Now What?

21 days,

8294+ miles,

4 countries,

2 hotels, 

countless sets of stairs and faces,

1 girl.

All of this leaves a single, haunting, question. 

Now what?

Of course, the answer is obvious--life. Life will go on, weather you want it to or not. 

Don't think my journey is over, because it's not. Far from it, in fact. 

If you're someone (like my #1 fan) who is still reading this, and is still interested in my daily happenings, then I suppose this blog will turn into something of an everything blog. 

But now, let's focus on America. Ah, America. The land of the free, the home of the brave. During my cousin's stay in our great nation we will certainly be busy. Tomorrow we head to Louisville for some underground zip-lining, and on Wednesday it's off to Florida at 3 am for a restful getaway on the Atlantic Coast. We managed to squeeze in a day at Disney, in order to garner the full experience. After Florida, Atlanta, and after Atlanta, Chicago. 

This post has been a random mishmash of my thoughts, plans, and ideas. 

See you in Florida? 

Emily xxx

Brugge

Two days ago I went on my last city day trip. This made me both happy and sad, to be completly honest. Happy, because Brugge is an absolutely gorgeous city, Andreas, because I'm leaving à country (and continent) that I have fallen head over heels in love with over these past 3 weeks. 

Sentimental ooey-gooey fluff pushed aside, I will now enlighten you faithful readers on the breathtaking city of Brugge. 

They say Brugge is the Venice of Western Europe. I have never been to Venice, or Italy for that matter, but it is without a doubt the prettiest town I've visited. Sorry Antwerp, you were lovely, but.....

We started the day by taking an early train. It was not just Emma and I this time, because we were joined by another cousin. The three of us spent an enjoyable day wandering through the various streets, oogling and the mountains of delicious chocolate and piles of delicate lace. 

After a "traditional" lunch of Belgian fries, we took a relaxing boat tour through the city's canals. 

Once the trip was over, it was back to more wandering. I love wandering, so what we did settled just right with me. 

If nothing else, this trip has tought me to experiment, to try new things, to be a part of a culture not my own. I've learned so much in a short amount of time, not only about others, but about myself as well. 

Tomorrow, Emma and I will be departing from Brussels to go back to the states. I've had the time of my life, and I can't wait for our adventure to continue.

See y'all  in America, 

Emily xxx

The City of Lights...Right??

Ahhh, Paris. 

The city of lights, the city of love. They say nothing is more romantic than walking through the streets of this timeless town, eating a baguette, wearing a beret, and holding your loved one close. 

Um, I don`t know what kind of Paris was just described, becuase that was not the Paris I visited. 

The one I saw was just as beautiful, but there were sure a lot more stairs. 

Paris was, well, so Parisian. Everything was so classy and romantic, that the city can put you in a little trance. 

When I was last in Paris six years ago, I remembred that we climbed a lot of steps. So this time, I decided to count and write down every long set we climbed or decsended. You want the final result? 

 86 (Sacre Coeur)

147 (Sacre Coeur)

94 (Monmatre)

513 (this was 57 strairs every day to get to our hotel room, so if you say i went up and down about 9 times, 513 is the result)

670 (Eiffel Tower)

67 (???)

Now if you add in 500 stairs counting the numerous times we took the subway, you get a grand total of.....

2077

I think my legs have aquired some sort of super strength now. 

Following the advice of my sister, I also counted the pharmacies, and found 47. Dude.

But anyways, Paris was great aside from all the stairs. We visited the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, the Monmatre, the botannical gardens, the Museè D`Orsay, the Centre Pompidou, and tons of great shops and bakeries. Maybe all those stairs.

Brugge tomorrow!! 

Emily xxx

A Couple Days Off...

I know, I know, I`m late to post again. My same excuses are still valid as the last time, so enough of that, let`s move on.

I`ve finally mastered the art of eating like a proper European. You know, holding the fork in the left hand, the knife in the right, never letting go of either...Drastically different than the American way. Luckily for me, I learned to dine sort of like a European, so alothough the transition was weird, I`m used to it now.

In other news, I spent three days on the Belgian coast. 

My host family has a house on the North Sea, a charming little cottage only five minutes bike ride from the ocean. We ( my two cousins and a friend) spent our time sitting on their patio, listening to music, laying on the peach (the weather was amazing), and swimming in the ocean. It was a really nice change of pace compared to the busy schedule that we had been partaking in, and I really enjoyed myself there. 

I`ll include a photo of the house here, and leave you to it. This is a double update day!! Paris is next on my agenda. 

Emily xxx

Amsterdam

Amsterdam.

Population: 800,000

Bicycle population: 880,000

Wait. What???

