Hello Young Adventurers!

Locations: Brugge, Belgium.  Paris, France.
Languages Spoken: Dutch, Flemish (A dialect of Dutch), and French
Words to Say: Bonjour– Hello!  Merci– Thank you. Au revoir– Goodbye

I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a few days!  It’s been a little crazy going from Belgium to France the past few days, and I’ve barely had a chance to just sit down and write! Honestly, I’ve mainly just been eating my way from one place to the other and trying all the local foods (AKA local sweets…).  Sorry for what is going to be a really long post- but we just saw so much that I want to share with you all!  So let’s start the adventure.

Saturday I took a train from Amsterdam to Brugge, Belgium.  For those of you who don’t know, Belgium is known for their delicious chocolates and waffles, which I obviously made my first priority to find.  When I arrived in Brugge, I had to walk about 25 minutes to my hostel that I was staying in.  This was the first time I was really embarking on my own, with my backpack on my back and no idea where I was going.  I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little scared to be leaving a friend to officially start a few days by myself.  Its scary to be alone, but that is when we have the chance to do our most growing.  I’m going to have to work hard to remember that.  I also realized something super important during that 25 minute walk- my backpack is way too heavy.  I’m going to have to do something about that…

Once I unpacked, I waddled my way into the city of Brugge to go explore.  I wanted to get to bed early, so I decided to go for only a few hours.  I made the mistake of not studying about the city before arriving, though, so I know I missed things to do.  It really does make a huge difference to take the time to read up and study about where you’re going so you can communicate properly, know local culture rules and expectations, and most importantly- where you can get the best waffle.  Speaking of which, my long search was rewarded with an incredible Belgium waffle and some local chocolates.  Also- a friend recommended these jelly, gusher-like cone candies that could quite possibly be my new favorite candies.  They’re bizarre and so good.  I completely forgot to find out what they’re actually called, too.  Whoops!

Stomach full and heart happy, I decided to just wander around the city.  I saw some beautiful churches, and ended up finding my way into this cathedral during an organ recital!  I obviously had to stay for a while and listen to this beautiful, giant instrument fill up the cathedral with sound.  I did not know what pieces were being played, but I do know it was beautiful.  This is why its fun to not over-plan sometimes, though.  I never would have ended up hearing that organ if I hadn’t just randomly stumbled into this cathedral.

The rest of Belgium was pretty uneventful. I met some nice people in my hostel, and the one thing I realized while talking with them is that I still have so much to learn.  I was talking with 5 guys, all from different countries (Spain, France, Belgium, Italy, Portugal), and they all could speak fluent English.  It was incredibly humbling to know that they could communicate with me, but I had no way of doing that myself if they weren’t as educated as they were.  Friends, it is worth your time to learn another language as you grow up.  Trust me on this.

Sunday morning, I got on another train and traveled to one of my favorite cities in the world- PARIS, FRANCE!  I was here about 10 years ago, so I was so excited to see it for myself again.When I got into town, I lugged my crazy backpack (still wayyyy to heavy) to the hostel in Paris. For my friends who don’t know- hostels are hotels that encourage travelers to meet people, make connections, and get advice on what to do in a new city.  I was excited to maybe make a friend that I could go exploring with, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to make that happen.

Well… I didn’t have to wait long.  The first guy I met in the line waiting to check in was a traveler from Scotland named Reiff who had been working recently in Southern France and was on a journey of his own for a few weeks while he had the time.  Reiff and I made a plan to meet up later in the city, and I headed out to do the one thing everyone has to do when you get to Paris- go see the Eiffel Tower.  People will tell you when you travel to not do the “touristy things,” sometimes, but let me tell you- when I got close, I broke out in a run until I could see it standing in its full glory.  Now, I’ve seen the Eiffel Tower before, but words really can’t properly describe how beautiful it is.  And when you see it- you know you’re somewhere incredible.

After the Eiffel Tower, my only other big goal for the day was to make my way to the Alexandre III Bridge.  Alexandre III was the Tsar, or emperor, of Russia from 1881-1894.  He was the grandfather to the real Anastasia Romanov, the same girl and family that inspired the musical “Anastasia.”  Now, you guys should know this by now about me- if it relates to that move, I’m going to have to go see it.  So, with the Anastasia Soundtrack playing in my headphones, I made my way over and walked across the bridge, and my life was basically complete.

