Florence

For the first free weekend, I traveled to Italy with my roommates. We had quite the experience. Our relevantly inexpensive hostel was amazing and overlooked a Bazaar and an amazing view of the city. Our first meal after unpacking was at a cafe just below our hostel & we were so excited to have PASTA in ITALY :)
We saw people yelling down the street with signs, I leaned over the girl sitting next to our table to ask if 1) she spoke English and 2) if she knew what was going on. Interrupting Jennifer's lunch break from her clothing boutique summer job, turned out to be a blessing. She helped us figure out where to go for night life, where to go for the best gelato, and she even offered to go barter for us in Italian for these satchels we had eyed at the open market. She explained that they might try to up charge us for being tourist & insisted we allow her to come. 3 matching Italian leather satchels later :) we had exchanged numbers with her.

Brandie in Paris

I (Brandie) got to spend my first free weekend of the program in Paris. What a wonderful time! I traveled with 3 other students and we all took the train. It was pretty easy. We got on the train in Antwerp and it took us directly to Paris. The tickets were a little more expensive because this happened to be a European holiday weekend, which meant lots of people were traveling so the ticket prices kept climbing. It was definitely worth it though. We spent 3 days hiking around Paris trying to make the most of our time, and were able to see so many famous pieces of history! A couple of the "givens" were the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. Here (right) is a picture of me with Collette in front of the Louvre. Collette is a Parisian who is a friend of a friend of one of my travel companions. She was instrumental in sharing information, taking us to and fro, and making sure we got the most out of our short visit. She let us know about the free museum night which happens regularly. All the museums stay open until midnight with free admission until about 11 when they quit letting people inside. We decided to visit Musee Rodin (top left) for our "freebie." We got there too late to make it inside the building, but were able to wander the gardens outside and view Rodin's statues, including the famous "The Thinker." Paris has so many beautiful views, including this one here (bottom left) of the Seine River at night. No matter where you go there's something to see. It truly was an experience to remember. I still didn't get to see all I wanted to see, and hope to make another trip there one day to see the rest. What a wonderful way to spend a free weekend!

Istanbul

This past week, my entire group and I spent a couple days in the Constantinople region of Istanbul, Turkey. We toured two ancient mosques, the Sultan Ahmed "Blue" mosque and the Hagia Sophia. The Blue mosque, built from 1609-1616 during the Ahmed regime of the Ottoman Empire, has been the site of Islamic worship for centuries. It is now a popular architecture tourist attraction known for its blue titles adorning its interior walls.  The Hagia Sophia, was my favorite part of the Istanbul tour, as I had learned so much of its history throughout my education. It was not only eye-opening, it felt like a "holy walk" of your faith henceforth the name meant "Holy Wisdom" in Latin. Since 360 AD until 1931, it had been home to many faiths of worship during the Ottoman Empire. The site contains many various holy artifacts and wall murals of holy figures throughout its structure and is a true representation of what once was Constantinople. Obviously, its age has caused severe decay in its interior (as shown in the picture above). Also, I couldn't help but capture one of many murals of Mother Mary and Baby Jesus.

Stephen's First Free Weekend: Amsterdam, Netherlands
On one of several free weekends, I would highly recommend visiting Amsterdam. It is less than 2 hours from Antwerp by either bus or train, making it a cheap and convenient city to see. Despite its “sinful” reputation, Amsterdam is a beautiful city for many reasons, none of which are illegal in the United States. It is home to many famous museums including Van Gogh and the Anne Frank House, but if you want to see as much as humanly possible (and avoid some of the lines), the boat tours along the many canals give you a great feel for the city’s layout and left me smitten with the local culture. 

If you’re prone to motion sickness or boats aren’t your thing, a better alternative would be the guided bike tours which take you to some inland monuments including the famous Rembrandt House. After seeing some of the sites, if you want to grab a beer and go souvenir shopping, Leidseplein is the place, located at the heart of Amsterdam, with innumerable bars and shops along the streets. There we watched the Champions League soccer final in a standing-room-only Heineken bar, surrounded by enthusiastic locals cheering for their teams. The next day we went back, heard some live music outside in the square bought some inexpensive trinkets so I can always remember my weekend in Amsterdam. 

Stephen at the statue in the Rembrandtplein

Istanbul Rugs

Turkey is known for their handmade rugs. While traveling we were fortunate enough to get a private session for a rug show. We were greeted with a tradition gift of apple tea; served hot it tastes like hot apple cider & IS AMAZING.

Brussels Tour

 We took a tour of Brussels the 4th day of class (in place of class). We met in the courtyard of the Monty and took a bus to Brussels, about an hour away. We took a bus ride through the city that morning, then took a walking tour that afternoon, having free time for lunch and wandering. The picture on the left is of the Grote Markt in Brussels. You can see the flower venders in the photo. There also were drawings, postcards, touristy kinds of things as well. In the picture on the right you see Brandie rubbing the arm of the Monument to Everard t'Serclaes. Rubbing the arm means you will have good luck in love for the next year. This is a temporary replacement of the permanent statue, but hopefully the luck transferred to this one. Good luck, Brandie!
We did a lot of walking, and a lot of riding for one day. But all in all, it was a good day.

