Chocolate, Waffles, and 1926

Brussels was an impromptu decision—the kind that happens after 11:30pm when your brain starts to rationalize what 11:30am you would never agree to. For me and Emily, Brussels proved that with last minute google searches and bus station maps, we can find any point in Europe.  

 

The apartment that we stayed in was a 20 minute bus ride from center city and a 15 minute walk from one of the largest “inner-city” forests in the EU. We found the apartment through Air B&B, a great way to experience local life instead of being separated from it by three or four stars.

It rained most of the time, but we didn’t let that stop us.

The waffles were as good as everyone said! I had my first one with chocolate and my second one plain, like a local. The man who made our waffles was from Turkey, but was Kurdish. He started talking politics almost immediately, and was one of the most openly pro-American people I’ve met. His family and land are constantly under threat from ISIS, and he was happy that America had come to the aid of his people.

 An NBA team that visited his stand was so impressed by his friendly attitude that they are flying him to New York to watch one of their games in January. He was that cool.

Probably my favorite thing that we did in Brussels was find a tiny movie theater with one of the biggest film collections in Europe. Their library was mostly vintage films and b movies. They play about 8 different titles every day, rarely repeating them. We saw the 1926 silent film “The Great K & A Train Robbery.” I sat right behind the pianist. He didn’t have any music and just watched the screen. I was impressed considering this was the only showing of the movie on the theater’s schedule.

Brussels turned out to be an awesome impromptu adventure. It’s nice to live in a place where country hopping is an option for the weekend. Unfortunately, my traveling days are over for the semester, and I’ll be staying in Italy for the next three weeks. Italy itself has a lot to offer though, and I’m off to Venice this weekend!

 

To Put Yourself in the Way of Knowing

If I were to attempt to tell you everything about fall break, I would end up telling you nothing.

We expected to have a great time in Paris, seeing the Louvre, the Eifel Tower, Versailles, and all the other big sights.

We expected to have a blast in Ireland, biking the Dingle peninsula, pub hopping, walking along the Cliffs of Moher (aka the Cliffs of Insanity), and seeing the Book of Kells at Trinity College.

So I’m going to tell you about what we didn’t expect. Here are some small things no one can plan, that are just happened upon, that separate the travelers from the tourists, and ultimately become the favorite parts of a trip.  

Paris:

When we planned our visit to Versailles, we decided to spend all of our time within the walls of the palace, not bothering with paying the extra euros to get into the gardens. However, we quickly opted for the wide open spaces of the gardens. (I’m not sure how many pictures we made it into while touring the palace, but the hordes of Asian tourists probably have a lot of selfies with my poofy hair in the background.)

We made our way through the main avenue of the gardens, but it started raining and we were eventually driven into the grounds of Marie Antoinette in search of shelter. What we found there became one of the highlights of my trip. We wandered through the gardens, looking at her perfect village, farm, and the many pathways that were little more than animal trails through the forest. We ended up spending hours there.

This pig was one of the most entertaining things in Versailles. He entertained us quite a while with his snorts and general piggishness. It shows that college students can still be entertained the same way they were as three-year-olds.

Marie Antoinette's lighthouse and pond. 

Rowing in the largest "pond" in Versailles. We eventually got the hang of rowing. But when our boat narrowly missed a collision with a French family, they were much less enthusiastic than I was as I attempted to congratulate them on remaining dry.  

 I couldn't end my section on Paris without including this video. Our entire trip was incredibly musical, but this was just so unexpected that listening to her became one of my favorite experiences in Paris.

 

Ireland:

We had been told to go pub hopping, but even with this encouragement, I was wary because of the smoky, dirty, sad places that American bars can be. Irish pubs were just the opposite. Welcoming and friendly, those who did come in alone certainly didn’t drink alone. When we flew into Cork, we had planned to get dinner and get to bed early because we were bussing out in the morning. Then we found out there was a jazz festival going on all around us. There couldn’t have been a better introduction to Irish pubs.

We tried to go pub hopping as much as we could all around Ireland. We heard jazz bands with saxophonists that used their solos to flirt better than most American boys ever do. We heard brothers sing together, preforming Irish interpretations of Eminem. We heard an accordion “school” in a pub in Dingle, and sang along to rowdy drinking songs in Dublin.  

We finally found something we liked! Balmers cider hit the spot. (Though we were laughed at by a wonderful old Irishman named Tom when we asked if it could be served hot.)

