Un destin étranger: 2014

I'm a bit late but here's a brief summary of my travels during the Winter break in early March!

Amsterdam

I started off the month of March in Amsterdam with Katie (yes, I have a friend here with the same name as me) and Shannon. We spent three full days there together, roaming around the canals and experiencing the lovely Dutch city. We were all impressed with the hipster, modern, yet still quaint vibe. I even went to the "Trust Café", where customers are encouraged to "come as you are and pay as you feel". It reminded me of Café Gratitude in Berkeley, CA. The Dutch people were very friendly, people were always keen to give us directions and didn't seem bothered when we needed them to speak in English.

Delicious vegan and raw pizza, courtesy of my couchsurfing hosts

"Kipburger" from a vending machine? One of many things unique to Amsterdam...

The "Trust" café

The Dutch language is one of the strangest languages I've ever heard. It's not actually that different from English, but I think that's what confused me. I kept hearing a language that sounded for a moment like English and then the next like German. Someone once told me that if you put German and English together it would make Dutch. I'm not so sure it's that simple but I can see the similarities between the three languages.

Dutch apple pie!

Shannon taking a selfie in front of the "I amsterdam" sign

I went to the Van Gogh Museum while I was there and really enjoyed it. I decided to only pick one museum since they are all pretty pricey (no student discounts unfortunately) but I think I picked a good one. My one disappointment was that they didn't have Van Gogh's famous painting "The Starry Night". I later learned that it can be found at the MOMA in New York City.

Our Amsterdam visit also consisted of: a visit to a "coffee shop", a free boat ride across the water, drinking (and discovering my distaste for) Heineken, eating french fries with whatever sauce appealed to us, visiting the Red Light District - so strange, eating Dutch apple pie, taking dorky pictures, etc. Overall it was a good trip and I'm lucky to have had excellent couchsurfing hosts to host us! Thanks Sterre, Mick, and Nieke!

A giant chair!

A Dutch ship

A taste of Amsterdam nightlife

Brussels

After three days spent in Amsterdam with those two ladies, I hopped on a bus and headed down to Brussels on my own. It was a pretty quick ride (about 2 hours), so quick that I had to double check with fellow travelers that we had indeed arrived in Brussels. I only spent 1 1/2 days and 1 night in there but I found that to be plentiful. It's a small city and walkable if your goal is to see the main tourist attractions. However, after seeing a panoramic view of the city I discovered it is much more spread out than I originally thought.

Maison Dandoy, famous for the speculoos they have been making for over 180 years

Me and a Belgian waffle in front of the underwhelming Manneken Pis

The Grand Place

I couchsurfed in Brussels as well, this time with a twenty-six year old American woman named Lindsey and her Belgian boyfriend Jean. Lindsey was a sweetheart and really made me feel welcome for my short stay with them. She walked around the city with me and showed me some of the main sites and played photographer for me so I could have a few pictures of myself enjoying waffles and chocolate. I really enjoyed talking to her and she reminded me of my sister, whom I dearly miss.


You can't see her face, but my lovely host Lindsey

Me and some Neuhaus Belgian chocolate

I spent some time alone as well and headed over to the Parc du Cinquantenaire, a "Brandenburg Gate" look-alike monument built in the 19th century as a commemoration for the 50th anniversary of Belgian independence. I also walked by the European Union on my walk back from there. The rest of my time there consisted of eating Belgian waffles and chocolate and drinking Belgian beer. Belgian beer is fantastic! No offense Germany, but I prefer the strong, fruity tastes of Belgian beer to that of the light, "pure" one of many German beers. To each his/her own (but please, don't tell my German relatives I said that haha).

Adorable Belgian Easter chocolates

Yes, more waffles...

Brandenburg Gate look-alike

Granada and Malaga

The last leg of my winter break was spent in Andalusia, Spain. I visited my friend Katy from UCSB who is studying abroad in Granada and I met up with fellow Half Moon Bay native and friend Evelyn in Malaga.

Spices, typical of Granada

I had wanted to go to Granada ever since I read Philippa Gregory's book, "The Constant Princess", which tells the story of Queen Catherine, Henry VIII's first wife and the daughter of the famed Spanish rulers Ferdinand and Isabella. She lived in the palace until her marriage to her notorious husband and relocation to England. Ever since reading her description of the beautiful gardens and fountains in the Alhambra Palace and the Moorish architecture, I knew I wanted to see this place for myself. The site is the most visited attraction in Spain and I understand why. It is the country's most iconic site for Islamic architecture and shows the heavy influence Muslim rulers once had on Spain. I spent about 3 hours wandering through the palace, taking far too many pictures along the way. I kept wondering what it was like to live in the palace and how the colors of the mosaics had been preserved for so long.

In the "Albayzin" neighborhood

The palace has panoramic views of the city below, including of the "Albayzin", a historically recognized ancient Muslim neighborhood signified by it's white-washed buildings and narrow-winding streets. From this neighborhood one can see the Alhambra with the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background. Needless to say, visiting the Alhambra was a major highlight of my trip.

My dear friend Katy

Paella and sangria!

Me with the Alhambra Palace and the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background

The rest of my stay in Granada was lovely. I really enjoyed staying with Katy and seeing how different her study abroad experience has been from mine. Although there is only one border that separates Spain and France, Granada and my current home in Lyon, France are completely different. It was refreshing to be somewhere new and to get a feel for the way of life there. In doing so, I... enjoyed 2 euro tapas with a drink (ok, so it wasn't the best quality but you can't beat the price!), ate paella while drinking dangerously delicious sangria, went on a hike for the first time since August, fumbled my way around town with my non-existent Spanish while Katy was in class, sat down for afternoon churros con chocolat, basked in the Spanish sunshine while eating Spanish oranges, ~~helped~~ watched Katy and Anthony and Natalie make Filipino lumpia, and in true Spanish fashion (I'm joking), I watched the Academy Awards.

The stunning Alhambra Palace

Granada

My time in Granada lasted four days and then I was off to Malaga to meet Evelyn before flying home to France. I only got to spend one day with her but I'm glad we were able to meet up! It was wonderfully sunny the day we were there, although not quite the shorts weather one would hope for in southern Spain. After all, it was only the beginning of March. I spent the day in Malaga with Evelyn and three of her friends from her study abroad program in Sevilla. We went to the Alcazaba, an old Moorish fortress overlooking the sea, wandered through the Malagan streets and witnessed both a Hare Krishna flash-mob dance and a march for women's rights, and chilled out on the beach. At night we went out and had paella and then went to a bar where people were shouting in Spanish. People seemed so much more lively and open than they are in France. A middle-aged woman even struck up a conversation with Evelyn in Spanish, something I would find much less-likely to happen in Lyon. Nevertheless, I love where I chose to study abroad, Lyon is a lovely city and France is a beautiful country.

Churros con chocolat

Our night ended relatively early according to Spanish standards, I had a flight to catch the following morning so we went back to the hostel a little before 2 a.m. The next morning I headed to the airport on my own and while waiting in the station for the train to come to take me to the airport, I struck up a conversation with a fellow American girl who was sitting in the seat next to me. We talked for about 20 minutes before we parted our separate ways. After she'd hopped off the train at her stop, I realized I didn't even know her name. I love that about travel, that it allows you to encounter new people and experience connections with them that don't necessarily last but are meaningful nonetheless.