Look at these mussels- I'm No Twerp!

My time in Antwerp all started with a hobo fight. That's right, a hobo fight. One evening before our academic trip, my friends Matt and Sam invited me to come to Antwerp with them after Brussels. I politely declined, since I wanted to come back after the trip and catch up on some work. Shortly after I declined this offer, the insanity that is living in San Spirito caught up with me. While on my way to Mr. Drink I witnessed two hobos fighting each other in the piazza.

At that moment things just got way to regional for me, so I went back inside and took Sam and Matt up on their offer. Va bene!



Antwerp is a really great place with a very different vibe from Brussels. While Brussels in both quaint and cosmopolitan, Antwerp is an interesting combination of port city and polished diamond capital with an appropriate dash of Flemish flare.





I highly recommend taking some time to check out the Rubens House and the Diamond Museum is a must (it was so sparkly but they wouldn't let me take photos!) Oh and as I alluded to above, the mussels are incredible and all around it was a great food experience (we ate at a restaurant that had only been open for 6 days and it was some of the best food I have had while in Europe.)



All and all it was a solid trip- I had a ton of fun with my two dads aka my pet name for Matt and Sam (I don't remember exactly how they got the nickname, probably because they were calling me a baby who needed to buy a backpack.)

Tanti Baci,
Lauren

PS: I felt like I should also take this opportunity to showcase my two Dads at work. Matt and Sam take traveling VERY seriously.

For instance, no stone can be left unturned:



Nor can any artsy fartsy photo opt be wasted:



Let me just say, it is certainly an experience with my two dads, va bene :-)

It's Raining Waffles

Brussels is a city that is very near and dear to my heart. It is a city where my parents traveled to as newlyweds on their first real trip together. That is why finally getting to go to the city with such special memories for them was extremely important to me. I truly enjoyed Brussels, Belgium. It is an extremely cosmopolitan city; however, it has a type of quaint charm that harks back to times long since past. The rain was it's one flaw for me; I would have liked to have gotten some shots of the city in another color other than gray (good thing I will be back in April!)








Even though it was a busy academic trip, I found that it fulfilled by intellectual side by allowing me to be total EU nerd while there (This EU thing, it just has so...so many abbreviations...eh...eh....just google it!) However, it did not disappoint my inner wander lusting gypsy with all of the interesting sights.



(Observe Above: EU nerding)



(Observe Above: Gypsying/Wander lusting about the Grand Platz)


And who can forget the waffles- AMAZING. Trust me, I ate two in a row!*



Tanti Baci,
Lauren


*It must be noted that some toppings on my first waffle fell off mid-bite. EPIC FAIL.