There is so much more I could say and so many small moments that added up to a wonderful 10 days. You’ll have to ask me in person.





Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre is on the upper west coast of Italy. As the name says, it's made up of five towns. The towns cheerfully hug the cliff face above the water in their pastel pallets. There is a trail that runs between the towns, and you can hike in the cool ocean breeze, stopping for fresh seafood or just a light croissant at any of the towns you pass through.  

Despite the beauty that was hitting me in the face, my weekend in Cinque Terre was a lesson in patience. The trails were closed due to landslides, it poured during our full day there, our hostel was at the top of 365 stairs, and I was sick.

But!

The fact that joyful experiences still found us, despite setbacks, proves the power of the beauty that was around us.

 A lot of smiles came from the trains: when everyone gasped and then sighed together and we transitioned from one tunnel to another, with a glimpse of ocean cliff in between, or when we got on the wrong train, only to find that everyone else did too.  The train we got on didn't stop at the five towns, but took us 30 minutes inland. Once we arrived, everyone in the train sprinted together through the station to catch the leaving train back to Cinque Terre. Americans, Britons, Germans, Italians, Frenchmen, we all came together as we illegally hopped the train back (no time to buy a ticket!) We were friends for a few moments.  

We got seafood every night, and poked around the villages by day. The shop owners were so friendly, and I enjoyed getting to use my "umpo" Italian to ask them questions about their families and lives. I'm sure it gets annoying for them, but I loved wandering through small alleyways, looking at people's cliffside gardens and laundry lines that flapped over the Mediterranean ocean. It was nice to know that while it was a tourist spot, it was still hospitable enough for people to live there, and that noisy Americans hadn't driven all the locals away.

Switzerland

Day 1:

Our travels started out a little rough, when at 6am, we were lost in the Rome train station. But after help from a nice man who assured us he was "not a gypsy," the rest of our travels throughout the weekend were smooth. We flew low over the Italian coast and the Alps, and it was amazing to see tiny houses at the tops of snowy peaks! We stayed in a wonderful hostel in Lausanne, about an hour's train ride up the lake. We spent the afternoon walking along the boardwalk, exploring the Olympic museum, and being kids on the many playgrounds.

Day 2:

We took a train to Monterux, another town on the lake. After a stop at the tourism office, we got a map of the hiking trails nearby and decided to take a train to the top of the highest one. Dent de Jaman has an altitude of 6,152', and the train ride to the top was beautiful (at least the part I could see. I covered my eyes by the end.) We estimate that we hikes around 10-12 miles down. After a little while of being lost, we made it to our destination village and had hot chocolate and a banana split.

Day 3:

We took a train out to the small village of Broc, about an hour inland. When you think of postcard worthy Swiss villages, that's exactly what we saw. We were on a mission to visit the Cailler Chocolate Factory. It was a wonderful time, with a hilarious I Love Lucy moment in the tasting room, when we could not keep up as we shoved our faces full of chocolate. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be craving chocolate any time soon.

Everyone in Switzerland was incredibly friendly. We had several people volunteer help, with one lady even giving us her phone number. The pace of life there is much slower than Rome--definitely my kind of pace. Lausanne also had more green space per capita than any other city in Europe, which clearly showed as we explored the parks. We went all-out on food as well, trying duck, escargot, and horse steak! (I liked them all.) We also stuffed our bags with Swiss chocolate. I intend all my bars as gifts, but I don't know how many will make it home. I immediately felt welcomed and at home in Switzerland, and hope to return in the near future. It is a beautiful, awe-inspiring place that no words or pictures can capture, despite my efforts.

A Day in the Life

Daily life in Rome is quite an adventure, and I'd take a day of living the local life over a day as a tourist any time.

We have been slowly getting the hang of public transportation here. It is much better than in any US city I have visited. You really can get to within a few blocks of anywhere you want to go. I'm beginning to recognize the areas along the bus routes, and generally know where I am whenever we go out! One iconic mark along our rout into the city is Porta Pia, a stop just inside the old walls of Ancient Rome.


Being smushed to the front window of the bus does provide a great view.



Besides public transportation, another aspect of Rome that makes the city adventure-friendly is the fountains. All the fountains in Rome hold potable water. People can wash their hands, give their pets a drink, and refill their water bottles. Most of these fountains are made of beautiful marble figures, and in some of the biggest, you can take off your shoes and wade into the fountain for your drink.
For an aquaholic like me, this is the perfect city.

