Sweet Home Alabama

   Sunday was our last full day in Brussels. We enjoyed it by sleeping until two in the afternoon. Our plan was to be really well rested when we got home. It was a great plan! It was sunny for the first day in three weeks so we headed to a park and went for an afternoon walk. Then we had one last Belgian meal before packing and heading to bed.
   We woke up early Monday morning. We were so excited about coming home to see our friends and families! The airport bus was great and dropped us off right where we needed to be. We were so early that the check-in counter for our flight was not open yet. We sat on the floor of the airport and waited for about an hour. While waiting, we realized that we could weigh our bags on the scales. Anna's bag was 3 kilos over the weight limit and mine was 3 kilos under. I crammed three pair of Anna's shoes and some of her clothes into my bag. I've never carried such a heavy bag in my life. We had lunch in the airport and spent our remaining Euros on chocolate...of course.
   The first flight was from Brussels to Amsterdam. It was less than an hour and went very smoothly. After an hour layover in Amsterdam we boarded the ten hour flight from Amsterdam to Atlanta. I ended up in the aisle seat of one side of the plane with an older couple beside me. Little did I know that I would soon become the couple's personal flight attendant. First the woman could not make the headphones stay in her ears so I fixed them and then put them on her ears for her. Then they couldn't get their personal screens to work so I used the remote to get the entertainment systems on the movie selection for them. They needed to use the bathroom several times which meant that I had to get out into the aisle and wait for them to crawl over all our seats. After the second bathroom trip, I could not figure our what was taking them so long to get back into their seats. I walked back up the aisle and found out that the man had lost his hearing aid. He had been looking for it but had no luck finding it. So of course here I go onto all fours crawling around on the airplane floor to find his hearing aid. I did find it and then helped him find his medicine too. We finally all got situated back into our seats. The ten hours passed quickly since I was occupied with the couple and my personal entertainment system. I watched all kinds of movies and television and before I knew it we had touched down in Atlanta.
   We were scheduled to have a two and a half hour layover in Atlanta. That would have been the perfect amount of time to go through customs and make it to our next flight. Instead our flight was delayed and we had a five hour layover in Atlanta. It was torture. We were so close yet so far away from home! Finally we got on the plane and had a thirty minute flight to Huntsville. We arrived at the Huntsville airport about one thirty in the morning and then drove on to Scottsboro.
   I spent Tuesday catching up on the sleep I missed the day before and trying to recover from my jet lag. Mom and I visited my Thebus grandparents and then we had dinner at my Westmoreland grandparents. I also go to see my sweet Aunt Mary, thanks for the blueberries, and my cousins. It was a great day! Today I have packed, visited a few more people, and even fit in an hour at the pool, another great day!
    Tomorrow I am moving to my very first house! I cannot wait to live with Meg, Caroline, and Anna. I've missed Meggers and Crill so much all summer. We are going to have a great time! Of course this is the hottest week in Auburn so far and we will be moving all kinds of stuff into the house. I just love the south Alabama heat. I cannot believe I will be starting my junior year of college this month. It seems like yesterday I was moving into my freshman dorm.
    Thanks for reading my blogs. I have really enjoyed being able to keep up with friends and family though them. Sorry for any typos or grammar mistakes. For the most part I was typing on a wireless fold-up keyboard onto my iPhone. Every time I told someone in Europe that I was from Alabama they would ask: Sweet Home Alabama? Apparently the song is a European favorite. Yes, Sweet Home Alabama I would say and then tell them they should come visit. I had the most amazing summer abroad. Seven weeks in Europe was the perfect amount of time. I enjoyed every minute of it but was also ready to come home. Coming home is even more fun when you know you are headed right back to the greatest place in this state...Auburn University! The number on thing I missed eating from the United States was cereal. I've already had several bowls of multigrain cheerios with fresh blueberries and cold skim milk. My it is great to be home!
      I could not have asked for a better travel partner. So glad I got to see the world with you, Anna Cragon, I see many more trips in our future. We have way more of the world to see! I proved to myself that I can do anything and go anywhere. Toto, I'm back in Alabama and so glad to see you! I will not however been here for long. Watch out world, I'm coming to find you. From the biggest cities to the smallest villages, I want meet the locals, enjoy the food, and immerse myself into the culture. This trip sparked my need to travel more than I could have ever imagined. I'm so thankful to be home safe and sound, but I am counting the days until I am jet set again!  

