The Start of Spring Break

I've been in Nice for seven hours now, and I am already feeling the spring break relaxation setting in.  I took a long TGV ride from Paris to Nice-- just under six hours-- which left a bit before nine in the morning, meaning it was an early start for me.  I managed to sleep on the train for a while, though (I say "managed"; it was impossible to keep my eyes open), so I was wide awake when I stepped off the train into beautiful, sunny, seventy degree weather.  Sidenote: no pictures for today, I just wanted to wander and take everything in for myself before getting the camera out.

After figuring everything out at the hostel I'm staying at for the next three nights, I headed out to the beach.  There were a few rows of beach chairs, I found a free one, and laid there for about an hour and a half, soaking in the sun and the ocean breeze.  It feels very nice to not have anything to do for a while-- nothing looming over me that I have to work on, just some books on my Kindle I've been meaning to read.  After a sufficient amount of sun, I wandered down to Vieux Nice-- the Old City.

Vieux Nice is one of the best places to wander.  The streets are mostly blocked off to cars and are all cobblestones, lined with restaurants, cafes, and antique shops, not to mention the amount of ice cream to be found.  I decided to treat myself-- what is vacation without five o'clock ice cream, anyway?-- and sat and listened to one of the street musicians while eating Swiss chocolate ice cream.  Yes, it was delicious.

After wandering for a good while through the labyrinth of Vieux Nice, I decided to attempt to make my way back to the main square, where I could reorient myself.  It took much longer than anticipated, though I didn't have anywhere to be, so I just grabbed a kabab and fries from one of the stands and ate dinner on the beach.  When the sun finally started to fade, I headed back to the hostel, where I now sit, writing this post.  I am very tired, even though I didn't do much today-- travel always takes it out of me, despite the fact that all I do is sleep en route.

Tomorrow, more beach time and probably more wandering through Vieux Nice-- this time with my camera!

Katrina

A Visit to Brussels

At the end of February, I went to Brussels for the weekend.  I've been thinking for a long time about how to write this blog post, with the attack that happened recently.  I didn't know if I could not address it at all-- bombings affect almost every part of a city's life, and I'm sure that Brussels has changed because of it.  But I also didn't want it to become the subject of the post; I visited Brussels before everything happened, and I felt like it was somehow wrong to write about the bombing when the Brussels I visited hadn't been affected yet.  I think this introduction is the middle ground.

My time in Brussels was mostly spent wandering around from cafe to cafe, exploring the city by its coffee.  Cafe hopping is one of my favorite ways to see a city, as it turns out-- you never have to rush to get anywhere and you can wander as for as long or as little as you like.  Wandering with a waffle that's been smothered in Nutella is just an upside of wandering in Brussels.

After a harried night of attempting to take the tram to my hostel (which was very confusing and poorly labelled, though I managed to get there eventually), I woke up the next morning refreshed and ready to explore this new city.  I had amazing weather when I was there-- the whole weekend was sunny and shockingly warm for late-February.  Heading out, I grabbed a one euro waffle and managed to stumble across the Mannekin Pis-- the Pissing Boy of Brussels.  Around the actual statue, all of the shops had larger marble versions of it outside their entrances, advertising for them.

The Mannekin Pis-- much smaller than I had anticipated

A one euro waffle stand with a larger Mannekin Pis

After the Mannekin Pis, I proceeded to wander down some cobblestone alleyways until I found the Grand Place, also known as the Grote Markt.  It was, as you might imagine, quite grand.  The buildings surrounding it were huge and covered in gold leaf.  The second time I visited the Grand Place, slightly later the next day, there was a wedding that had either started or just finished.  It fit in very well with the atmosphere of the Grand Place-- huge and dramatic.

The Grand Place, or Grote Markt

A golden building in the Grand Place

Alleyways that enter into the Grand Place

In my wanderings, I came across a beautiful park somewhere in the center of the city.  It reminded me a bit of the Jardin du Luxembourg, though with less flowers and more wild trees that had been allowed to grow.  I sat on a bench in the park for a while, reading a book and watching runners or birds as they flew by.

Some of the cobblestones I came across

Quite literally off the beaten path

I did a lot of reading while I was in Brussels.  I would find a cafe, plop myself down, order an espresso, and read and watch the world go by for hours at a time.  It was quite a chill way to travel, and I found myself more relaxed than I had been in a while, all the time still seeing parts of the city that I stumbled across in my wandering.

I won't lie to you-- I've forgotten what this is.  Possibly a government building, maybe a museum, maybe both?

The view from outside one of the cafes

Brussels is a strange city.  It's beautiful, but it's also a weird amalgamation of the old and the new.  The streets are lined with old stone buildings, yet in the background there are massive glass office buildings with Coca-Cola logos on them.  Brussels mixes the antique with the cutting edge, and somehow manages to make it work in a way another city might struggle.  It was an amazing city to get to spend a weekend in, and I hope one day I can return and see what else Belgium has to offer-- or at the very least, I need to return for some waffles!

Until next time (which I swear will be soon-- I leave tomorrow for a two week spring break on the southern coast of France and Italy)!

Katrina