The bridge led me to my next destination that I stumbled upon, Le Petit Palais (The small palace).  This was a free museum where I got to see some beautiful statues and artwork, and I sat in the garden and relaxed for a bit.  Fortunately, I know some French, so I was able to read the descriptions of the art work!  (Another great reason to learn another language! Anyone who didn’t understand French would not be able to learn about the art!).  When it closed, it was time to meet up with Reiff and grab some dinner.  Nothing to me sounded more Parisian than a crepe, so I got a savory egg and cheese crepe.

This right here is why I love to travel- Reiff and I talked forever about where we come from, where we’re going, our families, our friends, and everything in between.  Getting to learn and hear his story was great, and in the end- that’s the stuff that matters most in life.  Meeting people, getting to know them, and sharing moments with them.  Reiff also happened to be an incredibly talented photographer, so we left to go take some photos and enjoy a walk around the Notre-Dame area.  We ended up in this gigantic book store that had books from the floor to the ceiling on multiple stories.  I never wanted to leave!

Reiff and I made our way back to the hostel where we met a bunch of other travelers and spent the rest of the evening sharing stories and talking about all the places we still want to visit.  The next morning, I got up early to meet an old friend of mine named Heather who was going to meet me in Paris and spend the rest of the week with me!  Guys, I have never had more appreciation for modern technology than when I was trying to find her in this crazy train station with no phone service on either on our ends.  We couldn’t communicate without WiFi, which wasn’t working, and were so many people!  We take these things for granted sometimes, like the simplicity of a text or message to help us stay in touch with people.  

The highlights for Heather’s and my first day were visiting Montmartre and Sacre Coeur  This area is filled with people, but it has one of the best views of Paris.  Sacre Coeur is a huge basilica at the highest point in the city, so you can see everything from it’s steps.  I could honestly just hang out here all day if I had more time.  The problem is, you have to climb a TON of stairs to get to the view.  Heather and I needed fuel to make the trip up, so we stopped at a small stand and bought crepes (basically really thin pancakes that have different fillings).  Here’s a travel secret from Mr. Weavil- as long as you have some good, local food in your hands, anything is possible.  If it has Nutella on it, even better. 

We finished our time in Montmartre around Sacre Coeur and the artist square (A really cool open-air market filled with local artists!), and made our way back down the hill to grab some dinner and head back home to get some rest.  

The next day was one I have been waiting MONTHS for.  Now, y’all know I love to bake, and my favorite things to bake are French Macarons, so I signed myself up for a cooking class to learn how to make them better!  No matter how good you are at something, we can always learn more and improve, and that was my big motivation to take this class.  The class itself was a 3 hour course where we made two types of macaron shells, and four fillings from scratch- Caramel, raspberry jam, chocolate ganache, and a coffee buttercream (That caramel was life-changing, y’all…). I learned so many new things, from piping and folding techniques to new types of buttercream and how to handle boiling sugar!  What was the best part of the class, though?  Leaving with almost 20 macarons that I could eat!

After the class I met with Heather for lunch before we made our way to the Musee D’Orsey.  This was a HUGE museum filled with stunning artwork, and a special Impressionism Exhibit, as well as a beautiful rooftop view of Paris.  

After the museum, we walked along the Seine River (the large river that cuts through the middle of Paris), and made our way to see the Eiffel Tower.  When we finally got there, we bought some more crepes and sat down on the hill to just relax and take in the view.  We ended up sitting there for about 2 hours talking, taking pictures, and telling stories, until the sun set and the tower lit up bright and golden!  The best part is, at 9PM, it even began to sparkle with small lights!  I honestly never wanted to leave that moment, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.  These are the moments I live for when I travel- spending time with great people and being thankful for where we are.  I need to be better about practicing Thankfulness when I get back home because it really is an amazing feeling.

This morning, Heather and I are off on a day trip to our next destination in France.  It is the village where the famous artist Claude Monet lived and was inspired in.  He painted many of his most famous paintings while in the garden located here.  Can you figure out where that is by my next post?  Good luck, and adventure on, friends!

Have Courage, & Be Kind,

Mr. Weavil