The Best

Since I last blogged, I've had the best week. Tuesday and Wednesday we had our last classes which were a joke. Anna and I wrote a six page paper on mayonnaise for our major grade in our culture class. We spent the afternoons visiting chocolate shops we had missed during our month here and enjoying the city. Thursday we had our final for our culture class. Anna and I ate at our favorite lunch place, Made in Salad, one last time. We also got some chocolate and a new favorite cookie the macaron. I am on a mission to make the perfect macarons when I get home and back to my kitchen. I have had awesome flavors over the last two weeks including: rose, cherry, caramel, champagne, violet, raspberry, chocolate, and vanilla. They are the most wonderful melt in your mouth little cookies. I already bought a cookbook and have been studying up on how to create them.
Most of the group left on Friday so we had one last meal all together on Thursday night. It was a great dinner at a place called Ommergang right off the Grand Place. We also watched the light show in the Grand Place. It was a great last night all together. Most of the group left early Friday morning. Anna, Sarah, and I slept late and then finished packing up our things. Sarah's flight was today so she stayed at the hotel with us for one night. We checked in and love our hotel. It is so nice to have a little mini vacation at the end of our trip. It is also nice to be out of the house we were staying in. No more long tram rides to the suburbs or dogs barking in the middle of the night. Our hotel is right off a main metro stop. The location is perfect.
I researched what people said were the best frites in Brussels. Maison Antoine was what I found on all the websites I read. It just happened to be about a three minute walk from our hotel. Of course we ate them with mayonnaise for lunch. I agree with all the websites. They were amazing. Double fried perfection! Sarah wanted to go to the automobile museum so we split up with her for the afternoon. Anna and I put on our tennis shoes in preparation for our marathon afternoon of shopping. We have tried ALL the chocolate shops in Brussels to find the best chocolate to bring back to our families. Dad-no worries, I've done great research and found the best for you. Anna had on her Auburn sweatshirt and right as we walked into the shopping area we got a War Eagle. So nice! We went to tons of chocolate stores all over the city. People were giving us the strangest looks as we took the metro home. Anna says her arm is hurting from carrying our bags yesterday. I'm calling it the tragic shopping injury. We had so much fun at the stores. It was a great way to spend the afternoon. For dinner, Sarah joined us and we went back to our favorite place from our first weekend in Brussels. I had steak with frites. Then we had chocolate mousse for dessert. A great last meal for Sarah. We all really enjoyed it. It was for sure one of the BEST days we've had in Brussels.
Sarah left early this morning. Anna and I slept until eleven. It is so nice to be able to sleep late for the first time all summer. We got ready and took the train to Antwerp. We had heard that the train station was the nicest part of the city. It was absoultely gorgeous. Antwerp is home to a huge fashion school and many clothing stores. It is also the place to buy diamonds. We visited the clothing stores but diamonds were a little out of the budget. We had a nice late lunch and shopped around in all the stores. Then we headed home to Brussels.
For dinner we had frites and mayonnaise while we discussed our eating healthy diet we are going on once we are back in Auburn. We also went to Delirium for our last time. It was a great last Saturday in this wonderful city! Tomorrow is our last full day here and then we are headed home on Monday. I cannot believe how fast time has gone by this summer. I also cannot believe that I will be back in Auburn on Thursday. I am so excited to see all my friends and family and to be headed back to the Plains!

Catching up!

