Across the Pond

Upon Return...

2009-05-27T16:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-06T01:44:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-05-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-15T04:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-09T05:42:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-07T05:01:00.000-07:00

(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.

Lost, Never Forgotten

2009-04-07T04:46:00.001-07:00

It was a year ago this past Christmas Eve that the best camera I have ever owned came into my life. It was a pink, Sony Cybershot. Everyday I learned new things about this camera, such as which setting to use for X and how to make it focus on Y. It was a beautiful little piece of technology. I enjoyed most of the pictures it took, though sometimes I got a little annoyed with the double flash feature (I hope that little pink guy only remembers the good moments).

Then, one day some heartless, heartless individual decided to take it from me. No camera can ever replace it.

This past Saturday night, a group of 9 of us headed to Bulex, which in Brussels language is basically the place to be on the first Saturday night of every month. Bulex showcases the top DJs from around the greater Brussels area. It is held in an abandoned school house. Each room is filled with a different theme and a different DJ. We decided on the big, outdoor area (it's in the 60's here in Belgium), where the DJ was playing old school American music (such as Shout! (we were the only 9 people to crouch to the floor during the "a little bit softer now" part...), Celebrate, Grease, etc.). We were dancing and having a good time. It was great night. Or so I thought.

Then, I realize that something is missing from my pocket. I had kept my coat on and had my camera and cell phone in each pocket. My camera was missing. Hoping for the best, I began searching the ground around us. Maybe it just fell out of my incredibly deep pocket (incredibly deep meaning exactly that...) while I was dancing. Knowing this was pretty impossible, I began to look around, look at people that perhaps I had seen earlier that night.

Then I saw it. Little Pinky. There it was in the hands of a stranger. Immediately, I ran over and yelled 'THAT'S MY CAMERA!' My friends came to my defense, and the theifs friend was able to throw a punch at my friend, Peter (from Mizzou, but studying in Brussels), before the theif ran off. Peter's nose started bleeding. The scene escalated. Though I desperately wanted to go after my camera, I decided that the better decision would be to stay with Peter and the rest of my friends. It would be stupid to run off after a piece of technology when my friend was bleeding from my nose, and a couple of the other guys were getting into fights with friends of the sketchball theif. We stuck a tampon up Peter's nose (the joys of hanging out with 6 girls...), and decided it was time to leave.

Outside of this incident, the night was unbelievably fun. I would have loved every minute of it, but alas, a dark, dark shadow hangs over Saturday, April 4th.

On a side note, if you see a man running around Brussels, wearing a black sweate with white stripes, carrying around a camera that looks like this, let me know. I miss my camera. And, yes, this picture is downloaded off the internet. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of my camera.

I'll Miss...Tri Pi

2009-04-02T03:08:00.000-07:00

I've decided that one month is officially not enough time. I need more time in Brussels. Could someone please call up Father Time and tell him to press pause for a little bit?

Regardless, I'm going to have to leave eventually (whether I like it or not). So, I've started noting all of the things that I'm going to miss desperately as I return to the States. The first, and probably most important of these is Tri Pi.

In the first couple of weeks, I quickly established a solid group of girlfriends here in Brussels. Five other girls from my program and I got on flawlessly. We immediately began hanging out together and bonded over small stuff, like inside jokes. All six of us, as it turns are, are members of sororities back at Mizzou (some of us in the same ones, others not). So, we decided it would be fun and funny to establish one for the six of us here in Belgium. We called our fake sorority Tri Pi. It has a meaning behind it, but if I gave that away, I’d be betraying our rituals ;). These girls are my best friends here, and I’ve even started missing them on weekends when we don’t all travel together. I know that I’m going to miss all of them terribly when I return to the States. Luckily, we all go to Mizzou, so we’ll see each other; it’s just not going to be the same as spending every day with them. I really do love each one of these girls and I’m so glad I got the chance to experience this semester with them.

I added pictures of either all of us, or some of us, in different locations. That first one is all six of us in Barcelona. We went to a bar called "Chupitos," where they had a shot called Tri Pi. Though none of us are really shot girls, we had to do it. It had the same name as our fake sorority!

