then I set out to find Petit France, a little cluster of beatiful little buildings. They were really pretty. I snapped about a thousand pictures, enjoyed the sunshine, and mentally praised France for having clean public bathrooms.
After a few hours of touring alone, I started to get a little hungry, so I looked for a kebab restuarant. When I went into the little restaurant the shop owner was incredibly nice to me. He listened carefully to my bad French and guess that I was from Germany. I was flattered. It was nice to not immediately be pegged for an American.
The plenary session begins at 5 on Monday, so I walked across the city to find the Parliament building. The Parliament buildings are beautiful! They are set up on both sides of the river, and have a little hallway/bridge that crosses completely over the river, which I thought was super cool. I had a ton of difficulty learning to navigate this new (and enormous) building.
After my short attempt at tourism Monday, the rest ofthe week gave way to long hours and a lot of interesting work. Given that our hotel was outside the bounds of public transportation, I was basically attached to Kathy. It gave me the opportunity to get a better idea what a day in the life of an MEP is like. Kathy works soooo hard! I was amazed that, even after a 12 hour day when I got back to the hotel and pass out she would stay up working on speaking time, and keeping in touch with constituents.
The work I got to do was super interesting, too. I am really fortunate to be placed in an office where my MEP trusts me, and is very patient with my inexperience. Even when I make mistakes I'm not scolded or berated; they simply tell me how to do it correctly, and insist that I'll get it right the next time. I know I'm really lucky.
Highlights of the week in Strasbourg include:
-Hanging out in the back of the plenary room watching nearly 800 MEPs vote.
-adventures with Kathy as we tried to check into our hotel, and were repeatedly taken to the wrong hotel
-meeting the Strasbourg interns
-attending a German hippie meeting where I felt incredibly out of place
-Watching Kathy give speeches
-Mass at the Parliament with a bunch of MEPs
-having a bathroom to myself that I didn't have to share with small children who sometimes forget to flush
-delicious steak dinner that I know I will be reimbursed for :)
-Gordon Brown's visit
-Watching British Conservatives yell at Gordon Brown
Overall it was a great, albeit exhausting week, and when I hopped on the train home I was sad to go.
I arrived in Brussels from Strasbourg and have less then 12 hours to pack before heading out to Dublin. I'll have to spell check this entry, add pictures, and discuss Ireland when I get back because I leave for Italy in a few hours. Much love!
Em
Em
29 March 2009
Paris!
This entry is certainly overdue, but better late then never, right?
Two weekends ago my roommates and I headed to Paris. We had to wake up at 4:45 am, and caught the 6:45 fast train to Paris. It was exhausting, but it was totally worth is, since it allowed us to get to Paris for cheap, and to spend more time exploring this amazing city.
When we got there we split up, Lori and I headed to Montmartre to check into our hostel, Celeste spent the weekend with friends, and Judith went to meet up with her boyfriend (but would catch up with us later).
We dropped our luggage off at the hostel, and headed over toward l'Arc de Triomphe. We walked around it, snapping pictures and marveling about the fact that we were in PARIS staring at something that had been built for Napoleon! Then Judith met up with us, and we headed to the top for some fantastic views. Seeing Paris from fairly high up, I realized immediately why everyone is so in love with Paris; It's absolutely beautiful. We spent a good while up there, soaking in the views, then headed down Avenue des Champs-Elysées.
We walked down toward le Grand Palais, and le Petit Palais, and then stopped on a bridge overlooking the River Seine. I was just blown away by how beautiful this view was. I felt as though I could stand on that bridge for the rest of my life, and not get sick of looking at it. Actually, I felt that way about most of Paris. It was truly stunning.
We headed back to our side of the bridge, with promises that we would explore the other side the next day. We walked down and saw the Palais Royal, and its beautiful garden. We stopped by the Colonne Vendôme, went into Église de la Madeleine (a spectacular church), stopped in the nicest public bathroom I have ever seen in my entire life, saw the Opera house (which is gorgeous), and lounged in the sun by a pond in the Jardin des Tuileries, before heading into the Louvre.
On Fridays at 6 pm the Louvre is free for people under 26. We took advantage of this. The Louvre was beautiful, but overwhelming. We enjoyed what we were able to see, but there is just so much art! We saw the Mona Lisa, and got really excited when we stumbled upon a few rooms full of paintings from Rubens (if you recall, we toured his house in Antwerp, and we were able to see some of his famous paintings that had been described to us on that tour). By this point we were exhausted, so we headed back to the hostel.
