Italy, in huge portions

"Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go." - Truman Capote

In grade 9, I read my first Shakespearian play, the Merchant of Venice. To this day it remains my favourite (not only does Portia have a great name, but she’s also pretty kick-ass for a 16^th century damsel). In fact, it was such a memorable introduction to the Bard of Avon, what better way to be introduced to Italy than in much the same way?

During our second week in Belgium, the European discount airline Ryanair had a seat sale. Famous among Queen’s students on exchange are Ryanair’s dirt cheap flights to (some exotic, some not so) exotic locations. A word of caution: a lot of the airports that the cheap airlines fly into are outside the city... It’s a good idea to look up where the airport is actually located and how hard it is to get to the city centre upon arrival. For example, Ryanair flies out of “Brussels-Charleroi” which takes us (from Louvain-la-Neuve) about two hours to get to, even though it’s a 30 minute drive.

Either way, upon hearing about the sale, Lauren and I began excitedly imagining all the possibilities. We hastily booked Venice for a trip six weeks away (little did we know, Ryanair would be having seat sales every other week).  It seemed light years away. It was in the period “post-André-visit”. The second half of the semester. Then, all of a sudden, we were there, closer to the end than to the beginning.

And off we were to Italy.

Lauren and I arrived in Venice mid-evening on Friday. A bus from the airport dropped us off in the middle of a busy square and we had no idea where we were. In fact, we didn’t even have a map. Oy. Less than ideal. Travelling in foreign countries, you learn to fall in love with one particular letter of the latin alphabet: i, the international symbol for information, aka ohmygosh, help me, I’m lost. So we got a map, asked a few questions to a few people, found out we were exactly where we wanted to be and got general directions for our hotel. Finding our place to stay involved following a few hand painted arrows that looked more like graffiti than street signs and of course, falling victim to the Venetian cliché of getting lost. Luckily, there’s no more enchanting place to be lost in.

After settling in, pizza was on the agenda. We were satisfied at a nearby place recommended by a local. Like Belgium, I found that Italy lived up to culinary expectations and thankfully, Lauren and I shared the same philosophy regarding dieting while on exchange: we can eat salads in Canada. (Actually, over the weekend, we would indulge in the best kinds of food: pasta, bruschetta, lasagne and a gelato for every day we were there... I’m started to think this whole blog should be food-themed.) Following our meal, we didn’t walk around long before being asked to take a picture by a group of American girls who overheard us speaking English. Meet Ariane, Rani, Chelsey, Aubrey and Morgan, students from FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan) currently studying in Florence. We spent the night comparing schools and international experiences, and just having a great time. Another exchange cliché coming your way: the sights are great but the people are better.

Saturday, we discovered daytime Venice. And I discovered that calling Bruges, Belgium the “Venice of the North” is a serious misnomer. The canals in Venice are everywhere (as Lauren put it, their version of a dead-end is water). It is just as beautiful as the movies make it out to be. Actually, we spent a lot of time waiting for James Bond to come racing around a corner. Why is that the only movie I can think of set in Venice? Among the crows of tourists, we indulged in some Venetian glass, visited the (outside of) San Marco Basilica and took a water bus to an island with a belfry that offers the best view of the city.

San Marco Basilica

View of the Belfry we visited.

Soon enough, we were making our way to Florence (having been informed that three nights in Venice was too much). I like that I can now say “I’ve been to Tuscany” but this place is much more than a novelty. As described by Lauren, Florence is “a town in a big city”. The people are casual and friendly but the city of Michelangelo is not humble. Designer stores line the main boulevards with lead to Basilica Duomo, an enormous building the outside of which is decorated by, for lack of a better description, dark green geometrical shapes. It’s really impressive. The immensity of these buildings always makes me marvel at the fact they were built without electricity. Maybe that’s part of what I like so much about churches... each of them is a real feat of engineering.

Another thing about flying Ryanair is that you are restricted to a backpack as luggage. This allows me to pack clothes for a weekend, but the Lonely Planet has got to go. I made a few notes, one of which was to visit Basilica Lorenzo. I dragged Lauren way off the beaten track for this one but it was well worth it. Housing a Russian church is, we both agreed, the coolest building either of us has ever seen. Words don’t suffice and pictures don’t do it justice but take a look. Notice the palm trees!

The rain dampened a bit the rest of the afternoon but we still enjoyed the markets (selling mostly leather) and a few more sights (including a crucifix recently discovered to a piece of Michaelangelo’s early work, made when we was 18). Too soon, we needed to make our way back to Venice. Truthfully, we didn’t give Florence to time it deserved.