Here are some other ones: Us at dinner in Barcelona, at Albert Dock in Liverpool, on the steps of the Sacre Couer in Paris, and, of course, grabbing a couple of bottles of wine while sitting along the Seine River.

I can't imagine my time here without them. They really made my Brussels experience what it has been.

Just Touched Down in LondonTown

2009-03-31T06:50:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-03-26T04:19:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-17T03:47:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-09T05:58:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-04T12:21:00.000-08:00

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!

My First Family Visitors!

2009-02-22T13:54:00.000-08:00

This weekend I played semi-host to Scott and Becky, my cousin and his wife on my dad's side of the family. I say semi mostly because I really didn't do much in terms of leading them in the right directions (my only suggestions were where to eat 2 of the 3 nights...). It was so comforting and nice to see two familiar faces for a whole weekend!

Friday night, they arrived in Brussels fairly late, so we were able to go out to dinner at one of the best known mussel restaurants in Brussels, Aux Armes de Bruxelles. It was absolutely delicious! The muscles were so good, I ate almost my whole pot of them, and let me tell you, the pots aren't small! We then headed down the street to Delirium, a local bar with the most Belgian beers on tap in Brussels. It was fun, we were able to catch up and share some stories. We also spotted some of my friends from the program on the way out. One of the boys, Peter, had had my Aunt Susan (Scott's mom) for a teacher in high school, and he was absolutely THRILLED to meet Scott. I'm not sure words can express the look of delight on his face. It was entertaining to me, to say the least.

Saturday, I slept in and worked on some things I needed to get done, while Scott and Becky headed to Bruges. I was able to relax a little bit, which was really, really nice. That night, we went out to a restaurant in the Ixelles area called "Les Brassins." It was a low key, fun place. The food was really great, too.

I spent all day today touring around with Scott and Becky. I met them at their hotel around 10 this morning, and we headed out to explore a little bit of Brussels. First, we stopped and got some coffee (to wake us up!). Then, we headed to the Musee des Beaux-Arts, or the Fine Arts Museum. It had a lot of very cool paintings in it, done by Belgian artists. I was also able to see a couple of Matisse paintings, which I really enjoyed, since Matisse is my favorite artist.

After this, we stopped for lunch at Le Pain Quotidien before heading to the Cathedral of Brussels. The Cathedral was absolutely beautiful, and had really stunning stain glass windows. They are currently excavating the floor below the church, and in one of the small areas where we were able to see down through to the bottom, there were leg bones sticking out...dead and buried a long time ago! Interesting and cool, yet very odd and slightly creepy. Soon after the Cathedral, we headed to the Museum of Natural Sciences, where we saw exhibits about dinosaurs, evolution and prehistory. It was a HUGE museum and really, really interesting. I had been wanting to go here for a while, so I was glad to get the chance.

Tomorrow morning, the six of us girls head off to Barcelona for our week long Spring Break! As soon as we return, I'll post pictures and write about our trip. Until then, to Barcelona!

Penny Lane, Strawberry Field, The Beatles...Valentine's in Liverpool

2009-02-16T07:32:00.003-08:00

I truly believe that this will be the first unforgettable Valentine's Day that I've ever had. I mean, in all honesty, how could it not be? I spent it in Liverpool with four good friends and four awesome dudes who just happen to be really famous and not actually there. This year, my Valentine's day was spent in Liverpool, England.

