My Roman Holiday

A couple weeks ago, I embarked on my last big adventure of my study abroad experience. How crazy is it that all this is coming to an end? A month from today, I will be getting on a plane home to America - a place that seems otherworldly at this point. I've become so acclimated to the lifestyle here, that I think it's going to be a bit of a challenge coming home and readjusting to what used to be almost 5 months ago.

So my last major travel took me to Rome, Italy for a few days. It was the absolute best time - full of unexpected surprises! Izzy and I flew out of Brussels on a Sunday morning to land in Rome in the afternoon. I've always wanted to go to Rome. After visiting, I've never been to any place like it. There is just so much art and history jam packed into one city, it's spectacular. 

The only aspect I truly didn't enjoy were the amount of tourists there. It's a good thing I'm heading home soon, because this is when families start taking summer vacations. Rome was so crowded and full of people all over the place. There were so many vendors trying to sell you things, Izzy and I reached a point where we were about to tell of the next person that tried to sell us a selfie stick. 

When we arrived Sunday, we hit up a couple major sites - a walk by the Colosseum and a visit to the Trevi Fountain. Both were just astounding. I've never had the opportunity to see a structure so old and historical. Then I had another jaw-drop moment at the fountain. It is just absolutely stunning. The amount of detail and craftsmanship that was put into the fountain is amazing. I made a wish and threw a coin in, so fingers crossed that comes true someday. 

Afterwards, we met up with one of Izzy's friends who actually stayed with us back in February to grab dinner in the Trastevere neighborhood. She ended up leaving just 2 days after we arrived to come home to the States - it was crazy for us to think that we still had another month and a half to go. She also took us for our first gelato where I had the most delicious little cup of the sweet goodness. You wouldn't think blueberry cheesecake cobbler and strawberry would go together well, but both flavors were amazing. 

The next day, we fit in as much as we could. We originally planned to go into the Colosseum, but by the time we got there, the lines were extremely long, so we decided to do some other things. We stopped by the Trevi Fountain again (because it's just that amazing!) and then made multiple stops to the Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. On the way there, we ended up running into a Hanover class that was taking a spring term trip here unexpectedly. It was the funniest and best thing. So nice to see some familiar faces! 

After stopping at both these places, we made our way to Il Gioliti which Jill had recommended us to go to for some more amazing gelato. Here I tried Oreo, Stratiacella, and Strawberry flavors. Izzy and I took a breather before we were off to meet up with one of our favorite professors who was taking a class from Hanover to Rome for Spring Term.

Originally, we intended on meeting her in front of St. Peter's Basilica. Long story short, we waited almost 2 hours baking in the sun. Eventually we left only to find out she got caught up with an issue she was having with her class and couldn't get in contact with us to let us know what was going on.

At this point, we were so exhausted that we just took the metro back to our hostel where we took a breather. Some of our sorority sisters ended up being in Rome with another class, so we met up with lots of people from our school that evening for dinner and drinks. I can't tell you how lovely it was to just hang out with Americans. We didn't have to worry about language barriers, we didn't have to explain ourselves, we could just be, and it was so refreshing.

Our last day, we crammed in so, so much. Because the Colosseum was packed the day before, we got up bright and early to make it there right as it opened. We ended up practically having the place to ourselves. It was so nice. The Colosseum itself is just amazing. It's hard to put into words how cool it is to stand in a structure with so much history, spanning over thousands of years. After, we made our way to the Roman Forum which is located right next to it. Also spectacular.

After, we made our way to the Vatican, where we spent a couple hours walking through the museum. I even got to see the Sistine Chapel. I feel like I'm being so redundant when I describe all the places I've been to, but it was hard to put that place into words either. Hundreds upon hundreds of years ago Leonardo da Vinci painted that church - how neat is that?!!

Then, we made our way to St. Peter's Basilica. I'm not Catholic, but boy was that place just beautiful. At this point, Izzy and I were wiped, so we ended up lying down in a park and relaxed for 2 hours before we were to meet with our professor for dinner after making our way through the church.

We spent our last night dining with Uschi, our study abroad advisor who as I said before brought a class here. It was so great to catch up with her as well. We told her all about our experiences (and how we're freaking out about finals being so soon).

A fantastic Roman Holiday it was. I apologize for the lack of blog posts, but I'm spending every day (until I come home ultimately) for the next 3 1/2 weeks studying hardcore for exams. I'll try to fit in little updates here and there, but thank you for keeping up with my journey throughout this semester!

Enjoy some photos from the trip below!

Living out my Lizzie McGuire dream!

First bites of gelato

Trastevere Neighborhood

The best reunions are Hanover ones.

Phi Mu reunited in front of the Trevi Fountain.

Piazza Navona 

St. Peter's Basilica

Roman Forum

Reunited with our study abroad advisor. 

Living the Belgian Life in Gent

This past weekend, I had the privilege of staying with a Belgian family just outside of Gent in De Pinte, Belgium. My grandmother actually connected me with the family through a friend of her's whose family hosted the husband when he was studying in the United States. I am so thankful she did, because it made for such a fabulous and relaxing weekend.

We got to Gent on Friday because we were to spend a day there with our Flemish Art & Culture class. It was a long day -- we spent 5 hours in one museum we definitely didn't need to stay at, as well as a contemporary art museum. After being with our class, Izzy and I went to explore the city ourselves before we met up with the family we stayed with for dinner.

Doing some research, I discovered there is a street in Gent that is completely covered in graffiti, so we went to snap some pics and to explore. If you're ever in the city, look up "Werregarenstraat" to come across a tunnel that leads into a narrow street absolutely covered in graffiti. Every so often, they completely paint it over in white so that artists can start new projects, but ultimately it's a street meant for individual expression. I wish I would've known about it sooner, because I definitely would have bought a spray can of paint to add to the art on the wall.

