Cheers London!

Every time I've visited London, it never seems to disappoint. This past weekend was the best weather we could have had-sunny and 70, no rain! Definitely a nice surprise. We arrived late Friday night, but just in time to snap a few magical pictures at platform 9 3/4. After crashing at our hostel (no comment on this if you know what I mean), we walked around Hyde Park before our walking tour in Covent Garden. All of the parks in Europe so far make me realize how much I will miss them once I go back to Cincinnati. After walking around the park we were a little ambitious and decided to walk to our walking tour...so a little over an hour later we finally made it. London as well as a few other cities have free walking tours, and I was pleasantly surprised by our tour. Our guide had just completed his masters in British history, so we were able to have a professional and informative tour that took us to all of the main sites: Trafalgar Square, Westminster, St. James Palace, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, and Parliament. Not too shabby, eh? That night we got to experience a different side of London on our pub crawl, but Soho at night was quite a fun time.

Another one of my favorite things when it comes to exploring a new city is to have a relaxing, less touristy day where you can see what actually living in the city would be like. So, we decided to walk to Notting Hill (okay, maybe I did just want to go here because of Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts) and go to Portobello Market. Walking around Notting Hill on a quiet Sunday afternoon was a new side of London I was quite glad to see. After that we went back to people watch in Hyde Park which is always an interesting time. A quick trip to Harrods and a pit stop for Indian food and our Sunday was complete. I couldn't have picked a better mix of things to do while in London.

Looking ahead to this weekend, it's finally SPRING BREAK! At Vesalius we get 2 weeks off for break, so I have some crazy adventures coming up. Here's the order: 4 days in Paris, 3 days in Marseille, 6 days in Morocco, and 3 days in Copenhagen. I am beyond excited for this adventure, especially Morocco. Packing for all of these places was not easy, but I just cannot believe I get to see all of these cities in the next 2 weeks. So with that said, it will be a little while until my next post, but I'll be back soon enough. Au revoir!

xx 

Kate

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Ghent

I'm back! Sorry for the gap between posts, but with traveling on weekends plus school, it's been hectic. This is just going to be a quick post about Ghent, one of the most underrated cities in Belgium. I know I say that every city I visit is my new favorite, but I promise that Ghent has been my favorite Belgian city so far other than Brussels! In my opinion, Ghent has the canals and charm of Bruges with the fashion and size of Antwerp. While we were there, we took a walking tour of the city in the morning which dropped us off conveniently next to a market with different food stands for lunch. Of course we were adventurous and tried a Dutch dessert called pofferjes-basically tiny balls of dough covered in butter and sugar. Definitely part of a balanced diet, right? After our lunch break we headed to the museum of textiles and industry followed by a boat tour on the canal. Luckily train tickets in Belgium allow you to return whenever you would like the day you purchase it, so we decided to stay a bit later and see Ghent at night. Quite a lovely day trip! So glad I got to experience this hidden gem.

xoxo 

Kate

Leuven et le Printemps

Spring has arrived in Brussels! Finally we've been able to enjoy sun and 60 degree weather, something that Belgians go crazy for. Seriously. Everyone is in the park eating ice cream and enjoying this taste of early summer. Since midterms, it's been quite a relaxed time since I've had a break from studying and can continue to explore Brussels. Lots of sleeping in may or may not have been involved this past weekend...but I did manage to squeeze in a trip to Leuven (Louvain in French). This little college town is just about a 20 minute train ride from Brussels, and it consists of cafés, bars, and university buildings. So what did we do then? That's right, try a few Belgian beers and enjoy the sunshine of course! After visiting, I realized I should have reconsidered choosing Ohio for college and just have gone to Leuven haha. A relaxing afternoon of bagels, beer, and sunshine was perfect. Other than typical school life, it's been a pretty chill week here in Brussels. This weekend I'm off to explore Luxembourg and Germany a little bit with my dad who is in town. Can this weather stay please? I promise I would send it to the states if I could! 