Our flight out on Friday morning forced me to be awake earlier than I have been in a long, long while. Taking a 6:30 a.m. flight sounded good before it was the morning of! In fact, taking a 6:30 flight meant we had to take a 4:30 a.m. bus ride to the airport. It was well worth it, though, as that meant we were able to spend all of Friday touring around Liverpool. We spent Friday mid-morning and early afternoon walking around the Albert Dock, which is a fun area of Liverpool. There are all kinds of restaurants and museums there.
The dock itself used to be an old port for the city. Though it has an industrial look to it, it's actually quite posh and exciting. There are tons of restaurants on the dock, and we decided to have lunch at one before going on our tour of The Beatles life in Liverpool. We went to a place called "What's Cookin?!" for lunch, and had an absolutely delicious meal. Soon after, we walked down the block to catch our bus. The bus was easy to spot once it rolled around the corner for us to board.
Before getting on, the five of us who were in Liverpool wanted to take a picture in front of it. It looked just like the Magical Mystery Tour bus of The Beatles. We went to a lot of different locations around Liverpool, including the four house in which the Beatles either were born or grew up in.
One of the other locations we went to was Penny Lane. Apparently, the signs get stolen so frequently, they used to paint the street signs on the brick behind where this one stands now. Our tour guide told us that the sign we saw had only been there for a couple of weeks. The stories we heard while on the bus were fascinating. Our tour guide was wonderful, and had actually met Paul McCartney. One of the coolest stories was about the song "Strawberry Fields (Forever)."
Strawberry field is actually an orphanage in Liverpool, near where John Lennon grew up. When he was a child, he used to go play in Strawberry Field, and would get in trouble for it. He didn't quite understand what the big deal was, and say it as "nothing to get hung about," as the song itself famously says. It was absolutely incredible to go to Strawberry Field and take pictures in front of the gate that John Lennon himself used to walk through. The tour was definitely one of the best ways to spend the weekend. I learned so much about The Beatles and saw places that, chances are, I will never make it back to see. One of these places was the Cavern Club. Though the one we saw was a reconstruction of the one that the Beatles had played in, it was still cool to sit in and listen to music.
The Cavern Club played host to The Beatles 292 times. It was where they were discovered by Brian Epstein and where he famously offered to become their new manager (after Allan Williams gave them away!). It is one of the coolest bars/pubs I have ever set foot it. Just being in a place where Paul McCartney has performed (he performed by himself at the new Cavern Club in the 90s) was mind-blowing.

Friday night, we played it calm and just hung out at the Cavern Club for a couple of hours. There was a live singer there, who was absolutely fantastic. He did covers of Beatles songs as well as many popular songs of today. After that, we went to dinner at a Spanish tapas restaurant, though not English at all, it was delicious. We ate more food than I think I've ever seen in my life. It was well worth it.

Saturday morning, we got breakfast at the hostel, then made our way to Albert Dock again to go to the Maritime Museum. It was a very, very cool Museum that documented all different parts of Liverpool's history. On the first floor was an exhibit about the Lusitania, Empress of Ireland, and the Titanic. It had actual items that were from the three boats, as well as miniature models of the boats.
The items, like the life vest from the Titanic, were really cool. Also, we were able to see things that show just how the boats sinking affected Liverpool. On the floor above that, we were able to see an exhibit about the history of Liverpool. There was a movie that showed how Liverpool had developed from the 1200s until now. It was an incredibly well done video and I felt like I actually learned a lot about Liverpool.

Later, we took a train to Manchester and went out to dinner at a fun restuarant in the Printworks area there. The next morning, we hoped on a flight back to Brussels.

Sunday, I spent the day with Maria and a couple of friends that we met in Brussels. Maria's Belgian "boyfriend" plays soccer for a semi-professional team in Brussels, so do all of his friends. On Sunday afternoon, we went to see one of the friends, Dempsey, play with his team. It was the semi-pro team for Jette, which is a neighbor of Brussels that I go through everyday on my way to work. The game was really fun, and we were able to get a little bit of Belgian culture.

Today, I went to check my mailbox, as I was expecting to get a small package from my mom. Turns out, I had two packages, one large one from my mom (which I LOVE), and one from some Theta's at Mizzou. What a Valentine's Day! It was so nice have such a wonderful weekend and come home (in Brussels) and have a little bit of home (the US) come to me!

Get Lost in Amsterdam

2009-02-11T00:36:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, I was able to accomplish something that, for lack of better wording, is on my "Bucket List." I went to Amsterdam.