Wow, I haven't blogged in over a week. I've really missed it! Our trip to Amsterdam was a short trip with the whole group. We stayed at the Marriott-amazing. We were all way to excited about the pillows. When we got to Amsterdam Friday morning, we walked around the city. I read about a place on TripAdvisor called Pancakes!Amsterdam. Of course we had to try it, so we went for lunch. Emily and I split our pancakes so we could have savory and sweet. The savory pancake was spinach, goat cheese, and pine nuts. It was one of the top ten things I have ever eaten. Amazing. We also had the apple, cinnamon, and raisin pancake. It was also very good. The Heineken Experience had been highly recommended so we went for the tour. It was great to see the brewery and try the beer. I liked it way better than the Guinness beer! After the tour we took a canal tour of the city. It was very interesting to see the city by water. It was getting late after the canal ride so a few of us went to dinner together. I had a warm goat cheese salad that was great. We were so exhausted and headed back to the hotel to get a good night of sleep.
When we woke up on Saturday, I started feeling awful and so did a few of the other girls. I thought I would be fine so we headed out for the day. Anna and I had a great brunch and then shopped at the flower market for a few minutes. Our next stop was the Van Gogh Museum. It was the most crowded museum I have ever been too. I still enjoyed it though. The paintings were gorgeous. We started walking back to the train station right as it began to rain. Instead of walking we took the tram back and then hopped on the train to come back to Brussels. We went out for dinner and then came home to bed Saturday night.
Sunday morning I woke up ready to go to the Sunday market they have downtown. As I reached for my alarm, I realized how awful I felt. Apparently several stomach bugs have been going around Brussels. Several of us caught them but I had the worst case. The next four days are a total blur for me. I had a fever, stomach pains, and could not keep anything in my system. All I wanted to do was sleep. I have never wanted my own bed, my own doctor, or my parents so bad. This was the worst stomach virus I had ever had and the most sick I have been in years. I went to the doctor in Brussels and he basically told me my body would just have to fight the symptoms. He prescribed some medicine and some rice water. The most nasty thing to drink ever. I spent the week asleep and trying to feel better. As terrible as the week was, I am glad I was sick here and not during the three weeks we were constantly traveling. I don't think I could have done it!
By Thursday I was feeling much better and regaining my strength. July 21st is Belgium's Independence Day so we were out of school for the day. Anna and I went to the festival near the Parliament buildings in the morning. I even ate some bread! Then we boarded the Chunnel and went to London for the weekend. We arrived in less than two hours. We found our hostel and left our bags. Our hostel was right off the Piccadilly Circus Tube line. The hostel was a little small and strange but it was clean and in a very central location. We walked around for a little while and then bought tickets for the London Eye. We took our ride on the London Eye and had a great view of the city. For dinner we stopped at a place near the hostel. Then we headed to bed to get some rest.
I was feeling much better on Friday. We had a great breakfast and then walked to Buckingham Palace. We waited for the changing of the guard and watched the whole ceremony. It was way longer and more elaborate than I had expected. I really enjoyed it. Next we toured Westminster Abbey. The church was beautiful and they had a whole exhibit of pictures from William and Kate's wedding.We also saw Big Ben before going to the Tower Bridge. The bridge was gorgeous. We walked around the area for a little while and had dinner at a restaurant by the water. After dinner we went to the Globe Theater. It was so cool! We saw Anne Boleyn from our standing seats in the yard. We thought we would only stay for a little while since we mainly just wanted to see the theater. But once the play got started we loved it and ended up staying the whole time even when it started to rain. It was a fun end to a very tourist day.
Saturday we started the day by going to Notting Hill. Such a cute neighborhood. I could live there for sure! We started at one end of the Portobello Market and made our way to the other end. They had a huge selection of goods form antiques to fruit to clothes. We enjoyed looking at all the vendors merchandise. After we went to Harrods to enjoying the beautiful department store. One of my favorite parts was the Food Hall downstairs. We had a great lunch when we got there. Next we started at the top and worked our way to the bottom floor. We saw everything in the beautiful department store. High tea was next on the list of things to do. We went back near our hostel and I had tea and scones. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon. We bought discounted tickets for the musical Jersey Boys. The musical was so great! We really enjoyed all the music and it was fun to have a relaxing night in the theater. We ended up getting gourmet burritos after Jersey Boys was over. They were so good. We had been craving Mexican, yum yum yum.
Sunday was much more relaxing. We slept in and then went to a restaurant for the traditional English breakfast. The sausage, beans, eggs, and toast was good but I would take a scone over it anyday! We shopped around for a little while and then made our way to the train station. The Chunnel brought us back to Brussels and we made our way home.
Today we had a tour of Ghent, a small city about an hour away from Brussels. It was a cute little town. We had a walking tour and then was the Adoration of the Lamb painting in one of the churches. It was a nice way to spend the day. Anna and I came back to Brussels and finished our paper for our culture class. Six pages on mayonnaise. We had a great time writing it and can't wait to try making our own mayo when we get home. I can't believe our last week in Europe is here. This time next week I will be back in the United States. We are savoring our last week here and making the most of it. After not eating last week, I have a lot of chocolate to catch up on! I am so thankful to be feeling like myself again. I can't wait to finish out our last week abroad!

