Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you've never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground.”
― Judith Thurman
Hello everyone! Over the last three weeks, I had broken down my summer trip to France into three parts, each labeling them "Be Our Guest". This week, I will be talking about two countries I went to in between my summer trip to France. These countries are Belgium and England. Continuing the chronological events of my trip, I will start with my adventures in Belgium.
What is fascinating about this trip, which I believe is extremely awesome, is that we went during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. How cool is that! When we arrived, we didn't have a place to stay so we just decided to wander around the town of Bruges. The day we arrived was the actual date for the Belgium vs USA game. The streets of Bruges were so crowded. Everyone was gathering around getting ready for the game that day. As you can tell from the pictures, the place was crowded and so it was hard to get a clear shot when people were bumping into each other just to get somewhere.
We stood around there, watching as the crowded got larger and the big screen platform was being set up. We were wondering what was going on and once they finally aired the television onto the platform, we understood. It was the day of the World Cup game between Belgium and the USA. The game was really long, starting from the afternoon all the way into the night. It was a tough game as well. Both teams played really well against each other. The game was dragging out and got boring for a while when both teams didn't score for a while so we went somewhere else to get dinner. The elderly folks had retired into the night, finding a hotel for us to stay but my cousin and I decided to return to the watch the game. As soon as we arrived, the game was finally getting somewhere with both the US and Belgium at a tie. Finally, as the game was coming to an end, Belgium made a score and won. The whole crowd screamed and cheered. People were splashing beer upon each other and I got splashed with beer, only because I was standing near them. After the game was over, we went back to the hotel to retire for the night until the next morning.
The hotel we stayed at was beautiful when we came down for their continental breakfast. They had pillars that looked like the ancient Greek as well as statues that matched the culture. It was a beautiful sight to see.
After breakfast, we went back out into Bruges where we explored the boats, other areas in the town and also checked out beautiful buildings.
Soon the night began to fall and we were getting hungry. We decided on a restaurant that was close by to where to ended up that night. I have to say, Belgian food is extremely delicious!
And the next morning we traveled back to France. Now, let's fast-forward to the end of July where it was almost time for me and my grandmother to leave France. My granduncle, once we got off from work, took us for the weekend to England. That trip was extremely memorable because I was all about the British life (and One Direction) then.
I honestly couldn't believe it all. It was a dream come true. Being in England and seeing everything that I read about and saw in films was really fascinating. When we arrived in England, it was a rainy night as we had rushed from the airport to our hotel across from the street. In films, I had seen British cars with the steering wheel on the right side of the car. This was true and it was amazing to see how other countries differ from how we do things in America. The next morning, we went sightseeing. My memory is a blur to the exact place we went to, but I know we were in the heart of London. We just walked everywhere and came across these British soldiers with the bearskin hats. They were just standing there. No movements. No words. They just stood there with no smile on their face either.
We left the unmoving British soldiers and came across a carriage with women in Derby hats and men in top hats on top of a carriage being pulled by horses. In America, these types of transportations have died down but not here in England. It was interesting to see that.
And... are you really Asian if you don't go see the Chinatown in England? (LOL.)
We came across the Westminster Station and I just had to take a picture with it.
And you know, with me being obsessed over Harry Styles, I saw a street painting and took a picture with it (which I didn't realize after that it was right next to what looked like garbage bags D:).
Next, we continued down the streets and came across the University of Cambridge campus. It was extremely beautiful. It looked like Hogwarts and it was amazing to see. I had to go inside and explore it.
We walked around the back of the campus and came across students just rowing down the river.
After we left the university, we kept on walking up some stairs with beautiful buildings.
And that marks the end of my European adventures. Do you know why I decided to share my adventures of my summer 2014 now? It's because of what Judith Thurman said. It is true. Every dreamer gets homesick of a place they've never been to but they get more homesick when they have been to that place. I was homesick. I missed my adventures in France, Belgium, and England and I wanted to share them all with you. Thank you for keeping up with my adventures.
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Until next week,
Victoria