Rome is a city for cat lovers. There are an estimated 300,000 feral cats in Rome. The city has set up feeding stations for them: they'd rather have cats than rats. The cats have free range in the city and have learned how to schmooze the millions of tourists that come through Rome.


We found this guy roaming the Colosseum.

I've gotten a chance to dialogue with locals through an ESL ministry at our church. The English lessons are once a week, and most of us students go and assist the teachers. This past week was our first class, and I got the chance to meet a kind woman named Barbara, who works with African refugees and is learning to speak English so she can make them feel understood. There were about 15 people in the class. There were all sorts of people there, including children, a lawyer, a Russian/Italian translator, a member of the  Italian military, and a preschool teacher. I'm excited to deepen relationships as I help these same people throughout the semester. Hopefully they can help me with my Italian as well.

The small room where we hold class. (The woman in the floral shirt is helping teach. She is from Texas. The poor students.)

The view from the window. The church building is narrow and three stories tall. Churches circle the piazza and ring their bells throughout the day. Musicians play in the piazza for coins.

A greeting on the street.

Night and Day

This week we began to skim the surface of the Rome experience, venturing into the city on our own and as a class.

One destination of our first class fieldtrip was Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio. The ceiling is unique in that it is designed as an optical illusion. There is a plate in the floor, and if you stand on it, you are supposed to have the best view. The ceiling is painted with pillars stretching into the heavens, while angels and Catholics push out the evil Protestants from heaven. Some of the figures even have 3D additions to make them even more real.

There is a "dome" in the middle of the ceiling, which is actually a flat surface. I actually heard some UK tourists next to me say, "Oh, I guess they decided not to paint that part." Here is a comparison of the view under the "dome" and from the entryway of the church, so you can see the change in vantage point.

The streets are always covered in performers and venders. Often, they are refugees that live in tent cities outside of Rome. This is something to keep in mind when they flock you and bully you into buying their product.

 

During the day, they want to sell you selfie sticks or, in the case of the gladiators around the Colosseum, want you to pay for a picture with them. At night, the scene changes. Scarves are for sale, and the hawkers will actually try to shove roses in your hand.

 

I made the mistake of inquiring the price of a scarf. When I refused to pay the outrageous price, I was then actually chased around the Colosseum until I bought it...for 3 euros instead of the 10 he wanted. (Afghani refugee, Afghani refugee, Afghani refugee.) 

 

But the city at night is a beautiful place. The tourists go back to their hotels and you can actually hear a person's footsteps on the cobbled streets.

 

Today, we tried to venture out of the tourist zone by visiting The Keyhole. The door of the Malta embassy is built so that when you look through the keyhole, you look through three different countries: Malta, Italy, and the Vatican.

(Not my picture, but I wanted you to see how beautiful it is.)



It shows that some of the best things about Rome are found in unexpected places. I'll try to keep you updated as they find me.

 



Ciao!

There is a scene in “The Giver” when Jonas learns Gabe is going to be killed. He’s never been outside the safety of his city, and he is scared. His whole world is about to be turned upside-down. To give him courage, The Giver bestows Jonas with experiences that prove life is worth it: skydiving, kayaking through white water, a baby laughing, families celebrating, a runner in the dessert. All these and more flash through Jonas, and it gives him the conviction to fight.

Last Sunday at my tiny, white steepled church, I felt like Jonas. Hearing about Abraham, who walked by faith into a place and life that had not yet been revealed to him, I knew that the only way to travel to Rome was to do it under the assurance of God’s provision. If there was a challenge before me, I, just like Abraham, would need to count on the promise of grace provided in the moment.

God has indeed provided.

After 11 hours of flight time and 35 sleepless hours (orientation began as soon as we arrived), we spent our first night in the city of Rome. Since then, we have been going on a whirlwind of adventures. They started small--learning how to flush a toilet--then grew larger--shopping in an Italian grocery store--then finally culminated in a photo scavenger hunt of Ancient Rome with just our maps and cameras. Here are some things we found:

 

 

There are adventures every day here. C.S. Lewis was right when he said adventure comes by stepping out your door. (Motorcycles drive on the sidewalks…you literally have to check before stepping outside.)

Next week’s adventures include classes starting, grocery shopping, and trips into the city. I am also finalizing B&Bs in Switzerland, where I will be going with two others in a few weeks. I’ve only been here a few days, and it’s clear the biggest challenge will be keeping up as the time flies!