Bike Lessons

Tuesday we started out the day with nutrition class. Our teacher is so hilarious, we've really been enjoying laughing about the situations she gets us in. We had a lunch break and then she led us to the African museum. The museum was in the middle of some woods. It was a miracle that she knew how to get there on the tram and how to find the museum. The museum had gardens all around it. They were in need of a little maintenance but were still pretty. We walked through the museum. It reminded me of the natural history museum. The Congo was at one time a Belgium colony. The museum was mainly focused on the Congo. It was interesting to see the artifacts and stuffed animals.
Anna and I left the museum and made our way to the Midi train station. We had to find out about chunnel tickets to London. Apparently we hit the train station at rush hour. We found the Eurostar center and waited to talk to the ticket office. Finally we were able to book our chunnel ticket for one way and then booked the ride back online. We both needed some groceries so we stopped at the store before coming home. I made myself a great little meal out of cherries, blueberries, some cheese made with beer, multigrain bread, and a lemon tart. It was great! The whole group decided we wanted to go downtown for a little while. We made it into the city and had a great time trying differnet beers.
Wednesday was the day.....bike riding. I had been stressed about this day since we got the email about bike ridding in April. My roommates, friends, and family had given me tons of lessons and pointers about riding a bike. Something I never really mastered as a child. We made it to Brugge, a small city about an hour away from Brussels. The bike tour guide met us in the main square and we walked back to the garage where the bikes were stored. She handed me a bike and I practiced for a minute in the garage area. I made sure I knew which brake controlled what. The last thing I needed was to knock my teeth out in Belgium. We started the ride all in a line. We were in the city. Cars passing us on one side and parked cars on the other. I was terrified. Jessie has a picture of me with the look of terror in my eyes. We made it through a few traffic lights and then to a bike path. Thank goodness for the bike path. We were able to get out of the line formation. I made my way, slowly, down the path to the old windmill. Then we went to another even smaller city and had a snack. I treated myself to a waffle and fries. It was freezing cold, windy, and spitting rain the entire trip so it felt nice to warm up inside the little restaurant. I tried to relax but was still a ball of nerves. We got back on our bikes to go back to Brugge. I had a hard time getting back into my bike momentum and slowly made my way back to the city. The tour guide was so nice and was explaining things about the countryside the whole time. The only thing I saw was the pavement in front of me that I was totally foccused on. I was determined not to fall. After cobblestone streets, traffic lights, and the smell of cows in the country I had just completed my first bike ride ever. NINE miles. Huge for me. An item crossed off my bucket list for sure.
We had a walking tour of the city and went inside several beautiful churches. Then we shopped around for a little while. Dinner was great. We went to a place on the main square and had the fixed menu. I had a cheese croquette, Flemish beef stew, and chocolate mousse for dessert. It was great to all be together after our bike ride in the country. We caught the train back into the city and worked on some homework before going to bed.
Today we had nutrition class this morning. For lunch we all went to a local place with Dr. Haley. She had arranged for us to have a family style meal so we could all taste different dishes. We had tons of great traditional food. I even ate the mussels that Brussels is famous for. We were all stuffed for our afternoon class. Anna and I did our presentation on chocolate and then class was over. For our chocolate fix today we headed into the city. Best of the day was the dark chocolate filled with mango passionfruit flavored ganache. Great! It has been cold(high 58 degrees) and rainy these last few days. I never thought I would say it but a part of me actually missed the warm Alabama temperatures. I hate wearing a coat in July! All of us are going to Amsterdam for the weekend. I know we are going to have a great time being all together for a weekend trip!

