Just Touched Down in LondonTown

Ah, back to London for a weekend and how great it felt! I've been anticipating this past weekend for a couple of months now (ever since we confirmed the syllabus for our course, actually!). The Missouri-Brussels program traditionally takes one major trip away from Brussels as a class. This semester, we were lucky enough to go to London. I was extremely excited, as I have a handful of friends studying there, family, and a liking for the city.

For our class, we had to be in town by 10:15 Friday morning. The cheapest tickets were for a 7 a.m. train, so we left our apartments at 6 a.m. How wonderful... We arrived very at 8 a.m., we gained an hour with the difference in time zones. First things first, the 7 of us that were on this train headed to South Kensington to drop our bags off at the flats of the Missouri students studying in London. Then, we hoped back on the tube and headed to The Economist, were we were meeting our classmates and coordinator, Gareth.

Our visit to The Economist was incredible. I never thought I would be one interested in reading the magazine, but I actually really enjoyed the time we spent there, learning about it, understanding it, etc. In fact, I wouldn't mind reading it regularly (I know...big gasp). We met with several different people, from those working on the .com site, to multimedia planners and advertising and branding representatives. It was great, to say the least.

Afterwards, we had a couple of hours to wander before our next scheduled meeting. We headed towards Big Ben, Parliament, the London Eye and Westminster Abbey. These were all spots I'd seen before, but they somehow seemed different than the last time I was in London. Perhaps, it was the fact that it wasn't the hottest day recorded in all of London's history...I'm not sure though. That's just a theory.

Right after this, we headed to meet with a couple of guys that worked for political think tank, the Center for European Reform. I'm not sure I have ever been more impressed with any two people in my life. The two men, Hugo Brady and Tomas Valasek talked to us about their jobs, daily activities, etc. They asked us more questions than we could answer, which, instead of making me feel dumb, inspired me to learn more about foreign policy and international relations. We were there for a good hour before heading out to meander through more of London.


Afterwards, it was arranged for us to meet up with the Missouri School of Journalism students on the London program. We headed to a pub called O'Neils near the Earl's Court tube stop (close to where they live) and enjoyed a couple of drinks and some food. It was the perfect ending to the day. Just afterwards, We parted ways with Gareth, and all the students headed back to the flats to get ready for a night on the town.

The next day, my best friend from Mizzou, Peter, and I headed to Portobello Market. Since I had been to Camden Market the first time around, I wanted to go somewhere a little different. Portobello was only slightly different, in that it was more of one large street and sold more antiques than Camden. It was really fun to hedge our way through the streets and shop around. I bough a new purse, which I love. I've been carrying it around ever since. We also grabbed lunch at the market. They have all sorts of different ethnic foods. We both opted for brats, though. I was a little wary of trying Indian food at the Portobello Market, seeing as I've never had it anywhere else, either!

We spent most of our afternoon here, then headed back to meet up with the other kids and see what the plans were for that night. After dinner, we all gathered in Pete's apartment (there were at least a dozen of us...tight space!) to watch the Mizzou game streamed through the internet. Oh, how lucky we are to have the technology we do! Unfortunately, the Tigers lost. They still had an amazing season! After the game, we headed to a bar called "Crazy Larry's" for my friend Marissa's 21st Birthday.

The next morning, I headed to a late brunch/early breakfast with cousins Scott and Becky. Once again, we were in the same city. It was great to see them one last time, catch up, and get a great meal. We went to a little cafe called "The Troubador." It was delicious and the cafe itself was really cute. Afterwards, I headed back to the Earl's Court flats. Because there was just a little over an hour and a half before I had to leave for the train station, Peter, his roommate (and my friend from reporting last semester) Adam, and I headed to Abbey Road. I had wanted to see this ever since my trip to Liverpool. It was also one of the many things in London I hadn't done before. I decided to check it off of my list of to-do's.

We signed the wall, leaving our names there for at least a couple of days (they must repaint it at least once a week)! I, obviously, took a picture. I had to have proof of my signature there!

