Upon Return...

Well, I've been home for over 10 days now. Adjusting back to life in America wasn't nearly as hard as I predicted. I've gone back to old habits I often wish I was able to leave behind (like my texting addiction). My body has finally started to function according to the American clock, I now wake up between 10 and 11, instead of between 7 and 8 (which is brutally early for me...). I've also started to work on my scrapbook for the semester, which I'm doing through Shutterfly. I figure it'll cost me more time and money to actually print out the pictures and do it myself than to do it all on Shutterfly.

Anyways, I've wanted to cap off my trip for a while now. There were two cities left on my tour that I haven't yet blogged about. We ended up staying in Budapest for 4 days instead of two (skipping Vienna). After that, we headed to Prague. After the six hour trek to Prague, we went straight out to dinner and met up with some friends that were studying abroad there. It was nice to have (a) some familiar faces and (b) built in tour guides who were able to show us around the Czech night life. Prague is a beautiful city, both by day and by night.

During the daytime while we were there, we toured around, went paddle-boating, walked up the hill to the castle and visited the Torture Museum, among other things. On Saturday night, our friend Emily flew in from the States and met us in Prague. On Sunday, Pete took off to head back to the States. It was fun to get a new traveler with us, but sad to send Pete off! 

On Monday, we all had to get up early and catch a train to Munich. The train ride was 6 hours, but it was smooth ride. We got to the train station in time, got some breakfast, caught the train, took a nap, and woke up in Germany. The first thing we did (after checking into our hostel) was go to the Hofbrauhaus. After that, we headed back to the hostel. Luckily (or unluckily) for us, there was a bar at the hostel, so we were able to hang out there for the rest of the night. Ironically, we ran into an old friend of ours. He happened to work at the bar. More ironically, we thought he was in Australia (not Germany). It worked out well though, and was very fun to see him.

The next day, we toured the city of Munich and then headed to Nymphembourg Palace to do some more touring there. After a nice traditional German dinner, we went out for a bit, then headed back to the hostel. The next morning, I headed out. 

All in all, my European experience was just about the most fun I could have, and the best experience I could wish for. I am so glad that I was able to experience Europe on my own and with my friends. In fact, I want to go back :).

Buda and Pest

We've recently moved on to the next city on our list: Budapest. And so far, it's been absolutely amazing. In fact, we've enjoyed it so much, were staying an extra day, so instead of heading to Vienna tonight, were heading there tomorrow. I think it also has to do with the fact that our hostel is absolutely amazing. For anyone ever traveling to Budapest, I recommend staying at The Loft. It's great.

Anyways, to get on to my trip...we didn't arrive in Budapest until late evening. We took a train from Split to Zagreb, had a couple of hours to wander aimlessly around and eat, then hoped on another train from Zagreb to Budapest. The total length of the trip was about 12 hours. LONG. TIME. But it was fun, we made the best of it!

Upon arrival in Budapest we went straight to our hostel, checked in, and a couple of hours later, were in bed. We woke up the next morning and figured out what to do all day. Our first adventure was to walk through the downtown area on the Pest side. We saw some monuments, walked through the largest pedestrian street in the city and then headed to the Baths. They were so great. I don't think I have ever been more relaxed. We sat in the outside bath for quite some time. The great thing about the baths (which are like public pools) is that they're thermally heated. So, even though the outside air was slightly chilly (a brisk 68 degrees), the water was warm enough for us to sit in all day. It was wonderful.

Afterwards, we headed down the shopping street. I bought a couple items of clothing, the best being a dress that I'm planning on wearing to Caroline's college graduation. It's a gorgeous yellow dress, and I'm obsessed with it. Don't worry though...that's not my favorite part of this trip. Today, were heading to the Buda side of the city to see the old castle and hike up to the top. It should be a big day...!

Let the good times roll...

So my travels started hectically. After landing in Pisa, I had to catch a train to Florence and another from Florence to Perugia. It was worth it. Once I got to Florence, I realized I had 2 full hours before my next train. I was able to walk around and take some great pictures (yes, suitcase in hand). I first walked out of the train station not knowing where I was, how far things were or where to even go to see things. Luckily for me, I stumbled upon a tourist information center. I got a map and short directions to the Duomo. It was only about a 5 minute walk from the train station, so I headed over. Looking at the map once again, I realized that the Uffizi Gallery was close by, and from there, the Ponte Vecchio. Hit up all three in less than an hour and a half. I´ve got skills.

After catching my train to Perugia, I met Rachael at the train station and we took the mini metro to her apartment. The mini metro was hilarious. It looks like a small gondola only on tracks instead of swinging through the air. I would expect something like this in Disney World, not in a small town in Italy! Regardless, it was only a couple of minutes to her apartment where I was staying. She. Lives. In. Luxury. Lucky, ugh.

