I woke up early in our eco-hostel in Gent. I didn't sleep much because I woke up feeling feverish. Despite the mild temperature of the room I was burning up! I was clearly getting more sick despite the Belgian cough syrup that had been prescribed to me at the pharmacy the day before (and which I had been swigging religiously). At breakfast I told Sarah I needed to take it easy today. If only we knew! So we left the hostel around 9:30am and headed into town to see visit Saint Bavo Cathedral, where the altarpiece is. We walked around the cathedral (which was pretty darn awesome) and enjoyed the sights but didn't see the altarpiece anywhere. Finally we found a room that you have to pay 4 euro to get into. It was so worth ... read more

Ok! So it's Monday the 22nd now, but since I didn't have internet for the second half of the trip I'm just writing theses blogs now! I got back yesterday. Let's go back in time and pick up where we left off........ So Sarah and I woke up really early to go and check out the goat farm and "midget golf" only to be completely foiled. We took the bus to a super random part of town, but the walking directions that the bus website had given Sarah didn't match up with where we were at all. We walked around in the freezing cold and snow for a while, not seeing where we were, and eventually gave up on our dreams of seeing the 7 famous goats at the farm and the 100 different types of ... read more

Sarah and I woke up later in the morning and caught breakfast after checking out. I ate brown bread with butter and jam, orange juice, cheese, anc coffee. Then we headed through the red light district, which was still sleeping and muddled around with the map until we found our way to the Rijks Museum, Hollad's storehouse of art treasures. We waited outside in the bitter cold in a line that was way, way too long. Behind me, I heard a couple speaking in French. The man was saying he wasn't feeling well, and she suggested he eat something. A few minutes went by and then out of the corner of my eyes, I saw him holding on to his chest with a wide eyed expression on his face. His whole body started twitching and he ... read more

It was 10pm on Friday night, as suddenly I had the itch to plan a last minute trip. Pulling up a map, I saw that Dijon--capital of all things mustard--was only a 15 euro ticket away (and that's round trip!) The next morning (yesterday), Cyntia and Tricia and I hopped on the TGV to go explore this famous city. I was especially excited to leave our own region of Franche-Comte for that of Burgundy, known for it's Boeuf Burguignon, Coq au Vin, escargots, and excellent wine. After only an hour on the train we reached the Dijon station and began our adventure. As it was lunch time, we decided to eat before doing anything else, so we found a lovely little restaurant right next to the Dijon Cathedral. I had lapin moutarde (rabbit with a creamy ... read more

FRIDAY: ST. LUPICIN There Cyntia and I were, sitting in a tiny parish meeting room, surrounded by French people who had just welcomed us in. Upon entering the Catholic catechism meeting late with Christine, we introduced ourselves, and went 360 degrees around the table, doing bisous with every single person there. (note: "bisous" is the European and specifically French tradition of kissing both cheeks of someone when you arrive and depart). Everyone there was so welcoming and curious about us. The Jura mountain region of France, and particularly the tiny town of St. Lupicin hardly ever see foreginers. You could say that coming here is a little like going somewhere like Montana or Kansas in the U.S.--they don't see many tourists, and they were curious why the heck we wanted to come here. Neither Cyntia and ... read more