Week 4 Already??

On Tuesday we had nutrition class all day. Dr. Cason had us go to several different grocery stores in Brussels so that we could compare them to grocery stores in the United States, location of foods, prices, labeling, etc. We got done early which was really nice so several of us headed downtown to run some errands. After that we headed back to the house and I worked on finishing my nutrition final since it was a take home final. In the evening we went to a Belgian's guys house that was a friend of Jessie's friend Pierre. Most of the group went out with them later but some of us were tired and headed back early.

Wednesday we were suppose to have our last nutrition class but we mainly just spent the time talking about the program and what we liked and didn't like. It was great to tell Dr. Cason what we enjoyed and some suggestions that would be simple but could really help the program in the future. We got done by lunch so Erin, Beth, and I went to Made in Salad (my favorite) and had a delicious salad. We got chocolate at Pierre Marcolini which is suppose to be one of the best chocolatiers in Belgium and it was amazing! We went to the Grand Place and went to an english bookstore where we all got fun cookbooks. After that we all went back to the CUBC and skyped with family and Beth and I went to go do one last load of laundry to hold us over for our last week. We went back to the house to regroup and get ready and the group headed to Sultans of Kebap for dinner. Seems disgusting but it was so good. After that we headed to Delirium and then we were going to go to a place called Roosters because it had karaoke on Wednesday nights but for some reason there wasn't kareoke this night so we ended up at Celtica for the rest of the night.

Female Mannequin Pis. Love her.

Delirium

Me and Erin

Hey Beth, can you take my picture? No I'm serious I want a picture with my mango beer.

Sweet face Erin.

Finally got my solo pic with my juice

Emily got a little hot and started fanning herself...allergic reaction? not too sure.

Thursday was our last day of class so we had our culture exam in the morning and when we got done we turned in our phones, CUBC passes, and said goodbye to Marie-Therese. 

CUBC

Most of the group was leaving on Friday so they went to go pack and buy last minute souvenirs and gifts for family and friends. Beth and I went downtown and have lunch before wandering around and getting chocolate and macarons. 

Omelette for lunch. 

I had recently found out through Beth's new macaron cookbook that macarons don't have any flour. Seems obvious but for some reason I assumed it was a cookie. Since I had gone 3 weeks without them and they are everywhere in Belgium I had to make up lost time and eat several. Macarons are a wonderful gluten free substitute for cookies and in Belgium they are so good! After heading back to the house I spent the afternoon packing, hanging out, and taking a nice afternoon nap. The group (minus Lauren, Ali, and Emily who had already left for Barcelona) headed back out for dinner at the Grand Place for one last dinner together. It was really fun and we even stayed at the Grand Place for the light show!

Solo shot. Work it.

Alex!

sweet girls

Friday morning most people left so it was just Sarah, Beth, and I left at the house. We slept in then moved to the hotel where we are staying for the next few nights. It is wonderful! After we checked in we went to Maison Antoine because it is suppose to be the best fries in Brussels and we had yet to have them. They were great! After that Sarah spent the afternoon at Autoworld and Beth and I spent the afternoon shopping for chocolate. We got tons of stares because we had so many bags.

My room. Better late than never!

Fun fact: the Smurfs are Belgian

Embarrassed? Nope.

While we were running around town, I was wearing my Auburn sweatshirt and got a War Eagle from a man and his son who were sitting outside at lunch. He works half the year in Belgium and his son lives in Birmingham and was visiting! It is always fun to find an Auburn fan! After going back to the hotel, showering, and getting ready, the three of us headed to Sainte Catherine for dinner for Sarah's last meal in Brussels.

Sarah left early Saturday morning and Beth and I slept in all morning. We got up and ready and took the train to Antwerp, another city in Belgium.

Beautiful train station

train station

We ate lunch, visited the house of Peter Paul Reubens, and went shopping. Antwerp is famous for shopping and its diamonds but by the time we made it to the diamond museum it was closed for the day so we headed back to Brussels. We came back to regroup at the hotel before going to get fries for dinner. While we were sitting outside eating our fries we heard a new pickup line. Two Belgian guys asked us "Are you French girls?" Um no, have you heard our accents? That was a funny encounter before we headed to Delirium for one more tremens. I cannot believe our time is Europe is coming to an end. It is sad but I am already getting excited to see my family and friends and move back to Auburn in just a few short days! Looking forward to a very relaxing last full day in Brussels tomorrow!

Weekend with the British

Thursday was Belgian Independence Day so we didn't have class! Hooray. Beth and I slept in Thursday and packed and then took the metro into town to check out the festivities. At one of the big parks there were lots of activities for kids so there were kids and families everywhere which was fun to see. We got lunch and people watched. 

