You sound like you're from London

So, London was quite the adventure to say the least. The trip begin with an overnight bus ride. Customs was very intimidating crossing the English channel they probably asked me at least fifteen questions, but I got my passport stamped in France and the UK which was exciting. Our bus then drove onto a nine level ferry at 3 am in the morning which had restaurants and shopping aboard. We arrived in London at 6 am, i don't know that I am so fond of the overnight travel, as you all know I am a girl who needs her sleep so making it through the whole first day of tours in London was a struggle. But, very worth it.

Day one was typical London rainy, grey, and cold.. but we embarked on a three hour free walking tour and embraced every second of it. I saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Parliament, Hyde Park, Westminster Abbey, all the big tourist attractions. We then endulged in some fish and chips and went shopping on Bond and Regent Street the equivelent of 5th Avenue and Time Square!

Day Two we spent on our own Tour of the London Tower, London Bridge, Shakespeares Globe, St.Paul's Cathedral and Wimbeldon. It was so much fun!

Our last day we relaxed and got lunch and played some pool in our hostel and then embarked on our journey home...which turned out to be a bit more then we bargained for. Our bus was very late and our bus driver was quite grouchy, but instead of taking the ferry we took the euro tunnel. That was really neat!! The bus drives onto a train and all the cars and buses and 18 wheelers are aboard this train which then travels underneath the channel. We ended up getting home very late, but all in all a fantastic trip. Saw a lot, just learning the best ways to travel.. bus probably isn't my favorite haha.

Day trip to Brugge

So our day started with an 8 am bike ride to the train station which was a first for us, and let me just tell you a picture doesn't do it enough justice. There is a parking garage for bicycles with 10,000 spots... 5 blocks of bicycle parking... a half a mile of bicycle parking. It was unlike anything I have ever seen. And it was hard to find a spot haha

After an 1.5 train ride we arrived in Brugge (the venice of Belgium) known for it's delicious chocolates & canals filled with swans. We took an hour long boat tour, visited an art museum, saw a Michelangelo sculpture in a famous church, had a good lunch, and spent the afternoon just exploring the town which I loved!

Anyone who comes to visit will definitely get the pleasure of spending the day in Brugge. The boat ride was my favorite part. You go under probably 10 different bridges some of which you have to duck and feel like you are in the charlie and the chocolate factory movie, haha you have to experience it.

Love to all, Brigette

My room

For those of you who were asking : )

here is a photo of my room. It's quaint. Still waiting to see when my roommate will arrive from Poland, everyone else's has and mine is MIA...

Antwerpen & Fort Breendonk

Today the PECS program (the program for all international students) took us to Antwerpen and Fort Breendonk. Antwerpen is the second largest port city in Europe and was filled with churches, castles, diamonds, and museums. Below is a picture of a castle we visited, the gardens of the museum of the first ever printing press, and the original row houses dating back to the 1700's.

After Antwerpen we hopped back on the bus for Fort Breendonk, which was originally a fort for the Belgian Army during WWI but in WWII it became a Nazi concentration camp. That was eye opening, it gave you goosebumps just standing in the jail cells, torture rooms, and following the stories of the individuals. Much like the experience of the Holocaust museum, something you are so intrigued to see but really heart wrenching. I am getting to see so much.

The past week was filled with 30 hours of dutch and I have my midterm Monday, crazy how much they can squeeze into a week. But, it has already proven very helpful in restaurants, getting directions, and in the grocery store. It is amazing how much you can pick up when you are literally immersed in a completely different culture. After my midterm we have a week of Orientation and are going to London for the weekend before classes begin. I am quite excited!

Dad's visit

My dad came to visit today for the evening while doing business in Brussels and Germany. It was great to show him and his associate, Bruce around Leuven. Dutch class starts tomorrow 30 hour intensive week, should be interesting to say the least.

Normandy

Normandy was a big surprise to me. I had read all about D-Day, but had no idea the massive remains that were left on the beaches. Everything from pieces of boats and bunkers to the craters left in the ground from the canons hitting. The American cemetery with over 9,000 headstones was also very moving and I felt privileged to walk on the 30 acres of American soil in France at Point D'Hoc.

Mont St.Michel was beautiful. It reminded me of a much more peaceful shutter island like place. Funny, when we got there the tide was up so far we had water surrounding us and the bus couldn't park and when we left the tide had gone out 9 miles. They have incredible drastic tide changes within minutes there.

Our last funny little experience was seeing sheep legitemately blocking a lane of the road. I one thought that only happened in movies and two thought that only happened in Ireland. It was very entertaining. I couldn't have asked for a better way to start this adventure. France was fabulous and I am glad I spent the time I did there and traveled to so many different sites within the country. But, as I sit here in my room back in Leuven I am happy to have returned to my cozy home away from home.

Everyday I see something more beautiful!

Our last few days in Paris included a scenic boat cruise, crepes of course, Luxembourg Gardens, the Louvre, and the Shakespeare and company bookstore. Talk about a whirlwind visit, we did basically everything including witness the French strike which didn't effect our visit too much minus the fact that some museums and the subway were closed so we did a lot of walking. So much so that my toe popped right through the front of my shoe haha... really classy Brigette, I know : )

I thought the rest of France would just be icing on the cake, but wow, St.Malo is one of the most beautiful scenic places I have seen. It is like the Newport of France. The tide goes out for miles and you can walk these huge beaches and within twenty minutes there is no beach at all and the sunset was out of this world.

Bonjour de Paris!

After nine years of studying french I had to pinch myself when I came to the realization that I in fact was standing in front of the eiffel tower!








It was so much bigger then I had imagined and at night the whole thing sparkles and looks like fireworks are going off inside of it. It is truly one of those things where you can't possibly imagine its magnificence until you are underneath this massive structure.




So far I have had the opportunity to visit the Arc de Triumph which is at the heart of Paris and has 16 different roads feeding off of this huge circle (and random side note it is the only traffic circle in the world where the people outside the circle have the right of way and so many accidents happen that insurance companies just spilt the difference now a days, pretty crazy). I also visited Notre Dame which I can see from my hotel room, the Concergerie (where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned), the Louvre, and Versaille.




I am really enjoying my visit, looking forward to traveling further into France to St.Malo and Normandy next : )

So they don't have doggy bags?

So despite the language barrier between the waitress, Corey, Maggie, and myself we successfully ordered a rather delicious dinner. The portions were huge so I kindly asked if I could have the remaining portion of my meal wrapped up to go. As the waitress stared me down, she then informed me that was an American tradition, but soon came out with a tupperware that salami or something came in and filled my pasta in there. Moral of the story: the locals are rather nice!

Welcome to Leuven

Currently still a bit jet lagged and adapting to Belgian time, but more importantly settled into my new home away from home and loving Leuven. Above is a photo of all 21 of us Loyola-K.U. Leuven students in front of city hall, perhaps one of the most intricately designed pieces of architecture I've seen.

Since arrival we have taken numerous tours of the town and campus to get acclimated with our surroundings. The town is a bit confusing to maneuver around, it is like a pinwheel if you will. The center of town is known as the longest bar in Europe, it is literally just restaurant after pub after cafe, all in a huge marketplace. From there a bunch of streets jet off; my street is schaapenstraat, which literally means sheeps street i learned today.



It was funny to even see they have palm trees in the center of town; even with the chillier more mild, year long temperatures they must do well. I will try to keep up with this blog, especially pictures. Love to all, miss you all, Brigette