On endings and beginnings.

It is so strange that we've been here for only a month. It seems like ages ago that Lucas, the manager at the Zav center, led me onto the sketchy lift that he admitted was not legally an elevator since it didn't have a door. And now here we are, unfazed by the lift that we use every time we are on dish duty and need to take the cart of dishes down to the kitchen.

Sunday morning we woke up for church - still utterly exhausted from our weekend excursion. Still in a haze, I don't think it hit us that it was the beginning of our final week in Belgium. Kelsey, Amy and I had a wonderful lunch in Brussels and then headed back to Zaventem, hoping to recuperate. After about an hour, one of the couples in our church group invited Amy and I to dinner with them, so off we went for some traditional Belgian stew and Chimay beer. They're moving to London after the training in Belgium, so they had some great tips on London! From what I remember, Sunday night I collapsed, tired, sick and full from a wonderful meal.

On Monday, it started to hit everyone that our time was coming to an end. But the first thing we realized that day was that we only had to watch the kids until 12:30... What a relief! With our afternoons free again, we headed into Leuven with our objectives being chocolate and waffles (oh, and a new bag for me since my little backpack broke while in Paris... I had to divvy up my things among everyone for our last day there, which was actually quite nice for me).

After all of these objectives were met, we headed back to the train station. I realized I needed one more thing, so I popped into a store and told everyone I would meet them at the platform. Well, it turns out we had been wrong about the times, so I didn't make it to the platform in time. Thankfully, they went ahead and I enjoyed my last thirty minutes in Leuven, wandering around and giving it the goodbye it deserved. Monday night was ladies night, and we all went out and had a lovely dinner together in Zaventem.

Ever since Paris, Mallory had barely left her bed. She had been sick there, but everything just got a lot worse when we got back. So, by Tuesday afternoon, she was ready to just get out for a little bit. We headed into town with two objectives. Well, I already told you the first one - just get out for a little bit. The second objective was a much more daunting task: figure out what we are doing next in life. 

So, with drinks and determination, we drew up a pros and cons list for the next two years of Mallory's life. What a scary, scary thing. I am so happy that I came somewhere where there are so many other people trying to sort out the next step. After much brainstorming and deliberating, we came up with a solid plan that left Mallory feeling great about the future. I was so happy for her that I didn't feel the need to sort out my future anymore... Or something like that.

Tuesday night was the farewell dinner, which was catered by the lovely kebab place down the road. People cried... I didn't. 

And then probably about 10 of us hung out in the main area - everyone exhausted, but no one wanting to miss anything from the final evening. Eventually people started to drop off and we all went to bed dreading the goodbyes of the next day, but looking forward to the final presentations of the morning.

The interns started off the final presentations with our own rendition of "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Our version was, of course, entitled "The Twelve Days of Child Care." We sang of the most momentous moments like, "Alex has a weird face," and we sang of the most common occurrences, "I need a tissue." Suffice it to say, I think we did a great job of highlighting our month and setting a high bar for the "presentations." One of the first couples up did a lip sync battle for theirs which blew our song out of the water. 

The best, by far though, was the award show that Ben and Julie did. They came up with a title and award for every person (just like the "Dundies" in The Office.) They definitely put the most time and money into theirs, and from my standpoint, it was worth it!

After the first set of "goodbyes" were said, those of us that were left went into town for one last Belgian brew before our departure. Then, we enjoyed our last falafel sandwiches together and said our goodbyes. 

At this point, Amy, Mallory and I were some of the last ones left, and wanting to thoroughly enjoy our last night, we relaxed and curled up for a movie, said goodbye and went to bed.

From Zaventem, some went to the States, some to Paris, others to Prague, one to Berlin, another to Cambodia, some to London and still others to Scotland. I'm sure I'm missing several places. There was sadness that we were all leaving each other, but also excitement that we were all going our separate ways and have soooo many places to visit now!

Paris continued

The one major downside of using Air bnb, especially if only for a couple nights, is that we had to clean the whole place thoroughly before we left. When you stay at a hostel, it's just grab your bag and go - which I definitely prefer.

