halloween in antwerpen

today we ventured out to antwerp


{the train station}


{most of you may have heard the name antwerp from "the shane company" advertisements on the radio...it's the place he goes to get diamonds}

{cool shopping street. notice the pizza hut}


{the best market in brussels. it had everything. we bought dried apricots. discovered a new fruit called kaki which is a mixed of mangos and peaches. tried yummy crossiants.}


{have to have a map picture from every city we travel to}


{we were very excited to see this}


{can you tell which one is real? this seems to be the big thing here in europe. everywhere we go we see people dressed up like statues or other things that don't move and they just stand there. kinda weird}


{me in front of "the stone" a small castle here in antwerp that used to be used for torturing, we thought it would be the perfect thing to see but unfortunately it was closed...until 2011}


{probably the coolest piece of art we have seen}


{the garden at rueben's house. we were able to tour it. while he was alive he was one of the most famous artists in europe}


{okay and this is our halloween picture for the day. it's a bad picture because we took it while we were on the train, but click on the picture and what you are looking at is a cemetary. it was so crazy to see how all of their gravestones are right next to each other, no grass. kinda crazy..}

ps: in one week we are going to BARCELONA!

today me, my book and my camera went to the park

my most favorite park in brussels got a visit from me, my camera and my adolescence psych book today. the sky was blue today and the wind wasn't bitter cold, so i took advantage of it.

and this is what we saw...

{my book wanted to make an apperance

{a lady bug decided to join us}


{my most favorite picture of the day. no editing, just natural}


{you can laugh at this picture. cause i do}

a fall day in brussels

today was the most perfect fall day. we were going to go to antwerp but the rain kept us home so we decided just to explore brussels some more. the weather was perfect fall weather and the leaves are all falling. i loved it.

we also tried some new food today. gyros and durums are really popular here. The gyros have this shaved off meat in them and the durums have your choice of meat, lettuce, tomato and french fries. they are actually pretty good.

{the gyro}

we also designated saturday as waffle days so of course we had to get a waffle. the liege waffles are the absolute best.

{the liege waffles are the circle waffles...and they are to die for. totally unlike the waffles in america. they are made from dough, it's not batter like our waffles..and they are heavenly}

it's offical

max is truly an intern

he was asked to make his first cup of coffee at work today

can't be an intern without that request

too bad he had never made a cup in his life

but other than the coffee just an update on the internship. he is really enjoying it. he has been working with all sorts of industries and is really enjoying the different things he is learning about them. They have a big conference on Thursday that he is getting ready for and in a couple of weeks he gets to go to luxembourg (a very small country right below belgium) and do some work there. I am super proud of him for all of the hard work he is doing!

I would post a picture of him in front of his office...but I am scared if I take the picture then the guard will chase me down or something and destroy the pictures i took..

How to see Paris in a Day

Max had Colombus day off {who even gets that day off in America} and so he decided he would take me to Paris in honor of my birthday!


Here is how to see Paris in a Day {actually 8 hours}:

Board a Bus at 6 a.m. and drive for 4 hours to Paris through France's beautiful countryside {not really as bad as you think, minus the loud snoring man..that snored that whole drive}

Arrive at 10 a.m., get on the metro, have no idea where you are going, somehow get into the city right in front of the Opera de Paris Garnier, the Opera house used in Phantom of the Opera


Walk down the Champs de Elysees and admire all of the pretty buildings, restaurants, parks, leaves falling, and crepe stands


Arrive at the Arc de Trimophe

After admiring it's beauty make your way to the Eiffel Tower. Once you get there take as many pictures as possible, and enjoy walking around the tower and in the parks {just ignore the extremely many guys trying to sell you minature eiffel tower statues...they can be pretty persistant}


Stop and have lunch in front of the Eiffel Tower...{something i have dreamed about doing}


After eating walk slowly away from the Tower as you continue to admire it


Continue your walk through the beautiful city of Paris {really it's the most beautiful city}

See the Les Invalides a group of beautiful buildings where the real Napolean is burried


Make your way to Place de la Concorde. Here there is an Obelisk that was erected in the 19th century and is a 3200 years old obelisk from the temple of Ramses II at Thebes. Also this square was also the location of the guillotine during the French Revolution. 1119 people were beheaded here. King Louis XVI, Marie-Antionette, and Robespierre all were placed under the guillotine. Kinda gruesome I know.

After viewing that lovely place make your way to the Tuileries. A beautiful park with fountains and statues and my favorite falling leaves.


The Tuileries lead you right up to the Louvre.

This museum must be the one museum you visit in Paris. It is huge but holds some of the most famous and beautiful works of art

{yea i saw the mona lisa..}

{max in front of the painting he knows best. oath of the horati}

After spending about 2 hours there begin your walk to Notre Dame. On the way you will cross the beautiful Seine river via the Pont Neuf bridge, Paris' oldest and most beautiful bridge.


Look at the darling bookstands.


After admiring all that you will arrive at Notre Dame...walk inside then make sure you walk around the whole building. The back is my most favorite part of the building.

After Notre Dame you should have about an hour left. There are lots of Paris souvenir shops so buy a magnet or keychain something to remember Paris by. Then make sure you eat a crepe. This must be done while in Paris. Why? because they happen to be quite amazing. If you have sweet tooth i would recommended a cinnamon sugar crepe. If you want dinner get a ham and cheese one {the are the best tasting things in the world}

{an awkward picture of me eating a crepe}

Next find a metro stop...get on the metro...ride to the bus stop...hop on and totally crash...your legs are pretty sore after a whole day of fast walking...

And that is how you see Paris in a Day! It was the greatest day ever!