We didn't get to take a Beatle-y picture crossing the street, but it was very cool to do anyways. Finally, Pete and I took a picture in front of one of the few Abbey Road signs, so I would have that as proof too! Soon after, I had to head back to the flats to grab my bag and meet up with the other Brussels girls so that I could head home.

Overall, I'd say it was a successful weekend. Oh, and did I mention, they sell Dr. Pepper in London. I grabbed 4 to stuff in my purse for my return to Brussels :). All's well that end's well!

Visitors!

I have been anticipating the arrival of my dad and sister since before I left for Brussels. First, I was very excited to see some familiar faces. Second, I always have more fun when either of my sisters are involved. And, lastly, there is that little plastic thing I like to call Dad's credit card. With all of these things involved, I'm not sure how it could have been a bad weekend! I loved every minute of it. Dad and Caroline arrived early on Saturday morning. For those of you who know me well...you know that 7:30 a.m. is a time I rarely see (I don't even wake up for work until 7:50). So, as my family, they knew that it was probably best not to call before 10. I will say, because I'm very impressed with myself, that I had gotten up at 9:15 to shower and clean up for the day. Around 10:15 I headed over to Le Plaza hotel, where they were staying. We caught up and headed to the Central Station, bought tickets to Bruges and took the hour between trains we had to check out the Grand Place (as the picture of me and Dad shows).

Saturday was a perfect time to head to Bruges. The weather was beautiful, it forced Dad and Caroline to stay awake, and it was a fairly relaxing day trip. Upon arrival, I noticed that the town was way more busy than it had been the first time I was there (tourist season is in full swing!). The rivers weren't frozen over, as you can tell from this picture. It was absolutely picturesque. First, we wandered through the front part of town and headed to see Madonna and Child in the Our Lady Cathedral of Bruges. It was my second time seeing the statue, and the first for Dad and Caroline. One small thing we noticed while reading the sign next to the statue was the phrasing used. Clearly, whoever translated the text was a little off on their English. The phrase "one is strack" was used...

After seeing the Michaelangelo, we made our way through the town stopping to take a few pictures (like this one of me and Caroline) as well as looking through some of the junk at the flea market (another tell tale sign that tourist season was on!). First, we climbed the bell tower so that Caroline and Dad could see the images of the city that I had seen before. Unfortunately, Caroline gets a little bit...clasterphobic. 366 small stairs didn't help this case. But she made it all the way up to the top! By the time we had finished this part of the day trip, it was definitely time for some food. We decided on an out door restaurant in the middle of the town square. We sat for about and hour and did some great people watching. It was relaxing and the food hit the spot. Ah, Belgium, if only you were sunny everyday! Following our mid-day break, we decided to head over to the Basillica of the Holy Blood. Legend has it that the vile of blood in this building is the blood of Jesus Christ. We all took our turn in seeing it up close, and resting a hand on it. It was incredibly nerve wracking for me...but it was very, very cool. How many people will be able to say they've seen the blood of Christ, in person?

That evening, we headed back to Brussels so that my visitors could shower before we headed out to dinner and to watch the Rugby 6 Nations finals game. We headed to O'Reilly's pub, an Irish pub just blocks from Le Plaza. Ireland won the game, and it was fun to sit and see the crowd there celebrate. We went out for a bite to eat afterwards, before I headed home to catch some z's.

The next morning, I headed back to their hotel to get some brunch. We decided that Sunday was the day to spend in Brussels. First, we walked over to the town hall, which holds a museum with all of the various outfits of the Mannekin Pis. Just after this, we made our way over to see the statue itself. Dad had wanted to see it because his grandparents had a replica statue of the peeing boy, and so he wanted to see it in person while he was in Brussels.

