The train from Rome to Paris took all day and we ended up arriving in Paris pretty late at night. Since we were back in Paris, the following day we decided to do some more touring. First, we went to the catacombs which were absolutely incredible. You walk for about 20 minutes underground surrounded by bones. After this we headed to Notre Dame cathedral and climbed to the top. This gave a great view of the entire city. Notre Dame itself is absolutely huge but it is so crowded that it is tough to appreciate it.
After Notre Dame we headed to the Louvre which we had missed on our last trip to Paris. The Louvre is an amazing structure that could take weeks to go through. We decided that we wanted to see the Mona Lisa (because you almost have to if your in Paris) and then we would just walk around and see whatever we saw. The Mona Lisa is very underwhelming as it is a small painting surrounded by bullet proof glass that is hard to see while having people push and shove to get a better view. Even so, I am glad I was able to see what made Dan Brown a millionaire. The rest of the Louvre was amazing but also very intimidating. After another hour or two of walking around we got tired and left.
The next morning we headed to the train station and got a train to Roscoff, France. This is a small town on the sea. From Roscoff we had a 12 hour, overnight ferry booked that night right to Cork. The day in Roscoff was uneventful and the ferry back was the same. The ferry was more like a cruise ship and I actually ended up getting some good sleep. The next day we arrived back in Cork and our European adventure was over!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Part 4: Rome
We woke up early the next morning and headed to the airport shuttle so we could catch our 1 PM flight from Prague to Rome. On our way to the airport we received a call from some friends who were already at the airport telling us that it was closing because of the volcanic ash at 12 PM. We got to the airport and stared in amazement at the departure board which had "cancelled" for every single flight out. Panicking, we hopped on another bus to the train station. The train station was a mad house and we got in an extremely long line to book tickets. After a few hours of waiting (and a few Burger King stops) we reached the front only to be told that there were no trains to Rome in the next 2 days. They directed us to another line and after a few more hours in that line we ended up getting a ticket to Munich, Germany (which we could travel to for free with our Eurail passes). Five hours later we were in Munich. After walking around the city we packed it in around 2 am knowing that we would have to get up around 5 to go attempt to get tickets to Rome. We ended up getting on a 12 hour, 150 euro train to Rome.
The trip went a lot smoother once we actually arrived in Rome. We had some excellent pizza (for every meal) and got some tours of some great places. The first day we went to Austia (sp?) which is an ancient coastal village with structures that are still standing. Later that day we went to the Colosseum but ended up having to stay outside because we got there too late to do a tour. That night we encountered more travel troubles when we talked to our program director and learned that the ash may completely disrupt the rest of our travel plans. We made the decision to leave Rome and head back to Cork (which Loyola said they would pay for). This meant cutting Barcelona out of our trip but we decided this was the safest option. We headed to the train station around 8 and waited in line for about 3 hours before getting to the front. We were able to book a ticket to Paris for a few days in the future and paid around 250 euro for those seats.
The next day we headed to the Vatican and got a full tour. This was a pretty amazing tour and gave a great history of one of the worlds most famous places. In this tour we got to see the Sistine Chapel which is absolutely amazing. After that tour we had another one of the Catacombs of Rome. This bus tour took us to 4-5 different sights which were of significance in Rome.
The following day we did some touring by ourselves and went into the Colosseum and the Forum. My one major regret of Rome was not getting a guided tour of the Colosseum. I find what went on there to be fascinating and I wish I had done more than just walked around the inside. After the Forum we saw the Trevi Fountain, a cathedral dedicated to Loyola, the Spanish Steps, and a few other beautiful cathedrals.
We went to sleep early this night because we had to be up early to catch our train from Rome to Paris.
The trip went a lot smoother once we actually arrived in Rome. We had some excellent pizza (for every meal) and got some tours of some great places. The first day we went to Austia (sp?) which is an ancient coastal village with structures that are still standing. Later that day we went to the Colosseum but ended up having to stay outside because we got there too late to do a tour. That night we encountered more travel troubles when we talked to our program director and learned that the ash may completely disrupt the rest of our travel plans. We made the decision to leave Rome and head back to Cork (which Loyola said they would pay for). This meant cutting Barcelona out of our trip but we decided this was the safest option. We headed to the train station around 8 and waited in line for about 3 hours before getting to the front. We were able to book a ticket to Paris for a few days in the future and paid around 250 euro for those seats.
