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  

Un Petit Voyage à Lille

 Where better to go than France for a quick day trip? With Brussels being in the heart of Europe, I'm so lucky that there are so many options for weekend adventures. After talking to some friends, we settled on Lille which turned out to be much larger than I expected. We were able to squeeze in an art museum, a cathedral, a bus tour, climbing to the top of a bell tower, and of course some lovely French macarons. Besides enjoying some traditional and cliché French food, being able to wander around museums is one of my favorite things to do, and I was able to see some Dutch masters as well as some miniatures. However, I think the speculoos macaron did indeed steal the show for the weekend-I swear there is nothing better than French desserts!

Other than exploring Lille on Saturday, today we went to Europe's second largest vintage market, which is in Brussels the first Sunday of each month. It was definitely a mecca for all of the European hipsters and their 80s sweaters, but it was a fun afternoon. As for school, there's nothing too exciting to say about it other than just typical classes, but unfortunately procrastination doesn't just disappear in Europe. So as for the motivation to study, well, let's hope I'm better at it this week. Oh, one last thing, happy Superbowl Sunday! Yes, we will be watching it tonight, which means it starts at 12:30 here in Brussels. Who needs sleep, right?

Bisous

Kate

En Bruges

Bruges is full of red roofs, crazy bikers, quaint streets, and it was perfect for a weekend day trip. We arrived early in the morning and started off the day with a walking tour which mostly talked about the gory history of Bruges, which was news to me, but I enjoyed simply taking in the charm of this small town. Bruges is completely different from Brussels even though it's only an hour by train, but this tiny Dutch-speaking town is definitely underrated. After our walking tour we took a quick break for lunch and headed off to a brewery tour inside a traditional Flemish building. Even though it was quite windy and cold yesterday, we were surprised with a carriage ride from our ISA group coordinators! So we bundled up and were able to see more of this charming place. I definitely want to come back and rent a bike to experience Bruges the way locals do. Other than our small trip, it's been a fantastic time so far in Brussels and I cannot believe it has only been two weeks! Off to another week of classes and enjoying the daily things Brussels has to offer, such as the much-needed coffee breaks below! 

Bisous bisous 

Kate 

A Taste of Belgium

                     

Waffles waffles waffles! Or rather les gaufres as they're called here, really are as fantastic as I expected them to be. I know I will be having plenty more over the course of the semester. Plus, who can avoid a cute food truck, right? Anyways, other than the waffles, it's strange how quickly Brussels is starting to feel like home (that's not to say I still don't get lost--the busses are hard to navigate here, okay?). After being here for ten days, I have started to develop a few favorite spots here in Brussels. One of my favorite places is a park in my neighborhood called Bois de la Cambre, which is the picture of the wooded path above. It's a fantastic place to run even though the weather here is pretty grey and dismal. Of course downtown has beautiful squares and plazas, but I need a little more time to explore them and not get lost. Needless to say, Brussels has definitely been the right choice for me. I'll keep you all updated on my weekend adventures! Off to Bruges on Saturday!

À bientôt!

Kate

Bienvenue à Bruxelles

Finally made it to Brussels! After a long first day here and not much sleep, I have had some time to explore my new city that I get to call home for the next five months. I cannot believe it when I say that I get to live in Belgium! It is no doubt a beautiful city, but it is definitely quirky. Many things in Belgium just don't make a lot of sense--there are gorgeous old buildings right next to odd futuristic-type structures, or graffitied walls for example. They did get a few things right though: beer, fries (with samurai sauce, aka spicy mayo), and chocolate of course. A street waffle is next on my list, I promise! Unfortunately it has been quite rainy the past few days, so I've mostly resorted to iPhone photos, but I hope to have nicer weather so I can go shoot with my larger camera. It's been a great time meeting more people in my program, so I added a picture from our night out last night below. Classes start next week, so here's to enjoying the rest of the weekend.

Cheers!

Kate

My Old Kentucky Home

Welcome to my travel blog! I have decided to give blogging a good faith effort (I promise to try to keep things interesting)! Starting January 13th I will be studying in Brussels, Belgium until May 17, so it will be a great experience, but I have to admit that I am a little nervous now that I leave tomorrow. As a goodbye to Kentucky and the US, I went to one of my favorite places in Lexington to shoot with a friend. Nothing beats the simple beauty of country roads. I know there will be a lot about European culture that I will love, but I can say there are a few American things I will miss a lot (i.e. peanut butter). I'm excited to start this new adventure and feel free to comment on any of my posts, I will greatly appreciate it!

Bisous bisous 

Kate