Trip to Europe

Demonstration at EU

2008-06-18T01:01:00.000-07:00

http://belgium.usembassy.gov/warden_information.html

There is a large demonstration scheduled for today at the EU in Brussels. Truck Drivers and Farmers are protesting fuel prices (I´m sure this will help). We´ll update later if we get any pictures or if something crazy happens!

UPDATE: Nothing crazy happened, besides traffic being disrupted. Also, starting today members of all 27 EU nations are in Brussels for 2 days for a summit on oil issues.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-eu-summit-protest,0,2096591.story

We've Seine Paris!

2008-06-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

Erin and Ryan went to Paris this past weekend to celebrate their Anniversary (#4!). Meanwhile, Andy and his Parents were off to Cologne, Germany (seperate blog to follow).

We actually drove to Paris because of the price of train fares, and thanks to Andy's Dad's GPS, we had no problems finding the 'City of Lights'. We arrived Friday night in time to find a pub and watch the Netherlands beat France 3-1 in a EuroCup match. Needless to say, we were happy to see the French get beat! Go Orange!

As it turns out, Paris, France has a lot more to see than Paris, Illinois (18 miles from where Ryan grew up). So, Saturday we went exploring and hit all of the big tourist attractions that the other 30 million tourists per year visit (according to Wikipedia, Paris is the most popluar tourist destination in the world). But, one site we weren't expecting to see was W's motorcade as it passed the Arc de Triomphe. We couldn't figure out why the road was blocked, but even in French we could undestand the word Bush. Politics aside, it was exciting to see our President drive by!

Then it was on to the Eiffel Tower, followed by a boat ride down the River Seine, a walk around the outside of the Louvre musem and gardens, and finally mass at Notre Dame de Paris.

It is an amazing city and defintley worth a visit - but be warned: it's damn expensive! We were very impressed with how clean and simply beautiful everything is. I think our favorite part was sitting in the Cathedral listening to the music and mass. Even though it was in French, it was very spiritual and relaxing (also,we had been walking all day, so it felt pretty good to sit down!).

On Sunday we had planned to go through the Louvre, instead we opted to go exploring since we had a car and a GPS. Check out the next blog to see where we went...

A votre sante!

Erin & Ryan

Hangin' Out

2008-06-12T14:20:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures of places close to our flat in Brussels. These are generally the areas we venture out in to during the evenings, etc. Included are some pictures of our new best friend, Amy, - who also happens to be Andy's cousin! Enjoy!

Also, check out this article about Brussels from the NY Times
http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/travel/08hours.html

Cheers,
And, Ryan & Erin

Two Days in Tulip Town

2008-06-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was all about people: Andy's parents, Pat and Laura, arrived in Brussels and the four of us took the train north to Amsterdam, where Erin met us. Right from the start we had a great surprise, as our classmate, Padmaja (aka - PR), happened to board our train in Rotterdam, on her way to the airport to see her fiance. We had a quick chat, then she was on her way. Then on Saturday, we met up with more of our classmates: Al, Kay, and Melissa. We all had dinner and drinks together.

Of course we saw plenty of other interesting people too. Including the prostitutes in the Red Light District, and the old naked guy doing acrobatics in the square (see picture below).

In additon to the people, Amsterdam had plenty of things to see. We took a canal tour through the city, toured the Van Gogh Musem, and shopped the Flower Market. We attempted to take a tour of the Heineken Brewery, but it was closed for renovations - instead we had our own Heineken tour (and Amstel) at every pub/cafe we went to. We also witnessed a coulple of firsts: a cannibus menu at the coffee shop and outdoor urinals. Very interesting.

Overall it was a great weekend. We had fun hanging out with everyone and the weather was absolutely amazing - mid 70's and sunny both days!

This weekend Andy and his parents are heading to Germany and Ryan & Erin are going down to Paris. Stay tuned for stories from each of our weekends...

Proost!
Andy, Erin & Ryan

Ryan, Kay, Melissa, Andy, and Al

Great Day in Aachen

2008-06-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

After touring northwest Belgium on Saturday, we crossed the border on Sunday and went to Aachen, Germany. The weather was beautiful and the town was a perfect place to spend the afternoon. We also had much great subetter luck in terms of eating! We found a nice little deli / bakery for lunch and had dinner at a pub. We each had a personal food favorite: Erin loved the ice cream, Andy enjoyed a fresh pretzel, and Ryan thought the schnitzel was schmackhafte (tasty)! And of courrse, we all enjoyed the bier too!