The next day we headed to the Vatican and got a full tour. This was a pretty amazing tour and gave a great history of one of the worlds most famous places. In this tour we got to see the Sistine Chapel which is absolutely amazing. After that tour we had another one of the Catacombs of Rome. This bus tour took us to 4-5 different sights which were of significance in Rome.
The following day we did some touring by ourselves and went into the Colosseum and the Forum. My one major regret of Rome was not getting a guided tour of the Colosseum. I find what went on there to be fascinating and I wish I had done more than just walked around the inside. After the Forum we saw the Trevi Fountain, a cathedral dedicated to Loyola, the Spanish Steps, and a few other beautiful cathedrals.
We went to sleep early this night because we had to be up early to catch our train from Rome to Paris.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Part 3: Prague
We arrived in Prague around mid-day and took a walk to our hostel which was located in the middle of the city. The city of Prague is beautiful and is one place that I wouldn't miss if I was touring around Europe. Our hostel was nice and we ended up with 6 of us in an 8 person room (we met up with a friend). After settling in we took a walk around the city and went to the bell tower which is the central focal point of the city and met up with some of the girls in our program who had arrived there around the same time as us. We all headed over to the Lennon Wall and had fun taking pictures and reading the graffiti that was littered all over the wall. We even added our own little bit about gypsies and how much we hate them.
That night we headed out to a few different bars with everyone and ended up having a pretty good time. We woke up early the next morning and headed out to get a free walking tour around the city. It turned out that we missed the tour by about 5 minutes so instead we ended up at the castle. The castle in Prague sits at the high point in the city and from there you can overlook the entire city. We walked around the castle grounds and saw the changing of the guard. We never figured out what happens in the castle now (because we didn't want to pay to go in) but it was a nice walk around and gave us a good panorama of the city. Shortly after the castle we met up with our friends and went on the later walking tour. I wish I could say that I learned a lot and was very interested on the walking tour. However, I spent the majority of the time hanging out in the back, talking to friends, and looking around. One interesting part of the tour was the walk through the Jewish Sector where we learned that Hitler had planned on leaving all the buildings of this sector standing as a "monument" to the murdered Jewish people. He wanted people to walk through the sector and see what he had accomplished. Thankfully most of the day involved walking through one of the most beautiful cities that I have ever seen.
The next day we got up early and headed to the airport to catch our flight to Rome!! Unfortunately, halfway to the airport we found out that it was closing (volcanic ash!) an hour before our flight so we would not be able to fly that day. After arriving at the airport we immediately turned around and headed to the train station. After sitting in lines for 4-5 hours we finally found a train to Munich, Germany that night with hopes that we could get to Rome from there. The train station was the craziest travel experiences ever. There were television crews on hand covering the madness and trains were booking out so fast that nobody could go where they wanted to. We ended up in Munich (look at a map and see how out of the way that is!) for the night and after waking up at 6 AM the following morning ended up getting a train to Rome at 9:15 AM.
Rome is next! Sorry for the slowness of the updates, I finally had work to do the past 2 days. I will post something about Rome later today! I go to London on the 13th and I'll be sure to share.
That night we headed out to a few different bars with everyone and ended up having a pretty good time. We woke up early the next morning and headed out to get a free walking tour around the city. It turned out that we missed the tour by about 5 minutes so instead we ended up at the castle. The castle in Prague sits at the high point in the city and from there you can overlook the entire city. We walked around the castle grounds and saw the changing of the guard. We never figured out what happens in the castle now (because we didn't want to pay to go in) but it was a nice walk around and gave us a good panorama of the city. Shortly after the castle we met up with our friends and went on the later walking tour. I wish I could say that I learned a lot and was very interested on the walking tour. However, I spent the majority of the time hanging out in the back, talking to friends, and looking around. One interesting part of the tour was the walk through the Jewish Sector where we learned that Hitler had planned on leaving all the buildings of this sector standing as a "monument" to the murdered Jewish people. He wanted people to walk through the sector and see what he had accomplished. Thankfully most of the day involved walking through one of the most beautiful cities that I have ever seen.