Here’s the secret no one tells you about exchange. Everyone comes back from their time abroad gushing about the experience of a lifetime that profoundly changed them and they even have the album of Facebook to prove it. But guess what? Sometimes you’re tired, hungry, cold and/or wet and all you want is home. And sometimes, you’re alone on a train at night in Italy that isn’t on the way to the station you want to go to, without a map of your destination and both your iPod and cell are dead. And all of this is compounded by the fact that you’re on exchange, supposed to be having the time of life (everyone else did, you saw it on Facebook!). You can chalk it up to experience all you want, but in the moment, it sucks.

But it gets better. A friendly Venetian architect tells you where to get the right train. You find your way to the hotel in the dark. You breathe in, you breathe out. You handle it. Next time, you plan better. And you use the little battery you have left for an upbeat Taylor Swift song. Let’s face it, if you’re lost, you’re lost in Italy... that ain’t half bad.  

Love & Budapest

I'd like to thank the official sponsors of this post, since it wouldn't have been possible without their support: uOttawa (for its first ever fall reading week) and my boyfriend's parents' Josée and Dave (for shipping him over here).

This week had been highly anticipated for sometime... since the summer, in fact. Not only would André and I be reunited after six weeks apart (in Europe no less) but it would be his first time on the continent. To begin, I met him at the airport and we spent the day in Brussels. This time, I didn't need a map to find Delirium (the bar with 2000 beers) or the other major sights. It was a real chance for me to show off exactly how Belgian I had become! A severely jet-lagged André's first impression of Europe? "The coffees are really really small here." Don't worry, it was all uphill from there!

André in Brussels

Day two meant travelling to Budapest! I couldn't have been more excited to travel to Hungary. I have been harboring a fascination with Central Europe since high school which was only reinforced by my recent trip to Prague. Of course, the major Western cities are incredible but there is something interesting about those behind the Iron Curtain. Perhaps in North America we are so inundated by images of Paris, London and Rome that, as you move eastward, everything, from the architecture to the food is different. I just can't get enough! My decision to bring André to Budapest (I was also considering Poland and Croatia) was sealed when my friends Sue and Ben gave it rave reviews. Luckily, it lived up or surpassed all expectations!

We rented an apartment through airbnb.com (André's find). It was so cheap and looked so nice online we figured it must be too good to be true. It wasn't. Spacious, full kitchen, amazing location, gracious hosts... What more could we ask for? Our first night we walked around acclimatization ourselves (mostly, to how cheap everything is). We enjoyed Hungarian food and drinks as we planned our weekend and took in the beautiful Chain Bridge (that joins the Buda and Pest sides).

Chain Bridge

Sunday morning, we walked in on a mass at St Stephen's Basilica (conveniently located right down our street on the Pest side). In my last post, I mentioned my love for churches... this Neo-Renaissance design (also one of the tallest buildings in Budapest - equal to the Parliament) was breathtaking. Every square inch of its interior was richly decorated. Bonus, for a minimal fee, we climbed to the roof for a fantastic view of the city. Next we walked to the Buda Castle District. Located on a steep hill, you can easily appreciate the strategic location and see why this was the sight of so much bloodshed. We took in the Budapest History Museum (a disappointment) and wandered the area, a World Heritage Site.

St Stephen's Basilica

St Stephen's Basilica, overlooking Budapest

Travelling, you're often thinking of one thing even when you are taking in the tourist attractions: where is the food? And André and I both love to eat so finding where our next meal would be coming from was a bit of a sport. On our way back from the Castle, we settled on a pizza place suggested by Lonely Planet back on the Pest side. We took a few lefts, a few rights, a few wrongs and next thing we knew, we were kind of lost. Food didn't look like it was coming any time soon, since we were clearly in residential Budapest. And then we turned a corner. There it was, the most perfect of the perfect pizzerias that ever existed. It wasn't the one we were looking for, but it was better. It was delicious. This place was like Atlantis... It appeared out of nowhere just when we needed it and I'm sure if we went back to find it, we never would.

Next on the list of things to do was... Thermal baths (! If there was one, just one, activity we were going to do in Budapest, this was it. Lonely Planet offered a long list of options, but many of them had separate hours/days for men and women. Ben had suggested Széchenyi Medicinal Bath (first built in 1913) so we walked down one of Budapest's more luxurious avenue (you could tell by all the Gucci and Prada) to Hero's Square and City Park to the gorgeous Neo-baroque building that houses the pools. It was a little difficult figuring out the system for the changing rooms but once we did, we had an unbelievably relaxing few hours. There were too many different pools to count... we tried all different kinds and overall, had a blast. This is mandatory for anyone visiting Budapest.