Just after, we headed towards the metro, hoped on and made our way to Heysel. Ever since my first big trip to the Atomium, I had wanted to go back and actually go inside. It was a...for lack of better word... different experience than I expected. Going to the top was cool, as I could recognize most of the sights we saw. Then, the rest of the balls of the Atomium were filled with different exhibits. The inside reminded me of Space Mountain in Disney World. See for yourself, the tunnels make it look as though you're about to go on a rollercoaster ride... I was able to learn some new things about the Atomium while we were there. Apparently, it was only built to last a year or two, during the World's Fair in Brussels. However, they decided to keep it as a permanent fixture. Caroline and I joked that maybe it wasn't a good idea to go all the way to the top...it's been 51 years since the World's Fair, and we were riding up a structure made to be taken down 49 years ago. I now figure myself to be a regular daredevil. Just kidding...they've reinforced the structure many times and did a lot of work on it between 2003-2005. Thank goodness.

After our exciting morning at the Atomium, we hoped the metro back to the Schuman area (EU center) of Brussels. We went to Momma Roma, my favorite pizzeria in Brussels. It hit the spot, especially cause I didn't have to pay for it this time (thanks, Dad). We then ventured over to the Parc Leopold area, because I've wanted to wander through the park for sometime now, and never had the chance. This gave me the perfect opportunity. It's a beautiful park, and I can definitely see myself returning in the future.

We then made our way to my 'apartment' so I could show them where I lived. Caroline said it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, and Dad said, I forget his exact words, but I believe it was something along the lines of 'less institutinal.' I can only imagine they thought I was legitimately living in the slums. I guess I should shout out to you, Mom - don't worry, it isn't as bad as I make it seem. For dinner Sunday night, we headed over to the Grand Place area and went to Aux Armes de Bruxelles for some traditional Belgian food. I had steak, which was absolutely glorious. I'll have you know, you can't make steak on a hot plate, and I can't remember the last time I'd had one. It most definitely hit the spot.

After dinner, the three of us went to Place de Luxembourg, a trendy area near European Parliament. In this square, there is a bar called Fat Boy's. It's one of the only bars here that shows sporting events from America, and for those of you with any relation to college basketball might have heard of this thing called "March Madness." Apparently, my departure from MU made the Tiger basketball team decide they wanted to be good this year. Well, last Sunday night, they played Marquette and WON! M-I-Z, baby! We made it to the Sweet Sixteen! It was so incredibly cool to be watching the Tigers play in the States while I sat at a pub in Brussels, Belgium. I do think, however, we were the only 3 people there paying attention to the Mizzou game (MSU and USC were playing at the same time). The game ended at about 12:30 Brussels time, and after a long day of touring, I was ready for bed. I can only imagine how Dad and Caroilne felt...

Monday we headed to Gent. Luckily for me, I don't have to go into the office on Mondays, so I could spend the entire day with my visitors! We hoped on a train, headed into the town center, and went into the old church there. The town itself has an almost mideval look to it. It was prettier than I expected it to be. I was impressed. The only way it could have improved was if it wasn't raining (but, again, this is Belgium).


We took the elevator up the Belfry tower to look at the views of the city. It was so pretty, and reminded me a little bit of Amsterdam in combination with couple of the Austrian and German cities I visited this past summer.

After grabbing lunch, we walked around a little bit more, then headed back to Brussels. My friend Lindsay had her family in town this week, and on Monday night, they hosted all of us Mizzou kids and our families (Marissa has her brother in town, too). They rented a flat for the 10 days they're in Brussels and had enough space to make dinner for all of us. It was a perfect last night for Caroline and Dad, in my opinion. They got to meet a lot of my friends and just have a normal night in Brussels. I loved it.

Unfortunately, after this, I had to take the metro home, so I said good bye to Dad and Caroline. They're in Berlin now, and I'm insanely jealuos (I'm sitting at my desk at work). However, tomorrow morning, I hop on the Eurostar and head to London! Life couldn't get better...

