Go, Go, Go!

What a busy 3 weeks this has been! I've been a little behind on the blog, but school work calls. As my roomie Devi said yesterday I really don't like the study part of study abroad, but I guess I had to  take a break from the trips at some point...

So week before last was fall break and my mom and grandmother came to visit me! I was so glad to have a little piece of home in Brussels for a little while! I absolutely love it here, but I would be lying if I said I don't miss my friends and family at home like crazy!

My mom and grandmother's plane arrived at 7:30 Sunday morning, so I picked them up at the airport and we hopped straight on a train and headed to Cologne, Germany. Needless to say, after 9 hours of flying and an hour and a half on the train, they were more than a little out of it by the time we got to Germany.

I really didn't know much about Cologne other than that I'd heard it was an absolutely beautiful city, so I was very excited to see what all was there. When we arrived my grandmother decided to take a nap at the hotel and my mom and I went out to explore the city. Amazingly, my mom still remembered a little German from when she lived there a long time ago, which proved to be very helpful in getting around.  While we were out we saw the Dom Cathedral and decided we would go back the next day to check out the inside, and instead opted on sitting at a cafe for a little while and then going back to get my grandmother at the hotel for dinner. My mom was determined to find authentic German food that night, and that is exactly what we did. Saturday night was schnitzel for all and it was absolutely delicious!

They're here!

Monday was All Saints Day, which is a big holiday in Europe so of course most of the shops were closed. We spent most of the day wandering the city and we toured to Dom. Such a beautiful cathedral and it's absolutely gigantic! 

German lederhosen in Germany!

Tuesday morning we hopped on the train early for our ride to Paris! As soon as we got there my mom and I knew we had to head to Montmartre! It's our favorite place in Paris, and since my grandmother had never been before, We were very anxious to show her the beautiful mountain that is Montmartre! We stayed there for a few hours, walked around, and had dinner and then we began our decent back down the hill....

Wednesday was our busy day. We had to fit all the sites of Paris into one day. First stop was the Champs Elysee and Arc de Triomphe. We walked all the way down the Champs Elysee and decided we would just walk over to the Eiffel tower. After the Eiffel tower we made a quick stop by the Louvre just to see the outside and then headed over to Notre Dame. When I was in Paris a couple months ago, the line to get into Notre Dame was ridiculous and I had been inside before so we skipped it, but this time it was night so there weren't many people there at all except for the people attending Mass. I had forgotten how absolutely stunning that cathedral is. The stained glass really is immaculate. After Notre Dame, my mom and I were on a mission for escargot so we found a place to eat and had dinner then went back to the hotel for the night.

Thursday we returned to Brussels. My mom and grandmother got to meet Carmen and Jose Thursday night so that was fun for everyone and then I had mussels for the first time in Brussels. I still can't believe I managed to live her for a full 3 months before ever having mussels. (FYI, mussels and frites are pretty much the national dish of Belgium... and waffles too of course!)

Friday, I toured my mom and grandmother around downtown and showed them all of the tourist sites (the grand place, mannekin pis, etc.) and we pretty much hung out there all day. It's weird how accustomed I've become to seeing things like the Grand Place all the time. I loved getting to see their expression after seeing the Grand Place for the first time. It really is gorgeous.

Saturday, we went to Bruges! I'd been to Bruges before but it was on a bus tour and I was only there for a few hours so I didn't get to really see the city, but it is such a cool little town. It was a medieval fortress, and most of the old buildings and gates are still standing, along with the canal that flows through the city. There really isn't anything else like Bruges.

Sunday, was back in Brussels. My mom and I got up and went to Mass Sunday morning and then I took her to some of the antique markets. We met up with my grandmother later and I showed them my school, the palace, and a few other parts of the town.

Then Monday, they had to leave... I was quite sad to see them go, but I'll be home in 3 weeks! I still can't believe how fast this semester has flown by. I love love love Brussels, but it will be nice to be home.  I turn in my last assignments this week, and after that all that's left is finals, but DJ will be here tomorrow so of course I'm incredibly excited about that. We're going to Amsterdam on Friday and just hanging out in Brussels for the week. I'm going to get better about blogging my last couple of weeks here, and I'll update again after he leaves.