I optimistically predicted that we would be at Shakespeare & Co. by 10:15. Mallory predicted 10:30. We were both wrong... I was more wrong. And, of course, 10:15 is what we told Kelsey. In my mind it was simple - go to Gare du Nord. Drop off bags. Take 4 min train to Notre Dame. Shakespeare & Co. right there. Sounds like a 30 minute journey to me. Add an hour onto that and I would've been right on the money. 

I could not for the life of me figure out where the lockers were. I was blindly leading four other people all around the busiest train station, searching for somewhere to put our luggage for the day. I ended up leading us outside of the train station, based on my interpretation of the directions I had received. It is the worst being the confident one of the group when not a single person has a clue where to go. I kept asking everyone where they thought we should go, and they would just stare at me blankly. So onward I went. And onward they followed.

Granted, I had been the one saying that it wouldn't take long. Seeing the distress in Amy's eyes thinking of Kelsey standing all alone waiting for us, I sent her ahead with the best directions I could muster.

Our generation clearly cannot make plans without cell phones. How did people used to plan to meet up so early in advance? It is a lost art.

Right after Amy left, we found the lockers. Of course. We then made it to Shakespeare & Co. without a hiccup... I somehow remembered where it was from the summer before! As we were crossing the street we ran into Kelsey who had just given up on us. Poor girl had waited 45 minutes for us! Had she given up a moment sooner we never would've found her. The joy of finally finding her turned into despair as we realized that Amy had never reached her.

Without going into all the details of running back and forth between Starbucks and Shakespeare & Co., let's just say we were together at last, with the fear of splitting up instilled in everyone. After everyone got what they wanted from Shakespeare and Co., we headed to the Flea market... And never made it.

The train stopped at "Paris du Nord" and I knew it had to be the right one... Or at least I thought I knew. As soon as we got off, Mallory looked at me and said,  "This isn't right." There was just enough doubt in my mind, that I just said, "Aah!" and we followed her back on. In moments like that, when there's a ten second window to either stay or get back on the train, I don't think anyone can think clearly. 

The next stop was outside of the city. I had flashbacks to two summers ago, staying in the suburbs of Paris. I knew we were doomed. Amy chimed in with a lovely "I knew the one back there was the right one." I now realize how Julia must've felt when I used to say things like that back in the day. Partly proud that the person is learning, but at the same time... Really wishing they had spoken up just a bit sooner. Love you, Amy :)

Apparently, we needed new tickets to get back into the city. And no one's credit card worked on the sketchy machine. And we didn't have enough change. Kelsey, Amy and I set out on a mission to get change. We found a fruit stand with a man who had a bowl of change. We asked if we could give him a €10 for the same back in change. He replied that if that's what we wanted, then maybe we should go see if the homeless man with the cart behind him could help us. (There is some debate on whether the man he pointed out was homeless - Kelsey and Amy say he was selling things... I'm in no position to judge, but to me shopping cart + disheveled man = homeless).

Instead of pursuing that option, we bought an apple from the man with the bowl of change. We still didn't have enough. Everyone thought that we did, so they all went ahead, leaving Kelsey and I behind with enough money for a ticket and a half. The train was arriving in less than a minute, and we had one whole ticket between the two of us. I grabbed her hand and pulled her through after me, as she said, "God knows we tried as hard as we could!" And boy, is she right. 

Not wanting to push our luck anymore, we headed to the Arc de Triomphe. Right around this time, the caffeine, lack of food, dehydration and medicine that I had recently took, oh and the stress - all, caught up to me at the same time. I looked at Mallory and said, "Man, that cough medicine is making me feel weirdddd." She responded with a, "Weird, how?" Me: "Well, now that you ask... Weird, like I'm gonna pass about, I guess."

As the world swirled around me, we arrived at the Arc and made for a place to eat since I clearly needed something.  

Then we climbed the Arc for an unforgettable view of Paris.

The climb down, of course, caused Mallory to start shaking... 