Éirinn go Brách...Ireland Forever

This past weekend was spent celebrating all that is Irish in Dublin, Ireland. There was definitely a surplus of Guinness and green clothing, and the weekend couldn't have been greater. I've wanted to go back to Ireland ever since I went to Galway to visit my older sister, Caroline, a year and a half ago. Having the opportunity to return was a gift in itself. However, my return to land of the Irish wasn't even the greatest part of the weekend! one of the best parts, for me, was being able to meet up with some of my best friends from Mizzou. On the first night there, as soon as we stepping onto Irish soil, I began trying to meet up with Rachael and Bridgette (two of my roommates!). We were successfull in this endeavor (as you can probably tell...this picture is of the three of us) and had an absolute blast together. We were able to catch up, but the best part was that being together made it feel like we had never left. I was so excited to see them both, and much less in one of my favorite countries!



The following day, the five girls that I travelled wth and I decided to visit the Guinness factory. We thought it was neccessary, as we were in Dublin! The experience of going through the factory was very cool, it's a HUGE museum. We barely missed an opportunity to take pictures with large Guinness labels...so I have plenty of proof we were there (just in case!). To the left is a picture of Maria and me standing under the sign outside the entrance of the first level of the museum.



Throughout "The Guinness Experience," as it's called, they denomstrate different parts of how they make the beer. First, there's the main ingredients, hops, barley, water and yeast. They show examples of all of these, and little facts for each one (such as that hops can only be grown in two regions of the world, etc.

One of the coolest parts of seeing these ingredients was this giant waterfall that tourists can stand under and take pictures. Not wanting to be outdone by EVERYONE else that goes to the Guinness Museum, our little group of six decided to take a picture. It's on the left, with (from left) Patty, Sara, Maria, Linsday, Me, and Marissa. We played around with the ingredients for a good fifteen minutes, before heading up one level to hear about how the company was founded, and how Arthur Guinness has a 9000 year lease for the brewery. I hate to think what would happen if Guinness had to change locations...

After all of the touring around, we headed up to the Gravity Bar, which gives a 360 degree view of the city of Dublin. From here, we really saw all of the sights that you're supposed to see in Dublin :).

This is one view out of one of the windows of the bar. It was incredibly cool, especially because as you walked around the bar, the backgrounds would change. For example, on one side, there would be mountains along the horizons. Other parts, it would be completely flat. It was very cool to see, and made me realize how much more urban Dublin is than the other parts of Ireland I have see.

After taking time to walk around and see all of the views, we decided to grab the complimentary Guinness that comes with the ticket for the tour of the factory. It was well worth it, I think my time in Belgium has changed my tastes because I didn't like Guinness very much when in Galway, and this time, I really understood why it's such a big phenomenon: it's delicious! For those of you out there who have never had the chance to try it, Guinness has the taste of a watered down, cold coffee. While that may not seem appetizing to you, just give it a try. It is also very cool to watch the barmaids pour the perfect pint of Guinness. Though the beer itself has a very dark color to it, when it's immediately poured, the color is more of a sandy brown. It was very cool to watch all of the ingredients mix, and see the chemical reaction that made the beer change color. Clearly, I learned a lot from my visit to the Guinness Factory!



Upon leaving Guinness, we decided to grab a late lunch at The Bull & Castle, a famous pub in Dublin. It was delicious, and just what we needed. Then, instead of heading elsewhere, we wandered up to the Beer Hall on the second floor of the pub, to watch the Ireland vs. Scotland Rugby match (Ireland won). After this, we headed over to The Brazen Head, which is the oldest pub in Ireland. It dates back to 1189. One cool part of it was the ceiling inside, which was filled with money bills from across the world. Out of all of the bills there, we spotted one from Mizzou! How cool to visit a country across the ocean and see a Mizzou dollar bill in the oldest pub in that particular country...?! Tigers go everywhere. Unfortunately, which you can see in the picture, right above the Mizzou dollar, there is one that has "Rock Chalk Jayhawk" on it. Boo Kansas, is all I can say to that.



