Tomorrow- Venice!

Tomorrow afternoon I will be leaving for Venice! We will be flying into Cologne Airport, then traveling by train through Venice, where we will then go by boat to our Hotel on the island of Lido. Lido (we are told) is only about a 15-20 minute boat ride to the city of Venice, and I believe our hotel is located directly on the beach.

While in Venice, we will be spending our days exploring the many museums and churches around the city, focusing primarily on Renaissance, Gothic, and Romanesque architecture and art. The lectures should be very interesting and unlike the average tour guide's presentation, as my Art History professor, Dulcia, has her master's in Venetian architecture, and has already provided us with detailed framework for what we can expect. We will also partake in a day excursion to the small city of Padua. So overall, we will be in Italy from May 31st-June 6th.

Once June 6th arrives, we are able to travel anywhere we desire, as long as we're back in the Netherlands by the evening of the 10th. My friends and I just finished booking the remainder of our plans, and are plans consist of two days in Interlocken, Switzerland, and then the weekend in Paris, France. While in Interlocken, we'll be staying at a hostel that is located right in the Alps, and offers many activities such as sky diving, hangliding, swimming, cliff jumping, and more. While some of my friends are already set on sky diving...I'm not sure if I'll have the courage to join them, I'm not so great with heights and flying. But who knows! Then for Paris, we have a hostel that is a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower, and seems to be pretty great in terms of location, security, and comfort. I've already been to Paris when I was about 12 or 13, and I just remember how beautifully romantic and breathtaking it was, so I'm very anxious to return.

We're going to be relying quite heavily on the train to take us through all the different locations and ensure our safe arrival back at the Castle, and if we do our best to stick to our schedule, all should go smoothly. Overall, the next few weeks will surely be BUSY, but will also be insanely memorable, exciting, and unlike anything I've experienced before. :)

A Weekend in Bruges

I just returned from my excursion to Antwerpe and Bruges! I had such a great time, both cities were unlike anyplace I've ever seen before. The architecture, people, food-- EVERYTHING, simply amazing. Bruges is only about 3 1/2 hours by train from Well, so we left on Thursday morning to get a head start and ensure that we'd have as much time as possible in both locations. We only stayed in Antwerpe for a couple of hours, and went to the Museum of Fine Arts, then explore the city for a short while before catching our train to Bruges. I didn't know much about Antwerpe prior to arriving, so I didn't have a set picture already in my mind or know what to expect. I'm glad it worked out that way because I definitely felt I was able to appreciate being there in a totally fresh, overwhelming way. The city was a mix between the oldest, most elaborate buildings and churces, blended completely with American consumerism and fast food. Literally every 2 blocks another MacDonald's would pop up. That was sort of unfortunate, because it was that very mentality and those places I wanted to escape.

After Antwerpe, it was about another hour or so to Bruges. There are still so many places I will be visiting while abroad, but I have a feeling that Bruges will definitely remain as one of my favorites. The antiquity and beauty was completely overwhelming. The canals, the cobble-stone streets, the chocolate...just unbelievable. We kepy very busy during the days, as we toured the city, took a boat ride through the city's canals, studied in 12th century Churches, and analyzed the works of some of the most amazing Medieval artists in a variety of museums. At night, we enjoyed ourselves and went out as a group to some of the restuarants/bars that James had recommended. There was one in particular-- Cafe Pick-- and prior to going, James told me the names of a few waiters he had become friends with. So, I took a longshot and asked around, and eventually found them; James left quite an impression, they even had a photo of him hanging up in one of the back rooms.

There is so much more to be said about beautiful Bruge, but a lot of it is just too overwhelming to describe; it's hard to give a city like this one justice through words. I'm going to try and put some pictures up tonight or in the morning, so definitely take a look!

Tomorrow we have our first day off, so I'm estatic to finally catch up on sleep and relax. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!!

**more photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jillianhorn