The next day we got up early and headed to the airport to catch our flight to Rome!! Unfortunately, halfway to the airport we found out that it was closing (volcanic ash!) an hour before our flight so we would not be able to fly that day. After arriving at the airport we immediately turned around and headed to the train station. After sitting in lines for 4-5 hours we finally found a train to Munich, Germany that night with hopes that we could get to Rome from there. The train station was the craziest travel experiences ever. There were television crews on hand covering the madness and trains were booking out so fast that nobody could go where they wanted to. We ended up in Munich (look at a map and see how out of the way that is!) for the night and after waking up at 6 AM the following morning ended up getting a train to Rome at 9:15 AM.
Rome is next! Sorry for the slowness of the updates, I finally had work to do the past 2 days. I will post something about Rome later today! I go to London on the 13th and I'll be sure to share.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Two Weeks in Europe: Part 2
The night train to Berlin was uncomfortable and extremely long. I sat in a cabin with 5 kids who seemed to speak only Dutch until the end of the train ride when one turned to me and said, "You can have this beer if you want it." in perfect English. Anyways, we arrived in Berlin early in the morning and got checked into our hostel.
After dropping off our bags we headed to the Jewish Museum which is supposed to be one of the best things to do in Berlin. However, you can't always believe the books as the museum was not very interesting and definitely not a "must-see" in Berlin. The museum took up most of the end of the day and we headed for a beer garden later that night to sample some German beers. This led to a few people wanting to smoke hookah so we found a hookah bar near our hostel and settled in for the night. At the hookah bar we experienced one of the funniest conversations that I will probably ever have. A 50 year old German guy (very very intoxicated) decided to join us as we sat around and talked. He loved the fact that we were Americans but at the same time didn't think much of our country. Over the two hours that we talked with him he told us that we were the number 1 terrorists in the world and that the Germans were a very peaceful people. Also, he had an obsession with George Best (famous old soccer player from Ireland) which we were able to harp on for a few hours. This interaction made our night in Berlin a success.
The next day we were up early to do another Fat Tire Bike Tour. Again, these tours are excellent. We had a great tour guide who encouraged us to grab a beer at 11 A.M. before the tour started. On this tour we hit all the major points like Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, Hitler's Bunker, Memorial for the Murdered Jews in Europe, and many others. This tour really reconfirmed the idea that Berlin is a city that is still rebuilding following World War II. The entire city feels like a construction project mixed in with a lot of "i'm sorry's" stemming from Hitler's regime. The Memorial for the Murdered Jews in Europe is an extremely odd monument that touches each person differently. In the middle of this tour we got to stop at a beer garden for lunch. After the tour we walked around the city for the remainder of the day and got to bed early as we had to be up extremely early the next morning to catch a train.
Berlin was a great city with much to see. Although I did not like it as much as Paris, it was very interesting to see where the Berlin Wall stood and to hear how different people's lives were on either side of the wall. There are completely different histories on each side and it makes for a remarkable visit. The train to Prague was early the next morning (6:30 A.M.!).
Part 3 and Prague coming soon...
After dropping off our bags we headed to the Jewish Museum which is supposed to be one of the best things to do in Berlin. However, you can't always believe the books as the museum was not very interesting and definitely not a "must-see" in Berlin. The museum took up most of the end of the day and we headed for a beer garden later that night to sample some German beers. This led to a few people wanting to smoke hookah so we found a hookah bar near our hostel and settled in for the night. At the hookah bar we experienced one of the funniest conversations that I will probably ever have. A 50 year old German guy (very very intoxicated) decided to join us as we sat around and talked. He loved the fact that we were Americans but at the same time didn't think much of our country. Over the two hours that we talked with him he told us that we were the number 1 terrorists in the world and that the Germans were a very peaceful people. Also, he had an obsession with George Best (famous old soccer player from Ireland) which we were able to harp on for a few hours. This interaction made our night in Berlin a success.
