My Europe Adventure
i have a lot of energy right now so i figured id post something
waaay too much caffeine today
soooo this past spring semester was busy and a littel stressful, but i did good, managed a 3.8 for the semester, wouldnt been a 4.0 if it wasnt for stupid ecology
and then once the semester ended i had a week to get ready for my 3 week adventure
the first week i was at Shippensburg University where all the students who won the trip to France and Belgium had our classes
it was an INTENSE week let me tell you
allllll day we had class or library time or something going on, it just never stopped
i was exhausted, we had medieval hostory in the morning for 3 hours then an hour library time then lunch and then 3 hours of politics in the afternoon followed by dinner and then studied studied and read and read and read and read some more, my goodness
i had some papers due and a presentation and a book review, all in one week
craziness
anywho, saturday was the big day, left in the afternoon from teh Philly airport for Brussels, and 8 hours later landed in Brussels around 11am
i was exhausted, didnt get much sleep at all, but i think the adrenaline and excitement of being in Europe kept me awake
we explored Brussels right when we got off the plane, visiting the grand place, eating at this greek place, we stuck out as Americans ike a sore thimb, it was great, we also got time to shop and stuff
then later on that day (this is sunday remember) we met our host families which we would be staying with for the week while in Belgium
Monday
went to NATO, listened to some speakers, tried to stay awake, then if i remember correctly we went to Waterloo and climbed 200 steps to the top of this view, we thn went to a brewery and they make DAMN good beer there, Kriek, if you ever come across it TRY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday
went to SHAPE, tried to aain stay awake thru all the speakers, then we went to a group lunch hosted by one of teh other students host families who owns a restaurant, we then went and explored Bersel Castle, it was small and flippen cool, we also went to the town of Halle, very cool town, we shopped around, i bought amazinggggg Belgian chocolate, my littel group of friends went to this cool Turkish place for food, that was interesting and yummy ( iseriously gained like 10 pounds on this trip haha) and then back to our host family's house
my host family was really awesome, it was an older couple, he is a doctor (he showed me his office which was flipping sweet) and she was his secretary, they had ADORABLE grandchildren, twin girls, Fleur and Fran, blonde haired and blue eyed and so cute, they only spoke dutch tho, havent leanred english yet haha, my host mom was an awesome cook and a very gracious host and i really enjoyed my time there, breakfast was always awesome, the coffee over there is to die for, i came back here, and the first time i went to dunkin donuts, it just wasnt the same, haha very disappointing
Wednesday
was lame
we went to speakers allllll day, it was tiring and kinda boring except for the talk with Jamie Shea, he was awesome and as one kid put it, prolly the smartest guy alive haha, he also was in Elle magazine in 1999 as the 6th sexiest man alive hahahahaha
thats all we did that day
then our host mom (i satyed with 2 other girls with the doc and his wife btw) took us to Brussles and showed us around, that was a lot of fun, went to teh Atomium, ate Beligan fries, saw the Grand Place at night, it was spetacular, loved it loved it
Thursday
AMERSTDAM.... fun day, walked around there after a 3 hour bus ride, went to teh Anne Frank house (interesting but very very depressing, saw her actual journal and everyhting) and shopped and ate at this cool cafe and gave up on finding the red light district, thennn at our host family's house we went swimming!!! well me and lauren did, cody wimped out haha, lauren was cool cause shes a swimmer, so that was pretty sweet
Friday
had our final speaker at the kellen group, totally wasnt paying attention (he repeated like hte same thing id been hearing for the entire week like 5 times aleady, about the interworkings of the EU and NATO and his role and the government and blah blah blah), thennn went to the Africa musuem, and we had to go thru the musuem looking for stuff to write a paper = it wasnt fun, we went to this little town afterwards, got ice cream at a cafe and then back to our host families, that night our host family took us out to dinner at the 3 Fontienens (def didnt spel it right) it was fbulous, loved it, couldnt read the menu casue it was in dutch but i got some kind of bird, tasted like chicken but it wasnt in this sweet bbq sauce mixed with Kriek beer, delicous, it was an enjoyble time
