3/15/2011
Bonsoir from Paris! :)
Not a whole lot has happened since last time... Well, except for the fact that I went to Belgium for the weekend with three of my friends! That's right! We took a bus from Paris to Brussels on Friday after we got out of class. We went through Eurolines and left from a nearby station. It wasn't the most comfortable bus ride (every seat was filled), and it left late (of course it did, after we practically ran half the way to make it there on time), but it was cheap (roughly 40€, or around $51 round-trip) and easy. Once we got to Brussels, we got on a train and went to Bruges, where we spent the night.
Bruges is a part of Flanders, and it's a smaller town than Brussels, so I wasn't sure what to expect. They speak Flemish there, and, if not Flemish, it's either English or German. Not so much French. It was interesting to not French for a while Our hostel was great (only 15€ per person and we had a private room) and I'm glad that that was the first one I ever stayed at. On Saturday we saw the bell tower (the Belfry), took a boat tour on the canal, and stuffed ourselves with fries, waffles, and, of course, fancy chocolate. That night we took the train back to Brussels to our hotel (which was surprisingly inexpensive, only 30€ per person). On Sunday we explored the city and had more bad-for-you food. They speak French there, so we tried our best to get back into the habit of using the language we came to Europe to improve. Brussels is a much busier place than Bruges, which was touristy, but also quite quiet and lovely. Coming from there to this large city was something... In all honesty, I really preferred Bruges. Both places were great, and I'm so happy and grateful that I got to see both, but Bruges had such appeal that I'd love to go back there someday. We managed to see and do a lot in just one weekend, and we were exhausted by the end. Definitely something I would try to do again, though, if I get the chance. Visit a nearby country on a random weekend? If it's affordable, why not?!
Next weekend I'm going to the Châteaux de la Loire with my program, and to Champagne the weekend after. I love having things to do on the weekends (because it isn't fun to stay in my room in Paris longer than a few hours at a time) and I can't wait!
This time I attached more pictures... [Included in the original email: my first Belgian waffle, the Belfry (two views), the Madonna and Child (a very beautiful sculpture by Michelangelo, in a church we visited--one of the few works by him that isn't in Italy), the Royal Palace in Brussels, me (and a surprising find outside of a record store), and the city square.] By the end of the trip I had taken over 300 pictures.
In other news, classes are okay. Same old, same old. The weather is finally getting much nicer (and staying like that), so that has been awesome. Today, in fact, I walked around in just a light sweater (bye-bye, winter coat and scarf) and had a picnic in the park with my friend. It made me very happy. :)
Anyway... Enjoy the pictures! I hope to hear from you all soon!
Take care!
Lots of love,
- Maeghan
Seeing my typos amuses me. :-p
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