The next day we were up early to do another Fat Tire Bike Tour. Again, these tours are excellent. We had a great tour guide who encouraged us to grab a beer at 11 A.M. before the tour started. On this tour we hit all the major points like Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, Hitler's Bunker, Memorial for the Murdered Jews in Europe, and many others. This tour really reconfirmed the idea that Berlin is a city that is still rebuilding following World War II. The entire city feels like a construction project mixed in with a lot of "i'm sorry's" stemming from Hitler's regime. The Memorial for the Murdered Jews in Europe is an extremely odd monument that touches each person differently. In the middle of this tour we got to stop at a beer garden for lunch. After the tour we walked around the city for the remainder of the day and got to bed early as we had to be up extremely early the next morning to catch a train.
Berlin was a great city with much to see. Although I did not like it as much as Paris, it was very interesting to see where the Berlin Wall stood and to hear how different people's lives were on either side of the wall. There are completely different histories on each side and it makes for a remarkable visit. The train to Prague was early the next morning (6:30 A.M.!).
Part 3 and Prague coming soon...
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Two Weeks in Europe and a Volcano: Part 1
I guess I will always know the answer to the question... "Where were you when the volcano in Iceland disrupted the world's air travel for 2 weeks?". I was smack dab in the middle of the trouble.
The last two weeks were some of the most amazing of my entire life. On April 9th me and 4 other friends left Cork, Ireland to set off for Paris, and the first leg of our journey. Our hostel, The Three Ducks, was a dingy place located about a 20 minute walk from the base of the Eiffel Tower. Paris was truly an amazing city with so much to do. The first night we went up in the Eiffel Tower (only a 10 minute line!!) which gave us absolutely amazing views of the entire city at night. The next day we participated in a bike tour from a company named Fat Tire Bike Tours. We proceeded to do this in Berlin and we would have done one in Barcelona if we had ever made it there (story to come). The bike tour takes about 4 hours and covered all the main sites in Paris. We started at the Eiffel Tower and rode by all the major museums. We stopped for lunch at the gardens in front of the Louvre. The bike tour allowed us to see everything in Paris in a very short amount of time. Later that day we went to the military museum which documents weapons and military from ancient times all the way through World War 2. At the end of this museum we were able to see Napoleon's tomb which is absolutely huge despite the fact that he was a pretty tiny guy. After the museum we headed to Notre Dame just late enough so we could not go inside. We walked around the outside and waited for our friends to arrive.
After the military museum we grabbed some dinner and met up with some friends and took an elevator up to the top of the highest, and only, skyscraper in Paris. We spent a few hours up there enjoying the view of the Eiffel Tower and the rest of the city. The next day we woke up early and headed to Versailles to see the Palace of Versailles. This is probably the most magnificent building that I will ever see in my life. Tourists pour in from all over to go see the palace and the lines were pretty long to get in. (We get in for free being EU nationals under the age of 26). It is hard to describe how large and beautiful some of the rooms in Versailles are. The palace is amazing and you can see in my pictures on Facebook just how extravagant this building is. After an audio tour of the building we headed out to the gardens and Marie Antoinette's house which was a great walk. The gardens were not bloomed yet but it was still amazing. After Versailles we headed back into Paris and went to the train station where we were going to get on a night train from Paris to Berlin.
Part 2 to come soon
The last two weeks were some of the most amazing of my entire life. On April 9th me and 4 other friends left Cork, Ireland to set off for Paris, and the first leg of our journey. Our hostel, The Three Ducks, was a dingy place located about a 20 minute walk from the base of the Eiffel Tower. Paris was truly an amazing city with so much to do. The first night we went up in the Eiffel Tower (only a 10 minute line!!) which gave us absolutely amazing views of the entire city at night. The next day we participated in a bike tour from a company named Fat Tire Bike Tours. We proceeded to do this in Berlin and we would have done one in Barcelona if we had ever made it there (story to come). The bike tour takes about 4 hours and covered all the main sites in Paris. We started at the Eiffel Tower and rode by all the major museums. We stopped for lunch at the gardens in front of the Louvre. The bike tour allowed us to see everything in Paris in a very short amount of time. Later that day we went to the military museum which documents weapons and military from ancient times all the way through World War 2. At the end of this museum we were able to see Napoleon's tomb which is absolutely huge despite the fact that he was a pretty tiny guy. After the museum we headed to Notre Dame just late enough so we could not go inside. We walked around the outside and waited for our friends to arrive.