the restaurant is owned by the guy who's family owns the brewery that we went to, its interesting how they brew their beer, they do it by "natural means", instead of adding yeast to teh beer, certain chemicals and bacteria in the air only found in that part of Belgium allows the beer to ferment, or soemthing liek that, and its absolutely delicious, and they are very very very proud of thier beer, family tradition for generations, its pretty cool
Saturday
we went to BReendock concentration camp, very very depressing and cold and ugh in there *chills*, i wanted to cry the while time
also we went to Ghent which was one if not my favorite town we visited
we went to Castle Gravinstein, huge and fun to explore, with a torture chamber and a great view of the city
we also went shpping a bit, i bought awesome earrings from this gypsy lady haha
we toured the Belfry, beautiful view from the top, got some really good pics, then just kinda hung around, i loved the cobblestone streets and horse and carriage rides and canals filled with sailboats of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and their were so many beautiful buildings
we then went to this realy nice restaurant for our last meal in Belgium, it as everything else, was fabulous, we had this shishkabob thing of different types of meats with salad and interesting sauces and then dessert (tiramusu - to die for), it was such a fun night, laughing and joking and it was great
this was our last night with our host familes, then the next morning we said goodbye as we headed to Brugge
Sunday
traveled to Brugge, checked into our hotel and then walked around the city, also LOVED this city, beautiful
we went a cafe for lunch then went to the Basilica of teh Hol Blood, very moving and very touching, we were their to experience the veneration, i got to see and touch (well the vile that it was in) what they believe to be a shard from the cross that Jesus was crucified on with his blood on it, it was interesting, and the while church was gorgeous
we also went to St John's hospital which is now a museum, that was cool and interesting, lots of artwork
i wanted to see the only Michelangelo scuplture outside of Italy which wasin a church in Brugge but never got to, some day
also went to a monastery then to a fancy place for dinner with some ppl, and i had a beglian waffle for dessert, yum-my, then just went back to the hotel andwanted to write the paper me and my partner were suppose to do on the Africa musuem and he totally screwed it up but whatever, i got a B+ in the class and i passed
Monday
travel day to Bayeux, it rained all day (we had pretty awesome weather the time tho, only time it rained was on traveing days which worked out rather well) we stopped in Caen to tour a castle, it was thindering and pouring tho, and then we got to Bayeux and chekced into another hotel and then found a place to eat at a littel cafe where i had totally awesome veal, mmmmmm
Tuesday
sooo went to teh Bayeux tapestry which was beautiful and really cool and i loved teh story it told and its very well preserved and i bought a book whch contains the whole thing, also went tot eh Bayeux cathedral, very pretty, and ate at a creperie for lunch, yummm, i tried to order in french with the help of my friend Debon who was pretty cool , we had a lot in common
then we went to the D-day beaches, very very moving and loved it, i wish we had more time there tho, it was extremely windy, ididnt get to see teh cemetery at Omaha, we also went to Point Du Hawk which is just craters and craters beyond craters from teh 20 million pounds of bombs the USA dropped on the Germans, that was cool to see
Wednesday
went to Mont Saint Michel
omg
beautiful, magnificent, its this fortress on its own island, its awesome, i had some really good crepes and shopped a bit, we had a lot of time to kill and didnt know what to do with ourselves after a while, we saw a mass going on inside the abby, it was neat, the whole structure is stunning, and everything is huge, they kept telling us about the tides and how not to go out there cause the tide comes in real fast and ppl die every year cause theyre stupid, plus there's quicksand
we had a group dinner at our hotel which was the first disappointing meal i had, apart from teh dessert, some interesting pudding and meriange (spelling?) thing
Thursday
went to Chartres
ahhhhh! loved it, ive always wanted to go there after learning about it in art class
it was stunning, so beautiful, i took a million pics, its HUGE, and the artwork is fabulous and the sybolism is sooo interesting, loved it
we thennn traveled to PARIS!!! that was great, we walked around the city a bit as a group then split up and found a place to have dinner, i had duck and really good wine at teh restaurant me and my friends chose, we then walked to teh effiel tower, long walk but was wirth it to see it at night, got some great pics, and dude, i saw the effiel tower! i stood under it!!!!!!