We got our room assignment, and went upstairs only to discover that there was only one bed left in our six person room. Apparently there was an Argentinian man that had forgotten to check out and, though he was out and about, his stuff was occupying my bed. The desk clerk gave me fresh linens, and told me that the bed was rightfully mine. I spent the night in a fitful sleep, worried that an irate man was going to come back to the room and, finding me in what he believed was his bed, either beat me up, or climb into bed with me. Thankfully, the night passed without incident, and I think the desk clerk gave me my sheets for free for the trouble.
We began the next day by heading off for the Eiffel Tower. It was really thrilling to be there. A day earlier I had kind of dismissed the Eiffel tower as kind of an eyesore that we only find charming because we learn about it as important landmark from a very early age. I have to admit, though, up close the tower was pretty freaking cool. We took about a thousand pictures of the tower and of ourselves with the tower, then headed out to see more sights.
We walked over and saw many more beautiful buildings then I can name, and ducked into several little gardens. The weather as absolutely gorgeous, and we just had a great time walking in the sun and enjoying the beautiful city.
We went into the Musee de Orsay, which was definitely a highlight of the trip. This museum has lots of really famous works from people like Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Degas, Vangough, Toulouse Latrec, and many others. It's also in an old train station, which is really cool.
We saw a couple of gorgeous churches, then walked over the Jardin Luxembourg. This was one of my favorite places in Paris. We sat in the sun by a pond, and watched little children push boats around on the pond. It was adorable. While waiting for Lori to come out of the bathroom I also had an interesting run-in with a French man who, with no prompting, formally welcomed me to Paris. When I asked him how he could so easily tell I was American he said "Well, Because I look at your face and I know you are not from Senegal." The entire encounter was so incredibly pleasant that it left Lori and I wondering if, in an attempt to change their reputation, the French government has started offering tax breaks to those that are friendly to tourists.
Next we grabbed lunch/dinner (eating at about 3:30 PM is a clever travel trick to avoid spending too much money) and then we headed toward Notre Dame. It was pretty cool, but Notre Dame was maybe the one thing in Paris that I wasn't blown away by. It was beautiful, but the touristy aspect of it made it difficult for me to see it as any sort of sacred space.
Then we headed over to meet Judith and Adam (who is studying in Paris), and some of his friends at a bar for drinks. Being an American in Paris, and heading out to meet up with other Americans for drinks made me feel a bit like I was in the Sun Also Rises (without the War induced injuries, of course).
Lori had promised me a romantic walk by the river, and I held her to it. We walked along the river and then hopped on the Metro back to the hostel for some well deserved rest.
The next morning we set out to explore the Montmartre region, which is where we were staying. We walked down toward the Moulin Rouge, and only then did we really how incredibly close we had been staying to the red light district, haha. Oh well, we never felt unsafe. Sunday morning was probably the best time to explore this region, as there were not many shady people. Seeing the moulin rouge was pretty cool. Then we headed up through narrow streets to see more the neighborhood, which quickly turned from being raunchy to being beautiful. We came across some beautiful sights, including more windmills, and an open-air market where lots of artists were selling their work.
Then we saw the Sacre-Coeur. This was another true highlight. It was gorgeous! We walked around inside, then I went in for mass. This was actually one of the longest masses I had every been to in my entire life, which was only frustrating because it was (obviously) in French, and Lori was waiting for me outside. Still, it was beautiful, and a really wonderful opportunity.
We climbed the many stairs down the hill in front of Sacre-Coeur, then headed over toward the area near Notre-Dame. Hit up the Shakespeare book Shop (in large part due to Savannah's high praises of the place Thanks Savvy!!) It really was neat. Then we headed over to St. Chapelle's to see the light streaming in through the beautiful stained glass. It was gorgeous.
We hopped over to the cemetery where Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison were buried, but we weren't able to find either of their graves. Still, the cemetery was huge and pretty cool, although it was no Mount Hope.
One of my goals for the weekend was to see the Eiffel Tower shimmer, which it does on the hour at night. So we grabbed crepes, and headed back up to the Sacre-Couer to lounge in the sun, watch street performers, watch the sun set, and have a prime view of Eiffel Tower shimmering. Watching the Eiffel tower sparkle was the perfect ending to the trip. We headed down and walked back to the train station to make our train back.