After the military museum we grabbed some dinner and met up with some friends and took an elevator up to the top of the highest, and only, skyscraper in Paris. We spent a few hours up there enjoying the view of the Eiffel Tower and the rest of the city. The next day we woke up early and headed to Versailles to see the Palace of Versailles. This is probably the most magnificent building that I will ever see in my life. Tourists pour in from all over to go see the palace and the lines were pretty long to get in. (We get in for free being EU nationals under the age of 26). It is hard to describe how large and beautiful some of the rooms in Versailles are. The palace is amazing and you can see in my pictures on Facebook just how extravagant this building is. After an audio tour of the building we headed out to the gardens and Marie Antoinette's house which was a great walk. The gardens were not bloomed yet but it was still amazing. After Versailles we headed back into Paris and went to the train station where we were going to get on a night train from Paris to Berlin.
Part 2 to come soon
Monday, March 8, 2010
10 Things I've learned in Ireland
1. The people here lack "walking etiquette". When you are walking on a busy sidewalk in the States people stay to the right and all confusion is diffused. However, the Irish haven't yet figured this out. They walk right, left, and right down the middle of busy sidewalks which makes you feel like a running back trying to find a small crease to cut through.
2. The Irish have some sports that are played nowhere else in the world (or not that widely). First, there is hurling which is a sport played with a wooden paddle where participants attempt to get a small ball about the size of a lacrosse ball either through uprights (like in football) or in a goal (like soccer). You get three points for whacking the ball past the goalie and into the goal and one point for going through the uprights. The other new sport for me is Gaelic Football. Gaelic Football is a very difficult sport to explain. The athletes carry around a ball similar to a soccer ball and can only take 4 steps with it before either kicking it back up to themselves, slamming it into the ground so it pops back up, or hitting it away to another player. There is technically no contact in the sport but some nasty collisions take place. The scoring is the same as hurling and the players can kick the ball into the goal or through the uprights. Both sports are pretty fun to watch in person and would be something I would recommend seeing.
3. School in Ireland is very different than in the United States. Our classes at UCC (University College Cork) are never mandatory and Irish students only show up about half the time. It is extremely easy to skip classes because in most there is only 1 paper and 1 final for the entire year. Also, classes only run until the end of March and then we are given a month off in April to "study". It really doesn't get much better than that.
4. Everyone wants to kiss the Blarney Stone but why? In Cork I am located about a 25 minute bus ride (or a 2 hour walk) from the Blarney Stone. Ireland's most famous stone is fun to visit and kiss (I will probably end up doing it about 4 times). However, why are we kissing this piece of rock that was put so far out of the way that you have to imagine it was some drunk Irishman's idea of a cruel joke. I understand they say that kissing it brings about eloquence or something like that. Who decided that this piece of rock determined this and why? That is my only questions.
5. Sometimes it's not all about sightseeing and going to every possible place imaginable. Although traveling around Ireland is fun and going to Belgium was amazing sometimes it is nice to just hang out in Cork. I am extremely comfortable with the city and it is fun to just live in a city in a foreign country. It is an opportunity which I may never have again and my main goal is to take advantage of it.
6. The beer in Ireland is very good but also very expensive. At a pub the normal cost for a Guinness, Murphys, Beamish, or whatever else is around 4 Euro. This is the equivalent to paying about 5.50 for a beer in the States. The only place that doesn't beat those prices is Yankee Stadium. However, you do get what you pay for with the extra 4 ounces (because its a pint) and the stouts are excellent.
7. They speak their own form of English. The Irish people use words and phrases that I never really hear used in the United States. Every time you order anything they say "Cheers". They also like the words "lads", "grand", "craic" (meaning fun), and using "like" at the end of sentences instead of the middle. I have to admit that some of these words mentioned above and others are going to be tempting to bring back to the States.