I've heard stories of what a fun, beautiful city it is, and always wanted to visit. A friend on the trip previously asked me why I wanted to visit Amsterdam so badly, and unable to describe exactly why to her, I just said, "I've always wanted to go there. It seems so different." I wanted to experience the culture, the msytery and the history of Amsterdam. It was a place that held so much interest to me, just because I had never been able to see something like it before.

Luckily, for just €44 roundtrip, we were able to catch a train. Arriving at 8:30 p.m. Friday evening, we immediately took a taxi cab to our hostel. The hostel was very nice. In fact, the beds were more comfortable there than in my flat. I wanted to steal the mattress.

That evening, the four of us that had ventured to Amsterdam for the weekend (myself, Sara, Maria and Lindsay) met up with another group of six girls. Two of the girls go to Mizzou but are currently studying in Florence, Italy. The other three were friends of those girls. One, as it turns out, was a Theta at U of I! Small world. All nine of us went to dinner (we got Mexican...it was the first time I've had salsa since leaving the US!). Then, we proceded to venture around the small area called Liedsegracht. It was a beautiful part of town.

Saturday was full of sightseeing. We got up early that morning to enjoy pancakes (a Dutch specialty) and wonder around the city. I was able to see the Anne Frank house, which was an eye-opening experience. It was the house in Amsterdam that the Frank family actually inhabited while in hiding during World War II. This was easily one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was so interesting, and yet, so awe-inspiring. I can't imagine being confined to that space for years, and not being able to even look outside. One of the coolest parts of visiting the museum was that we were able to see the actual diary in which Anne Frank wrote. It was the red, checkered book she was given, with her writing inside. It was absolutely amazing. That evening, we walked around the Red Light District. It was an interesting experience to say the least. We felt as though you can't visit Amsterdam without walking around the famous Red Light District!

Sunday, we did more sightseeing and museum hunting. We went to the "I amsterdam" sign and took tons of pictures, as well as to the Rijks Museum, which basically holds mementos from Dutch history and culture. Inside, my favorite room in the museum was one displaying dollhouses from the late 17th century. These were replicas of actual houses in Amsterdam at the time. It was a status symbol for a woman to have a miniature replica of her home displayed inside. They were gorgeous, and very unlike the Playmobile dollhouses we played with when we were little. Though, I am sure Playmobile was a bit more durable.

Here are some pictures from our adventures in The Netherlands (another country to add to my list!).

Sara and I standing in front of our favorite letter of the "I Amsterdam" letters. Both our names start with 's' so it must be the best letter there! Behind it, you can see part of the Rijks Museum, which is a beautiful structure.

The city itself is absolutely beautiful. This is one view overlooking a canal. Amsterdam is filled with them (something I hadn't known before this!).

A canal, absolutely beautiful.

Four of us girls in a wooden shoe! It was just sitting in the middle of a sidewalk, so we decided to hop in and take a picture! From the back left, Catherine, me, Katie (the U of I Theta) and Sara.

Living the Life

2009-02-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

I've been here for just about a month exactly, and I feel as though I'm settled in. This weekend, Rachael, my roommate from school, came to visit. It was really great to see a little bit of home overseas, but I felt like I actually live in Brussels, playing tour guide. We went to the Grand Place, saw the Mannekin Pis, and wondered around through the main part of the city. It was a weekend well spent, here in Brussels.

We've planned to go to Amsterdam next weekend, and are finally starting to get travel plans for the remainder of the trip while were here. I'm really excited for the upcoming three months, but I can't believe how fast its going. I've finally been able to uplode some photos, so I've posted a few of them for you all to browse!

The group of girls, from left, Marissa, Lindsay, me, Sara and Patty, in Bruges! This was our first day trip, and definitely was worth it. Bruges is a beautiful city!

This is pretty much my apartment. It's small, but there's plenty of room for one person. I have a bed, a desk, a small kitchenette (with hot plates) and a bathroom all to myself. It's pretty nice and has definitely grown on me since we've been in Brussels.