The first night, we went out to dinner with a couple of her friends and the headed out on the town. It was the second to last night of their program, so it was really fun. I got to meet a lot of the people that she hung out with during her time in Italy. I was also able to meet up with Leah, a friend of mine from elementary school who I haven´t seen in quite some time. It was fun!

The next day, Pete came. I had a wonderful pizza lunch and we went to a reception later that day. It was at a brewery in Perugia, and very cool. It had a real authentic atmosphere. So Italian :). The next day, the three of us (me, Rachael and Pete) hoped on a train to Rome and three and a half hours later, were checked into our hostel and gearing up to see the town. We went to the Colloseum, Campo dei Fiori, the Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon. It was some great siteseeing in just a couple of hours!

Early the next morning, Rachael and I got up to go to the airport. We had to wake up and lug all of her luggage to the airport. Yes, by all of her luggage I mean ALL of it. She had to store her baggage at the airport for the period of time during which we were traveling. Luckily, it wasn´t too hard to get it there and stored, and it didn´t take that long, either. However, the biggest even was trying to get the bags off the train. Picture this: two American girls sitting on the train with four HUGE bags and purses. We figured it would be easier if we just let everyone else in our car out before us. It was a good idea, except for this: I jumped off the train as I was going to pull bags to the ground after Rachael handed them to me. I get off the train, hear an interesting noise and turn around. The doors closed. Rachael is stuck on the train with our bags. Small panic. We try to open the doors. Nothing happens. We´re pulling and pushing the doors with everything we´ve got, trying to muster up the strength to open them. No such luck. For about 3 minutes, this continues. We go down the line of cars, trying to see if any of them are open. Panic sets in. We are both freaking out and have no clue what´s going on or what to do about it. A minute later, Rachael starts laughing. The doors were open on the other side. Cool. We just looked like fools and all we really needed to do was try the other side. Oh well, you live and you learn!


The flight to Split was uneventful. We got off in paradise and have been here ever since. Our hostel is AMAZING. We´ve met some really cool, interesting people here but the best part is that the three of us have our very own apartment, which is unnattached from the hostel. Baller.

The weather has been beautiful, the people are wonderful, the beach is nice and relaxing. We´ve just been hanging out and relaxing. It´s perfect, just what I need to start off a trip! I´ll be sad to go tomorrow, but it isn´t all bad...I´m headed to Budapest. As for now, we´re going to Fife, a restaurant recommended to us with the BEST CROATIAN FOOD. This will be our third time there...goodness.

Au Revoir, Bruxelles!

It´s been a while since I last updated my blog. In the past week or so (April 24th, to be exact), I ended my program in Belgium. The 24th was a Thursday, and my coworkers at The Bulletin got a cake for the end of the day to celebrate my time there (hopefully not to celebrate the fact that I was leaving...). It was the perfect departure, and I couldn´t have asked for more.

That night, Gareth threw a dinner party for all of us Brussels kids. It was nice wrap-up for the program. He made us a huge Morrocan style meal, with sausages, couscous, delicious food dips, etc. It was GREAT. It was also really nice for all of us kids to get together one last time before we all started jet setting around Europe, or back to America. I thought there was a large chance I was going to cry. I didn´t. Way to go, me!

The next morning, I woke up around nine-thirty to start packing. I had to make sure everything in my room was a least starting to get organized before I met up with my Mom and sister, Martha, when they came in. I was so excited, I buzzed around my room in a frenzy trying to get everything packed. It didn´t work too well, but I at least got a start on it.

Once Mom and Marth were in, checking into their hotel, and a little bit settled, I headed over to their hotel (where I was staying as well). They stayed at Le Dixseptieme Hotel right near Gare Centrale and the Grand Place. I would recommend it to anyone heading to Brussels! It was absolutely beautiful. That day, we stuck around Brussels, doing the Atomium and Mini Europe. It was really fun, and I couldn´t have been happier to do it with Mom and Marth. It felt nice to have family, once again. I also took them to Mamma Roma, my favorite pizza place in Brussels. It was so very satisfying, but sad to part with it for the last time. Oh Mamma Roma, if only you had branches in the States! For dinner, we headed to St. Gery and had some Thai food. YUM.

Over their stay in Brussels, we went to Bruges and Antwerp. Luckily for us, on the day we went to Bruges, the weather was beautiful and we were able to catch a canal cruise, definitely one of my personal Bruges favorites. It was so nice to see everything that I hadn´t before, and to learn a little bit more about the city itself. For lunch, I had moules soupe (my last taste of mussels)...it was bitter sweet. That evening, we met up with family friends, the Browns, who were in Brussels picking Sara up. We went to an Italian restaurant called Bocconi. It was SO good. I haven´t had a meal like that in a while!

