February Getaway

Annnnnnnndddddd she's back!

Hello everyone! I finally made it home on Monday after my 10-day trip abroad. As promised, here's a blog post detailing (almost) all of my vacation adventures!

But first, let's just take a moment of silence to thank the nation of France for its delectably luscious quantity of instituted vacation time. 

France -- here's lookin' at you, kid. 

Let's also start off this post with a map, because I know geography is super hard and no one even knows Luxembourg exists.

From France I headed northeast to the brownish-purple lump of the Netherlands, from which I descended to the pink-ish lump known as Belgium, from which I descended even further south into the minuscule yellow blimp known as Luxembourg, sandwiched up close next to Germany's western border. 

And now that we have those two points of business attended to... warp speed ahead into story-time!

Make it so. 

Starlog 5,348,723: Amsterdam (February 13-15) 

My trip started off smoothly.... with a two-hour delayed train in the Rennes station and a missed connection in Paris.

I guess not everything in France can be perfect.

Soooo I got in to Amsterdam a few hours after the predicted arrival time, but I got there alive and well!

Did you know? Amsterdam boasts more than one hundred kilometers of canals. For you Americans, that translates to more than 62 miles! 

One of the first things that struck me upon arrival in Amsterdam was the sheer internationalism of the city. It seemed that everyone spoke a different language and came from a different country, and brands from all around the world were represented in the shopping district. In this regard, I would easily put Amsterdam among one of the most globalized cities I have ever visited. 

Lucky for me, every single person I came into contact with spoke good levels of English, which proved to be essential because evidently my Dutch is so bad that the Dutch can't  even understand me when I ask them if they speak English. 

This was a common interaction between myself and every Dutch person ever: 

Me: "Spreekt u engels?" (insert imaginary thick hideous American accent)

Bus driver/store-owner/employee/local: ".....Do I speak what??"

....I think this was God telling me that I should basically never live in Holland. 

This shot was taken in the middle of the Jordaan neighborhood to the west of city center, which is where you can find the Anne Frank house and the cheese museum nestled between the classic "Amsterdam" homes.

One of the first things I did while in Amsterdam was to spend two and a half hours waiting in line for the Anne Frank house in the Jordaan neighborhood. I mean... I had to. If you're in Amsterdam, that's, like, the thing to do.  I really enjoyed my visit and learned so much from the House...

Anne and her family were refuged in the food factory that Otto Frank (her father) owned, the two buildings to the right in this photo. They occupied the Secret Annex at the top and back of the factory. 

The original bookcase created to hide the staircase ascending to the Secret Annex. During the tour, you climb through the bookcase and up the same stairs used by Anne, her family, and their helpers during the World War. 

However, if I could give you one piece of advice when visiting Amsterdam and the Anne Frank House, I would say that it is absolutely imperative that you buy your ticket before you go to the House, on the House's official website. The House itself is -- and I know this is a sin, so sorry I suck -- not worth a two-hour wait, which is essentially guaranteed unless you go really early in the morning before it's even open. 

Everyone expects the Anne Frank House to be this epically emotionally riveting place as portrayed in The Fault in Our Stars. I was shocked, then, to find that the mass majority of the Anne Frank House and accompanying confiture factory were completely empty. 

Yep, empty. Nada. Some quotes on the walls here and there, and sure, Anne's room still had some of her famous magazine excerpts and pictures hung up, and the attic had some original transcripts of Anne's diary, but besides that... barren. And the whole time you're in the house, you're still filing in an endless and painfully slow line of obnoxious tourists. 

Trust me and get your ticket before to make the visit a little more enjoyable.

After I checked Anne's house off the to-do list, I made my way along the canal right outside down to the Cheese Museum, where I posed with a cow and ate at least twenty free cheese samples.

If there is one thing I'm good at, it's eating cheese. Because cheese is my life. In fact, here's me eating an extra-aged Beemster gouda that I used to sell at Bin 1884 Cheese Bar when I worked as a waitress!

Paired with sweet mustard dill sauce, this cheese will give you a serious mouth-gasm. 

Speaking of -gasms,  my next stop in Amsterdam was......

*penis*

 THE SEX MUSEUM!!!

I must say, I have NEVER laughed so freaking hard in a museum. Ever. I'll refrain from posting many of the photos I took, but just imagine a diversity of erotic objects thrown about and the faces of many uncomfortable-looking people nervously shuffling between Chinese statues performing cunnilingus on each other. 

To start off your mornings right!

While on the subject of sex, let's talk about the Red Light District.