I had heard from a few people that Paris is overrated; nothing could be farther from the truth. Paris is absolutely spectacular. It is beautiful,clean, and sophisticated, and there is so much to see. It was most certainly a place that I hope to visit again soon.
Thanks for reading!
Love,
Em
Pictures:
Two weekends ago my roommates and I headed to Paris. We had to wake up at 4:45 am, and caught the 6:45 fast train to Paris. It was exhausting, but it was totally worth is, since it allowed us to get to Paris for cheap, and to spend more time exploring this amazing city.
When we got there we split up, Lori and I headed to Montmartre to check into our hostel, Celeste spent the weekend with friends, and Judith went to meet up with her boyfriend (but would catch up with us later).
We dropped our luggage off at the hostel, and headed over toward l'Arc de Triomphe. We walked around it, snapping pictures and marveling about the fact that we were in PARIS staring at something that had been built for Napoleon! Then Judith met up with us, and we headed to the top for some fantastic views. Seeing Paris from fairly high up, I realized immediately why everyone is so in love with Paris; It's absolutely beautiful. We spent a good while up there, soaking in the views, then headed down Avenue des Champs-Elysées.
We walked down toward le Grand Palais, and le Petit Palais, and then stopped on a bridge overlooking the River Seine. I was just blown away by how beautiful this view was. I felt as though I could stand on that bridge for the rest of my life, and not get sick of looking at it. Actually, I felt that way about most of Paris. It was truly stunning.
We headed back to our side of the bridge, with promises that we would explore the other side the next day. We walked down and saw the Palais Royal, and its beautiful garden. We stopped by the Colonne Vendôme, went into Église de la Madeleine (a spectacular church), stopped in the nicest public bathroom I have ever seen in my entire life, saw the Opera house (which is gorgeous), and lounged in the sun by a pond in the Jardin des Tuileries, before heading into the Louvre.
On Fridays at 6 pm the Louvre is free for people under 26. We took advantage of this. The Louvre was beautiful, but overwhelming. We enjoyed what we were able to see, but there is just so much art! We saw the Mona Lisa, and got really excited when we stumbled upon a few rooms full of paintings from Rubens (if you recall, we toured his house in Antwerp, and we were able to see some of his famous paintings that had been described to us on that tour). By this point we were exhausted, so we headed back to the hostel.
We got our room assignment, and went upstairs only to discover that there was only one bed left in our six person room. Apparently there was an Argentinian man that had forgotten to check out and, though he was out and about, his stuff was occupying my bed. The desk clerk gave me fresh linens, and told me that the bed was rightfully mine. I spent the night in a fitful sleep, worried that an irate man was going to come back to the room and, finding me in what he believed was his bed, either beat me up, or climb into bed with me. Thankfully, the night passed without incident, and I think the desk clerk gave me my sheets for free for the trouble.
We began the next day by heading off for the Eiffel Tower. It was really thrilling to be there. A day earlier I had kind of dismissed the Eiffel tower as kind of an eyesore that we only find charming because we learn about it as important landmark from a very early age. I have to admit, though, up close the tower was pretty freaking cool. We took about a thousand pictures of the tower and of ourselves with the tower, then headed out to see more sights.
We walked over and saw many more beautiful buildings then I can name, and ducked into several little gardens. The weather as absolutely gorgeous, and we just had a great time walking in the sun and enjoying the beautiful city.
We went into the Musee de Orsay, which was definitely a highlight of the trip. This museum has lots of really famous works from people like Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Degas, Vangough, Toulouse Latrec, and many others. It's also in an old train station, which is really cool.
We saw a couple of gorgeous churches, then walked over the Jardin Luxembourg. This was one of my favorite places in Paris. We sat in the sun by a pond, and watched little children push boats around on the pond. It was adorable. While waiting for Lori to come out of the bathroom I also had an interesting run-in with a French man who, with no prompting, formally welcomed me to Paris. When I asked him how he could so easily tell I was American he said "Well, Because I look at your face and I know you are not from Senegal." The entire encounter was so incredibly pleasant that it left Lori and I wondering if, in an attempt to change their reputation, the French government has started offering tax breaks to those that are friendly to tourists.