When we were in Antwerp, we were no so lucky on the weather (it rained), but we were there on Heritage Day, so all the museums were free. We were also there on a day of a huge marathon...that was... interesting, as well.

The last day of their visit, the three of us headed to the Grand Place in the morning to meet up with our bike tour tour guide. After a few minutes, we headed out on our bikes and, let me tell you, it´s not as easy as I remember. That phrase, get back on the bike...yeah, I´m coming up with a new one. The bike tour was great, we went all over Brussels, through the EU areas, Louise, Les Marolles, and we stopped for lunch at Maison Antoine. Frites and beer don´t exactly sound like what you´d ordinarily eat on a bike tour...but it works.

For my last dinner in Brussels, I had made a reservation at Belga Queen. The atmosphere was very cool and the food was, once again, very, very good. I had salmon and vegetables, and I wish I could eat it everyday, it was THAT good.

It was sad to leave the next day, though I had to to start my next adventure. Mom and I were able to get up and get breakfast, which was the best breakfast I´ll probably have during the remainder of my time here in Europe. Oh well, I´m a college student traveling, how bad can it be, right? Anyways, at 8 am I parted from the two of them and headed to Charleroi to catch my plane to Italy! And so...the adventure begins!

Stress Free in Stresa

Easter weekends is one of the biggest holiday/travel seasons in Europe. So, as to follow along with European culture, it was absolutely necessary (ha) that I travelled this past weekend. I'm not sure how the decision was made, but I ended up in Stresa, Italy on Lago Maggiore. It was absolutely fabulous.

The weekend started, well, really, early Friday morning. Patty and I were travelling together (she had never been to Italy and thought it was the one place she wouldn't make it to. Since I was going...I offered her the chance to come with). We called a cab company to send a taxi to good ole' Boulevard du Triomphe at, get this, 4:00 a.m. (Don't worry, Mom, I went to sleep around 11, so I got a full 5 hours). A mere two and a half hours later, we were en route to Bergamo.

Upon arrival in Italy, Bridgette (my roommate from Mizzou) met us at the airport. We were shuffled around to the train station, then caught an express to Milan where we were to meet Rachael (my other Mizzou roommate) and her roommate in Perguia, Callan. However, when we got to Milan, Patty, Bridgette and I had about 2 hours to spare before the other girls arrived. We decided it was lunch time, and grabbed a couple of absolutely delicious pizzas. Soon after, we spent some time in a park. The weather was beautiful and we didn't feel like wandering around too much.

Around 4 p.m., we arrived in Stresa. It was beautiful. The quant little town was just what I needed that weekend. It was a coastal town on Lago Maggiore, which offered views of both palm trees and the Alps. I was, for lack of better word, in awe. The greenery was a contrast to what we have in Belgium.

Friday evening was spent exploring the town. We stumled upon a little square, and decided it was the perfect place to grab dinner. I got gnocchi to eat. It was everything I remembered it to be :).

Saturday we opted to head to Isola Bella and Isola dei Pescatori. These two islands are about 10-15 minutes off shore from Stresa, so we hoped on a boat to get there. It was worth it. These islands were really pretty. We kind of just ventured through the islands until mid afternoon, when we headed back to the mainland. A few hours later we were off to dinner at a delicious pizzeria. We then headed to one of the "hopping" pubs, called Loco Beach. We were the only ones there. Well, us and the jazz band. They did play a couple of songs for us though, which was fun.

Sunday, we decided to sleep in until about 10:30. Then, we headed to lunch on the square. After eating, we did some shopping. I bought myself a pair of square post earrings. They are very cool, and definitely something I'll use to remember this particular trip.

When we were finally spent, both in money and energy, we headed to a gellato stand to get a little energy boost. Afterwards, we went down to the beach to sit and eat. It was a perfect way to spend Easter Sunday (that is, if not at home!).

Sunday evening we headed to Arona, a town about 10 miles away. It was a fun, but small little city. The food and nightlife there were supposed to be more geared towards younger people. However, after dinner, we were all worn out and decided to head back to our hotel, yes hotel, not hostel. It was great...I used the shower!

Monday morning, Rachael and Callan left around 8 a.m. Patty, Bridgette and I slept in until 10. We then spent a couple of hours walking along the coast. It was about 72 degrees and sunny, so there were no complaints made about the weather! We then made our way back to the hotel to pick up our bags and head out, back to Bergamo.