Friday
packed day, we went to this medieval musuem, it was alright, it was required we go
then me and Debon had a fun filled day
we went to Notre Daem cathedral and walked around a bit and listened to the choir sing
then we went to the Lourve, fabulous, could spend a week in there and not see everyhting, saw the Mona Lisa and The Raft oo the Medusa, Lady Liberty leading the People or whatever its called, Aphrodite, really great sculptures, it was awesome
thennnn we walked down thru the gardens or the Louvre to the L'Orangerie (spelling?), that was cool, saw Monet and his waterlilies and some other more modern art that i really enjoyed, thennn we took the metro down to this street of shops and shoppped and had FABULOUS ice cream (this stuff was to die for) and ate a sushi restaurant, which was very good and pretty cheap for sushi, then walked back to the hotel and slept reallll good haha, i bought 2 dresse shopping, more choclate, some stuff for my friends, some realllllllly amazing coffee for people and yea, good day
Saturday
last day in Europe
we went to Saint Chappelle which was gorgeous, just walls and walls of stained glass, totally beautiful, ive learned about this chapel also in my art class and it was awesome to see in person
oh and btw, i bought a postcard, or 2, (or 5 if its Paris) from every place we went and i made a collage which is now hanging over my bed
after the chapel me and Debon went to the Orsay which i enjoyed a lot alot, i got sick the day before tho and wasnt feeling too good this day, we joked that the plague was going around within our group, mmm where did we go after that??...... oh right, we went to the Arc De Triumphe and took pics and got lost on the Metro but found our way back t teh street with the shops and did some more shopping then went to the Library thing and yea, then we went back to our hotel eary and went as a group to this really really fancy restaurant and had a really fancy diner with DELICIOUS food, salad with a fried ball of goat cheese dipped in almonds and great wine and stuffed pork wth potatoes and this amazing chocolate orange dessert, it was great, and then we gave our profs gifts that everyone contibuted too buying and yea, it was nice, then i went with some ppl to get ice cream and do some final shopping (i bought a scarf!) and stuff and then took the metro one last time to the hotel and yea, that was teh final day in Paris
then the next day we headed out early and 8 hours later were back in the states, whooo
i got a littel homesick at teh end but i would MOST DEFINITELY do it again
it was the greatest experience, and it was free!!!!
they're going to Egypt next year, that sounds cool
i have a bunch of euros left over tho that i cant seem to find a place to exchange them that doesnt require some ridiculous fee
any who im tired and that was a lot to write, i hope i didnt leave anything out
goodnight, have fun reading
waaay too much caffeine today
soooo this past spring semester was busy and a littel stressful, but i did good, managed a 3.8 for the semester, wouldnt been a 4.0 if it wasnt for stupid ecology
and then once the semester ended i had a week to get ready for my 3 week adventure
the first week i was at Shippensburg University where all the students who won the trip to France and Belgium had our classes
it was an INTENSE week let me tell you
allllll day we had class or library time or something going on, it just never stopped
i was exhausted, we had medieval hostory in the morning for 3 hours then an hour library time then lunch and then 3 hours of politics in the afternoon followed by dinner and then studied studied and read and read and read and read some more, my goodness
i had some papers due and a presentation and a book review, all in one week
craziness
anywho, saturday was the big day, left in the afternoon from teh Philly airport for Brussels, and 8 hours later landed in Brussels around 11am
i was exhausted, didnt get much sleep at all, but i think the adrenaline and excitement of being in Europe kept me awake
we explored Brussels right when we got off the plane, visiting the grand place, eating at this greek place, we stuck out as Americans ike a sore thimb, it was great, we also got time to shop and stuff
then later on that day (this is sunday remember) we met our host families which we would be staying with for the week while in Belgium
Monday
went to NATO, listened to some speakers, tried to stay awake, then if i remember correctly we went to Waterloo and climbed 200 steps to the top of this view, we thn went to a brewery and they make DAMN good beer there, Kriek, if you ever come across it TRY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday
went to SHAPE, tried to aain stay awake thru all the speakers, then we went to a group lunch hosted by one of teh other students host families who owns a restaurant, we then went and explored Bersel Castle, it was small and flippen cool, we also went to the town of Halle, very cool town, we shopped around, i bought amazinggggg Belgian chocolate, my littel group of friends went to this cool Turkish place for food, that was interesting and yummy ( iseriously gained like 10 pounds on this trip haha) and then back to our host family's house