Sara and I in front of the Atomium, one of the day trips we've taken while here. As I mentioned in a previous post, it was built for the Fair in Brussels in 1958. As you might be able to tell from the picture, it's no Eiffel Tower, but it's definitely cool!

Antwerp

2009-01-25T08:37:00.000-08:00

This has been quite the exciting week/weekend. I finally feel settled in to my internship - I figured out how to take the train to and from Groot-Bijgaarden, which is the area in which I work. This makes it a lot easier for me to come and go to work everyday, I know I'll get home at a reliable 6:30. I've also gotten to know my coworkers fairly well, and we all get along great. I'm also very excited for the upcoming week, as I have two articles that will be published (one in Flanders Today on Tuesday and one in The Bulletin on Thursday).

Other than that, we spent the weekend doing a plethora of things! It was quite the whirlwind, but it was worth it! Thursday night, we were able to introduce our guy friends to Waff, the bar in the area near us. It was a fun time, and definitely one of our favorite spots in our side of town. Friday was spent wondering around Brussels, and that night, a couple of friends came in town from London to visit the group. We took them out to a couple of different spots in Brussels and hopefully made them jealous that Brussels is awesome. Saturday, four of us took a train to Antwerp around 11 am. The rest of the group joined later. They had decided to sleep in a little bit, and tour later. Antwerp was a great city - there's a lot to see there, for sure.

We were able to check out the MoMu (Mode Museum) which was full of clothing that I would never wear. It was an interesting museum, though, to say the least. We were able to check out the Grand Markt, the port, the Cathedral, and some other local tourist attractions. Mom - I'll definitely be able to tell you what to see while you're there.

As for now, we're looking up where to go to next! Any ideas are more than welcome...!

It's Electric!

2009-01-19T07:21:00.000-08:00

What an eventful weekend! Though we didn't pursue any day trips or anything too exciting, we found life here in Brussels to be a heck of a good time. It was nice to finally spend some free time in Brussels, and not have to worry about work, school or anything else, for that matter.

Thursday night was spent with a large group of us finding fun in Brussels. First we went to Goupil le Fol, was a former brothel-turned cute pub. We sat for about an hour, and just relaxed. The great part of this was just getting to experience something totally European. We spent the rest of the evening at Celtica, which is a dance place, and especially fun when you're with a group of 14 all going together.

Friday night, our small group of six girls went exploring in our neighborhood. One of my work colleagues had been excited to hear that I live in Ixelles, as that was where she had lived during her university years here in Brussels. Nina, who is an editor at The Bulletin where I work, recommended some places that might be well suited for our group of friends. Trying to find one of Nina's old favorites, we explored an area near where we live. As we explored our area, we found Waff, which our friend Erika (who studied abroad in Brussels the semester before us) had recommended. This was one of the most fun pubs we have been to yet. It was very off the beaten tourist path - at least we think it is.

Unfortunately, after all of the fun of the past two nights, I woke up Saturday morning to find that I had no electricity in my "flat". After all, this is Europe and as cousin-in-law Becky says, electricity is still a luxury! Still, out of all the people on the trip, I do personally think it was best to happen to me. Instead of giving up, I decided to drag my mattress down five floors and sleep on Patty's floor that night. I got a great night sleep, seeing as I was sleeping on my own mattress. The bad news is that all of the food in my fridge went rotten, there was no power until mid morning today. Regardless, my lack of electricity made for an adventurous weekend and I actually had fun sharing rooms with others.

Saturday night, Patty, Sara and I all met up with a couple of Patty's coworkers. Joining the local crowd out was definitely different than going out with a group of Americans, but it was a great time and we enjoyed meeting a lot of new people.

By the end of the weekend, we decided that it was time for us to do something on our list of 'must-sees' for Brussels. So, mid-day we hopped on the metro and went all the way across the city to see the Atomium, which is the big metal structure designed to look like an atom. It was built for the 1958 World's Fair, and is said to be Belgium's response to the Eiffel Tower. In my opinion, France is still winning big. But it was definitely cool to see, and a fun day trip for us.

