This past weekend, after returning from London, we still had a weekend jam packed with things to do. We got back Thursday, and I went with some people out to one of the pubs called The Highlander which is a pub that a lot of the international students went to. It was fun, and I definitely see that as a hang out spot in the future. Friday and Saturday were full of orientation things of sort. We got a practical walking tour of the city which was nice, but I was so turned around that I still think I'm going to be lost trying to make my way around the city. It's not a huge city, so it's easy to walk places, but everyone also rides their bikes everywhere in the city! It's so different from the States where everyone drives everywhere, so very interesting indeed!
Saturday was still considered an orientation day, but we ended up doing little excursions. We visited a World War II memorial and cemetery that they had outside the city which was very interesting. As it happens, the Battle of the Bulge only happened about twenty to thirty minutes outside Maastricht, not to mention other battles and many other soldiers were killed throughout the Netherlands as the Allies pushed to advance into Germany towards the end of the war.
Afterward, we went to the city of Valkenburg which was a cute city in itself. They gave us a walking tour of the city which was hard to put up with because our tour guide was very soft spoken, so many of us couldn't hear him. Then, we went to see the catacombs they have there that were replicated of the ones in Rome, so that was pretty cool. At one point they let us blow out our candles and try to walk through in the dark. It was miserable, and people were screaming. It was really, really dark to say the least. It was very neat to see. Then, we took the bus back and got dinner. Later, a bunch of us went to the Highlander. Some other students (they were Canadian, I think?) came as well. It was really fun. They play a bunch of American music which was nice, and it was fun for all of us to go out since classes start tomorrow! I know, can you believe I'm just now starting class? Today, I'm going to finally get some of my readings for class finished and then maybe walk around the town and try to gather my bearings.
Plans for the coming weekend? Cologne and Berlin. Get excited. :)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
London, Stonehendge, & Bath
London. Where to begin? I absolutely fell in love with the city. Everything about it from the architecture to the history and to the people themselves. I didn't even mind the drizzle and cloudy skies that hung around most of our trip.
We spent about 5 days in London, so when we got there Sunday afternoon, we had a free day to go around the city, grab a bite to eat or whatnot. After checking into our hotel (which was the Hilton and super nice! Thank you Baylor!), we got dinner. Then, we walked around, taking pictures of some of the big sites around London such as Big Ben, the London Eye, and House of Parliament. One of the coolest things we got to do that evening, being a Sunday evening, was attend a church service at Westminster Abbey. We had gone to take pictures and arrived right when people were going into the service! It was very cool, not to mention we got to see where people such as Sir Isaac Newton, Darwin and Winston Churchill were buried! The rest of the evening was a lot of walking around but fun because we got to see so much of London! Not to mention we got to practice using the London transportation system aka the Underground and the double decker red buses!
The next day, we woke up to find the most wonderful breakfast provided by the Hilton (I seriously couldn't get over my fabulous breakfast options). It was an early morning, but it was good since we started with a tour of London. Thankfully it was a bus tour (so I got to do some sitting) because we were all pretty exhausted.
It was very interesting, and we had an awesome tour guide, Carolyn. She was really knowledgeable, of course, but she also told us so many interesting stories as we traveled. We got to get out and stretch our legs and walk about to different sites such as the Buckingham Palace and St. Paul's Cathedral. Everything was so gorgeous and interesting. The architecture never ceased to amaze me. All the buildings had such an old yet beautiful feel to them.
That night we got to go and see a musical with our entire group as well called Billy Elliot. It was definitely an interesting musical to say the least, but it was very much fun! Afterwards, some of us went to a pub, but we were all surprised to find out they all closed at midnight in London! We ended up walking around a lot (a little lost), but it was still fun just to see the city.
The next day was wonderful as well but in a different way! We took a trip out of London beginning with Stonehenge, led by Carolyn once again. It was frightfully cold outside that morning, but the sun did appear while we were there! I'm glad I got to see it because it's pretty amazing to see one of the first ruins made of stone by the people of what would later be England. After that, we all clambered back on the bus and headed to Bath.
Bath was a completely different city, and I'm so glad we went because it was a totally new atmosphere from what we got in London. It was much more quaint, full of people traveling from other countries or just other parts of England. When we arrived we had time to grab lunch before meeting up with our tour of the baths. My friend and I found a little teashop cafe that was so cute. We ordered tea and got a bite before heading for our first tour. If you didn't know (because I didn't) Bath was famous because it had hot springs that used to be thought to have certain healing powers. People would actually drink the sulfurous water which I thought was nasty, but hey, to each their own! The tour was pretty neat since we got to see the baths that they still had intact. It was cold out (of course), so the steam coming off the water looked really cool as well!
