Ibis Centre Antwerp

... wind dies down, honestly! We have six hours to wait in Heathrow, where we will buy stuff that's either cheaper or more familiar than stuff in Brussels, we will eat something (farewell weight watchers, knew my trousers wouldn't be baggy for long..), probably take the mickey out of English travellers in their football shirts and sit in the lounge and write on the blog.<br><br>Very excited about going to Thailand!!

I took the 9 hour journey from Jena to Antwerp via Weimar, Frankfurt, Cologne and Brussels...finally arriving at 6 in hte evening a the gorgeous Antwerp train statin...I just had time to take a taxi to the docks where the ship was waiting..but as we drove throught the streets of Antwerp I was aware that there is a wonderful city waiting for me to explore, but will have to wait for another. The taxi triver was allowed to drop be right up to the side ...

... again....this time Madrid. It was cold and rainy when I arrived and once the rain stopped I made my way to the Metro and after 3 different train transfers I found my way to my hotel. It took an hour or more to get there. After settling in I went and grabbed some MacDonalds and then fell asleep early. Tomorrow I discover Madrid!

... other exhibits, but more striking. Society is so inundated with violent images that people become desensitized to them. But show images of children suffering ... and it's a completely different story. Some facilities only had hot water for one hour, twice per week. The tubs would have 5-7 people jammed into them at a time, and sometimes not all could even fit inside at once. There were also the "incurables" - those born with congenital defects ...

... others in the class were so fascinated by it, with their noses pressed up against the class windows looking like true tourists! Once we arrive in Antwerp we had full day ahead of us. Today was especially important for me as this trip was the trip that I did my student presentation on Flemish Renaissance painter Peter Paul Rubens. We had gorgeous weather do we walked from statue to statue stopping at a few museums. Worth mentioning ...

... over the world, quickly hurrying to whatever important destination bid them travel that way. I walked around, it's a bustling city, big and and busy and really hectic and...some cool stuff too. It was really clean ,which is a plus, everyone was nice. Did I mention the train station was absolutely huge and exquisite? Yeah, that's essentially my experience in Bruxelles. Ate chocolate, waited for my train, walked around. the end =P

... getting back into the swing of things, I forget that its not all easy navigating yourself and using public transportation, its different in every country - every city rather - and trying to snap my French back into action isn't the smoothest task. Nonetheless I find myself on the right street and was heading to my hostel, where I will be reunited with Alvin and JP after a long separation! It was about 10 meters away I felt inside how ...

On the weekend we took our car and took a 2 hour road trip to Antwerp, Belguim. Antwerp is known for it's shopping, as well as it's museums. It was extremely busy with people shopping along the street promenades with chic boutiques and bigger department stores. We were focused on shopping again and determined to get ourselves some cute boots! Mom bought two beautiful pairs of leather boots and Alicia bought her fun cowboy boots. It was a great way to end our "shopping bonazana!"

... part of Belgium was the location of the northern part of the western front during World War I for four years and the southeastern part of Belgium (the Ardennes region) saw the last German offensive battle of World War II so there were many historical sites there that we explored as well. We also saw a couple of old forts and castles. Although organized around the breweries, drinking beer was not the goal of the trip. It was really about ...