The two of us were clearly ready to get on the bus back to Brussels. Before we did this though, we stopped at Laduree for some delicious macarons (my first macarons ever)! Not a bad first place to get them! 

Presentation is everything.

We then headed towards the metro to go to the bus station. We ran into the Sweets who warned us that since we were getting in so late from Paris that the trains in Brussels might not be stopping at our little town of Zaventem.  Surprisingly, we made it to the Paris bus station without an issue - wasn't exactly expecting that! 

We had wifi on the bus, so I looked up trains and realized that if we were on time we would have to wait an hour until a train could take us home. I didn't tell anyone this - not wanting to kill the little bit of morale that had been built up from us getting to the bus station OK. When we made a stop for over thirty minutes (it was only supposed to be 20 min), I was sure that we were doomed. But sure enough we got in 20 minutes early and were able to get a train back right away. Never thought that lumpy pillow and threadbare comforter at the Zav center would feel so welcoming and cozy.

The best way to sum up our time in Paris: An Adventure.

I have experienced Paris in so many different ways. The first time I went to Paris, Julia and I stayed in the lovely suburbs of Rosny... MISTAKE. Sure, the hotel was super cheap. "Why?" you may ask. Well, because it was in what can only be described as the ghetto. We were afraid to get back after dark, so we never got to see Paris at night. This past summer, I finally did, and (this is about to sound super cheesy) it was one of the most magical experiences of my entire life... Paris at night? Unbeatable. 

I would say that Mallory and Amy felt the same way when we finally reached the Eiffel Tower on Friday night. As we emerged from the metro station, we looked up, and there the Eiffel Tower was, in all of its glory. It's great during the day, but at night... it makes the "city of lights" what it is. It was illuminated and and sparkling. Amy started weeping... Wanna see?

Weeping and laughing at the sight of the Eiffel Tower.

But I should really go back to the beginning. Thursday night, we got to our Air Bnb apartment, that Mallory had booked for us, without a hiccup. The only issue that we had was that it took us about 20 minutes to figure out how the futon folded out, but besides that, the night went smoothly. Mallory had chosen a very nice neighborhood that was only a ten minute walk from the Louvre, so that was our first stop on Friday, after a delicious breakfast of omelets and crisaints. 

The Louvre is always a complicated situation. Do you study the art you are looking at and discuss it with those around you and only see 7% of the museum, or do you walk through quickly, try not to get lost, and still only see 20%? Well, we went for the latter. The Mona Lisa was a disappointment to some, as you can see: 

It was agreed that it was a wonderful experience and everyone walked away with a new kind of appreciation for the art that they saw. Notre Dame was the next stop. This was my third time at the church and it never ceases to disappoint me. 

I'm sure some of you have disappointed with the fact that I haven't really been living up to the name of my blog... "where have I not gotten lost." Well, can I just say that this post should make up for all of the boring stories of me getting everything right? The Paris trip in general went downhill from about 30 minutes after we stepped into Notre Dame.

Bonnie and Jennifer (the two interns that I'm not roommates with) ended up climbing to the top of Notre Dame without telling us, so, long story short, we ended up waiting and searching for them for almost an hour. I wish I could say that since we were in Paris that this didn't effect our mood, but I would be lying. Something about waiting for people in the cold and rain kills the mood for Mallory and I... Eventually we found each other and headed to the Eiffel Tower... JK. I led us in the opposite direction.  So after 10 minutes in the opposite direction, we settled in for an unnecessarily long, half hour ride to the Eiffel Tower. So, when I say that Amy wept at the Eiffel Tower, yes she thought it was beautiful, but she was also using the Eiffel Tower as a reason to cry over the past few hours... understandably.

We crossed the bridge for the best view of the Eiffel Tower, which I would say that everyone definitely appreciated. 

After some cappuccino to help us bear the cold, Mallory and I led us as we headed (in the right direction this time!) back to the apartment without a hiccup - and without a map, I might add. Feeling confident again, I directed Kelsey (who was staying about 20 min away by metro) on how to get to us. 
We agreed to meet at the metro station near our apartment, and I was sure that there were only two exits from the metro station. Turns out I was wrong. This metro station had a secret passageway that led to an underground mall. 