8. It doesn't rain that much in January/February. I came over here expecting massive amounts of rain that occurred all the time. However, so far the weather has been fairly cold (37-45) and it hardly has rained at all. I guess we will see if this changes when Spring rolls around.
9. People in Cork believe that they live in the "real" capital of Ireland. There is a lot of pride in where you live and people in Cork believe that it is the place people should look to as the capital of Ireland because of the culture.
10. St. Patrick's Day is a holiday here where all classes are cancelled. It's also probably the craziest day of the year but of course most of you know that.
Well, here are my 10 things I've learned. I will have more coming soon as I plan my 10-14 day trip in April which will include trips to Paris, Berlin, Prague, Venice, Rome, Barcelona, and possibly Madrid.
2. The Irish have some sports that are played nowhere else in the world (or not that widely). First, there is hurling which is a sport played with a wooden paddle where participants attempt to get a small ball about the size of a lacrosse ball either through uprights (like in football) or in a goal (like soccer). You get three points for whacking the ball past the goalie and into the goal and one point for going through the uprights. The other new sport for me is Gaelic Football. Gaelic Football is a very difficult sport to explain. The athletes carry around a ball similar to a soccer ball and can only take 4 steps with it before either kicking it back up to themselves, slamming it into the ground so it pops back up, or hitting it away to another player. There is technically no contact in the sport but some nasty collisions take place. The scoring is the same as hurling and the players can kick the ball into the goal or through the uprights. Both sports are pretty fun to watch in person and would be something I would recommend seeing.
3. School in Ireland is very different than in the United States. Our classes at UCC (University College Cork) are never mandatory and Irish students only show up about half the time. It is extremely easy to skip classes because in most there is only 1 paper and 1 final for the entire year. Also, classes only run until the end of March and then we are given a month off in April to "study". It really doesn't get much better than that.
4. Everyone wants to kiss the Blarney Stone but why? In Cork I am located about a 25 minute bus ride (or a 2 hour walk) from the Blarney Stone. Ireland's most famous stone is fun to visit and kiss (I will probably end up doing it about 4 times). However, why are we kissing this piece of rock that was put so far out of the way that you have to imagine it was some drunk Irishman's idea of a cruel joke. I understand they say that kissing it brings about eloquence or something like that. Who decided that this piece of rock determined this and why? That is my only questions.
5. Sometimes it's not all about sightseeing and going to every possible place imaginable. Although traveling around Ireland is fun and going to Belgium was amazing sometimes it is nice to just hang out in Cork. I am extremely comfortable with the city and it is fun to just live in a city in a foreign country. It is an opportunity which I may never have again and my main goal is to take advantage of it.
6. The beer in Ireland is very good but also very expensive. At a pub the normal cost for a Guinness, Murphys, Beamish, or whatever else is around 4 Euro. This is the equivalent to paying about 5.50 for a beer in the States. The only place that doesn't beat those prices is Yankee Stadium. However, you do get what you pay for with the extra 4 ounces (because its a pint) and the stouts are excellent.
7. They speak their own form of English. The Irish people use words and phrases that I never really hear used in the United States. Every time you order anything they say "Cheers". They also like the words "lads", "grand", "craic" (meaning fun), and using "like" at the end of sentences instead of the middle. I have to admit that some of these words mentioned above and others are going to be tempting to bring back to the States.
8. It doesn't rain that much in January/February. I came over here expecting massive amounts of rain that occurred all the time. However, so far the weather has been fairly cold (37-45) and it hardly has rained at all. I guess we will see if this changes when Spring rolls around.
9. People in Cork believe that they live in the "real" capital of Ireland. There is a lot of pride in where you live and people in Cork believe that it is the place people should look to as the capital of Ireland because of the culture.
10. St. Patrick's Day is a holiday here where all classes are cancelled. It's also probably the craziest day of the year but of course most of you know that.