Afterward, we had time to walk around the shops. Other people went and got hot chocolate too. We ended the tour with a visit to the abbey there which had been destroyed and rebuilt which was very neat. The inside was really beautiful with ceilings that fanned. Then we headed back to London which was close to a three hour drive thanks to traffic (I can barely believe our bus was able to maneuver through the narrow streets!)
I know, I know, this blog post is ridiculously long. For that, I apologize. I only have one more day to discuss, and it was our free day. Wednesday we had no itinerary, but I got up around 8 and had breakfast (yum). Then, a small group of us went to the British museum and Oxford Street. We got to see the mummies and go around a bunch of shops. Then, on a little bit of a whim, we decided to buy half price tickets for a musical that evening. We'd heard some people were going to see Wicked, and we decided on Phantom of the Opera. I'd seen the movie, but the musical was so amazing! I loved the music, and the overall performance was wonderful!Afterward, we ate at a lovely dessert place that was very yummy. Strawberry tart, anyone?
A bunch of us ended the night, going out on the town. It was very fun with dancing and such. We headed back, knowing the next day, we'd have to get ready to leave the fabulous London.
Besides packing, a friend and I went out to breakfast (we slept in, so we missed the one offered by the Hilton which ended by 8:30). It had been at this cute little cafe owned by these Portuguese people. It was delicious! We'd gone there for lunch the previous day, so we decided to hit it up for coffee and breakfast. It was tiny but so nice. They kept playing Portuguese music though, and it was pretty entertaining.Plus, my omlet was so yummy.
So now, I'm pack in Maastricht. There may or may not be karaoke tonight. Haha. It's nice to be back, but I'm missing London already. I don't think I expected to love it as much as I did. It's definitely a place I want to go back to someday. It was absolutely [bloody] brilliant, as the British would say it! (Trust me. There was lots of practicing when it came to my 'British' accent).
We spent about 5 days in London, so when we got there Sunday afternoon, we had a free day to go around the city, grab a bite to eat or whatnot. After checking into our hotel (which was the Hilton and super nice! Thank you Baylor!), we got dinner. Then, we walked around, taking pictures of some of the big sites around London such as Big Ben, the London Eye, and House of Parliament. One of the coolest things we got to do that evening, being a Sunday evening, was attend a church service at Westminster Abbey. We had gone to take pictures and arrived right when people were going into the service! It was very cool, not to mention we got to see where people such as Sir Isaac Newton, Darwin and Winston Churchill were buried! The rest of the evening was a lot of walking around but fun because we got to see so much of London! Not to mention we got to practice using the London transportation system aka the Underground and the double decker red buses!The next day, we woke up to find the most wonderful breakfast provided by the Hilton (I seriously couldn't get over my fabulous breakfast options). It was an early morning, but it was good since we started with a tour of London. Thankfully it was a bus tour (so I got to do some sitting) because we were all pretty exhausted.
That night we got to go and see a musical with our entire group as well called Billy Elliot. It was definitely an interesting musical to say the least, but it was very much fun! Afterwards, some of us went to a pub, but we were all surprised to find out they all closed at midnight in London! We ended up walking around a lot (a little lost), but it was still fun just to see the city.
Bath was a completely different city, and I'm so glad we went because it was a totally new atmosphere from what we got in London. It was much more quaint, full of people traveling from other countries or just other parts of England. When we arrived we had time to grab lunch before meeting up with our tour of the baths. My friend and I found a little teashop cafe that was so cute. We ordered tea and got a bite before heading for our first tour. If you didn't know (because I didn't) Bath was famous because it had hot springs that used to be thought to have certain healing powers. People would actually drink the sulfurous water which I thought was nasty, but hey, to each their own! The tour was pretty neat since we got to see the baths that they still had intact. It was cold out (of course), so the steam coming off the water looked really cool as well!
Afterward, we had time to walk around the shops. Other people went and got hot chocolate too. We ended the tour with a visit to the abbey there which had been destroyed and rebuilt which was very neat. The inside was really beautiful with ceilings that fanned. Then we headed back to London which was close to a three hour drive thanks to traffic (I can barely believe our bus was able to maneuver through the narrow streets!)
I know, I know, this blog post is ridiculously long. For that, I apologize. I only have one more day to discuss, and it was our free day. Wednesday we had no itinerary, but I got up around 8 and had breakfast (yum). Then, a small group of us went to the British museum and Oxford Street. We got to see the mummies and go around a bunch of shops. Then, on a little bit of a whim, we decided to buy half price tickets for a musical that evening. We'd heard some people were going to see Wicked, and we decided on Phantom of the Opera. I'd seen the movie, but the musical was so amazing! I loved the music, and the overall performance was wonderful!Afterward, we ate at a lovely dessert place that was very yummy. Strawberry tart, anyone?A bunch of us ended the night, going out on the town. It was very fun with dancing and such. We headed back, knowing the next day, we'd have to get ready to leave the fabulous London.