Overall, it was a phenomenal weekend, and our time was definitely well spent. Oh, and one of the best things I got out of the weekend was a new sweatshirt that says Ireland on it...another Irish souvenir (you can never have too many!).

Un Weekend a La Ville-Lumière

I wasn't sure what to expect in my return to Paris. I was there about 4 and a half years ago, on a program through my high school. Last time, I really enjoyed Paris though I remember not being as impressed as I thought I would be. This time, however, I was able to enjoy it a lot more. It was definitely nice to see the city on our own time and see the sights we wanted to see without a time schedule. 

There were 5 girls on the trip this weekend (myself, Maria, Lindsay, Patty and Marissa). We 

arrived late Thursday night, and decided to head to the Sacre Coeur and Montmartre area, which was a close walk to our hostel. The view was absolutely beautiful, we were able to see the city at night. The Sacre Coeur is located up on a hill, so it makes for a great views of the city. I remembered it as one of my favorite places in the city from the last time I was in Paris. It was great to go back there, and it was exactly as I remembered it. After looking at the Sacre Coeur, we wandered around towards the Montmartre artists district. In this area, we sat at one of the small cafes, had a glass of wine, and listened to two old men play guitar and sing. It was a perfect way to spend our first night in Paris, and I was extremely happy to go back to a place I knew I enjoyed the first time around. 

The next morning, we woke up early to grab breakfast at the hostel. Right after that, we jumped on the metro and headed into the main city centre. The first spot we hit was the Notre Dame. It was beautiful, and there was a Catholic church service going on while we were there, which was interesting to see.  The church was more beautiful than I remember, which was, of course, a pleasant surprise. 

Above is a picture of four of us girls (Maria, Patty, Lindsay and myself) in front of the Notre Dame. 

Later that afternoon, we headed over towards the Eiffel Tower. We decided to take the elevator up to the second viewing level, which was a great choice. The view was great, and I was glad we were able to do it on Friday (it was the sunniest day we had in Paris!).

After the Eiffel Tower, we jumped back onto the Metro, and headed to the Arc du Triomphe. It was bigger than I remembered it, which was a great surprise. I loved having the opportunity to see things twice and be impressed by them.  After a quick stop there, we were able to head back to our hostel and clean up before dinner. During this small break, we met a guy who was traveling by himself. Turns out, he was a student at MSU, on spring break. We invited him to dinner with us. It was fun to get to know someone new, and it was nice to have a new addition in our dinner conversation. We went to a small restaurant with a great french menu (including canard a l'orange, a french specialty). Afterwards, we went to the Eiffel Tower, and wandered around the park in front of it. 

The next morning, we woke up and headed straight to the Louvre. As it's such an immense museum, we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to visit all of the different artworks that we wanted. 

First, we started with the Mona Lisa. After this, we saw Michaelangelo's Dying Slave, the Winged Victory and Venus de Milo. We also saw the coronation crown of Louis the 16th (I think). I appreciated all of the artwork a little bit more this time around, how many people get the chance to see the Mona Lisa more than once in their lifetime?!

After visiting the Louvre, we headed towards the Champs Elysees, and did some window shopping. No one bought anything, but it was fun to look at all of the expensive window displays (like the Louis Vuitton one!). 

The rest of the afternoon was spent on a riverboat tour. We were on the boat during the sunset, which was absolutely great. The perfect part was that we were there during sunset, so we were able to see all the monuments in the daylight on one half of the tour, and in the nighttime on the way back. It was so beautiful and the great way to end our last full day in Paris. We went to dinner in the Latin Quarter, which is near La Sorbonne, the major university in Paris. 

Sunday morning, we went to the Catacombs, which are basically underground tombs for bodies that were moved out of the cemeteries in the late 1700s. This was one thing in Paris that I have never done before, but it was very, very cool. When you walk into the start of the actually Catacombs, there are lines and lines of bones. 