Well, here are my 10 things I've learned. I will have more coming soon as I plan my 10-14 day trip in April which will include trips to Paris, Berlin, Prague, Venice, Rome, Barcelona, and possibly Madrid.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Trip to Belgium
So, I am sorry that I haven't updated in a while but life has been busy and I haven't done much new until this past weekend. On Thursday morning at 9 A.M. my three friends and I caught a bus from Cork up to Dublin for our trip to Belgium. From Dublin we caught a 3:30 flight to Charleroi on Ryan Air which is the cheapest airline in the entire world. We flew into Charleroi and then had to endure a 3 hour commute to Leuven (where we have friends living so we had a free place to stay). On Thursday night we went out to one of the bars where we all hung out and drank some really good Belgium beers which are extremely high in alcohol and not as expensive as they are in Cork.
On Friday we slept in and took a 25 minute train ride to Brussels. Brussels was a pretty cool city and was a lot bigger than Leuven. We walked around a ton and saw the "peeing boy" which is the major tourist attraction in the city. Honestly, it wasn't that exciting as the statue is extremely small and located on the corner of the street. We also saw Grand Place which is their center square and is absolutely beautiful. After that we just walked around, ate some food, and headed to Delirium. Delirium is a bar in Brussels that has the largest beer selection in the world. There are three floors and each one has a difference group to choose from. Apparently there are over 2,000 choices. I had the Delirium Tremens (voted the best beer in the world) and Satan. It was a great atmosphere and we had a lot of fun. We headed back to Leuven that night and hung out in one of the bars smoking cigars for the night.
On Saturday we headed to Bruges! This was the most exciting part of the trip for me as I have wanted to visit this city ever since I saw the movie In Bruges (which is an excellent movie if anybody needs a good movie to watch). This city is much different from Leuven, which is a student city, and Brussels, which is a lot larger and more modern. This city is all cobblestone streets and has a very old look to it. We visited a cathedral which has a vial of Christs blood which apparently turns to liquid every so often (and by that I mean it hasn't happened in 200 years or something) which was cool to look at. Bruges is a hard place to explain without seeing it so just check my Facebook for the pictures. We went back Saturday night to Leuven and went out to the bars for a little while.
On Sunday we left Leuven at 3:30 because we had a 9 PM flight out of Charleroi. I'll skip the details but it turned out that we got into Shannon Airport (about 2 hours from Cork) at 9:50 and there wasn't a bus until the next morning at 8:50 AM. We got some food and ended up sleeping in the airport.
The best thing about Belgium? Well, the four things I took away were great waffles, excellent fries, chocolate, and a large selection of beers. The architecture is also pretty incredible. Overall, it was an amazing trip.
On Friday we slept in and took a 25 minute train ride to Brussels. Brussels was a pretty cool city and was a lot bigger than Leuven. We walked around a ton and saw the "peeing boy" which is the major tourist attraction in the city. Honestly, it wasn't that exciting as the statue is extremely small and located on the corner of the street. We also saw Grand Place which is their center square and is absolutely beautiful. After that we just walked around, ate some food, and headed to Delirium. Delirium is a bar in Brussels that has the largest beer selection in the world. There are three floors and each one has a difference group to choose from. Apparently there are over 2,000 choices. I had the Delirium Tremens (voted the best beer in the world) and Satan. It was a great atmosphere and we had a lot of fun. We headed back to Leuven that night and hung out in one of the bars smoking cigars for the night.
On Saturday we headed to Bruges! This was the most exciting part of the trip for me as I have wanted to visit this city ever since I saw the movie In Bruges (which is an excellent movie if anybody needs a good movie to watch). This city is much different from Leuven, which is a student city, and Brussels, which is a lot larger and more modern. This city is all cobblestone streets and has a very old look to it. We visited a cathedral which has a vial of Christs blood which apparently turns to liquid every so often (and by that I mean it hasn't happened in 200 years or something) which was cool to look at. Bruges is a hard place to explain without seeing it so just check my Facebook for the pictures. We went back Saturday night to Leuven and went out to the bars for a little while.
On Sunday we left Leuven at 3:30 because we had a 9 PM flight out of Charleroi. I'll skip the details but it turned out that we got into Shannon Airport (about 2 hours from Cork) at 9:50 and there wasn't a bus until the next morning at 8:50 AM. We got some food and ended up sleeping in the airport.
The best thing about Belgium? Well, the four things I took away were great waffles, excellent fries, chocolate, and a large selection of beers. The architecture is also pretty incredible. Overall, it was an amazing trip.
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