Paris

Two weeks ago I got the chance to visit Paris with a friend for the weekend. Unfortunately we didn't have the best weather, but we still had a great time running around the city and trying to see as much as possible in 36 hours. Although I loved seeing the Eiffel tower and the Arc De Triomphe, my favorite site was definitely Notre Dame. I loved how beautiful and serene it was, both inside and out.

A few things we learned in France:
- The closer you get to the Eiffel Tower, the cheaper the souvenirs are (at least the ones sold illegally). I was so mad I paid a euro for 3 keychains when I could've gotten 6 if I waited.
- The Arc De Triomphe is a lot farther from the Louvre than it looks.
- Agnesse (the girl I went with) and I have a very bad sense of direction.



View of the river



In front of Notre Dame



Candles inside the cathedral



Arc de Triomphe

30 second post

I have been sooo busy the last week and a half, I haven't had a chance to update the blog. I can't believe I went to Paris almost 2 weeks ago and STILL haven't posted about it, not to mention my trip to Tuscany and Rome last weekend. Since I'm supposed to be working right now and am headed to Germany this weekend, I don't know when I'll have the time for a full post. In the meantime though, here are a few pics of what I've been up to....

Manneken Pis

For those of you who don't already know, one of Brussels' most famous landmarks is the Manneken Pis - a statue of a little boy peeing. It's on almost all the post cards, and they sell little Manneken Pis souvenirs in the gift shops, from bottle openers to miniature versions of the statue. I'm really not sure what it says about a country when one of your biggest symbols is a peeing boy. However, I do think it's funny, albeit a little weird. Of course I had to go and see for myself, so last week I went in search of this little boy. It's right next to the main tourist part of town, but it still took me a little while to find it. Once I did though, there was quite a crowd gathered around it. Also, they apparently put clothes on him periodically. Has anyone else seen something funny like this abroad?

Happy Valentine's Day

Today happens to be Valentine's Day, a day that there are definitely mixed feeling about. I've heard it called everything from "commercialized" to "single awareness day." However, whatever the day's faults, I have a hard time not liking a day that encourages you to celebrate love, whether its love for your family, friends, or a significant other. Even though I'm more than 4,000 miles away from everyone I love, they're definitely all on my mind, especially David. This is our 5th Valentine's Day together, so I thought I'd post just a few pics from our relationship. Happy Valentine's Day everyone <3

Antwerp

Okay, so I'm wayyyy behind on posting this haha, but hopefully I'll be able to catch up on posts soon!

Last Saturday I decided to take the train to Antwerp for the day since it's one of the biggest cities in Belgium after Brussels. Despite the bad weather, I LOVED the city. I thought it was clean and beautiful, with lots of friendly people who, luckily for me, spoke English. I also had my first experience with CouchSurfers. Have you heard of it?? You meet up with random people in different cities and sometimes spend the night on their couch rather than pay for a hotel. I ended up meeting a guy for dinner/drinks before I went back to Brussels that night. It was so fun to hear about Antwerp from one of its locals! I really liked the city, and hopefully get to go back sometime soon!

Visit to la Cinquantenaire

Last Sunday I decided to spend the day exploring the area around where I live. After less than a mile of walking, I discovered this beautiful area! There's a huge park which will be great once it's warmer, plus the beautiful Arc du Cinquanterie and several museums. I can't wait to go back and look around some more!!

Help!

Ok everyone! Right now I'm trying to decide where in Europe I want to go while I'm here, and how I should get there. Whether you've spent time abroad (and I know lots of you have!) or not, I need some advice!

Here's the situation! I'll be here for a total of 13 weeks. For the most part, I can only travel on the weekends since I'm taking classes/working. I also need to travel as cheaply as possible, but still be safe! Finally, the only languages I speak are English and French, so I need to be able to at lest get by. So, questions:

1. Where should I go??? And what should I do there?? Although I have a few ideas, I'd love to know the places you've been that you'd love to go back to, or any places you're dying to visit for the first time!
2. What's the best way to get there? Train, plane, bus? I've looked into prices, but it's hard to figure out what way is the best/cheapest. Also, would you recommend some sort of Eurorail pass?
3. Where should I stay? I'm looking at staying at hostels since that seems to be the cheapest, so if you have recommendations on any I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks guys!