Bisous x

Kate 

Amsterdam + Friends

Hallo from a weekend in Amsterdam! Last weekend I was in the Netherlands with my art class and I have to say, Amsterdam has been my favorite city I've visited thus far. I know, I know, I didn't expect it either, but it is an absolutely gorgeous city full of bridges and crooked buildings. I am convinced that Dutch is just silly English though, because half of the words are so similar. Oh, and Amsterdam definitely wins the award for having the cutest children! I swear all of the kids were adorable. Not to say it's not a weird place, it definitely is. Amongst all of the charm and beauty there's the red light district of course, so it is quite a strange combination. In terms of museums, I was able to visit the Van Gogh museum, the Rijk museum (basically the Louvre of Amsterdam), Anne Frank's house, and much much more. If anyone is planning a trip close to Amsterdam, I highly suggest you go! Also, the food is heavenly. Stroopwafels= two thin waffles with honey and caramel in the middle, and it is HEAVENLY. Clearly from the picture of me and my friends eating the waffles, we didn't enjoy them at all haha. We were able to squeeze in a tour of the Heineken brewery which I did not realize was in Amsterdam, but that was a fun touristy adventure too. I miss Amsterdam already, but it's so great to be back home in Brussels.  

This past weekend my best friend Allison who's studying in Granada was able to visit me and it was a perfect weekend! It was so great to show her around and have her meet all of the people I've been telling her so much about. We did go a little overboard on the chocolate and speculoos though...oops! I was sad to see her leave because it was such a fun weekend, and now I have midterms to study for this week. So yes, I promise there is studying that happens on study abroad! It's just infinitely more difficult to motivate yourself to study when you get to live in such a fun place. Cross your fingers that I survive midterms and get some sleep. 

xoxo 

Kate 

1 Weekend, 4 Cities

Bonjour to you all! This past weekend was jam-packed. But really, I traveled to 4 cities over the course of 2 days, all in Belgium. Saturday we had an excursion to Wallonia, which is the French speaking region of Belgium with my group. Our first stop was Waterloo (yep, as in Napoleon) which happens to be only 8 km outside of Brussels. Waterloo was quite beautiful, definitely a serene and slightly eerie place. Today it's mostly farmland, but there's a large pyramid with a statue to commemorate the battle. It's crazy to think Napoleon walked along the same grounds we did. After stopping in Waterloo, we were off to Namur for lunch, and as the French do, we had a lovely two hour meal at a café and then hopped back on the bus to go to l'Abbaye de Maredsous. Words cannot describe how breathtaking the drive to the abbey was let alone the grounds of Maredsous. With more British-style architecture, Maredsous is famous for their cheese and beer, as most monasteries in Belgium are. Our tour guide was fantastic, and there was such a romantic air to this abbey. It reminded me a bit of Oxford actually, mostly because of the quaint corridors and green grass. 

On Sunday I was in Antwerp with my art class all day which is a different style of traveling of course, but I think I have successfully seen enough of Peter Paul Reuben's works for a while. I did enjoy all of the museums we were able to visit, but it's was a tiring day. Antwerp is definitely a city I would love to go back and visit. With the quaint cafés, shopping, and architecture, Antwerp really is charming and has the feel of a large city without being the size of one. I'm so grateful I've been able to see all of the places I've already been and it's only February. Off to Amsterdam tomorrow for the weekend! Until then, à bientôt! 

xoxo 

Kate   

Un Mélange de Choses Belge

Whew! This past week has been quite the whirlwind of things. School definitely picked up last week, so it's officially studying abroad now. The weekend before last I was in Lille and realized I forgot to add a photo of me and some friends, so I decided to throw that back in this post. Anyways, last weekend was booked. The Salon du Chocolat was in Brussels for the weekend, so how could we pass up hunting for free samples? I'm also excited to be in one of the chocolate capitals of Europe for Valentine's Day just because it's more of an excuse to eat chocolate. One of the photos above is of a chocolate fashion show at the salon, which was pretty funny to see. 

Other than tasting any and all chocolate, I was back in Bruges on Sunday with my art class, so I was able to get some better pictures. It was still cold and rainy, but the sun managed to come out in the afternoon. With traveling and homework, I've stayed quite busy and cannot believe it is already February. I already know I am not going to be ready to come back to the States in May, so I wish time would slow down!

Up next for this weekend: Exploring Wallonia (Southern French speaking Belgium) and Antwerp with my art class on Sunday. I'll keep you updated on these adventures! Miss everyone back in the States bunches. 

xoxo 

Kate