Before arriving in Amsterdam, I was intrigued by the idea of the RLD. I mean, it's not often in the world that a country legalizes prostitution, and Amsterdam is well-known as a world center for weed and free lovin'.

A potential buyer or mere on-looker? Hm...  

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this special little neighborhood, but I can sure as heck tell you that if you are even remotely prudish, or do not accept overt nudity and sexuality as being normal, the RLD is not your place. From scantily-clad businesswomen in their little glass rooms to condom shops to sex shows to brothels, the RLD is different from anything I have seen anywhere in my life, and I found it absolutely fascinating.

Before heading out of Amsterdam Sunday evening,  I made a trip down to the Rijkmuseum to enjoy some of Holland's most famous Dutch art. Afterwards, I took a jaunt in Vonderpark, south of city center, and saw where the locals hang out in their free time. 

I was lucky to capture this sweet moment between a daughter and her mom  while they were feeding the birds.  

I will be happily returning to Amsterdam, and Haarlem as well, the first weekend in April to catch tulip season at its best. But this time, I'll be with frieeennndddsss: Lydia and Jessie and Jacob!! :)

Tot ziens, Amsterdam!!

Starlog 5,348,724: Gent (February 15-18) 

Sunday night I was super happy to meet up with my good friend Lydia in Gent, a lovely little university city in the Flemish half of Belgium!

We began every day eating waffles... just as every day should begin when you are in Belgium.

One of the highlights of our trip included an evening at the Hot Club of Gent, where we got to enjoy a jazz duet and a chilled bottle of white wine in a cozy, candle-lit bar. If there's one thing that Gent is not lacking for, it's a swingin' concert and night scene. Free concerts are offered in pubs and bars all over the city every night!

 Besides the Hot Club of Gent, we made a trip to the Fine Arts Museum.

A+ Lyds. A+. 

We drank beer! 

Lydia and her Delirium, me and my Leffe. We're basically made for each other. 

We found the longest bench literally in the entire world.

Yes, that hobo-looking person would be me. 

 We ate fries!!!

 (and frozen yogurt... and chocolate waffles... and more beer) 

 We climbed the Castle of the Counts, and Lydia chatted up a hot knight.

Dude, why have you been acting so empty recently? 

Me on the castle ramparts!!

Wednesday morning, we made the short half-hour train ride to Bruges... a charming city that I immediately fell in love with.

Starlog 5,348,725: Bruges (February 18-20) 

Bruges is basically one of those places you read about in fairytales. I have never seen such a pristine city, and the quaint brick buildings, often highlighted with shades of red, are just to die for (particularly if your favorite color is red...).

The city also has one of the highest concentrations of chocolate shops in Belgium... so basically get your booty down there ASAP.

Before Lydia had to leave to go back to Rennes, we enjoyed a lovely boat tour in the many canals of Bruges. Our boat driver spoke French, German, English, and Flemish... needless to say, this girl be jealous.

We so cute. 

We followed up on our boat tour with lunch at the Wednesday-morning market, and waffles made from the family recipe of a man who was selling the delicious pastries out of his truck.

Look! They even have Belgian flags (except Lydia looks as if she accidentally ate hers) 

 We did a bit of impromptu Beyoncé dancing...

And took pictures by the water.

After Lydia left, I toured the entire city limits along the outmost canal. The next day, I got up early to go to the city's Groeningmuseum and to see Michelangelo's Madonna with Child, one of his rare ouvrages outside of Italy.

Michelangelo was a boss. This fact cannot be denied. 

I continued along my artsy day by attending a free harp concert, which was one of my favorite parts of the entire 10-day trip. I can't say I have ever heard a harp play for an extended period of time, but it is an instrument that's more sensation than music, more feeling than sound. To listen to it was quite an incredible experience!

My, what strong fingers you have!!  

To top of such a fabulous day, I cracked into a local Bruges Zot beer and a box of chocolate, watching the swans dip into the pond as the sun set behind those cute little brick buildings that I love so much.

He doesn't say much but he sure does taste good.

Starlog 5,348,726: Dinant (February 20)

My stay in Dinant was basically dedicated to two things: beer and saxophones. Let's start with the beer part of the stay.

I had, for a long time, always considered myself a Guinness Girl. I mean, with Irish roots, it's just logical. Plus, no other beer has the same dark caramel flavor of a freshly poured Guinness.

I am sorry to say, then, that my loyalty to Guinness has been overcome with a long-time conflicting love of Leffe, an infatuation that began in the French Alps in the summer of 2013 after my French friend and colleague Timothée introduced me to the brew. After my trip to Dinant, the brand is firmly solidified in my brain as the #1 favorite.