It was creepy but cool at the same time. It was additionally creepy because it was raining that morning...and the rain was seeping through the ground. The smell, let me tell you, was not the most pleasant. Regardless, I really enjoyed our hour with the dead :).

Afterwards, I separated from the rest of the group and went to lunch with cousins Scott and Becky and Becky's parents. We went out for falafels, which were fabulous. I also really enjoyed seen all of them again. It's so nice to have familiar faces and family in Europe. Overall, it was a great weekend in Paris. I loved going back a second time. 

Spring Break in Espagne!

This past week marked the half-way point in our program. I must say, it's going by extremely fast. I can't believe we've already been here for two months! I feel like we got here yesterday...! 

As the half way point turned, we received a whole week off for Spring Break. Wanting to travel somewhere that offered both relaxation and sight-seeing, we opted for Barcelona, Spain. It was a great decision. We spent the week sleeping, relaxing and touring. It was perfect. 

The first day we arrived, we walked around for a bit. Right down the street from us were some great Gaudi buildings, including the Casa Battllo (pictured).

These were absolutely stunning buildings. They're very unique in design, but I guess that's what makes Gaudi's work so famous. We pretty much spent the day working our way around the town, trying to familiarize ourselves with the locations. We ended the day with a nice, long, Spanish style dinner (complete with tapas and sangria!). It was delicious, and the perfect way to spend our first night. 

The next day, we were able to see the Sagrada Familia. It is a gorgeous church designed, once again, by Gaudi. While the outside is stunning itself, the interior is beautiful too. The whole structure is like one giant piece of art. It is currently still under construction, and probably won't be finished for another 15 to 20 years. I would love to go back to Barcelona someday and see it after it is completed.

The picture above shows five of the six girls jumping, and the picture below is a look up at the ceiling from the ground level. It's so cool looking. Everything is modeled after something in nature, and there are lots of different lines and curves. It makes it look really cool, and very different than a lot of other architecture around the world.

That evening, we were able to head to Sitges, Spain, which is just about ten miles outside of Barcelona. It's supposedly one of the best places to experience Carnivale in all of Spain. And indeed, for us, it was. We got there pretty late at night, seeing as when we first arrived at the train station, we missed the memo that you're supposed to dress up for Carnivale (in retrospect, we probably should have known!). We quickly ran home from the train station to get changed into any kind of costume we could find. All six of us ended up with 'superhero' themed costumes (tying scarves around our necks, etc.) as we didn't have much else packed in our suitcases! That night turned out to be one of the best during our whole week. We ran into some of the other boys on our program who were also in Spain and we caught the parade. My favorite float was one of Peter Pan. It's definitely one of my favorite childhood movies.

The next day, we were able to hit the beach. Though it wasn't hot out, it was warm enough to lay down on a blanket and bask in the sun. I was wearing capri yoga pants and a hoodie jacket, but it was SO nice to get a little bit of sun. We soaked it up for most of the day. After this, we decided to head up to Park Guell, which is one of the most beautiful parks I have ever been to. The view of the city is absolutely gorgeous, and the park itself (designed by Gaudi), is art in itself.

Over the next couple of days, we were able to go to the beach again, visit the Picasso Museum, visit Casa Batllo, eat plenty of Spanish food and sleep in. During one of the days, we headed to a square in front of the Cathedral in town. There was a huge market there that day, and we browsed through it for a while. Though I didn't buy anything, I saw a couple of things that reminded me of people at home. Namely, these plates. Mom has a huge collection of them hanging in the kitchen at home, and I was surprised to see them at the market in Spain. (Mom has a better collection, this dude only had 4). 

Overall, it was a wonderful week in Spain, but when we got back, I was ready to sleep in my quaint apartment and head into work for a couple of days.  It was nice getting back to work, as I was able to write a couple more articles this week. I also registered for class for the fall semester. There's nothing to remind you that you have to go back to school quite like registering for classes...

Luckily, tomorrow evening, we leave for Paris. Hard life we live here, in Europe!