Rhineland, Germany & Ghent, Belgium

A bar in the town we stayed at

View of the hills of Rhineland from the cruise

The vineyard of Rhineland!

One of the many castles on the Rhine.

Morgan & I at dinner.


My amazing Belgium waffle.

The 12th century cathedral in Ghent



So this is very belated but here nonetheless...

For the May Bank Holiday in the U.K., one of my roommates Morgan and I decided to take a trip to Rhineland Germany.

We began our adventures by getting on a coach bus and traveling to the English coastal town of Dover. From there we jumped on a ferry to Calais, France. The ferry was very upscale with 4 restaurants, a play center for kids and a shop. For what was only an hour long trip, I couldn't help but think of how the Europeans thought Americans were extravagant!!

Following the ferry ride, the tour group got back on the bus and continued the drive to Germany. On the way, we stopped at a very small shack of a place for a bite to eat in Belgium. This was an experience that I will never forget as the employees didn't speak a lick of English. In fact, I still don't know what they spoke--our bus driver told us they speak Flemish and German in Belgium. Nobody on the bus could translate the menu. When everybody saw fries on the back, people pointed and ordered them. I think everybody on the tour bus ordered french fries because we had no idea what else to order. I had never experienced something like that and it is something that I will never take for granted again. The language barrier made me feel incredibly handicapped--however, it definitely made me a more humble person.

Finally we arrived in the land of the Rhine River which was something straight out of a post card or "The Sound of Music". With its green hills, winding river and Medieval castles, I knew it was going to be a great weekend. That night we had a dinner at the hotel as well as a 2-hour open bar filled with German wines and beer.

The next day, we woke up for a 2 hour cruise on the Rhine River. It was simply stunning--pictures and descriptions simply don't do it justice. Following that, we went to another town in Rhineland for a wine tasting. There, we tried 3 white wines in a building that was owned by the family for over 400 years. In between each tasting we ate a huge German pretzel in order to neutralize the taste and cleanse our palettes for the next wine. It was a great experience in which we also learned a ton about the different wines and what goes into making them.

The next day we left to go back to London. However, we were fortunate that the trip was not completely over as we stopped in the city of Ghent, Belgium for 3 hours on the way back. Morgan and I were determined to try Belgium waffles and were lucky to find a place that still had them available in the afternoon. Mine had a scoop of vanilla ice cream and Belgian hot fudge! It was mouth-watering to say the least. Ghent was an amazing, historical city with great, high-end shopping. Who knew Belgium rivaled the likes of London and Milan?!? Morgan and I also took a tour up a 14th century cathedral. We walked up a narrow, winding staircase to get to the top where we were able to get an awesome view of the city.

All in all, it was a great holiday weekend. I wasn't planning to visit Germany, but Rhineland was a beautiful place and a great way to get out of the hustle and bustle of London for a few days.

Pictures are above---as you probably figured out! : )

Much love from acros the Pond!

Rhineland, Germany!

This weekend is a Bank Holiday in the U.K. so one of my roommates and I will be traveling to Rhineland, Germany this weekend.  I can't wait to post pictures and tell of all my adventures!

Love!

The Past Few Days...

The past few days have been great, but a blur as I've been so busy.  We've done great things and the most memorable are:

-Using car directions (while walking) to find and get to the first gelato shop in London.  It was the best I've ever had and I can't wait to take my parents to it when they come to visit!

-Going to watch the football League Final of Manchester United and Chelsea in a packed pub in Chelsea.  It was an experience that I will never forget.  To see the emotions of football fans from extreme excitement and passion to the tears of bug, burly men was a sight in and of itself.  We met some great people, had good English beer and made memories to last a lifetime!  It was a great time with my roommates.

-Walking to Hyde Park which is right across our college.  We wandered around aimlessly--it was far too big to know where you were going.  I would love to go back soon with a blanket and a book and relax for a few hours. While there, we stumbled upon Kensington Palace--where Diana lived after her divorce with Prince Charles.

That's it for now--my roomie, Morgan, and I will be leaving for Rhineland, Germany bright and early Saturday morning!

Love from across the pond!

17 May 2008-19 May 2008

17 May 2008

Arrived in London!! The flight was fairly easy and I was able to sprawl across three seats and sleep. We were dropped off at our flats which are in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea---it is picturesque!! I have attached a picture I found from Google--but it is much better to see in person! It is one of the richest and nicest areas in all of London so we have been told to make sure to travel to the other boroughs. I live with 5 other girls in the top floor (5th) of the flat. It's quite a hike without an elevator..but good for our legs!! We have two bedrooms, a nice living room, a kitchen and a bathroom.

After that we went to a free fish and chips dinner. The fish was huge and it was the best fried fish I've had.

We took a 1 hour break and then went on a pub crawl around London. It was a great time. However, by the third bar I was starting to fall asleep so I walked home with some girls.

Needless to say, I fell asleep immediately after crawling into bed!

18 May 2008

We woke up bright an early for a coach bus tour around all of London for 4 1/2 hours. The tour was conducted by a bubbly and witty British woman by the name of Trudy. She was a riot and I learned some great English vocabulary! We stopped at the amazing St. Paul's Cathedral and saw the stunning Prince Albert statue. (I'll post pictures of them that I found on Google until I upload my own pictures) We also saw the changing of the guards and the queen's private priest walking down the cobblestone streets. Finally, they dropped everybody off at Piccadilly Circus and had us find our own way home on the tube. Before that though, we spent 4 hours there getting acquainted with the area---we walked a lot but it was amazing--very chic!

With my 5 roommates, we easily found our way home on the tube. That night we went to an Italian restaurant down the street and had a fun roommate dinner. I had pizza with artichokes, capers, tomatoes, mushrooms and peppers--it was inexpensive and very tasty!

19 May 2008

We had lots of orientations today as well as our first two classes--"British Life and Culture" and "International Reporting". In British Life & Culture, we have guest speakers and field trips around London. Im really excited for next week's field trip where we go to Stratford for a day and see Shakespeare's house and an evening performance of "Taming of the Shrew"

That's all for now--I hope to download pictures of my own soon!