Learning experiences on top of learning experiences...

So yesterday I returned from my first trip that was planned completely by me and my friends, and the first thing I'd have to say is what an experience.  Looking back at the weekend it was definitely a good time but it was no walk in the park.  The plan for the weekend was go to Amsterdam from Friday to Sunday and then Belgium the rest of Sunday to Tuesday.  Marielle and I left for the airport late on Thursday and got into Barcelona around 7 pm.  We then had an 11 hour layover until our flight to Amsterdam, so being in Barcelona we naturally decided to go see some of the city.  We had originally planned to eat dinner and go to some bars, but since I was still getting over my cold and my tonsil had swollen to an uncomfortable size we decided to take it easy.  We ended up just having a nice Spanish dinner full of random tapas and walked around Barcelona a bit.  Then we headed back to the airport to try to get a couple ours of sleep before our flight to Amsterdam.  

Marielle at dinner

Streets of Barcelona

Amsterdam, Netherlands

When we walked out of the train station in Amsterdam, it took my breath away.  The city was so beautiful, and in a completely different way from Sevilla which was a really nice change.  Though it was overcast and colder, I found it refreshing and thought that it enhanced the overall feel I got from the city.  The architecture was so different, all the buildings were squished together and many came to a rounded point at the top.  My roommates told me that they learned all the buildings lean forward slightly and at the top of each building there is a hook.  The builders did this because the stairs were so narrow that it was next to impossible to move things to the top floors, so they'd use the hook to pull things up.  With the buildings leaning forward nothing would hit off them.  An interesting way to go about it, but as long as it works! 

Canals in Amsterdam

 

While I was in Amsterdam I met up with Kaelyn a friend from Allentown, Lori a friend from Umass and Long Island, and Katie a friend from Umass.  It was so awesome to see them, especially in Europe!! It's kind of unbelievable that we were able to organize a meeting.  But while I was in Amsterdam my tonsils infection reached a new level.  It had swollen up so large that it was blocking more than half of my esophagus and I could feel the pain moving down into my throat.  I have a bad habit of ignoring my illnesses, I recognize that they are there but I don't like to let being sick stop me from whatever I'm doing.  Usually I think that it will heal on it's own time and that all a doctor will do is tell me to drink water and sleep.  Unfortunately it got to such a bad point that I had issues eating, swallowing, speaking, and sleeping.  So the second morning in Amsterdam while waiting to go on a walking tour (which I was extremely excited for) I forced myself into a taxi and went to the hospital.  The worst part about the whole thing was that I was just so depressed about my situation, I was in an amazing city with some of my closest friends and I was completely incapacitated.  I ended up crying a lot, actually to every single person I encountered during my solo hospital visit.  Taxi drivers, receptionists, doctors, pharmacists, you name it, I was the crying American girl that day.  Luckily I got an antibiotic that quickly reduced the swelling and the pain.  Modern Medicine: 1 Arielle: 0

From the left: Me, Kaelyn, Lori, Katie, and Marielle

Needless to say my sickness put a huge damper on my time in Amsterdam.  After the hospital visit I was pretty determined to get better.  Overall my time in Amsterdam was spent mostly walking around, my hostel was close to the red light district which was a very interesting place to be.  I got to see some hookers in red lit windows at least! We also walked to Dam Square which is a main square in Amsterdam pictured above and below.  It really is unfortunate because the city is literally filled to the brim with things to do, so many amazing museums and places to visit.   I did manage to go to the Anne Frank house, which was the house that Anne, her family, and another family hid in during the holocaust.  We weren't allowed to take any pictures while inside the house, but it was really amazing to see.  Any Jewish kid growing up learns about Anne Frank and what she went through during that time, and just standing in her bedroom was so surreal.  The pictures she had put up on the walls to make her room seem nicer were still there.  I stood in her room and it felt weird, just knowing this girls story and everything she must have thought about and gone through.  While getting on the bus to head to Brussels I thought about two things: 1. I absolutely have to make it back to Amsterdam and 2. When I get back to the states I'm getting my tonsils removed. 

