Belgium: Land of Waffles, Beer, and JANE!

I had the past week off of school for Semana Santa (Holy Week), which is our spring break here in Spain. I was very luck to be able to visit Jane and her family in Belgium for 5 days! (Jane was an exchange student during my senior year of high school and it was great to be able to see her country!)

DAY 1: I arrived on Monday and Jane showed me around the capital of Europe, Brussels! We visited the touristic sites, of course, and got Belgian waffles to start the trip off right. I was able to see where Jane goes to school, a couple cathedrals, their city hall, and the King and Queen's palace (which they actually do not live in, it's more like a museum and they reside elsewhere). Next, we traveled to Leuven where Jane has an apartment with her sister during the school year. It is a beautiful city! To end day one we arrived in Genk to have dinner with Jane's family; they are so much fun, friendly, and made me feel very welcome in their home.

DAY 2: Tuesday I finally got to see a little bit of Genk, where Jane is from! We visited the center of the city and her mother's shop, Boutique Suomi. She carries fabulous clothing and it was so neat to be able to see the shop that Jane would always talk about in Minnesota. After that, we took a train to the historic town of Gent, Belgium. After visiting the cathedral and walking through the city a bit, we went to a popular bar for a couple Belgian beers. There, we met up with her cousin who was kind enough to let us stay with her for the night. It was a great night with good company and conversation.

DAY 3: Wednesday morning we finished walking through Gent; they have a really neat area where they allow graffiti art as well as a castle. After Gent we popped over to Antwerp, which is another gorgeous city! We ate traditional Belgian fries for lunch, got a panoramic view of the city, went to a chocolate bars for milkshakes, and did a little shopping.

DAY 4: Thursday we biked across town to an open-air museum called Bokrijk, which was super cool! Basically, you walk around to different buildings, barns, and homes which are set up just as they were a century ago. There are actors there as well who carry out traditional roles and are in character the entire time. Jane taught me how to walk on these stilt-type things that were a form of entertainment back in the day; she is so good at it! After lunch with her family we were off to Maastricht in the Netherlands to spend the night with her friends. It was a great time and I enjoyed meeting all of her friends who made me feel welcome.

DAY 5: My last day in Belgium came way too quickly, but we still had a great day! We went to downtown Genk again to buy some delicious Belgian chocolates and get ice cream. It's a good thing the chocolates are sealed for everyone at home, or I probably would have eaten half of them by now. After that we were off to the airport and had to say "see you soon!" again.

I had such a wonderful time in Belgium; it is a truly beautiful country rich with culture, history, and warm people. I cannot wait to go back! Thank you to Jane and her family for showing me Belgium and welcoming me into their home.

Next up: Finals Week. Yup. The dreaded time of year is upon us. I will be spending the next week, my last in Spain, trying to study and soak up my last few days in Alcalá. I am determined to make the most of each day, studying and all!

After my finals are complete on the 29th I will be rushing off to meet MY MOTHER in SWITZERLAND!

While I am pretty sure I could stay in Europe forever, I am looking forward to getting back to the USA!

See you all soon!
Victoria

April: Time Flies

It's hard to believe that in just about one month, I will be back in the USA. March absolutely flew by and I have yet to find a city in Spain that I do not love. Generally, each city in Spain has a "new" part and an "old" part, which leaves tons of history, culture, and food to explore everywhere I go. I did not travel much in March, but I have enjoyed spending time in Alcalá with my family getting more familiar with my host city.

Fridays are excursion days at school and I went along to visit Cuenca, which is about 2.5 hours outside of Madrid. There, we toured a cathedral, explored the city, and visited a modern art museum. Much of the art was inspired by history in Spain so the exhibits were very interesting. Cuenca is sometimes called the first "Manhattan" because of the tall building there. During the 15th and 16th century, many people inhabited Cuenca and because of it's location in the cliffs. "Hanging houses" are unique to Cuenca as well as the St. Paul Bridge. There are many hiking trails in the surrounding mountainous area and the city is surrounded by two rivers; so beautiful!

St. Paul Bridge

The last weekend in March my CIEE group had a trip to Valencia! Normally, Valencia has some of the best weather in Spain and I was looking forward to spending a little time on the beach and running around by the Mediterranean Sea. Unfortunately, we went on an "off" weekend and the sun barely came out at all. But, we made the best of it and still had a great time! We visited more cathedrals and learned about the importance of Valencia during the Spanish Civil War; the Republicans (against Franco) housed all of the works from the Prado (in Madrid) in Valencia during the war because Valencia was more stable than Madrid and at less risk of being taken by the Nationalists (Franco's side).

The weather didn't stop us from as least getting our toes wet. In my case, most of my jeans.

We also visited a museum of Las Fallas. More or less, each city in Spain has a town festival that has historical roots and in Valencia that is Las Fallas. Artists spend all year constructing giant sculptures made out of flammable materials. They are incredibly detailed and intricate. These sculptures, the fallas, the displayed throughout the city during March and are all burned on the same day. We were in Valencia the weekend after the festival had concluded, but it was impressive to see the museum. After the museum we made a quick trip to the sea before touring the "hippy" neighborhood of Valencia.

A falla. This is made out of all flammable material! 

Valencia is famous for their oranges and "Agua de Valencia"is a famous orange flavored wine-like cocktail. We also tried horchata (right), which is another famous beverage of Valencia. It has a thick consistency and the flavor reminded me of rice pudding. We enjoyed some buñuelos (left), which are a popular fried dessert in Valencia during Las Fallas. The paella valenciana is supposed to be the best in Spain and I would definitely agree! While a bit more spendy that your average paella, paella valenciana lives up to the hype.

Paella Valenciana

*Spanish travel tip: some restaurants serve you bread during your meal or while you are waiting for your food. This may or may not be included with the price of your entree. Be sure to ask before you grab a piece...it may end up costing you as much as 5€ for a small basket of bread! 

This is a saint's arm in a cathedral in Valencia. An arm!!

The weather here is absolutely amazing and we have bee enjoyed it by spending time outside! Last weekend Jess's (a girl in my program and one of my friends here) host father invited us over for homemade sangria and tapas. We spent the afternoon in their backyard drinking sangria and enjoying the beautiful day. I was also able to spend the night at Diana's house (another friend and girl in my program who is also from Madison) to watch the Badgers take on Kentucky in the Final Four! Even though we lost, it was worth staying until 5am to watch the game!

Badger pride all the way from Spain! 

Our homemade tapas! Thank you, Juan Carlos!

Semana Santa, or Holy Week, started yesterday and I am excited to be traveling to Brussels, Belgium on Monday to spend the week with Jane! Jane was a foreign exchange student at my high school my senior year and I am thrilled to finally get to go to her country!! Semana Santa in Spain is very religious and many families take vacations since the majority of the country does not have to work. There are many processions in nearly every city of Spain which include pasos (floats) that depict different scenes from the gospel related to The Passion of Christ. The men and women who carry these very heavy floats (yes, carry) are doing so as an act of penance and don robes and headdresses of many different colors. I am looking forward to attending a few processions and will be sure to post photos!

After Semana Santa we have one week of classes and two days of final exams the following week. After the conclusions of exams on the 29th I am off to Switzerland! I am meeting my mother in Geneva and from there we will travel to visit her host family in the mountains of Switzerland from when she worked abroad. After that I am meeting my best friend, Zach, in Interlacken. We will be traveling to Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, France, and back to Spain together. I am looking forward to traveling Europe, but right now I am focused on making the most out of my last few days in Spain!

xo,
Victoria