Spring Break: Brussels, Amsterdam, and Dublin

My Spring Break, sadly to say, was like a nightmare coming true. It was a lot of fun, a lot of stress, too much cold, and a tiny spark of drama. Well you know what they say about traveling with friends. It can either make the experience or break it. In this case, it broke it. 

I tend to enjoy more spontaneous adventures and having things unplanned so that the magic can work but the two friends I was doing Spring Break were the exact opposite and preferred to have things planned. Not to mention that all three of us had very different interests so it made it even more difficult to plan things. We started in Brussels, Belgium and even though it was late March by this time, it was snowing and beyond cold. We had to lug our duffel bags around with us the entire day and we got lost...a lot. We were on such a time crunch in Brussels that we didn't get to see or do much but we ate BELGIAN WAFFLES and FRIES. 

The ultimate tourist waffle: Belgian waffle doused with Nutella, slices of banana, and sprinkled with chocolate drizzle and sprinkles. YUM :B

With my Belgian fries :B 

We took Megabus from Brussels to Amsterdam, which I highly recommend if you're interested in budget traveling (it only cost us 8€!) Amsterdam is probably one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen but one that I would never want to return to just because of the experience I had. Since Holland is one of the big banking regions in Europe, they only accepted cards with chips in them. Long story short, none of our cards worked and only my card got rejected by every ATM. Next thing I knew, I was out of cash because I had spotted for some people and they paid me back by paying for other expenses. Traveling is never fun when you're broke because you're constantly surrounded by things you can't do, see, or eat because you can't afford any of it. BUT it wasn't all bad. My friend Mike from Pacific was traveling Amsterdam at the same time so Marie and I went out to meet with him and grab a beer. He took us around the Red Light District and my heart sank so much when I saw those girls, so young and beautiful, selling themselves. Even though I knew it was their choice and decision to go into prostitution, I just couldn't stop thinking of what would make them even consider that to be a choice for their lives. It was just so heartbreaking. To my shock, the Red Light District is one of the most beautiful parts of Amsterdam, with the canals glistening from the light of the moon. The next day, we ventured into Den Haag and Leiden to meet up with one of Marie's sorority sisters, Fien. Thank you so much Fien for everything! On our last day in Amsterdam, we went to see the Anne Frank House. My heart was so heavy just imagining two families living in such a small space, praying for the day that they would be free to wander around without persecution. I never appreciated Anne Frank's diary when I was younger but looking back to it now, I can really say that she was an admirable and brave young woman. Afterwards, we wandered around Amsterdam looking for fresh stroopwafels and after a few hours and the help of the many Dutch people we asked, we finally found them! 

With Mike in front of the Red Light District in Amsterdam.

In Leiden.

My favorite and best part of the trip was probably in Dublin. I love the Irish. They are so friendly and jolly! Maybe it was their cheerfulness that lifted my spirits. Compared to Brussels and Amsterdam, Dublin was a lot warmer so it made sight-seeing a lot more bearable. We went on a walking tour of the city and we were welcomed with a 100,000 welcomes, or "Cead Mile Falite" as they say in Gaelic. We did the Guinness Factory tour, a must if you ever visit Dublin even if you don't like beer or Guinness. In Ireland, we did more spontaneous and unplanned things, and went our own ways. By this time, we were kind of starting to get sick of each other (don't travel with friends!). Another one of Marie's sorority sisters who goes to Trinity College met up with us to show us around Dublin at bit. We had the best pub food at O'Neills :B noms. The next day, we took a bus tour to see the Cliffs of Mohr, another must if you visit Ireland. Our bus driver was so jolly (the Irish!) and he made every second, minute, and hour of the tour as enjoyable as possible. Even though it was a wee bit chilly, seeing the ocean made me think of home and long for those sunny days at the beach again. Ireland is filled with so much magic that everyone can't help but be charmed by it. 

Sippin on my Guinness during the Guinness Factory tour!

Marie creepin on my Guiness.

The girls exploring Galway! 

Cliffs of Mohr

After ten days of traveling with two girls that travel on a different pace than I do, I realized how important travel buddies were. I love both Madeline and Marie as friends but let me just say that I probably could never do a trip with the both of them ever again. But exploring these parts of Europe were an adventure in itself and I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience it. Thanks Jesus! <3