Next we grabbed lunch/dinner (eating at about 3:30 PM is a clever travel trick to avoid spending too much money) and then we headed toward Notre Dame. It was pretty cool, but Notre Dame was maybe the one thing in Paris that I wasn't blown away by. It was beautiful, but the touristy aspect of it made it difficult for me to see it as any sort of sacred space.
Then we headed over to meet Judith and Adam (who is studying in Paris), and some of his friends at a bar for drinks. Being an American in Paris, and heading out to meet up with other Americans for drinks made me feel a bit like I was in the Sun Also Rises (without the War induced injuries, of course).
Lori had promised me a romantic walk by the river, and I held her to it. We walked along the river and then hopped on the Metro back to the hostel for some well deserved rest.
The next morning we set out to explore the Montmartre region, which is where we were staying. We walked down toward the Moulin Rouge, and only then did we really how incredibly close we had been staying to the red light district, haha. Oh well, we never felt unsafe. Sunday morning was probably the best time to explore this region, as there were not many shady people. Seeing the moulin rouge was pretty cool. Then we headed up through narrow streets to see more the neighborhood, which quickly turned from being raunchy to being beautiful. We came across some beautiful sights, including more windmills, and an open-air market where lots of artists were selling their work.
Then we saw the Sacre-Coeur. This was another true highlight. It was gorgeous! We walked around inside, then I went in for mass. This was actually one of the longest masses I had every been to in my entire life, which was only frustrating because it was (obviously) in French, and Lori was waiting for me outside. Still, it was beautiful, and a really wonderful opportunity.
We climbed the many stairs down the hill in front of Sacre-Coeur, then headed over toward the area near Notre-Dame. Hit up the Shakespeare book Shop (in large part due to Savannah's high praises of the place Thanks Savvy!!) It really was neat. Then we headed over to St. Chapelle's to see the light streaming in through the beautiful stained glass. It was gorgeous.
We hopped over to the cemetery where Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison were buried, but we weren't able to find either of their graves. Still, the cemetery was huge and pretty cool, although it was no Mount Hope.
One of my goals for the weekend was to see the Eiffel Tower shimmer, which it does on the hour at night. So we grabbed crepes, and headed back up to the Sacre-Couer to lounge in the sun, watch street performers, watch the sun set, and have a prime view of Eiffel Tower shimmering. Watching the Eiffel tower sparkle was the perfect ending to the trip. We headed down and walked back to the train station to make our train back.
I had heard from a few people that Paris is overrated; nothing could be farther from the truth. Paris is absolutely spectacular. It is beautiful,clean, and sophisticated, and there is so much to see. It was most certainly a place that I hope to visit again soon.
Thanks for reading!
Love,
Em
Pictures:
On the Bridge looking over the River Seine. Also, Eiffel Tower shot #1
View from the Arc de Triomphe. Note Montmartre and the Sacre-Couer in the distance.
The Arc de Triomphe
The view of the Eiffel Tower from the Sacre-Couer at sunset. This is the exact point where I watched the Eiffel Tower shimmer. Eiffel tower shot #2.
Sacre-Couer! Please note the gorgeous blue sky! I actually got a little sunburned sitting outside of this building.
Lori and I in front of Notre-Dame
Children playing with Boats in the Jardin de Luxembourg. I thought this was so cute.
I love this painting. It was so cool to see the Original.
Me in front of the Eiffel tower. Eiffel Tower shot #3.
The view of the Eiffel Tower from the Sacre-Couer at sunset. This is the exact point where I watched the Eiffel Tower shimmer. Eiffel tower shot #2.
Sacre-Couer! Please note the gorgeous blue sky! I actually got a little sunburned sitting outside of this building.
Lori and I in front of Notre-Dame
Children playing with Boats in the Jardin de Luxembourg. I thought this was so cute.
I love this painting. It was so cool to see the Original.
Me in front of the Eiffel tower. Eiffel Tower shot #3.12 March 2009
I'm a little behind...