While Kelsey was wandering lost in the underground mall, a few streets (and many stairs) away - Amy was standing watch at one exit and I at the other. Of course, the exit that I was standing at was a sketchy street corner. Across the street from me, four homeless men sat in a circle passing around a bottle of whiskey... after a very uneasy 30 minutes of waiting alone (uneasy because I had left my mace at home!) I went to get Amy who had just contacted Kelsey. 

Long story short, through the aid of wifi on both ends, about another 30 minutes later, we were able to find Kelsey who had gotten barricaded into the underground mall by the overnight construction workers, who graciously let her out. By this point it was 10pm, but we were determined to make the most of the night, so we lounged in the apartment with a couple bottles of French wine and dutifully made a solid plan for the next day... or so we thought. 

On my last full week interning in Belgium.

Sunday was a relaxing start to an insanely busy week. We had lunch with people from the church that we have been attending. After spending a bit of time downtown grabbing some beer and waffles, we headed back to Zaventem just in time for dinner. Our Sundays go by sooo fast. From what I can remember, all I did after that was go to the Bru House for a few hours to catch up on blogging. I am always a step behind.

This week was language school for the missionaries, which meant watching kids until 4:30 pm every day... thankfully with a lunch break in there. The first day, determined to make the most of the day, even though most of it had already been taken away from us, we headed to the Atomium. It is a gigantic structure that you can climb that was built for the 1958 World's Fair. We were determined to climb it, but had to rush because it closed at 6:00, and it was at least 30 minutes away. We dashed out the door, and, after a shaky ride on a very sketchy tram car or two, we arrived. It was 5:55 when we arrived and we still had a five minute walk to reach it, so we ran. We made it before 6:00! Only to find out that it closed at 5:30.

It was still worth the trip! (L-R) Bonnie, Rachel, Amy, Kelsey and I

You would think that something so popular would have a nice tram stop, but that was not the case. We found our way out of there though, after we went to a pharmacy and everyone in the store pitched in to give us directions. We were thankful to be out after such a long day, so we happily stayed in Brussels and had a wonderful meal out.

Tuesday night was my last night having a drink and blogging at the Bru House, and I didn't even know it. I just found out today that it was closing for a month for remodeling. I never got to say goodbye (I mean I walked by it forlornly today, but that's not the proper way to say goodbye to a bar).

This is the last drink that I took a picture of there. "Kwak"- so good... the presentation makes it taste even better. Well, this is my little tribute... Goodbye Bru House. No other bar seems good enough for my last week here, so I am just writing in bed... not even close to the same.

We had a nice intern meeting Tuesday night surrounding falafel and beer. If we have to have an intern meeting, then that is definitely the way to do it. Wednesday consisted of lots of Paris planning and booking, followed by a delicious dinner at the Japanese noodle place in Zaventem.

Why the picture? It was just that good.

Writing this on the way to PARIS.

Sometimes, after I plan something and it goes really well, I think that I should be a travel agent. And then part of my plan goes horribly wrong and I rethink pursuing that profession. I am currently writing this on a megabus, destination: Paris. It wasn't an easy journey ending up in this seat. I thought that I had planned exceptionally well for this trip. When we had gone to Amsterdam, I had forgotten to save directions to the hostel, so we had to go to Starbucks when we got there so that I could figure out directions. I was certain that I could make things go smoothly this time around. I stayed up late saving directions to everywhere that we had to go for the next 24 hours. I shouldn't have bothered.

One thing that I haven't shared with my roommates yet is that when people give me directions, it never makes sense to me. I have gotten OK at reading maps... but visualizing a map when someone is telling me where to go... just doesn't work in the slightest. To be safe, I asked for directions from the international ticket booth just in case my map was wrong. Well, it turns out my map was wrong. I repeated the directions to my travel mates, but to no avail. We found no megabus station. I went back to the station and asked for the directions again. They still made absolutely no sense to me (even thought they were, "Make a right and then take your second right." That should have been a piece of cake, right? Not for me.). After the four other interns were convinced that we weren't going to make it (that thought hadn't crossed my mind... apparently I have a lot more faith in myself than they do), Mallory and I finally found a lot of buses that looked like they could be megabuses. 