The Luck of the Irish

Our Dublin weekend started at 2:45AM on Friday. We had to fly out of the airport that is an hour south of Brussels so our taxi picked us up at 3:45AM. We got to the airport and checked in no problem. Our first RyanAir experience was great. I had heard horror stories about this airline but we had a nice flight. We got into Dublin by 9:00 and found our hostel. Abigail's hostel was amazing and on the corner of Westmoreland Street! They told us to leave our bags and to eat breakfast. We were exhausted from our early flight so we ate and rested for a little while. We also researched good places to eat in the city. Then we headed out to explore the city.
We've only missed one food item from the United States-Nature Valley granola bars. While walking we saw a bus drive by with a huge Nature Valley add on the side. Next, we were on a mission to find our favorite snack! We found them in the second grocery store and both bought three boxes. I'm sure they will last us the rest of the trip! Nice to have a little piece of home after a month away. Our friends from Auburn were meeting us at the hostel so we went back to meet them. The six of them are studying abroad in Italy. It was so fun to meet up with some Auburn girls in Ireland! As soon as they got in we made our way to the Guinness Storehouse. I read that the storehouse is Ireland's number one tourist attraction. It was the coolest building. I really enjoyed learning about the history of the beer, how it is made, and the building itself. I did not enjoy the beer. I am not a Guinness girl I guess! The bar at the top was all glass and we could see the entire city. It was totally worth the trip! After the storehouse we had dinner at a traditional Irish restaurant. I had Irish Stew with brown bread. We also went to the bar where P.S. I Love You was filmed. It was an intersting bar in a non touristy part of town. We ended up in the bar next door because it was less crowded and we all wanted to catch up and talk.
Saturday we started the day with a three hour walking tour of the city. Since my Irish knowledge was pretty limited, this was a great activity. Our tour guide taught us all about Dublin, maybe more than I needed to know! We did stop for a break on the tour and Anna and I had an Irish coffee. For lunch we went to the cutest place called Queen of Tarts. I had a chicken, cheese, and vegetable tart with a great salad. For dessert I had a chocolate pecan tart. So good and the place was adorable! We all wanted to see the countryside but with our limited time we didn't know how to make that possible. We chatted with a man at the hostel and he suggested a small fishing village. We rode the bus for about thirty minutes and then arrived in Houth. It was a sweet little town. We walked to the end of the pier and enjoyed seeing the mountains and the water. Exactly what you think about when you think about Ireland! We also saw a seal in the water. It was so cool! For dinner we went to a place called the Bloody Stream. We don't know why the restaurant had this horrible name because it was amazing. I had Irish Stew again....I hate to repeat things but it was just so good. I loved the stew at this place way more too. We also split the apple crumble for dessert. It was the most cozy restaurant. The perfect place for eight Auburn girls! After dinner Melissa, Lauren, Anna, and I went to the Temple Bar. It is a huge pub and was soooo crowded. We left and ended up in a pub across the street. Two guys were singing and playing guitars. It was so relaxing and fun. We all tried some Irish beer, not Guinness!
We said goodbye to the Auburn girls because we had an early flight to catch. We made it back to Brussels no problem. It was also nice to have a free afternoon. We went on a jog to the nearby park and caught up on some schoolwork we needed to do. Today we had our culture class for six hours. So long! But our teacher is so fascinating that it doesn't even bother me. For lunch a few of us went to a cute place called Made in Salad. We all had great salads and then had to stop for some chocolate of course. Favorite of the day-white chocolate filled with dark chocolate raspberry ganache. YUM! After class we stayed at the school to use the good internet connection for a little while. Then we stopped for fries on our way home. I watched the cook as he prepared them. I think I've figured our what makes them soooo good. They fry them not once....but twice! The perfect end to a great Belgian day!

