Happy VDay from the City of Love!

Phew! It's been one hell of a Valentine's Day celebration here. Things are mostly settling down now so I finally found some time for an update on my life across the ocean.

Brussels
My friends Madison, Elizabeth and I made our way to Brussels immediately following our first test in Italian which went quite smoothly. Before heading to the airport, we decided to reward ourselves with our first trip to McDonald's since we've been here. If you've never been to an international McDonalds, you should know that it is not seen the same way we see it at home. McDonalds is a luxury American experience with a special twist in each country. McDonalds here usually have a Caffé which serves things like croissants and real Italian coffee...also wine and aperitivo so everyone is winning here. The nugs were just as good here but unfortunately no Diet Coke in a styrofoam cup:/

Flying to Brussels was simple and easy. Our flight was nine euros both ways-gotta love European airlines! However, from the airport to our hostel was our very first test of patience and map-reading skills. The instructions provided by the hostel told us to get on anything BUT the metro going north. They must have mixed up their english because in fact it was the metro we needed. It only took us a few hours in the dark surrounded by homeless people to figure it out!!! Hey, we made it and that's what matters.

Hostels are a great thing and they totally make sense as an efficient stay for travelers but jeez they are so weird, aren't they? If you've never stayed in one, it's essentially a hotel except the rooms are for multiple people-usually 6 or 10 bunk beds. So it was my two friends and I and three complete strangers. It was fine and the other girls were very nice but it is just weird! Imagine coming in after a night out and having to be quiet and courteous to three strangers while you try to put on pajamas and take your makeup off...not easy.

Brussels itself is amazing. I can honestly say I knew almost nothing about Belgium before going there except that they had waffles. Brussels is a HUGE city that is simply one of a kind. It's very eccentric and quirky. They're known for having lots of comic street art and one of their most famous landmarks is Manneken Pis which is a simply underwhelming small fountain in a wall of a young boy peeing? Very strange.

Mannekin Pis

There's genuinely just so much there. Many places have a main city center where all of the main buildings are and then outside of that it just turns into shops and such but I felt like every corner I turned here had a new important and beautiful building calling for my attention.

Highlights included a trip to a bar called Madame Mustache both nights. This bar would have been cool in anyone's book, I genuinely believe that. We walked in and "Stuck in the Middle with You" was being played on a record by a real DJ on a real turn-table. You just don't see that anymore. It was quite hipster-y with leather couches and a dance floor. We also stopped for a drink at a bar called Delirium which boasts over 3,000 beers. Sounds pretty cool, and it is, but really think about a bartender asking you what you want to drink in this situation-overwhelming. I quite literally grabbed the book, turned to a random page, closed my eyes and pointed. We went to the EU Parliament Museum and had the coolest view of the city high above the ground in the Atomium.

A Belgian beer above the city in the Atomium.

But let me tell you why you need to go to Brussels. I ate SO DANG GOOD there. My first real thing I ate there was, of course, a waffle. It was number one on our list the first morning. They're everywhere so we just picked a random place. I picked a Brussels waffle with chocolate and strawberries and I am telling you there is no going back from that. It was quite possibly in my Top 3 favorite things I've eaten abroad. I ate it so fast I got light-headed. We ate french fries at one of the most famous places there called Maison Antoine but this was a little overwhelming to me. It is seriously so unbelievably frustrating to not be able to communicate with someone. Both parties feel frustrated and unclear and somebody is going to end up with curry-ketchup. Regardless, they were french fries and if you know me, you know how I feel about that. Beer, waffles, fries and chocolate. Brussels food was way too good to me.

Verona

This past weekend we decided we needed a little adventure but didn't want to venture too far from Verona in order to see all of the Valentine's Day shenanigans. So we did what any young abroad girls do-we went to the spa. Now this spa is supposed to still be in Verona but we had one hell of a time getting there. We had quite a long bus ride to the outskirts of town but must have gotten off too early because we ended up outside of a Whole Foods type of establishment in a very empty and quiet town. We tried to ask for help but I'm guessing you can assume how much english was spoken here. So we took off walking lol.

We walked on the side of the road for two miles until we finally came across a hotel with a very kind lady who helped us finally reach our destination-Aquardens. It is just heaven there. There's various thermal baths both inside and out and everybody is just straight chilling. We rented robes and drank champagne in the bath while the jets massaged our backs, it was one of the best days I've ever had. There was one little mishap where my friend Mary Beth and I decided we were going to try the sauna. We walk in the "ritual sauna" room and it is a bunch of older people wearing one single small towel. A man begins to give instructions and of course it's all in Italian so we find an English speaker who kindly explains that the sauna ritual is done in the nude and that just wasn't gonna work for us so we left there pretty quickly.

The next day was the first official day of the "Verona in Love" festival for Valentine's Day. In both of the main piazza's they have little stands set up selling chocolate, pastries, and other treats. Pictures now available  in my Verona album on Facebook. In Piazza Erbe, they are all set up in the shape of a heart leading up to the main stage where they held a concert. This concert was one of the funniest things that has happened since we've been here.

You first have to understand that Italian men are very smooth romancers. They wear their little leather jackets and scarves and they are probably dressed better than you and they will sweet talk your ear off. So imagine five or so older Italian men singing American songs to all these Italians who didn't know any of the words. They were in for a treat because we took over the first row and knew absolutely all of them. I'm talking Surfing USA, Grease Lightning, Walking on Sunshine, etc. However, the tables were occasionally turned when it was an Italian song and everyone was screaming the words but us.

But nothing will ever beat the end of the concert. After some people I assume were important to the festival came onstage and talked about god-knows-what, the announcer asked a question and every person-and I really, genuinely, mean everyone around me but my friends and I, raised their hands and then grabbed the person with them (I'm assuming it was something along the lines of "who's here with their significant other?"). All the sudden there was a count-down and then all the sudden there was a make-out competition surrounding me. It all happened so fast. I felt like I was drowning and I couldn't look away from it because it surrounded me. And when I say make-out I sincerely mean make-out, not just kiss. It was bonkers.

Then another countdown sounded off and pink and red hearts exploded from the sky like magic. It was beautiful.

I made sure not to include the couples in this photo.

Yesterday included a nice lunch at a bakery that's new here and features American dishes. I ordered pancakes and a glass of wine...treat yo'self, right? After class we strolled through the shops and picked up chocolates. We ordered pizza at home and watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days while drinking proseco so what more can you ask for.

Tomorrow brings Italian test number two and Friday brings a day trip to Mantova, Italy. Happy Valentine's Day to all my loved ones and special shout out to the best mama in the world who sent me seriously the best care package in the whole world. It came at the perfect time-just when I needed it. Miss you all very much!