During the remainder of the weekend, André and I discovered Budapest quite thoroughly: the spectacular Parliament Building, the Jewish district and the Citadel. My personal favorite spot was a place called 1000Tea... almost as relaxing as the baths (plus they were playing Johnny Cash, so you can't go wrong).

1000Tea

All of a sudden (or so it seemed), we were back in Belgium. André met my kot-mates and cooked pancakes with maple syrup for them (they commented that the food was so heavy, they needed mid-day naps to digest). Having someone visiting was a great opportunity to indulge (not that I ever hold out) in fries, beer, chocolate and waffles in copious quantities. I told you we love food!

And for André's last day in Europe, we went to Bruges... I thought there was no better city to show off what Belgium is all about.

Home Sweet Belgium

Oh hey, Blogosphere. Haven't seen you in a while. You see, I've been busy. Between travelling, getting stitches (no details will be given), eating chocolate and drinking beer, there just hasn't been any room for you and me time. But today is a national holiday in Belgium so everything is closed. It's time for Olivia-Blog bonding.


As you can imagine, over the last few weeks I've settled into a routine at UCL. I figured out my class schedule, stopped getting lost and mixing up the times for each course. More importantly, I spent weekends discovering my host country.


I travelled to Gent on a Saturday with five other exchange students. In fact, it wasn't until asked by a waiter where we were from that we realized we represented six different nationalities. Exchange at its finest. Generally, Gent was pretty much as expected. It covered my favorite three C's of any quaint European city: Churches, Cathedrals (no, they are not the same thing) and Castle. When I travelled to Europe as a kid with my family I can specifically remember visiting these magnificent structures and loving it. The architecture is so impressive and bonus, churches and cathedrals tend to be free. So Gent had a whole bunch to keep me happy all day. Cherry on the cake, the top of the castle offered us a fantastic view of the city and had exhibited medieval torture devices. Awesome!

 The next day, Lauren and I travelled to Brussels to meet with Ola and Elaine from Queen's. We had so much to catch up and talk about, mostly comparing our experiences abroad. Surprisingly, despite being barely a three-hour train ride away from each other, they were completely different. Paris seems to be the complete opposite of Louvain-la-Neuve. Ola is so pleased with her temporary home, I won't be surprised to find her living their permanently one day. This was my second visit to Brussels so I knew what I wanted to do: 1) Grand-Place 2) Waffle 3) Palace (palace, castle... it's a theme) 4) Park 5) Delirium! 6) Waffle. Did I mention I love waffles?

The following weekend, I signed up for an organized trip to Bruges and Antwerp for the exchange students. After travelling a few hours in a herd of 60 students, once we got to Bruges, I went on my own way. And this is when I fell head over heels in love with it. I had heard it was beautiful, charming and a tad fake. It was all these things and more and I couldn't get enough. I walked along canals lined with trees and gorgeous home, snapping pictures of ducks. I ate a enormous plate a delicious €3 spaghetti and enjoyed hot chocolate at the oldest bar in Bruges. While I was walking solo, something miraculous happened. Come to think of it, I'm not all that surprised, I had been feeling something change. But this was the ultimate proof. I was mistaken for a local. Ooooh ya, got asked for directions. By other Belgians.  Big win, big win. At night, pretty Bruges turned into party Bruges which made morning Bruges alot harder to take it. Next day. First impression of Antwerp: Woah. Nice train station. Spent the rest of the day walking the streets, eating the Most Delicious Belgian Fries (see picture), visiting Europe's second largest port and of course, the Fashion Museum (totally worth the €1).

Oldest bar in Bruges



Antwerp Station



Best fries around

I arrived back in Louvain-la-Neuve with just enough time to catch up on some sleep and get geared up for the 24h vélo on Wednesday. The best way we have found to describe what this event entails is: Oktoberfest meets Tour de France. Indeed, this two-day festival is the largest drinking after the German party and revolves (somewhat) around a bike race. Over 20 000 people come to Louvain-la-Neuve for this. This is such a big deal, classes are cancelled. Some participants are serious about cycling, while others (more notably) are groups who build... well, here are some pictures.

Then they ride all night. Everyone else, they party. Aaah, Belgium :)