In the directions that the lady at the train station had given us, she had said that we won't know if we are there or not. I kept asking for landmarks that would help us know that we were at the right spot, but she said that there was no sign, no station, no way to know. We were doomed for failure from the get-go. But after 30 minutes of searching, when it was probably about two minutes away, we found it.  If that had been Julia and I, I would've been a lot less stressed out about finding it... but knowing that I am our best chance of finding things... puts a lot of pressure on me. Thank God I work well under pressure. Maybe that's why I am doing so much better this trip with not getting lost. The fact that I, myself, am my only hope. It adds that sense of urgency that I never had traveling with older siblings.

Another reason to travel by yourself: you'll find out you're capable of things that you weren't aware of... simply because you're doomed if you don't find a way to be capable of these things.

In Bruges.

Venice of the North they say? Well, "they" are right. This city lived up to what people say about it. Each side street was beautiful and unique in its own way. The gables of each building and the way the reflections hit the canal combined into a beautiful serenity as we strolled along the bridges and canal. 

Not only that, but the ride into Bruges, with a beautiful layer of snow on the ground, was enough to keep our attention, even as yet another train conductor tried to scheme 60 euros out of us. We got him down to 3 euros. Every Belgian train conductor seems to have a different story about Belgian train law... I am now under the impression that it is all bs. 

We headed straight for the bell tower and climbed it for the best view I have seen since I have been here.

Unbeatable.

After the climb down, we ran into our friends, the Sweets and Kelsey. We made not-to0-precise plans to meet up later at some point, since Bruges is so small (clearly - we had already run into each other once!) Bonnie, Mallory and I then headed to The Church of Our Lady to see Michelangelo's sculpture of the Madonna and Child. The only part of the church that we had to pay for was the one corridor where the sculpture was held. This was the sculpture that Michelangelo worked on whenever he felt like he needed a break from working on The David. It was cool... a bit underwhelming after seeing his best work in Florence.

Mallory and I then made our way to De Halve Maan brewery for a much awaited tour. Everyone that I have talked to about  Bruges has mentioned this brewery and raved about the tour that they offer... They failed to mention that the tours fill up very fast. Mallory and had been under the impression that this brewery was one of those little unknown places, that a few people I knew had just happened to find. We were wrong. It is apparently a big deal and the 4 o'clock tour was full... This was a problem seeing as we were meeting up with Bonnie at 5:30. We headed across the street to a bar to devise a plan.

After about ten minutes of brainstorming, we came to the conclusion that Bonnie would be OK if we were 15 minutes late. We would just run over to meet her after the tour and we would be golden. I ran to tell the brewery that we would be there for the 5 o'clock... they had sold out. So, we enjoyed our beer and each other's company... we were in Bruges. No matter how much things don't go according to plan when you're traveling, it can only affect you so much. The best experiences are those that are unplanned. 

We grabbed some beer from the brewery and a waffle and strolled back to the square. We met up with Bonnie without any issues. She informed me that she ran into the Sweets (of course... Bruges is so small), and that they would meet me at the statue at 6:30pm. Perfect plan. Right while she was telling me this, I looked up because I heard my name and they were on the third floor of the castle in the square. I waved and then left to show Bonnie and Mallory how to get to the bus stop.

I came back to wait in the square for twenty minutes for the Sweets... they never showed... or so I thought. Apparently they came straight down from the castle after they saw me and searched through the square for me. I came back as they were searching the square for me... and began walking around looking for them. Bruges is not as small as we had thought. I never found them. But, I got some pretty incredible people-watching under my belt in the square... and some great pictures.