Now, you may ask, why in Dinant? 

Well, only because the original Leffe abbey and brewery was founded there in the ancient times of 1240 AD!!

After dancing around naked in my wonderfully private hotel room for a solid fifteen minutes and taking the best shower of my life (hostels make you crazy after a while, I swear), the first thing I did was hike up the hill across the river to the ancient Leffe abbey, where I took a tour of their museum that included a beer tasting of my choice and -- I was SO EXCITED to find out -- a free Leffe goblet, which you can see in the picture below to the right.

In the museum, I not only learned about the history of the abbey and the beer itself, but I also got to learn about the different kinds of Leffe available (nine varieties currently, including the seasonal Christmas brew), what they taste like, and what  foods they pair well with. 

For my free beer tasting, I decided to try Leffe Royale for the first time, a specially brewed blond which I found to be a bit heartier than Leffe's typical blond but very mellow, with little hops or bitterness. I then bought Leffe Radieuse, Ritual 9, and Tripel... so now I can safely say that I have tried every single Leffe except for the seasonal Christmastime brew!!

YAY LIFE ACCOMPLISHMENTS!!

Ok, enough of beer (...but really, there's never enough beer). Now, on to the saxophones!

Dinant is the hometown of Monsieur Sax, the man who -- you guessed it -- invented the saxophone. When arriving in the train station if Dinant, you are greeted with a merry little bridge embellished with at least 15 six-foot saxophones, all in bright colors and dedicated to other countries.

In town, it gets even better: saxophone tinsels hang over the streets; statues continue to pop up everywhere; plaques lining the street-side proudly present all the different kinds of saxophones to passersby; and the Maison de M. Sax gives a bit of history about the man and the invention of this peculiar reed instrument. 

After learning all I could about Leffe and saxophones, I left this quirky little place for Luxembourg Saturday morning, watching the beautiful Belgian countryside fly by the train window.

Starlog 5,348,727: Luxembourg (February 21-23)

My last two days of vacation were spent in Luxembourg City, a place I knew relatively little about before I arrived. Happily for me, however, I was able to learn a bit about the nation's history upon arrival after a quick trip to the museum, which had free entry for students and for people under the age of 25.

Luxembourg as a nation was officially established in 963, so it is wayyyyy old. After a few centuries, Luxembourg City emerged from its historical context as an agricultural center and became a military fortress sought after by the Habsburg empire, and later the French, for its prime strategic value. After returning to Habsburg hands once more and then back to Revolutionary France, the little country only then declared autonomy in 1815, and its neutrality and independence was later re-affirmed in 1867. In spite of its neutrality, Luxembourg was occupied by the Germans during both World Wars.

The Grund neighborhood at the foot of the valley.

Luxembourg remains, to this day, the exclusive grand duchy of Europe; and, because of its many deep ancestral roots, the city boasts a rich mixture of French, German, and Luxembourgish cultures. The cultures are so intertwined, in fact, that the French language is still used in almost all administration, German is widely used in the press and media, and Luxembourgish is the frequently spoken language of the people.

My favorite activity in Luxembourg was exploring the city's beautiful park and greenbelt systems in the surrounding valley as well as meandering its well-lit neighborhoods and the ancient fortress battlements along the bridge.

While there's not an exorbitant amount of things to do in Luxembourg, I found the city very charming and particular, and would highly recommend it as a weekend trip!

After two days spent wandering and singing loudly to myself, reading on park benches and enjoying the last of my Leffe stock from Dinant, it was time to head home Monday morning.

Six hours of trains and many book chapters later, I arrived back in Rennes, and my February vacation came to a close.

However, the traveling fun doesn't stop there! This weekend, I will be taking off to the Loire Valley with the Zéphyr international student group, where we are going to visit old castles and drink wine and be merry folk.

In March, Antoine and I will be taking a few day trips in Bretagne to visit his grandparents.

Then, in April, I will be heading off to Amsterdam and Haarlem for a weekend to tour the tulip fields and gardens, as already stated. Just a week after, I will take off again for a 17-day backpacking trip with my girl Lydia through Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and (possibly) Slovakia.

Now that the time to return to the States is creeping up on me, I realize just how precious -- and how short -- my time in Europe is. It seems like there is not enough time in the world to see everything I want to see, not enough time to perfect my French, not enough time to eat more cheese, not enough time to love on Antoine.

Well...here's to seizing the day, now and forever.

D