Around 3 in the afternoon, we officially set foot on Bergamo land. It was a sunny afternoon, so after dropping our bags off at Bridgette's apartment, we made our way up to Citto Alta, which means "high city" or "tall city" in Italian. This part of town was the older, ancient part. We went to dinner and got the local specialty, which is a mixed meat ravioli. It was delicious. I could probably eat it every day. After dinner, it was once again gellato time. Then, we sat on a bench overlooking the lower part of the city for a couple of minutes before seeing lightning over the mountains. It was beautiful, but we decided that it would be a good idea to start heading down the mountain and back to Bridgette's. Luckily, we made it to her place just in time, and B and I sat out on her (covered) balcony watching the rain.

Over all, it was a fantastic weekend. And I think, it was the perfect trip to end my semester with. This coming weekend, I'll be in Brussels (it's the last official weekend of my program!). Time flies...

I'll Miss...Traveling

Two weeks from today, I will by waiting patiently to go to Gareth's house for our last class/send off dinner. I am not ok with this because, if you missed out on that first part, it's in TWO WEEKS. That's 14 days. That equals out to 5 days at the Bulletin. If you aren't getting my drift, that's REALLY SOON.


I'm not quite ready for this program to be over. In the mean time, I'm going to mention one more thing that I will miss when I return to the States: traveling.


Over the course of the past four months, I have been to Spain, France, Ireland, the UK (twice), Holland, and, of course, Belgium. During the remainder of my time, I'll head to Italy (twice), Croatia, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany. How is it possible that my life is so great? I'm so incredibly happy that I've been and will be able to see all of these places. I love having the ability to catch a train to just about anywhere in Europe. I love finding round trip flights for €60. I love seeing knew places. This isn't to say, though, that I'm not going to road trip to XYZ in America, I'm just saying...it's different. Still, it's a little different to go to Paris for the weekend than it is to go to Indiana.


As for now, I've got to pack for Italy. I'm going to meet my two roommates from school for a weekend...

An Afternoon at the park, and a (boring) visit to NATO

(preface...I stole these pictures from Marissa, they, sigh, are not mine.)

Feeling a little downtrodden about losing my camera, we decided that Sunday afternoon would be best spent at the Parc Cinquantinaire in Brussels. It was a beautiful afternoon and I had recieved a frisbee from my Mom for Easter. Two of my friends, Maria and Patty, and I decided we wanted to go to the park. Maria and I had been earlier that weekend (Friday afternoon), and found it to be very enjoyable. After deciding, we called up the rest of our friends, asking them to join.


Sun + Friends + Frisbee = perfect day at the park.


A couple hours after we got there, the group had grown from just the three of us to include Marissa, her friend Lexi (visiting from Montpelier, France), Lindsay, her boyfriend Tyler (who had just flown over from the States), Brian, and Jon and Monica (Jon's girlfriend visiting from Lyon, France). A couple minutes later, we were joined by 4 of our British friends, who happened to be out in the park as well. It was quite the group and quite the afternoon. I felt better about the day before, after all, it was better to lose a camera, than say...Peter's nose or something else valuable. After the sun went down, it got a little chillier. Rather than heading back to the slums (as we ladies fondly call our housing), we bought frozen pizzas and headed to the boys to make dinner.

The boys live in what we call "The Palace". They have a koi pond...

After making pizza, a group of us sat and ate our pizza outside by the Koi Pond. Doni, one of the Mizzou boys studying here, got out his guitar and we just hung out for a little bit. Until it got dark. Soon after, we headed home, satisfied with our day.


Yesterday, I woke up around 11 a.m. ready to start my day. We, as a class, we're heading to NATO with Gareth. I was excited. I had been incredibly impressed with every visit to the EU that I had had thus far, and hoped that NATO would be just as impressive.


In short, it wasn't. When we first arrived, we went through security. It didn't take long and it wasn't tedious. In fact, it was probably the most eventful part of the day. Everyone had to leave their cell phones behind (omg!). We then entered into the NATO complex. It is a very institutional looking building, with basicaly nothing but walls and fences. Upon entering the actual building, it got nicer. There was a press shop, a cafeteria and some decent decorations/pictures on the walls. We then headed into the press conference room.


I'm not sure whether it was the fact that the speakers were clearly not used to talking to students or that I was hoping for a tour of the complex (not just the cafeteria and the press conference room), but the visit was boring. It dragged on until 5:30 p.m. Dragged on, in fact, might be an understatement.


As soon as the speakers were done, we headed out for another evening in the park. For dinner, we stopped at a Delhaize express to buy baguettes, ham and cheese, and made ourselves a picnic dinner. Though the day itself was pretty boring, the feast at the end made up for it. I love the beautiful, warm weather.