Spring Break!

Spring break was 2 weeks long and absolutely incredible. Molly and I had a lot planned out and we weren't sure we would be able to pull it off, but we did!

Our first stop was Brussels, Belgium. We basically chose Brussels because of its convenience; plane ride was fairly cheap and they speak French, so it wouldnt be too hard to get around. We had actually talked about cutting Belguim out of our plans for a while because we weren't sure what we were going to do and I am very happy we didn't because it may have been my favorite country that we visited. Our flight was about an hour and a half long and then there was a shuttle to our hotel, which was placed in the center of town. That night we enjoyed some dinner and some delicious beer. Belgium is known for ite flavorfull beer and we tried everything we could get our hands on- Krieke cherry, strawberry, citrus, stella artois, hoegaarden, leffe... It was fantastic. The next day we decided to do our own sight seeing. We saw the Manneken Pis, which is certainly not as good as people make it sound. It is just a very SMALL statue of a naked boy peeing. After, we had some Belgium Waffles, which were delicious (I would go back again just for the waffles!) and then we somehow stumbled upon the Grand Place, which was a market place around the 12th century. It has amazing architecture and we were really lucky to see it. There was music playing there with pepople danceing, and pie throwing contests going on right in the middle. Also, there is a statue or Everard't Serclaes who was the lord of the Cruyckembourg and a citizen of Brussels. He was made famous by his recovery of Brussels from the Flemish and supposedly if you rub the statue, it brings you good luck (so, we did, of course!) Also, on the streets of Brussels that day was an amazing artist. He was starting from scratch and painting amazingly beautiful pictures right there on the street; it had Molly and me standing there for about an hour. That night we ate a fairly late dinner, but we're French now, so it's normal, and we went in early to get ready for our next trip which was Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Amsterdam was fun!! We got there in time for dinner and had no trouble finding our hotel. We went to a little cafe where we had some chicken dinners and Heinekens. We took the tram into Dam square, the center of town, and we started our night. Of course we went into a coffee shop, rights of passage in Amsterdam! , and I was very surprised with how legal and easy it was to smoke pot. People of all ages (over 18) were there and there was a menu of weed. You literally order your marijuana of choice and you can have a joint rolled for you or do it yourself. It was really strange because the "dealer" or server was about my dad's age. He looked like he should have been working in a bank or a 9-5 office job, but he was legally selling drugs for a living. We couldn't get over how natural it was. Also, the night life was insane. Everytime we turned a corner there were clubs offering free drinks, reduced cover fees or specials. You could pay 10 euros your whole stay in amsterdam and not be sober for a minute, it was ridiculous.The next day, we walked around Amsterdam and found a carnival. It was pretty cute, we stayed there for a while and spent the rest of the day shopping and sight-seeing. That night we went out to eat and our waitress spoke no English. Everyone else had been pretty easy to understand up until that point, but it turned out pretty well. We each pointed to something on the menu and hoped for the best, and got some more Heineken. Luckily, we eac enjoyed our Dutch dishes and we headed back into the Dam square that night.

Next came Cologne, Germany. We had a rough start in Germany; it was pouring rain, the hostel that we had booked was dirty and smelly, and there was a huge language barrier. The main concern, though, was the hostel. We had already paid in full, but somehow, we were able to get back all of out money and find a beautiful hotel room that included a private bathroom, a flat screen TV, free towels and cleanliness for only one euro more. It was fantastic. That night, we went to an American Steak House for dinner- I know, you're not supposed to do that in other countries but we had been traveling so much and normal food was necessary. It was amazing and I do not regret it for a second! The next day we walked around Germany. There was a huge cathedral by our hotel that we stopped into. It is legal to walk around Gremany with an open container, so we grabbed some German beer and shopped and did some more sight-seeing. That night for dinner, we both had escalope with Rahm Sauce, a German specialty and a phenominal apple strudel!! It was really nice.

The next day was set aside for traveling. We took a 4 hour train ride to Paris to meet my MOM DAD AND SISTER!!! and then another 4 hour train ride to Montpellier. In Montpellier, I introdiced my family to my temporary family and they got along really well. Then, I showed my family around town. The next day, we took the train back up to Paris again to go to EURO DISNEY. Molly came with us, as her first Disney experience. We had a really nice time. We went on all of the rides we possible could and saw some shows and and mickeymouse shaped cheesebugers. It was a lot of fun. I was so happy to see my family it helped me out a lot and I think they had fun, as well.

A few days later, Molly and I left mom dad and mel in Paris to do some sight seeing, while we worked our way back down France. We stopped at Tours for 2 nights first. Tours is in the Loire Valley and is most famous for the gorgeous Chateaux (castles where royal people lived). We decided to go on a half day tour of three castles; Amboise, Cenonceau, and Leonardo Da Vinci's house. It was very pretty and a good amout of time.

Lastly, we stopped in Bordeaux. Bordeaux was disappointing because the weather was horrible and our hotel was not located near the center of town, so we only spend a few hours walking around one of the days. Bordeaux is known for its wine, though, and we made sure to drink plenty of it. By this time, we were tired and ready to head back to Montpellier, which is what we did.

The trip was the best 2 weeks I've ever had. It was amazing to go to all of the different places and we had a great time. The worst part about a 2 week spring break is trying to get back into the routine of school again. We are so close to finished, though. I have a week of class, a weekend in London,, another week of class, 3 days of finals, and 2 days to relax and hang out on the Meditterranean Sea then I'm home. See you all in 3 WEEKS!!