The main attraction in Aachen is Aachen Cathedral (creative name). Construction on the cathedral began in 790 and was home to Charles the Great when he was Emperor of Rome, and his remains are buried in the Palantinate Chapel. His throne still stands today in the Octagon.

Aachen almost has a midwestern, small-town feel. I think it is the combination of old town with technology and universities that are present. There was a high school orchestra playing on the square, some type of outdoor theatrical circus, artists painting, and overall a very friendly vibe.

This weekend we're off to Amsterdam - so stay tuned...

Prost!
Andy, Erin & Ryan

Tour de Belgium

2008-06-03T12:17:00.000-07:00

We had intentions of heading to Paris on Saturday, but lack of affordable hotels, and limited train schedule kept us in Belgium (apparently there is some tennis tounament taking place there - on clay courts?). And, after the Frenchmen at the train station scolded Erin for not speaking French, we decided to stay local. So we caught the next train for the coast, and headed out to a town called Oostend on the North Sea. We had lunch here (side story below), walked the beach a little and then got back on the train and headed inland to Brugge.

Our lunch in Oostend was probably the worst meal we've ever had. We found a local bar and ordered 3 Stellas and 3 hamburgers - seemed harmless. What came out was not what we expected. Each plate had two patties, no bun, and we still have no idea what type of meat / substance it was. It was accompnied by fries and a pile of lettuce with a large scoop of mayonnais. Aweful. Little did we know at the time, this was just the begining of our culinary adventure for the day - more later.

Brugge was very nice - a little touristy - but still very nice. Brugge is the home of Chantilly Lace (although Chantilly is actually a town in France), so Andy and Ryan were graced by Erin singing 'Chantilly Lace', and browsing all of the shops. The town center is quite nice, and the canal running through town looked like a great day trip on a boat. We walked around for a while, had a few more pints of Stella, and then boarded the train again for Ghent.

But, before leaving we had a couple notable meetings in the plaza. First we had one of those "small world" encounters when we ran into Mr. & Mrs. Little from Oxford, OH - both employees at Miami. We spotted Rich's jacket while, yes, you guessed it - having a pint of Stella. Turns out the Little's daughter, Megan, used to date Erin's brother, Ryan.

Then, amazingly, we found the true source of Flo Rida's song 'Low'. It was a 12 year old Belgian bread horse who has the orginal "Boots with the fur" (see picture below).

The final stop of the day was Ghent. A slightly larger city, about 45 minutes northwest of Brussels. After seeing the notable sights here (Cathedrals, canals, and plaza) we settled in for what turned out to be our second miserable dinning experience. Again it started out harmless. We had a nice table outside along the canal and happened to be next to two other Americans. They then shared their appetizer with us (which someone else had given them)- and told us that they had been waiting an 1 1/2 hours for their food. Well, we broke their record and got our food after and 1 hr 50 minutes. Andy and Ryan had raw hunks of rump steak (although Andy actually ordered kabobs) and Erin had cold mac cheese.

Even though the food was bad all day, we still enjoyed the pints of beer and all of the sights each town had to offer. Sunday awaits with a trip across the border to Aachen, Germany...

Op uw gezondheid!

Andy, Erin & Ryan

Earning our keep

2008-05-30T15:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are actually doing something productive over here. We've moved into our flat in downtown Brussles (Port de Namur to be exact). Andy and Ryan started work this week at Imerys (Imerys.com) and Erin is reporting to the GE Brussels office. Our flat is great - only a 10 minute walk to the Grand Plaza, with tons of bars and restaurants.

The best news to report is that Ryan and Andy found their office without a map on Thursday. Yes, it took us four days to pull this off. Sunday it took 2 hours to find it - now it only takes 30 minutes. All the signs are either in Flemish/Dutch or French, or both; in the rare instance that there are actually signs posted. Additionally, there are no apparent rules or guidelines for driving - you just make it up as you go - except there is no right turn on red? I now understand why Stefan drives the way he does.

Everyone at the office has been really nice and Brussels has proved to be enjoyable. Andy's cousin, Amy, lives here, so we have benefited from her guidance in finding places to sample the 800+ Belgian beers.

Oh, another minor victory today - we figured out how to dispose of our trash. Great success!

Also today, Andy and Ryan got to visit the Imerys terminal in Antwerp (1 hour north of Brussels). Antwerp is a great little port town - very industrial, yet quaint at the same time. It turns out the trains are much better labled and far easier to use than driving!

Although the locals aren't quite as nice as the Irish (actually, the French are rude) week one of the internship has been a success. This weekend we are doing some domestic travel: Bruge, Gent, etc. We will post pictures and stories on Sunday.