After, it was time to meet up with the family we stayed with for the weekend. They took us out for the best dinner at "De Gekroonde Hoofden"- one of the oldest restaurants in Gent and well worth the visit if you're a fan of ribs. I ended up getting honey glazed ribs -- and the best part? They're all you can eat. We left the restaurant with full stomachs and sticky hands.

They took us to their home after where we were to stay for the night. It was so nice to sleep somewhere quiet and peaceful for a couple days. Especially when living in a residence with 20 other housemates.

The next morning, we were off to visit Gent. Frank who was hosting us drove us into the city where we got to explore for the day. Much of it was spent walking around and we got to see the three major churches that make up the town, Sint-Michielskerk, Saint Nicholas' Church, and Saint Bavo's Cathedral. Along with this, we went up the Belfry Tower to get a lovely view of Gent. There are plenty of canals running through the entire city as well, so we had the opportunity to simply take in the atmosphere.

By the end of the day - close to dinner time - Frank came and got us by his boat. Like I said, Gent has A LOT of canals, so there are plenty of ways to enter the city. We ended up getting to chat with a couple of his friends who were having a drink with him where they docked before we made the trek back to De Pinte where they lived. The ride was so lovely.

When we got back to his house, his wife was cooking dinner, and we chatted a bit more over drinks before eating. She ended up making this delicious lamb with potatoes and carrots that was heavenly. Being a college student who has to cook for herself, this felt like such a luxury. Because I don't want to spend tons of money on spices and flavoring for only for a semester, much of what I eat is pretty bland, so it was great to have someone else cook for a change.

After dinner, Frank showed us some photos of his travels and time he spent in the United States which was really neat to see. Before we knew it, we all went to sleep to wake up for the long boat ride we were taking on our last day.

Around 10 a.m. the next day, we got out to their marina where we went on a long boat ride. It was so cool to see all the homes and towns located next to the rivers we were on. It reminded me of being up at Lake Wawasee in the summer, something I miss so much. We eventually docked at a town called Sint-Martens-Lament. This ended up being where Frank grew up, and he showed us the perfect little path we could walk along for an hour before lunch. It was all Belgian countryside, homes with huge yards, just beautiful. I even befriended a couple sheep along the way.

The town itself was very adorable as well. All white buildings, a little church, nice restaurants. I would love to eventually move to a little place like this one. It was so peaceful - maybe after I've traveled the world for awhile, I can move to some place like this one. We looped back to their boat where we had a lovely lunch full of seafood. After, an ice cream truck pulled up that makes their treats with dairy straight from the cow, and it was so yummy. The perfect way to end such a relaxing weekend. We were so thankful for the opportunity to stay with them and to see a different side of Belgium.

Returning to the City of Light

Half a month later and I'm just getting to updates on our weekend in Paris. Things have been getting crazier and busier here in Leuven. I'm reaching my final weeks with only a month and a half left to go before I board a plane heading home to the States. I'm making it a goal to be all caught up on my posts this week, so be on the lookout for a couple more blogs from yours truly.

So - Paris. We came because we wanted to participate in the Paris Color Run - so we just made a weekend trip out of it. The megabus costed less than 25 euros to get us there and back, so it was an easy 4 hour drive from Brussels. Upon getting off at the bus stop in Paris, my heart skipped a beat. I have been blessed to experience and see so many new places during my travels this semester, but there's just something about this city that makes me want to pack my bags up and move here. It feels like a second home to me - I feel comfortable exploring and navigating my way around, and there's always something new for me to see and fall in love with. 

After we checked into our hotel, we explored the Notre Dame area a bit. I got a scoop of my favorite ice cream, Bertillion and we walked around for awhile, stumbling into Shakespeare and Company and eating dinner in a cute little restaurant for less than 10 euros. The sunset was stunning that evening - and I just couldn't stop smiling the entire time. 

Saturday we did so, SO much. We started our morning off at the Champs-Elysees and l'Arc de Triomphe (where I almost convinced myself I needed to spend 20 euros on macaroons from Laduree). I ended up buying a new jacket from the H&M there which was so fun. After snapping some pics, we made our way toward the Eiffel Tower. Call it touristy, call it cliche, but the Eiffel Tower is my favorite thing about Paris. It's what I dreamed about seeing for the longest time . . . so when I finally did back in high school, it only ignited my passion for traveling the world. Every time I get to see it again, I am immediately reminded of how much more I want to see and explore on our beautiful planet. 

Paid a visit to my pal Louis Vuitton

From Paris with Love. 

After grabbing a sandwich, we got caught in the rain making our way toward the Louvre. It literally downpoured for the entire walk there, so we got a little soaked. Once we arrived though, it was completely sunny again, so I couldn't complain too much. I was so happy because I ended up getting into the Louvre for free. Because we have Belgian residence cards, we're considered "members of the EU" so I didn't have to pay a dime to see the Mona Lisa! Of course we took the obligatory selfie and explored a bit more. 

From here, we spent the night sitting on the steps of the Sacre Coeur and watched the sunset over the city. It was magical. We were off to bed early as our last morning was spent waking up bright and early.

Okay. So if you ever get the chance to do to the Color Run in Paris or anywhere else amazing in Europe - do it! It was such an amazing experience (and not too expensive!) It works just like any other color run, except I was motivated to finish thanks to beautiful views along the Seine and the final celebration at the Trocadero in front of the Eiffel Tower. Words can't describe how awesome it was. It made me so thankful for these wonderful experiences I have had. 

After dancing and getting completely covered in powder, it was time to say goodbye to the City of Light. I'm already dreaming up my next adventure, and cannot wait to return to my favorite place in the world one day.