Today, I was able to turn the heat back on in my apartment, though it's not going to be needed for much longer, now I just turn it on at night. The weather here beats Chicago by tenfold...it's a brisk 50 degrees outside now. I can see warm weather in my future, too!

Working Woman

2009-01-14T03:55:00.000-08:00

Monday was the first day of my internship. I was nervous about it pretty much all Sunday night, but it turns out I really had nothing to be worried about, and Monday night I slept so soundly that I woke up confused - thinking it was the middle of the night, when it was in fact 7 am.

My internship is at a Brussels based magazine called "The Bulletin." There is a staff of about 10 that work in the office that I am in. Everyone there has been very friendly so far. I have my own small desk with a computer, and there is a free hot chocolate machine in the office (this might be the best part, their cheap hot chocolate is about 10 times better than the best kind in America). So far, my major project is to re-vamp "Newcomer" which is a magazine that The Bulletin publishes twice a year geared towards individuals who have just moved or are about to move to Belgium. I basically go through the magazine article by article and look at what is good and what is bad about it, then rewrite and reconfigure things. It's especially nice for me, because I am a newcomer to Belgium. For example, yesterday, I found out all about the public transportation system (you can get an 8 euro train ticket to Antwerp from Brussels if you buy a "shopping" pass).

The only downside to my job is that it is about an hour out of the city, so it takes some commute time. Right now, I get a ride in the morning from the Editor-In-Chief of The Bulletin, and I get a ride home at night from whoever is leaving first and can drop me off at a Metro station or at my apartment. Still, it does take a while to commute, so I'm trying to work something out with Gareth to see if there is some easier way to do it.

Today, I had the day off of work because this afternoon we have a major conference about agriculture with all of the students from Missouri and 30 more Mizzou kids who are traveling through on their winter inter-session trip. Our Chancellor, Brady Deaton, will also be there. I think it will be pretty cool, but there's a slight chance it's the most boring thing I do while in Belgium...

After only a week, I'm really feeling like I know my way around Brussels, and I am a real part of Belgium. I am finally feeling moved in to my apartment, and I know my way around the area. I went shopping for groceries today, and people addressed me in French (which I was really excited about, I felt native, and it was the first time they didn't speak English to me right away). Now, I'm ready for visitors, I think I could show them around.

Lastly, if anyone is wondering, my Skype name is susanparsons1, and I've finally figured out my address, so you can ship me things if you want... ;)

Susan Parsons

Bvd du Triomphe 151 B111

Room 1525

B-1050 Bruxelles

Belgium

In Bruges

2009-01-10T15:13:00.000-08:00

First, let me start with the fact that Bruges is an incredibly beautiful city. A group of 14 of us hopped the train this morning to do some touring. The ride there was only about an hour, so we had plenty of time in the day to look around and do the things we wanted to do. Luckily, it was a pretty small city, so we found our way around easily.

We started by wondering up to the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerkhof, also known as Notre Dame of Brugge. Inside is Michelangelo's "Madonna and Child," which was absolutely amazing. The church itself was beautiful too. After looking around in there, we decided to cross the street to the Hospital Museum, and check out some of the oldest medical tools I have ever seen. Let me just say that I am glad I never had to have eye surgery in the early 15th century. It sounds like the worst, most painful thing ever.

After the Hospital Museum, we took a short break and got some hot chocolate. At this point, the 6 of us girls that were traveling together split up from the boys, as we wanted to do some shopping at a little more sightseeing, and they had other plans that included filling their belly's with liquid. After our hot chocolate, we decided to climb the tower, all 366 steps up to the top. The view from there, however, was absolutely phenomenal and made the journey worth it. Still, it was tiring so we decided to do some shopping. All of the shopping was fun, there are a lot of lace and chocolate stores. Everywhere.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the Salvadore Dali exhibit in the tower. It was one of the coolest art exhibits I have ever seen. There was so much to look at and soak up. It was very inspiring. However, a long day of touring made all of us pretty hungry, so we decided to find a restaurant to eat at and it is true: the mussels in Belgium are so delicious.