my host family was really awesome, it was an older couple, he is a doctor (he showed me his office which was flipping sweet) and she was his secretary, they had ADORABLE grandchildren, twin girls, Fleur and Fran, blonde haired and blue eyed and so cute, they only spoke dutch tho, havent leanred english yet haha, my host mom was an awesome cook and a very gracious host and i really enjoyed my time there, breakfast was always awesome, the coffee over there is to die for, i came back here, and the first time i went to dunkin donuts, it just wasnt the same, haha very disappointing
Wednesday
was lame
we went to speakers allllll day, it was tiring and kinda boring except for the talk with Jamie Shea, he was awesome and as one kid put it, prolly the smartest guy alive haha, he also was in Elle magazine in 1999 as the 6th sexiest man alive hahahahaha
thats all we did that day
then our host mom (i satyed with 2 other girls with the doc and his wife btw) took us to Brussles and showed us around, that was a lot of fun, went to teh Atomium, ate Beligan fries, saw the Grand Place at night, it was spetacular, loved it loved it
Thursday
AMERSTDAM.... fun day, walked around there after a 3 hour bus ride, went to teh Anne Frank house (interesting but very very depressing, saw her actual journal and everyhting) and shopped and ate at this cool cafe and gave up on finding the red light district, thennn at our host family's house we went swimming!!! well me and lauren did, cody wimped out haha, lauren was cool cause shes a swimmer, so that was pretty sweet
Friday
had our final speaker at the kellen group, totally wasnt paying attention (he repeated like hte same thing id been hearing for the entire week like 5 times aleady, about the interworkings of the EU and NATO and his role and the government and blah blah blah), thennn went to the Africa musuem, and we had to go thru the musuem looking for stuff to write a paper = it wasnt fun, we went to this little town afterwards, got ice cream at a cafe and then back to our host families, that night our host family took us out to dinner at the 3 Fontienens (def didnt spel it right) it was fbulous, loved it, couldnt read the menu casue it was in dutch but i got some kind of bird, tasted like chicken but it wasnt in this sweet bbq sauce mixed with Kriek beer, delicous, it was an enjoyble time
the restaurant is owned by the guy who's family owns the brewery that we went to, its interesting how they brew their beer, they do it by "natural means", instead of adding yeast to teh beer, certain chemicals and bacteria in the air only found in that part of Belgium allows the beer to ferment, or soemthing liek that, and its absolutely delicious, and they are very very very proud of thier beer, family tradition for generations, its pretty cool
Saturday
we went to BReendock concentration camp, very very depressing and cold and ugh in there *chills*, i wanted to cry the while time
also we went to Ghent which was one if not my favorite town we visited
we went to Castle Gravinstein, huge and fun to explore, with a torture chamber and a great view of the city
we also went shpping a bit, i bought awesome earrings from this gypsy lady haha
we toured the Belfry, beautiful view from the top, got some really good pics, then just kinda hung around, i loved the cobblestone streets and horse and carriage rides and canals filled with sailboats of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and their were so many beautiful buildings
we then went to this realy nice restaurant for our last meal in Belgium, it as everything else, was fabulous, we had this shishkabob thing of different types of meats with salad and interesting sauces and then dessert (tiramusu - to die for), it was such a fun night, laughing and joking and it was great
this was our last night with our host familes, then the next morning we said goodbye as we headed to Brugge
Sunday
traveled to Brugge, checked into our hotel and then walked around the city, also LOVED this city, beautiful
we went a cafe for lunch then went to the Basilica of teh Hol Blood, very moving and very touching, we were their to experience the veneration, i got to see and touch (well the vile that it was in) what they believe to be a shard from the cross that Jesus was crucified on with his blood on it, it was interesting, and the while church was gorgeous
we also went to St John's hospital which is now a museum, that was cool and interesting, lots of artwork
i wanted to see the only Michelangelo scuplture outside of Italy which wasin a church in Brugge but never got to, some day
also went to a monastery then to a fancy place for dinner with some ppl, and i had a beglian waffle for dessert, yum-my, then just went back to the hotel andwanted to write the paper me and my partner were suppose to do on the Africa musuem and he totally screwed it up but whatever, i got a B+ in the class and i passed
Monday