Besides packing, a friend and I went out to breakfast (we slept in, so we missed the one offered by the Hilton which ended by 8:30). It had been at this cute little cafe owned by these Portuguese people. It was delicious! We'd gone there for lunch the previous day, so we decided to hit it up for coffee and breakfast. It was tiny but so nice. They kept playing Portuguese music though, and it was pretty entertaining.Plus, my omlet was so yummy.
So now, I'm pack in Maastricht. There may or may not be karaoke tonight. Haha. It's nice to be back, but I'm missing London already. I don't think I expected to love it as much as I did. It's definitely a place I want to go back to someday. It was absolutely [bloody] brilliant, as the British would say it! (Trust me. There was lots of practicing when it came to my 'British' accent).
Saturday, January 22, 2011
My Arrival in the Netherlands!
Can you believe it? I've arrived!!!
I am in Maastricht...for the night. Let me recap: I arrived into Amsterdam at approximately 8:00am (1a.m. central time for you folks back home). We, eventually, made our way to Maastricht from there via bus. It was exhausting considering that I didn't get a wink of sleep on the plane.
So after a few hours traveling from northern Netherlands to the southern tip, we were left us with this afternoon. As we arrived, we brought our things up to our assigned rooms, and then got a little tour of the Maastricht area (which is so quaint and adorable by the way). They showed us where we could buy food, clothes, or any other necessities that may strike our fancy. By the time we got back, I was ready to crash. Instead, I unpacked and then we all headed to dinner. Now we're back, packing for our four/five day trip to London! (It's three whole days and two halves). I am very excited!!! We will get a tour of London in addition to seeing Stonehenge and Bath! I think we will also be seeing a musical. It's our group trip which means all 45 of us will be trekking up to Europe.
No worries. Next time, I promise...there will be pictures. Until next week! Yours truly, Bianca :)
Fun fact...I am having an enormous amount of fun trying to decipher Dutch words!!!
I am in Maastricht...for the night. Let me recap: I arrived into Amsterdam at approximately 8:00am (1a.m. central time for you folks back home). We, eventually, made our way to Maastricht from there via bus. It was exhausting considering that I didn't get a wink of sleep on the plane.
So after a few hours traveling from northern Netherlands to the southern tip, we were left us with this afternoon. As we arrived, we brought our things up to our assigned rooms, and then got a little tour of the Maastricht area (which is so quaint and adorable by the way). They showed us where we could buy food, clothes, or any other necessities that may strike our fancy. By the time we got back, I was ready to crash. Instead, I unpacked and then we all headed to dinner. Now we're back, packing for our four/five day trip to London! (It's three whole days and two halves). I am very excited!!! We will get a tour of London in addition to seeing Stonehenge and Bath! I think we will also be seeing a musical. It's our group trip which means all 45 of us will be trekking up to Europe.
No worries. Next time, I promise...there will be pictures. Until next week! Yours truly, Bianca :)
Fun fact...I am having an enormous amount of fun trying to decipher Dutch words!!!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Hallo Holland
Here it is. Today is the day. I've packed my suitcase and checked it twice. I'm charging my camera and getting ready to head to the airport. Where to begin? My itinerary today begins with Dallas. I'm flying from Dallas to Houston. Then in Houston, the entire group will meet up to board our 3:40 flight to Amsterdam which is supposed to last us a good 10 hours, I think (no worries, I've brought a few a books and there may or may not be sleeping). Anyway, I'm so, so excited! I feel like this trip has been one that I've been looking forward to for ages, and I'm so happy it's finally here!
I am very blessed to have such an opportunity, and I'm so very thankful for it. I will, of course, miss all my friends and family but not to worry, I will post many, many pictures (I'm giving everyone permission to stalk my Facebook. Haha). So, with that said, I think I'll leave this blog be until I'm actually abroad. I look forward to updating this with whatever nonsense I get into (the good kind, of course). Farewell and until...tomorrow, probably :) .
I am very blessed to have such an opportunity, and I'm so very thankful for it. I will, of course, miss all my friends and family but not to worry, I will post many, many pictures (I'm giving everyone permission to stalk my Facebook. Haha). So, with that said, I think I'll leave this blog be until I'm actually abroad. I look forward to updating this with whatever nonsense I get into (the good kind, of course). Farewell and until...tomorrow, probably :) .
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