It was a great, though tiring day, and it inspired me to want to travel around more. It was nice to do something besides sit around our flats all day. And for those of you thinking of heading to Belgium, I would definitely recommend a day trip to Bruges. And yes, you can do the whole city in just a day.

2009-01-09T08:20:00.000-08:00

As the days go on, I'm feeling more and more adjusted to life in Belgium. I'm getting a better at finding my way around and knowing where I am in the city. We've done a lot of exploring - both intentional and unintentional. The group has also been about to get out of Brussels and do some touring in the town of Mechelen, which is about 20 minutes away from Brussels.

A few days ago, in Mechelen, we went to a Holocaust museum and heard what role Belgium had in the Holocaust. The building the museum is in was once actually a building where they held individuals who were about to get shipped to Auschwitz. It was a very sobering experience, and very interesting.

After the museum we explored around Mechelen, which is a beautiful old town. All of the buildings were beautiful to look at. We grabbed lunch and then made our way back to Brussels via train. I also got my first Belgian waffle at the train station. It was delicious - they are way better over here than the American imitation.

That evening, the 5 other girls that I have become very good friends with and I went out for a night in Ixelles, which is the neighborhood we live in. We met some local students and tried Kreik which is a cherry flavored beer, popular among women. I would definitely recommend it, it tasted like cough syrup that you would actually want to drink.

Yesterday, we got a tour of Vesalius College, which is technically where we are taking classes. It's a nice school, all of the facilities are very nice and its only about a 2 minute walk from our apartment building. I had the afternoon free, while the other kids on the trip had a French lesson. Gareth (our program coordinator) said that it would be a waste of time for all of us who know French. Knowing the language comes in handy, again!

Afterwards, we went out for dinner for "machine gun sandwiches" which are basically huge sandwiches and have fries in them. They weren't the best sandwiches in the world, but you have to experience what they eat here. Afterwards, a large group of students in the program went out in downtown Brussels, and went to some touristy pubs. One of them was Dilerium, which is one of the most famous pubs in Belgium. It was an experience, but definitely a fun time. It was great getting to know the group better. We definitely have a dynamic going on, and I can see all of us getting along throughout the trip.

This evening, all 16 students are heading to Gareth's house for a social gathering, just to break the ice a little bit more and get to know everyone.

So far, everything overseas is going so great, I can't wait to see what lies ahead.

Days of Arrival

2009-01-06T14:25:00.000-08:00

Well, it took long enough but we finally got here and settled in. After catching a connection in Washington D.C. and flying 7 hours to the airport in Brussels, it's a relief to know exactly what's going on, for the most part at least.

Yesterday was a long day, as we had basically nothing once we arrived to what could nicely be called glorified dorm rooms. Sara, Lindsay and I were able to catch the metro and stop at a Carforre (somewhat like Europe's response to a WalMart). It only took us about an hour to figure out how to catch a metro (it's harder to find the locations of entrances than it seems). Luckily, my broken French in combination with some English-speaking Belgians was able to get us by and we got there just fine.

That night, it was incredibly hard to sleep, with my internal clock still being set to USA time, I woke up about four times over the course of the night. It worked out ok in the end, because at 4:30 a.m. this time, I was able to check Facebook and see that Patty, a new friend, was awake as well. I ventured down to her glorified dorm and we chatted for about 45 minutes. At 5:30 a.m. this time, I was able to Skype chat with my mom and sisters. After that, I got back to sleep for an hour and a half.

This morning we had an orientation with Gareth Harding, our coordinator over here. We found out all of the things to expect on this trip, what we will be doing, etc. It was nice to have someone there to answer all the questions we had remaining. The best part of this orientation was the Belgian lunch we got afterwards, frites and beer. Both were delicious. After lunch we ventured over to the boys flats, which make our housing arrangement look like the slums.The afternoon was spent touring around the city center and buying a cell phone...to get in touch with the others on the trip, and to connect with others when needed.

All in all, it was a pretty great day, and I'm starting to feel adjusted to Brussels. I'm thinking I'm very much so going to enjoy this semester abroad.