Chocolate Production Tour

Raymond, the chocolatier

Caroline designing chocolates

Here are some photos from the tour of the chocolate production shop. Raymond (right) is the chocolatier and co-owner. He and his brother demonstrated how they make chocolates for their shop. He also let us have a try at decorating. Caroline (left) got to add decoration to the tops of the chocolates using a fork. Brittany (below) got the chance to write in chocolate. Caroline and Brittany both did great, but several people admitted that it's tougher than it looks! Thanks to Raymond for a wonderful tour and especially for the samples he sent home with us!

Brittany writing with chocolate

Brittany's First Free Weekend: Bologna, Italy

City Center

Via Nosadella Hostel

Upon arriving in Bologna on Friday morning we took a quick inexpensive bus to the city center to find our hostel. We arrived in the city around 10:30 AM and check in time wasn't until 12:00 so we found a great cafe with a very friendly waiter to grab some lunch and enjoy the sun. Check in was a breeze and the hostel was small and privately owned by two lovely women. One of the women gave us very helpful maps of the city and pointing out all the must see places to eat, tour, and party. We then set out to explore the city. After a few hours of picture taking and getting lost in the beautiful architecture we set out to a local bar for an Apertivo. Apertivo is a before dinner drink and appetizers to entice your appetite. You buy a drink of choice and then for one extra euro you get a full plate of appetizers! I naturally got Prossecco and everything was delish. Afterwards we headed back to the hostel to get ready for a night on the town! The night life in Bologna is great because it is a university town so there is always a fun place to go and get a drink and meet some locals. We went to a fun bar called Soda Pop, if you like to dance definitely go there if you're ever in town!

Tagliatella Ragu

On Saturday morning we slept in a bit and then went to a local homemade pasta restaurant for an early lunch. Bologna is known for this tagliatelle, tortellini, and tortelloni. Pasta Fresca Naldi is owned by 3 generations of women and the pasta was fantastic. Bolognese comes from Bologna but is known there as Ragu. 

Portico di San Luca

Basilica di San Luca

Bologna is also known for its porticoes that are all over the city. It is home to the longest portico in the world. This portico leads to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca and is 3.5 km long with 666 arches. If you have time it is best to make the hike up the portico to the Basilica but since we were only

in Bologna 2 full days we opted to take a tram that left near to where our hostel was. We had the option to get off and explore the Basilica for an hour so I did that. The Basilica itself is breathtaking and so are the surrounding views of the forests and city below. That evening we explored more of the city center and shopped in some of the local markets. We ended up at a cute restaurant on a busy side street for dinner. I enjoyed a calzone, 0.5 liters of wine, homemade tiramisu, and a latte all for just under 20 euro! What a deal. We all grabbed some fresh strawberries on the way back to the hostel and relaxed because we had to be up early to catch the bus back to the airport that morning. Overall it was a wonderful trip. I would highly recommend Bologna as a weekend trip to anyone wanting to experience an authentic Italian city with a young flair.

Week One in Antwerp

On Sunday, the first night in Antwerp, the group got acquainted at an Italian style restaurant called Verona. We each got to order an item off the menu, free of charge, while still being immersed in the busy restaurant atmosphere of native Antwerp-ens. Above in the picture (from left to right) Caroline, Shivonne, and Brandie pose for a picture during dinner. It was an opportunity for both the James Madison students and the University of Alabama students to mingle.



Pieter Bombeke

 On Tuesday after class, the group was split into two groups based off team numbers. One group headed first to the Chocolate Factory Tour, as our group headed to the Diamond Center of Antwerp. During this tour, we were shown to a board room overlooking the city, where a PR representative of the center gave us an inside look to the diamond industry. We learned that Antwerp is responsible for handling close to 80% of the world's rough diamonds. We were given an exclusive tour inside one of Antwerp's four brouse, Diamantclub, where diamonds are exchanged, examined, and bought. Diamantclub brouse is the oldest one in Antwerp. (100 years +) The last part of the tour was a visit to a famous diamond polisher, Pieter Bombeke. He showed us his process of cutting and polishing the diamonds so they can be sold to jewelers.

Marzipan being covered in dark chocolate.

After the Diamond tour, our group got the chance to experience the Chocolate tour. An informational video of the planting, growth, and harvesting of coco beans in African illuminated an unfamiliar process and supply chain. After understanding how coco beans are transformed into an ingredient  used in the chocolate industry, two brothers whose family has owned a chocolate shop in Antwerp since 1908, showed us first hand how they both hand make chocolates. The brothers also showed how they have integrated specially designed machines into their factory while still maintaining their unique and special taste of chocolates. of course the tour included  a tasting of three different chocolates :).