If those numbers do not give you an indication on the traffic type in the city, let me tell you; THERE ARE A LOT OF BICYCLES. During our four day duration in the city, I tried and tried and tried to get a really good picture of bikes. Believe me, after I failed, I tried some more. The best picture I could come up with was this one: 

So we stayed in the city for four days. It was an easy drive (2 hours) from their house. After we parked the car in a garage, we took a tram to our hotel.Amsterdam has a really good tram system, with cards that you HAVE to beep when you get on and when you get off. This really helps prevent free riders.  It was always pretty uncomplicated to find where we were trying to go. 

Everyday, we always ended up one way or another in Dam Square, which is sort of like the Amsterdam Times Square. The Royal palace is here, as well as really good stores and Madame Tuddaud`s famous wax muesem. 

We managed to fit in as much culture as possible, visiting the Anne Frank House, The Rijks Muesem, The Van Gogh muesem, several churches, cozy city streets...

We also met up one day for lunch off of Dam Square (see, I told you we always landed there) to see a relative on my dad`s mother`s side. We ate a really good cafeteria-style lunch on the roof of a mall. 

Our hotel was pretty snazzy (well, our room at least), complete with a nice flat screen TV, and a fully functional jacuzzi. 

It`s hard to believe that my trip is more than halfway over, and we still have so much to do! I`m writing this post at the North Sea, on the Belgian Coast. We have been here for the past two days, and will also be here tomorrow. Then it is off to Paris for four days! 

Ahh, Paris.

Emily xx

Antwerp

I know, I know, I´m way behind on my blog. It has just been so busy here, and I am constantly traveling, eating, visiting, and all of this leaves little time for computer work. Which is good, because I did not come here to spend all my time on the computer. Okay....moving on..

Antwerp.

The literal translation of this port city name means ´´to throw a hand´´. This comes from a legend that once upon a time, a giant guarded the river leading to the city and demanded money as tax from all the poor fisherman. The city was in crisis, so eventually a heroic man went and cut off the giant´s hand, and threw it across the city. Today, to commemorate, there is a lovely statue in the center of town showing the hero`s actions. If you walk a little further in the city, you also may notice a large stone hand in the middle of the sidewalk. 

Antwerp is the 8th largest port in Europe, and at one point was the 3rd largest city in Europe. Everything there is so pretty, so charming, so European. And I honestly do not mean that in a bad way. Its the most beautiful city that I have seen yet, and the food there is also incredible.

We (myself, two cousins, and two other relatives) spent the majority of the day shopping, something I had no problem with. Europe has many good stores that are not offered (as of yet-fingers crossed) in the states. The city is also known for their diamonds, and they did look dazzaling from the shop window. 

Lunch was a large, delicious pizza. After that, we toured the huge old church filled with paintings from the master painter Rubens. As an unapolegetic history and art nerd, this was AWESOME. 

For dinner, we went near the water and ate a small but extremely satisfying Greek meal. 

If I did not mention it before, I kind of fell in love with Antwerp. 

Now, time for Amsterdam!!

Emily xxx

Brussles

Brussles is the most popular city in Belgium, and it is defenitely easy to understand why. Shall I tell you more? Ja? Okè.

 

 

Our day began yesterday with us leaving our house around 8 am. After a sleepy drive to the train station, we caught the next train to Brussles. As soon as we exited the train, I realized that I had made the classic American mistake- I had way overpacked. While everyone else was making due with one small purse, I had managed to bring all my unnecessary essentials into a larger purse and a small, non-touristy looking backpack.

 

We (my 3 cousins and I) visited sights all around Burssles: starting with the Atominoum, mini Europe (a small version of, wel...Europe) and countless rides on the metro, tram and bus. For lunch, we met up with another relative and had lunch in the European Commission.....yup. That`s right. The European Commision. After a delicious lunch, we got a behind the scenes, all access tour of the rooms where the important people of Belgium hold meeting, press confrences, and make announcements. Needless to say, we all felt pretty special.

 

After lunch and that tour, we walked all around Brussles. And when I say all around, I mean all around. The city is beautiful, the languages (French and Dutch) fast and dfficult to understand. This was a good city to visit first because I learned a fez okay, a lot) important lessions.

 

1. NEVER, AND I MEAN NEVER overpack. If you are going to be walking around a big city all day, pack as lightly as possible. I mean a toothbrush, some toothpaste, wallet, passport, camera, Advil kind of light. Seriously.
2. WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES. European streets are not at all like American ones, meaning most are cobblestoned with four or five different textures of cobblestone. This does not make for a great day if you are wearing thin little sandals with no support.
3. Advil is a great friend to have.
4. When choosing between refgeriated and room-temperature bottled water, ALWAYS choose the former.
5. That famous statue in Brussles is not tall, and no, it is not worth visiting. We didn`t even go, so take my word for it.
6. In Brussles, the answer for everything is always found in coffee and chocolate. 

