Bruxelles and Amsterdam

This Thursday, our program took a day-trip to Brussels to see the EU Parliament. It was actually really neat! We got to sit in on a session, and it was a lot rowdier than I was expecting. They were talking about "ending the war on bananas"- obviously a very important issue.



After our "official visit" was over, we had some time to look around and explore the city. Brussels is really beautiful, and has a nice quaint charm that Paris definitely doesn't have.

Here's the town square, where the old "guilds" used to be.






I was also able to do a bit of shopping, for Belgian lace and of course, chocolate. We went to Wittamer, which specializes in Champagne infused truffles. They were absolutely delicious! I wish I had bought more of them.

That evening, I took the train to Amsterdam to meet my parents for the weekend. I actually hope I can go back to Belgium at some point during this program, it was a great time, with lots to do and see.

Amsterdam was also a really interesting experience. The red light district is just like Bourbon street- except for the fact that prostitution and pot are legal. Girls rent out windows, and sit in the windows to draw in clients.

In addition to strolling around the seedier Amsterdam, we got a chance to squeeze in some culture too. We went to the Anne Frank house, Rijksmuseum, and Van Gogh Museum (my personal favorite!)

The city is really neat, with canals dividing a lot of the streets.




We also got a chance to see the flower market. If I didn't think I would have been arrested at customs, I might have tried to bring back black tulip bulbs, but oh well.



It was a wonderful trip, but with midterms coming up next week, I have to return to Paris and hit the books a bit.

Afscheid from the Netherlands!