Valentine's Day Weekend with the girls in Brugges!

This past weekend I went to Brugges, Belgium with five other girls for our four-day weekend. Everyone had to organize their own trips and deal with the travel details. We had the best time exploring the cute little town of Brugges, with its canals and cobblestone streets and brick buildings--not to mention the famous Belgian food: waffles, fries, chocolate and beer. It was a great weekend of relaxing, eating, and sightseeing. The only hiccup in our travels came with missing out train connection in Brussels on the way. I bet we looked hilarious--six girls with huge backpacks on, running/waddling in a single file line through the busy Brussels train station...no idea where we were supposed to go...

But we made it! Our weekend is best told in pictures, because Brugges is just too awesome to describe.

The first night out, Belgian beers!

Postcard-pretty buildings perched on the edge of Market Square, the main central plaza.

Hannah, Audrey and I in Market Square. Thank you, self-timer on my camera.

The Chocolate Line--one of many amazing chocolate shops lining the streets of Brugges. I wish I could have dumped all my clothes and filled my backpack with chocolates. Bruce Fisk would not have been very happy with me though once I reach Syria...

How cute is this. The little boats on the canal gave tours of the city, which we enjoyed on our first day. Our driver was tri-lingual, because in Brugges they speak Flemmish first, French second, and English third. Unfair.

There are a good number of huge white swans swimming through the canals.

Another shot of the canal and bridges, some of which are still original from the 14th century.

The Begijnhof is a historic monestary for women, who lived in quite and solitude.

It's a gorgeous green lawn, with tall trees and white-washed buildings lining the square.

Overlooking a canal.

We love Brugges!

In The Church of Our Lady, this is one of the only Michaelangelo statues of Madonna and Child to ever leave Italy during his lifetime.

Sarah, Kelsey, Audrey and Hannah on the boat tour.

I love the architecture of the roofs--they reminded me of gingerbread houses.

Hannah coming up the 300-plus stairs we climbed to get to the top of the Beltry (bell tower) in Market Square.

The view of the city from the top of the Beltry.

All six of us after our climb to the top.

That's what we climbed. Awesome views. You should all do it someday.

Belgian waffles! With strawberries and whip cream...they're to die for.

Me, Kelsey, Audrey, Hannah & Hannah in Market Square

Belgian fries in Market Square!

We took a tour of the only working brewery still in Brugges. Belgium produces over 400 types of beers, and we got to sample some beer brewed right there in Brugges after our tour.

The Hotel Fevery, our cute B&B with amazing breakfasts.

Last week in Montpellier! Off to Belgium!

It’s the last week here in Montpellier! I can’t believe it’s gone this fast. We have some small tests coming up in French class—our teacher Frank says they won’t be hard, but after a week in Spain I reverted back to my Spanish and now have to concentrate really hard to switch my brain back into French. It’s great to be back in a city where I know my way around and where I can sprawl all my stuff out in my room. But one of the things I loved most about Spain was traveling with our group of 20—it’s an awesome collection of people and we have fun spending time together, during tours or traveling or eating or going out. I’m excited to travel with them to Paris and Italy and the Middle East after that. One thing I learned though—travel is tiring! I was exhausted after Spain and felt so glad to have a home to come back to in Montpellier. Sadly, that won’t happen again on this semester. 

Monday was Audrey’s 21^st birthday (February 7). It doesn’t really mean much here in Europe, but we went out for a nice long lunch in Place de la Comedie and had a glass of local wine. After diner that night, a group of us headed to the Australian club but found a huge line and instead went dancing at the Manhattan, another club next door. It was a really fun night, even though we were all tired from traveling the week before.

I also made my plans for our free weekend, which is this Saturday through Tuesday. I’m going to Brugges, Belgium with Audrey, Hannah Davidson, Hannah Sievers, Kelsey Cannon and Sarah Spencer. We’re taking a train at 8:30 on Saturday through Lille and Brussels and getting into Brugges around 3:30. We made reservations at a super cute little B&B near the center of the city. I’m excited to relax a little in a small town—ride bikes to the coast, tour the brewery, eat lots of Belgian chocolate, see the main Market Square and climb the bell tower, and just relax at a café and eat a Belgian waffle with my coffee. It will be a nice and relaxing weekend, then we head back to meet the group in Paris at 5:30 on Tuesday.

Belgium

I'm also considering Belgium for a free weekend option. Brugge and Brussels would be the cities of choice, but no set plans yet. I'm intrigued by the thought of Belgian chocolate though...