travel day to Bayeux, it rained all day (we had pretty awesome weather the time tho, only time it rained was on traveing days which worked out rather well) we stopped in Caen to tour a castle, it was thindering and pouring tho, and then we got to Bayeux and chekced into another hotel and then found a place to eat at a littel cafe where i had totally awesome veal, mmmmmm
Tuesday
sooo went to teh Bayeux tapestry which was beautiful and really cool and i loved teh story it told and its very well preserved and i bought a book whch contains the whole thing, also went tot eh Bayeux cathedral, very pretty, and ate at a creperie for lunch, yummm, i tried to order in french with the help of my friend Debon who was pretty cool , we had a lot in common
then we went to the D-day beaches, very very moving and loved it, i wish we had more time there tho, it was extremely windy, ididnt get to see teh cemetery at Omaha, we also went to Point Du Hawk which is just craters and craters beyond craters from teh 20 million pounds of bombs the USA dropped on the Germans, that was cool to see
Wednesday
went to Mont Saint Michel
omg
beautiful, magnificent, its this fortress on its own island, its awesome, i had some really good crepes and shopped a bit, we had a lot of time to kill and didnt know what to do with ourselves after a while, we saw a mass going on inside the abby, it was neat, the whole structure is stunning, and everything is huge, they kept telling us about the tides and how not to go out there cause the tide comes in real fast and ppl die every year cause theyre stupid, plus there's quicksand
we had a group dinner at our hotel which was the first disappointing meal i had, apart from teh dessert, some interesting pudding and meriange (spelling?) thing
Thursday
went to Chartres
ahhhhh! loved it, ive always wanted to go there after learning about it in art class
it was stunning, so beautiful, i took a million pics, its HUGE, and the artwork is fabulous and the sybolism is sooo interesting, loved it
we thennn traveled to PARIS!!! that was great, we walked around the city a bit as a group then split up and found a place to have dinner, i had duck and really good wine at teh restaurant me and my friends chose, we then walked to teh effiel tower, long walk but was wirth it to see it at night, got some great pics, and dude, i saw the effiel tower! i stood under it!!!!!!
Friday
packed day, we went to this medieval musuem, it was alright, it was required we go
then me and Debon had a fun filled day
we went to Notre Daem cathedral and walked around a bit and listened to the choir sing
then we went to the Lourve, fabulous, could spend a week in there and not see everyhting, saw the Mona Lisa and The Raft oo the Medusa, Lady Liberty leading the People or whatever its called, Aphrodite, really great sculptures, it was awesome
thennnn we walked down thru the gardens or the Louvre to the L'Orangerie (spelling?), that was cool, saw Monet and his waterlilies and some other more modern art that i really enjoyed, thennn we took the metro down to this street of shops and shoppped and had FABULOUS ice cream (this stuff was to die for) and ate a sushi restaurant, which was very good and pretty cheap for sushi, then walked back to the hotel and slept reallll good haha, i bought 2 dresse shopping, more choclate, some stuff for my friends, some realllllllly amazing coffee for people and yea, good day
Saturday
last day in Europe
we went to Saint Chappelle which was gorgeous, just walls and walls of stained glass, totally beautiful, ive learned about this chapel also in my art class and it was awesome to see in person
oh and btw, i bought a postcard, or 2, (or 5 if its Paris) from every place we went and i made a collage which is now hanging over my bed
after the chapel me and Debon went to the Orsay which i enjoyed a lot alot, i got sick the day before tho and wasnt feeling too good this day, we joked that the plague was going around within our group, mmm where did we go after that??...... oh right, we went to the Arc De Triumphe and took pics and got lost on the Metro but found our way back t teh street with the shops and did some more shopping then went to the Library thing and yea, then we went back to our hotel eary and went as a group to this really really fancy restaurant and had a really fancy diner with DELICIOUS food, salad with a fried ball of goat cheese dipped in almonds and great wine and stuffed pork wth potatoes and this amazing chocolate orange dessert, it was great, and then we gave our profs gifts that everyone contibuted too buying and yea, it was nice, then i went with some ppl to get ice cream and do some final shopping (i bought a scarf!) and stuff and then took the metro one last time to the hotel and yea, that was teh final day in Paris
then the next day we headed out early and 8 hours later were back in the states, whooo
i got a littel homesick at teh end but i would MOST DEFINITELY do it again
it was the greatest experience, and it was free!!!!
they're going to Egypt next year, that sounds cool
i have a bunch of euros left over tho that i cant seem to find a place to exchange them that doesnt require some ridiculous fee
any who im tired and that was a lot to write, i hope i didnt leave anything out
goodnight, have fun reading