All in all, it was a beautiful and fascinating city to visit, and really does an excellent job of showcasing typical European city living.

 

Next stop, Antwerpen.

 

See you there!

 

 

Emily xxx

 

Diary of A Weary Traveler

No matter what anyone may tell you, overseas traveling is exhausting. 

Don´t get me wrong, I love to travel. Seeing new places and experiencing new cultures is a thrill. But let me tell you, sitting on a semi-hard airplane seat for 8 nonstop hours is not an enjoyable experience. 

I´m making my travel here sound worse than it actually was. I managed to get through all three airports just fine, and only had to stop for directions once. I sat next to perfectly normal French people and took a perfectly normal five hour nap. 

I only had a brief moment of panic when I landed in Brussles, went to the luggage pickup, and didn´t see ,y bag straightaway. Luckily, I realized that the folks waiting beside me were not the same ones on my flight, so as nonchalantly as I could, I strolled until I found the correct pickup area.

My family was waiting right outside the area, holding sings that read my name and welcome. We then proceeded to drive to their home where I promptly took a nap. 

If you really want to know the truth; the most difficult adustjment is getting used to this new keyboard. The  a  and the q are switched, as well as the w  and the z. 

Nothing was on the agenda for today except to relax, so I did. But starting tomorrow and ending on July 25, we will be constantly busy, going to cities, visiting family, etc. 

This is a trip of a lifetime, and I will not be complaining.

See you soon,

Emily

Madmoisellebelle Says Hello.

Welcome!

Of course, I should thank you for visiting, so here it is: Thanks.

If you're someone who has just stumbled blindly across this blog: this will be a random collection of my adventures. If you're someone who I've bullied into coming here (whether in real life or via social media): there's no getting out. I'm hereby forcing you to keep up with me on my expedition. 

I suppose I should also make this post an introductory post. You know, the post where I include a bit about myself, my favorite color, song, movie, what I like to do, ect, ect.

If that’s what you want to hear, I suppose I’ll include a blurb now.

My name is Emily. As of July 2013, I am sixteen years old, and an up-and-coming member of the Junior Class. I happen to be at an above-average height, standing at a staggering 5’8.  I am a self-proclaimed Grammar Cop, and I have a passion for anything to do with the music or fashion industry. I hope to one day have a career in that area, either as a stylist, or working in some sort of seventeen or teen vogue-type of magazine.

Right, more about me. I have an undying passion for music (singing mostly, but the French Horn is just dandy), shopping, sweet tea, YouTube, The Mindy Project, Downton Abbey, purple, Victorian literature, mint, style books, Tumblr….the list goes on and on.  I am the kind of person who is extremely loud and obnoxious, always singing, dancing, saying random things, and generally making a fool out of myself.  I am a wallflower in situations with people I don’t know well. So I am both social and shy, if that is even possible…

I enjoy reading and writing, because I see it as a way to relieve my stress.

My username literally translate to "Miss Beautiful" in French, a language I love, but also a language I am simply horrendous at. You may have noticed that madmoiselle is spelled incorrectly-it should really be mademoiselle, however, some other blogger took the real spelling, so here I am. 

My family and I always seem to be in the car, going places. Which honestly doesn’t bother me too much, because I like stretching across the back seat, listening to music, watching movies, reading, and writing.

I am a generous contributor to the generation of the Internet. I am slightly ashamed to admit that I spend far too much time online, but it has really helped me discover my passions. My sarcasm may not translate well onto the web page, for I seem to lack that particular talent. But I am extremely sarcastic, honestly.

My writing is still amateur at best, and I hope that this little project will help me improve tremendously. Right now, I know I sound like a mix of a bad freshman English paper and Earnest Hemingway. Hopefully, I will rise from Freshman English level and make my teachers proud.

This will not only be a travel blog documenting my 2013 trip to Europe, but also a place where I write about things that I like. On July  4, 2014 (patriotic, I know), I will be flying for the first time by myself, to Brussels, Belgium, where I will be spending my time with my dad’s cousin and his family. After three weeks of insane fun, my cousin and I will leave itty-bitty Belgium and visit the colossal United States of America, where she and I will traverse our great nation leaving no bridge uncrossed and no stone unturned.

This blog is an experiment as a way to document this adventure. That is, of course, if I have a reliable internet connection and the will to keep updating, because I have a terrible habit of starting things but never finishing.

I honestly hope that you enjoy the randomness of my thoughts as much as I enjoy writing them.

Sincerely,

Mademoisellebelle xx