Celebrating Belgian Independence Day with my fries and mayonnaise

After lunch and enjoying the park, we saw mass amounts of people as the parade was going to be starting pretty soon after we left. Then we went to the train station and took the chunnel to London. Crazy that they dug a hole under water. Once we got to London we took the tube (London's metro) to our hostel which was right in the center of London so it was great. It worked out really well and seemed to work but was very interesting because it is above the Abracadabra (Russian restaurant and club) hmmm interesting. It was a nice hostel so whatever. After putting our stuff down we went out exploring and passed some main sights. Then we did the London Eye which is a giant ferris wheel and was cool because we got to see great views of the city.

Parliament Building from the London Eye

London Eye

By the time we got done with the London Eye and made our way back towards our hostel, it got later than we were expecting and realized we hadn't eaten dinner. We ended up eating a late dinner at a really good place near our hostel. I had risotto with mushrooms and spinach and it was delicious. We went to bed early which was amazing.

Friday morning we got up fairly early and went and had breakfast at Pret A Manger which is a chain all over London. They have grab and go type things but it was really good! I had porridge which is basically oatmeal and a mango smoothie. After breakfast we went to Piccadilly Circus and got West End tickets for Jersey Boys and then headed to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards.

The flag meant the Queen was in!

Buckingham Palace

beautiful garden

After Buckingham palace we had lunch and then went to see Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. The Abbey was beautiful and it was fun to be exactly where Will and Cate were just a couple months ago getting married. They had a whole room where you could see pictures of the ceremony which was fun to see where everyone stood and sat and imagine being there.

Westminster Abbey where Prince William and Cate got married. 

Big Ben

Rode the double decker bus. Check.

We rode the double decker bus to the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. We didn't go in the Tower of London but we did see the info session video so we got the highlights.

Tower Bridge

After finishing up all the main tourist sights we walked to the Globe which ended up being a much farther walk than we realized. At least we got some exercise. We went and got out tickets and then had dinner nearby at a place called the Anchor. I got fish and chips! 

Please notice how big the fish in my fish & chips was. That's ridiculous. 

Shakespeare's Globe

We saw Anne Boleyn at the Globe. We had standing tickets but we stayed the whole time and we loved the play!

Lauren, I found you a red.

After the play we were exhausted after a long day so we went back to the hostel and went to bed. Saturday we got up and went to a similar place to Pret called Eat. Then we took the tube to Notting Hill to go to the Portobello Market. The market was enormous and really fun but it was packed! So many people. We did find some fun things and found some delicious homemade ice cream on a nearby side street. I love being in Notting Hill especially because of my obsession with the movie Notting Hill so I especially loved the market and imagined Hugh Grant was walking down the street as the scene was changing through the seasons. Ahh I must watch the movie when I get home.

After Notting Hill we continued shopping and went to Harrods. We spend a long time in there and ate lunch and had fun looking at everything. It is amazing you can buy designer clothes, work out machines, and meat all in the same store.

After Harrods we went back to Piccadilly Circus and had high tea near our hostel. I had a mango tea and a massive quantity of eggs and it was delicious. We looked in some more stores and window shopped before heading back to the hostel to regroup for the evening. 

So cool. Dress shoes with a vibram bottom (same material used on the soles of your chacos)

Thinking of you Mom!

When we went back out for the night we went to West End to see Jersey Boys which was wonderful. The voices were incredible and I loved the music. We found an organic burrito place next to the theater so we got dinner afterwards before heading back to the hostel.

Sunday was our last day in London and we had done most of what we wanted to do so we slept in most of the morning and then went to Oxford Circus which is a really big shopping district. We had traditional English breakfast and then got to go in several stores in the area. After a while we were tired because we had all our stuff with us so we ended up getting a drink and people watched before we went back to the train station and took the chunnel back to Brussels. 

English breakfast with tea of course. 

Sidenote, I love tea. So England was amazing.

Monday was another full day because it was our last big excursion for our program. We went to Gent/Ghent. It didn't start off the best because weather.com said it would be 68 and sunny. Since we haven't had very good weather in Brussels as it has been a very unusually cold and rainy summer, I decided I would wear shorts for only the 2nd or 3rd time all month. We got to Gent and it was cold and overcast. Unpredictable weather...always. We got to Gent and had a tour of the city. There weren't too many people because there is a huge university with 150,000 students but it is summer so none of them were there.

Train station done for the World Expo

Castle

After our tour several of us had lunch and I had ham with a wonderful mustard sauce and fries. I was still cold so I had hot tea which made the meal all that much better. They brought all our fries together so it came out as a massive bowl which was fun and they were probably the best fries I have had in Belgium.

After lunch some of went into the cathedral to see The Adoration of the Lamb. It is a really famous paneled painting and we have learned a lot about it in our culture class. Google it. It is beautiful. Beth and I headed back mid afternoon back to Brussels and of course stopped to get our daily fix of chocolate near the Grand Place. After going back to the house we went to the CUBC early evening to finish our paper that is due tomorrow and get some more homework done. About done with work until our finals on Thursday! Whoo. Excited for one last fun week in Belgium!