It has been awhile! I've meant to update but I've been so busy with midterms, amendment deadlines and (the most exciting of all) VISITORS! The past two weekends were filled with spending fun times in
My good friend Kierstin is studying abroad in
Kierstin and I
The next morning we got up bright and early to take on the town. I showed Kierstin some of the sights, and we stopped at a waffle van to grab some hot gaufres au chocolat for breakfast. Then we walked down and I showed her around the Grand Place area before we settled down with Lori and Olivia to enjoy some Frites (with Mayo and a variety of other fine sauces of course) then we grabbed free balloons, and went to stake out a good spot for the balloon parade. In honor of two new murals in
Now as I alluded to in my post about Carnaval, Belgians have a very different view of what a parade is. An American parade would have the streets blocked off hours in advance, and the entire activity would be carefully coordinated. A Belgian parade is nothing like this. The parade was completely chaotic. First of all, I'm not sure why they chose to do a Balloon parade rather then a parade involving floats or something. The many low hanging tram wires made it incredibly difficult, and the balloons had to be pulled down every so often so that they cleared the wires.
Secondly, Belgians CANNOT control themselves when it comes to parades. They just get so excited that they rush the streets, and none of the police really care or try to stop them. This is exactly what happened. Within 10 minutes of the parade the street were packed with people trying to touch the cat in the hat. Similar to Binche, it was also incredibly slow moving. Overall the entire thing felt more like a festival then a parade, but I got a free balloon and had a total blast. I also got to see giant balloons in the shape of Mannekin Pis, the Atomium, the smurfs, Clifford the big red dog, and many other interesting characters.
After the parade we went to have hot chocolate, and then walked down to show Kierstin the Parliament and the Parc du Cinquantenaire. It was really a beautiful day outside, and it was just so nice to stroll outside and exchange stories of our study abroad experience thus far.
Sunday we headed to
Section II. Kim and Mike
As if having one visitor wasn't enough excitement my friend Kim and Mike came to visit last weekend! Kim is studying in
Kim's flight left from
When poor Kim finally showed up we hung out in my room for a bit, then headed to the train station to get Mike. Now Mike had forwarded me his itinerary saying that his flight was going to come in at 8:56. When we arrived at the station we discovered that there was no train coming in at 8:56. In fact, the next train didn't make it in until 9:30. Kim and I nervously waited around, praying that Mike was on that train. When he walked down from the train platform we were so relieved! Turns out that the travel agent mike used to book the tickets thought that he meant 6 AM, and Mike turned up for his train about 12 hours too late. He also had to shell out the money for an extra ticket (thanks Mike!).
Well given that they had both gone through so much to make it to
Friday I woke up and went to take my test and sent the two of them on a walk involving some pretty scenery and a lovely bakery. Then we met up by the
Kim and Mike sharing a waffle.
Mike eating a waffle in front of Mannekin Pis. Please note that this is a different waffle from the one in the picture above.
The next day we arose fairly early and met up with my friend Catriona (a fellow intern) to check out the flea market. The market was great! There was such a variety of things: Funny hats, crates filled with buttons,
The three of us on the steps of the Cathedral
Next we left the flea market to go grab some food. We grabbed some Frites and sampled more sauces. I'm amazed at the sheer number of sauces that there are. Then we walked around the St. Catherine area, and headed home to get ready for Museum Night Fever.
Museum Night Fever is an event where 7 Euro gives you admission to 14 museums for 5 hours. We made it to 4 museums. The Belvue (it covered the history of Belgian royalty), the
Kim and Mike dancing at the Museum of Musical Instruments
After that we headed back home, and said farewell to Kim who had an absurdly early flight that required her leaving in a taxi at 3 AM. The next morning Mike and I woke up so early and, due to the slow metro system, I had nearly had an anxiety attack trying to get him to the station before his train.
Overall the weekend with Kim and Mike was filled with tons of good conversation, good company, and far far to much chocolate. My teeth hurt just thinking about it.
Section III. Other highlights of the past two weeks include...
...Include
-Dance parties with the other interns at the Parliament to "Heat of the Moment" and other classics
-having a pseudo-sleepover with Lori that involved facebook stalking, watching the west wing, and reading magazines
-reading 88 pages of Fisheries policy, it made my brain hurt, but I liked it.
-EPA brunch. It was all-you-can-eat, enough said.
-the pretty decent weather (up until today)
-Heading to a free showing of the movie Bella at the Parliament and the question and answer with the main actor/producer of the film.
-Skyping with my insane parents. I fear that the Great Christmas Light Scandal of 2009 will never be solved
-Listening to Celeste's account of assaulting a 12 year old Belgian Boy (believe me, he had it coming)
That's all for now! This weekend is
Au revoir!
Em
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)