Brussels, Belgium

I loved Brussels!! I was feeling well enough Monday in Brussels that I was able to do everything I wanted to, except drink Belgium beer.  I felt that I had to keep my body as healthy as possible.  Since things in Amsterdam got so hectic we decided to strategically plan out the full day we had in Brussels.  We started the day off right with a recommended visit to a delicious place to get Belgium waffles!! Obviously they were amazing and we were so excited to be eating this food in it's place of origin :)

After breakfast we went to the Cathedral of Brussels, it was beautiful.  Obviously by now I've been in a lot of churches, and this one was probably my favorite.  They had a lot of beautiful statues lining the walls and interesting carvings.  Also there seemed to be an ocean theme which is something I'm not used to seeing in churches.  But by far the best part about this cathedral was that it was absolutely filled with stunning stain glass windows, stain glass is my favorite.

Outside the Cathedral

Inside 

So pretty!

We spent some time wandering and enjoying the streets as we went from destination to destination. Here we are outside of the library where we went to get a coffee and see a great view of the city.  There was a nice view from outside it as well :)

Marielle, Me, and Belinda 

Keliana is obsessed with chocolate, so being in a place known for its chocolate was very exciting for her.  Here she is in a nice chocolate store complete with a chocolate showcase. 

Cool mustache man statue

Waffles everywhere!

I don't know if any of you know anything about Brussels but it is known for its magnificent statue of a boy peeing.  Well here he is! We had heard that it was going to be small, but damn this statue was just on some random street corner. I guess that the people of Brussels still think that it's awesome cause figurines of this guy can be found in any Brussels tourist shop.  Apparently it is supposed to represent the independent spirit of the people in Brussels.  Yay Manneken Pis! (it's proper name)

After Manneken Pis we headed to the main attraction which is the Grand Place, the square of Brussels. As we walked through the narrow streets we saw the tower marking the square and when we entered the square it was so amazing.  Just all of a sudden, huge square!  The architecture in Brussels is similar to that in Amsterdam, and I really love it! It was literally a 360 beautiful buildings.  

Above are the botanical gardens that are in Brussels, we went expecting beautiful displays of flowers and instead realized that it was more of a music hall with some nice gardens outside.  It was okay though because it allowed us to see the more modern aspects of the city on the walk over. 

The last day we were in Brussels we got ourselves to the chocolate museum, a small little museum that gave you the history of chocolate, how it's made, and even a little demonstration on how they make chocolate shells.  We went first thing in the morning and got nice and filled up on free samples.  This man gave us the demonstration, he was so cute! 

After our chocolate overdose we sat in a little bar in Brussels because we thought we had some time to kill before our flight.  This is where I decided to get my Belgium beer, I just couldn't leave without having one!  It was very tasty :))

Airport Fiasco

We ended up overestimating the time it would take for us to get to the airport that day and the whole process of getting there turned into quite the situation.  We managed to get on the wrong train, get on the right train, miss 2 different buses we could take to get to the airport and ended up having to split a 140 euro cab ride to the airport (it was 45 minutes away).  Once we finally got there we checked in and since we were using a cheap airline called Ryanair they have very strict rules about how big your bag can be.  They have this metal box and if your bag doesn't fit, you have to check it.  Guess who's bag didn't fit? Yeah mine. So while all my roommates were on the other side going through security I was running from place to place checking and paying for my bag.  It was all very frustrating especially cause the plane was about to board.  

 Everything worked out in the end, after much difficultly.  The trip itself was just so demanding in so many different ways.  Before I came to Spain I would think about how much this whole experience would teach me and cause me to grow, but so far I hadn't felt like anything was really doing that.  It wasn't until I went through this first trip that I realized that's where I could grasp my new experiences and where my character and ability would be tested most.  So while a lot of aspects of this first trip were a disaster and I made a lot of stupid mistakes, I realize that this is what's going to help me be more capable for the future trips.  It was one of the first steps I would be taking in being more independent and it makes me excited for the all the challenges that still lay ahead of me.