Greece

Last week, our group spent a few days on the Greek island of Mykonos. It's a fun-filled few days where we relaxed and took a few days off from studies. We spent most of the daytime by the port harbor at the bottom of the island and had delicious course dinners at a local waterfront restaurant. The highlight was getting to know who your classmates really are and it was more a bonding experience with the group. But the day in Paradise Cove topped it all. My-ko-nos!!

After the fun in Myknonos we toured the Acropolis in Athens. It was another beautiful and hot summer day atop one of the world's most famous ancient historic structures of early civilization particularly the Mythology roots. Here in front of a temple of the goddess, Artemis I am at the beginning of the Acropolis taking the sights in of Ancient Greece. The picture below is the Theatre of Dionysus, a popular place to host plays and art festivals honoring the gods and goddesses of mythology. It is one of the better in-shapes structures on the Acropolis area as it was one of few that wasn't still in renovation or a construction site. This theatre is mentioned in almost every history and ancient european history known to man. Athens thankfully still has the history as the financial struggle in the city was very noticeable throughout the tour.

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.