Lugano Knokke-Heist

I slept really well last night at Johanna's place (yes, I promise to make entries -even if they're short- for past days/cities). Then this morning I took the bus under a light drizzle to the Ghent main train station. There I paid my 6.6 Euros for a round trip (weekend price) to Brugges (Brugge/Brujas), which I had heard so much about.

I had quite the positive attitude, even as the rain fell against my ...

Today I said goodbye to rainy, rainy Bruxelles, and took the half hour train (8 euros) to Gent/Ghent, where I met up with my first host ever, Johanna. She was the first couchsurfer to welcome me into her home back in 2007, after I had finished my year in South Korea, in Beijing.

- Before going to Ghent, I actually made a stop in the Musical Instruments Museum in Bruxelles ...

Today was a many miles day - around 500 in fact, or about 800km! We all met up in a carpark on the outskirts of Macon, then travelled in convoy north. As we were travelling such a long way today, we all decided to use the motorways, as despite being toll roads and meaning we'd see a bit less scenery, it was well worth it as we'd get to stop for longer on the way and get there earlier. The tolls were quite expensive compared to what I'm used to (it cost us about 21 Euros/NZ$42 for the ...

... two. We decided to try them both. They sure do like their mayonaise in Belgium, and they have a ton of different sauces that go with the fries... the one on the right is the better one.
The next day we went to possibly the worst museum ever... the French Fry museum. Yes, an entire museum dedicated to the harvesting and frying of the potato. So bad but pretty hilarious, and of course you get french ...

... the market and the shops and then went on a boat ride which was fantastic, after which we went to a tea-room which claimed to have the best hot chocolate in town, and it was really good! It was incredibly sickly though and gave both Erin and I a headache for the ride home!

Altogether a really fun day out in Bruges, truffles bought, Belgian food eaten and Belgian alcohol drunk, and Belgian chocolate drunk! This is another place where we will definitely be returning!!

... the streets towards the windmills. They have a gorgeous walkway and park all along the river with 2 huge windmills. They don’t seem functional but they are surrounded by white fences that have been twisted, the same way lace is, to create a fabulous design. Brugge is known for their lace and this seemed like a nice reminder. We enjoyed the scenery a little bit before making our way back to the campsite.

Next stop Brussels!

... for the day.Ghent is a nice place with an amazing central area full of churches and imposing buildings.Unfortunately the entire area was under construction so it didn't have the same effect.
Brussels was larger than the other cities, and we picked up a similar local map to visit thehidden gems on offer.
(Whitney)
Bruges is a really lovely city, enclosed by a river that runs around and through it which results in ...

Today was my first day of my junior year in college and my first day of classes in The Netherlands. I am taking The Development Encounter: Anthropological Perspective, and the class is just as confusing as the title sounds. There's going to be a lot of reading and a lot of presentation, but all I need is to pass it since I'm taking my classes pass/fail this semester. I guess that's not really a good outlook to have on a hard class, but it's definitely ...

... L'étendue bleue de la mer absorbe mes pensées et me remplit d'un si grand calme. Après une longue marche sur la plage, nous allons à un complexe intérieur de glissades d'eau et de piscines à vagues. Je devais bien avoir 12 ans la dernière fois que je suis allée aux glissades d'eau et je ne me rappelais pas que c'était aussi amusant. Nous glissons, nageons, jouons au ballon, sautons dans l'eau comme des enfants. Le soir, nous avons un ...

... it seems like weve been gone forever, strangely enough i am looking forward to coming home. before i left i figured that if want to stay a lot longer, but that is not the case. maybe its because everything is so expensive and id rather live at home for free, whatever. well, our four days in paris were awesome. we went up the eiffel tower ...