I then got a taste of what it will be like when I am traveling (starting next week!) by myself. I was starting to think that I wanted to get a beer somewhere near the square (at this point quite certain I was going at it alone for the rest of the evening). As I peered through one of the windows, I noticed that there was a lady sitting there drinking wine and reading a book. I thought... perfect! that can be me too! Nope. I walked in, happily noticing that there were many open spots... but was told that they could not serve me. I think that they had filled their "drinking alone" quota for the evening. 

It was just as well. I ended up exploring every street off of the square. I am much more adventurous when I am by myself because I don't have to stress about leading people astray. I put away my map and just wandered. It was wonderful. Which brings me back to this city being the "Venice of the North." The more I think about it, it really does make sense because that is exactly what you do in Venice... just wander! 

I tried to use my sense of direction to figure out which way the train station was (we had taken the bus in, so I hadn't made the trip walking at this point). I had been walking down one of the streets when I suddenly realized that the beer I had purchased at the brewery was back in the square. I booked it back to the square, certain that someone had snatched it, but no. There it was. I couldn't help but grin as I approached my big purchase of the day.

At this point I realized that I shouldn't really push my luck. I hopped on the next bus that came through and headed to the train. I ended up having to pay a fine on the way home too... these Belgian conductors are so predictably, annoyingly nice each time they describe to me their version of how the train system works. It's like the train is their little kingdom and some of them fall into dictatorship, while others remain a democracy. Some tax people just for being there... ah, enough of that confusing analogy. Bruges is awesome. Go! Explore.

On Antwerp.

I heard mixed reviews about Antwerp before we went, so I was not expecting much. It is an understatement to say that it blew us all away. Granted, we all know that it is because we went in with such low expectations... it's amazing what perspective can do to an experience. 

Expecting only a shopping and diamond district, we were blown away when the Rick Steves' walk led us to the most beautiful square. It had a historic church with a 400 foot "gothic rocket" as the spire, but even more than that, the square was filled with the most uniquely shaped buildings with just the right amount of light shining through. Suffice it to say, we went at the right time of day.

The journey to and through Antwerp was enjoyed with a lovely family that has become very special to my roommates and I. Ben and Julie, who are headed to Japan after Belgium, were the perfect family to travel with. They have the same trust and admiration for Rick Steves that I do. Not only do we both have his book for Belgium, but we read around from his book in a circle as we huddled in a grocery store to get warm. I didn't think that I could be happier until Ben made a toast to him at dinner that night. 

OK. So, you are starting to think I'm crazy because I think this guy I never met is so awesome. Just think though... because of him, I have followed my sister on several tours through countries and led (this time around) many people through some beautiful cities because he has comprehensive maps and great suggestions on what to do and where to eat. So yes, my day was made because Ben, Julie and I proudly toasted the man that made all of this possible.

Oh yes, we also got some melt-in-your-mouth waffles as we walked along the beautiful streets of Antwerp.

As the sun was setting, we headed to the water because Amy was dying to see some water... or something like that. To our surprise there was a beautiful castle that we happened upon as we headed to the bridge for a good look of the Scheldt River. Ben and I, both confused, looked frantically through our guidebooks to see if this was actually a castle or not, and as we both found at the same time, the walking tour pointed out that it was indeed "old castle." Rick said nothing else about it, so that is still all we know about it, but we got some pretty great pictures there!

Maybe it was the company, maybe it was the sights... Ok, clearly it was both. But Antwerp really took our breath away.

Pictures of the square that we loved and ended up having dinner on. Ben and I went out into the square during dinner to capture the beauty of the square at night!

As you can see, the "gothic rocket" is truly impressive... the 400 foot spire basically disappears into the clouds. We also went into this church to see three of Rubens' paintings... and of course to see the beautiful interior of the church. I can't even tell you how many European churches I have been into... 30? At least? But they never cease to leave me speechless. The confusing history and triumph that each church has gone through to be able to have visitors is astounding and just doesn't really make sense. Stories of bombs hitting everything surrounding a church, but missing the church itself are truly awe-inspiring.

Well, what can I say... I was going to recount many more tales from the day, but pictures speak a thousand words. You can now see why a trip should be planned for this city.