Willy Wonka

We went on our first field trip on Tuesday. The train left at 9:05 and we were headed to a little town called Leuven. On the train ride in we passed the Stella Artois brewery. It was huge! Stella is a huge name around here. They brew many of the local beers. When we arrived at the station, our sweet culture teacher, Marie-Therese, met us. She gave us a walking tour of the city. It was once a walled city and you could still see the path of the original design. It is also a college town. The schools are all on holiday but it was still interesting to see how different a college town is in Belgium. We toured the most beautiful library that the students use. The old cloth hall was a huge trade center many years ago. Now the college uses it as the admissions building. We saw the town hall, churches, and many other beautiful buildings. Then we had lunch all together. I had a traditional Belgian dish that was chicken in a pastry dough. It was almost like chicken-pot-pie but way better. Of course it came with fries....the best part! Anna and I also tried the beer they brewed at the restaurant.
After lunch we headed to the University hospital located in Leuven. We listened to a presentation about how the healthcare system works and differnt dietitians explained the areas of need nutrition wise in the hospital. We got to tour the kitchen too. They have a bakery and bake fresh bread every morning. All the food looked way better than any hospital food I've seen in the United States. We also toured the ICU. It was very intersting to see the differences and simularities in the hospital. We got back on the train and headed back to Brussels. Of course Anna and I had to get chocolate as soon as we came back into the city. We tried Elisabeth and were so not disappointed. They had nougat that was amazing and I had a chocolate with cinnamon inside. Yum! They have a festival each year called the Ommergang. We sat in a cafe and watched all the parade participants line up. It was so neat to see all the differnet costums and traditions. They paraded down the street and then had a huge play at the Grand Place. We loved hearing the music and seeing all the familes.
On Wednesday we had our culture class in the morning and brought our lunches. After our little picnic outside, we headed to Planete Chocolat. It was fabulous! We learned about the history of chocolate, how it is made, and got to make our own. We used dark chocolate for all the demonstations and then got to eat it all. It did not have a chocolate river but even without that I still felt like Willy Wonka. After our chocolate we came home to relax for a little while. Our house mother cooked spaghetti for all of us. We had a fun meal all together and then went out for a little while downtown.
Today we had our culture class this morning and then another picnic for lunch. After lunch we went on a walk with our teacher and she told us all about one of the huge local parks. Some of the class had a plane to catch so they left early. After they left we had ice cream with Marie-Therese. I had Cassis sorbet and it was great! Anna and I went to Jean-Philippe Darcis today for our chocolate treat. I had a raspberry macaroon. So good! On our way home we tried the Duvel beer. We wanted fries for dinner so we went to the stand at our metro stop and bought some. I don't know what they do to the fries here but they are so much better than any I've ever had. We have been eating them with the mayonnaise too something about it is also different. Dad, you would be proud! We are finished for the week and packing for the weekend now! More fun to come as we take off for our first weekend getaway.

Bonjour!

Brussels is our new home for the month! We arrived Friday afternoon to the address we gave the taxi driver. He kind of pointed across the street and said I think that might be it. What? We both looked at each other in shock. Anna's sister studied abroad with Clemson a few years ago and they stayed in a hotel like building almost in the city center. The cab driver had just dropped us off in a suburban neighborhood. We approached the door and we were greeted by the house mom. She led us upstairs and we were still so shocked. We all have our own rooms here but it is not the hotel like feel we were expecting. We were a little disappointed at first but we are now making the best of the situation. We met the other eleven people in our group. We have a wonderful group of twelve girls and one guy, we should call him a saint for putting up with all of us. After putting our bags down, we all headed to the grocery store to get some essentials. Instead of peanut butter I got this awesome spread called Speculoos. It is Belgium's version of peanut butter. I've been making great little sandwiches with it. We also got Greek yogurt. The perfect protein packed breakfast for our long days here. Anna and I went out for dinner with the whole group and then we all headed back home.
Saturday we had a tour of Brussels at 10:00. We started to learn the tram and metro system and were feeling better about our new home once we learned how to get into the city. Our tour guide, Sasha, was amazing. He told us all kinds of cool history, where to find great chocolate, and fun things to do in the city. We even stopped at a chocolate shop on the tour for a quick sample. Yum! After the tour, we stopped at a local lunch place called EXK. They have all kinds of great soups, salads, and sandwiches. This is Brussels answer to fast food and it is sooo much better than any fast food we have in the States. We had a great little lunch and then explored the area of Grand Place some more. Neuhaus is the oldest chocolate distributor in Belgium so of course we had to try it! It was a fabulous first Belgium chocolate for me. So wonderful! I wish I could bring the whole store back! We walked around some of the city and then headed home for a little while. We are starting to settle in and it is feeling much better. For dinner Anna and I read about this little place called Saint Catherine. We found it and could not have been happier. It was a very small little restaurant brimming with locals. The chef was this adorable little old man. He cooked for one table at a time as if you were in his home for dinner. I had pork with an apple, cream, and white wine sauce. It was the best experince for our first real Belgian meal. We then headed to Delirium which is bar that claims to have more beers on tab than any bar in the world. I tried the cherry beer that Brussels is famous for. It was like drinking a cherry blow pop, way too sweet for me but glad I tried it! Then we headed home for bed.
Sunday we all slept in very late. Some of the other people were still recovering from jet lag. Anna and I were just exhausted from three weeks of non-stop travel. We headed back downtown to walk around for a little while. I had a Belgian waffle complete with strawberries and chocolate. So good! Then we went to a little shop called Mary and had another taste of great chocolate. Anna and I are determined that we will be eating chocolate, and good chocolate, everyday while we are here. It has been very cold here these last few days so we found an H&M to pick up a few more cooler weather things. We all headed back home to prepare for the week. Anna and I found a laundry place very near our tram stop so we washed all our clothes from the weeks before. It was so nice to put clean clothes onto a shelf and not into my big backpack. We also went for a little jog around the neighborhood. It was fun to see the houses all around.
Today we had our first class at 9:00. Anna and I thought the tram was only coming at 8:26 and then at 8:53. We had to be on it by 8:26 in order to make it to class on time. We walked our the door at 8:20 and it was about to leave. After a little run towards it, we saw it drive away in the distance. We were in a huge panic. Then I talked to some locals and realized that we had been looking at the wrong schedule. Another tram came in seven minutes and we made it to class still 15 minutes early. Nothing like a little cardio to get you going in the morning, now we know what schedule to look at! Our first class is about Belgium Culture. The teacher is a very European older lady. She is so knowledgeable and interesting. Even though our class is three hours long, I think it is going to be enjoyable. We had a lunch break after and Anna and I booked our flights to Dublin for the weekend. Our next class is a nutrition class. Funny to be eating chocolate, beer, and waffles and then to go to class to discuss healthy eating. Oh well, I'm a Food Science major not nutrition I keep telling myself. Many of our class days will be involving a field trip so I think both classes are going to be great!
After class ended, Anna and I made a trip to the Leonidas chocolate shop. Dark chocolate with salted caramel filling was my favorite of the day. So much chocolate everywhere. As a chocoholic, I can't imagine a place more perfect. We visited the Atomium next. It was built for the 1959 World Expo. We rode the elevator to the top and had a nice view of the city. We hopped back on the metro and went back to our school building. Instead of a closing reception we had an opening reception. We had a nice toast, some good sandwhiches, and some yummy little fruit tarts. No Dad, not Tart Lemon...but I wil be finding one soon! We wanted to find sometihng semi American to do since it is July 4th but without ribs, the lake, and fireworks we were out of luck. We went to one of the more casual pubs and tried another local beer. It was great just to be all together for a little while.
The adjustment from traveling has been a big change. I was much better after we got a schedule and a syllabus today. As Dad always says, I am turning into my mother. I love being able to plan things. We have our first excursion/field trip tomorrow and I know we are all going to really enjoy it. I could not ask for a better group of people to be sharing this experience with. We are going to have a fantastic month! Happy 4th of July to all! Eat some ribs for all of us!