Cheers!

Andy, Erin & Ryan

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

2008-05-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

After London we jumped over the Irish Sea to the Green Isle. Fairly appropriate place for three kids with names like Andy Mc, Ryan, and Erin - which litteraly translates in Gaelic to "Ireland".

We landed in Dublin, grabbed a car with the steering wheel on the right, learned to shift gears with our left hand, and headed west for Galway. Less than an hour into the trip we stopped for lunch and saw our first place named 'Ryan'. We finally reached Galway, found a B&B, dropped our bags, and headed for the pubs. Eventually we stumbled into a Pub with live music and finished off the night belting out "Galway Girl" with the band.

The next morning we got on the road and headed south to the Cliffs of Moehr. It was a classic rainy Irish day and the Cliffs were amazing. We eventually made our way down to Kilarny, and bunked up at Murphy's Inn. We arrived just in time to watch the Champions League Final (soccer) with Manchester United facing off against Chelsea - the first all English final. Everyone in the pub was Man-U fans, so we joined in the support. Andy and Ryan tried to inject some American sports culture by "Drinking the Cycle" during the match. The Cycle (from Baseball) includes a pint of Guinness, Murphy's, Smithwicks, and Harp (and then we added in a pint Killkenny just for good measure).

After rolling out of Murphy's in the morning, we headed back towards the west. Lunch time found us in the village of Blarney. Apparently there is some famous stone here? Anyway, we kissed it and headed on to Waterford. Erin and Andy went nuts in Waterford. Amazing to think that crystal could be so expensive! After draining our bank accounts, we headed a little farther on north to Kilkenny - home of Smithwick's and Kilkenny breweries and the Medevil capital of Ireland. We stayed at a very quaint B&B and enjoyed our last night in the Pubs.

Our quick tour of Ireland was coming to an end, but not before a tour of the Guinness brewery on our way to the airport. We learned the history and heritage, but most importantly we had one final, fresh pint of black gold!

In summary, Ireland was unbelievable. Some of the nicest people and most beautiful country we have ever encountered - from the rolling hills, to the sheep and farms, to the impressive castles.

Slainte!

Andy, Erin & Ryan

More to come..

2008-05-25T14:46:00.000-07:00

That's all for tonight. We'll post Irleand tomorrow and detail our first day of work at Imerys. Until then, here's a preview of Ireland:

Mind the Gap!

2008-05-25T13:57:00.001-07:00

Next stop: London. We arrived on Saturday for 3 days of exploring. Saturday we stayed at a friend's flat in Shepherd's Bush, then moved to the Sheraton across from Buckingham Palace - compliments of the General. Unfortunately Erin had to work on Monday, but Andy and Ryan went out exploring. We saw all of the sights: the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham, Big Ben, London Tower, London Bridge, the London Eye, and St. Paul's Cathedral. But needless to say, we were already missing the food in Italy! So we made the switch from wine to beer and munched on fish and chips and bangors and mash.

Our highlight in London was going to see the musical 'Wicked' (about the two witches from the Wizard of Oz) at the London Victoria Theatre. It was amazing and capped off a great stay in London!

Cheers!

Andy, Erin & Ryan

The Italian Stallions

2008-05-25T13:13:00.001-07:00

We made three stops in Italy: Florence, Cinque Terre, and Milan. Italy was simply amazing: Wine, Food, Art, and yes, the women (Andy almost got married). Then, after Andy left his camera in the cab on day one in Florence (we fortunatley were able to retrieve it) we set off exploring Florence. Erin was slaving away for the General (GE) and we were conducting our own version of what amounted to a "Wine Crawl". We would walk for 30-45 minutes, then duck into a local esatablishment and sample the Vino Rosso de Casa (house red wine). We saw such sites as Michaelangelo's David and some amazing Duomo's (AKA - enormous cathedrals).

But, hands down the highlight of our travel in Italy was our stop in Cinque Terre. Translated this means Five Lands. They are five villages on the Mediteranean cost which are only accessible by train or boat. They are connected by a walking path that goes along the coast through the mountains. Here, we hiked the trails and had an amazing dinner overlooking the Mediteranean. The attached pictures do not do it justice. This place is incredible. For anyone planning a trip to Italy, Cinque Terre is a must see!

Next stop: London.

Salute!

Andy, Erin & Ryan

The long awaited blog...

2008-05-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

We know we are long overdue, but we have had limited access to the internet and when we've had access we've had to pay for it. But we're finally settled in Brussels and have finished our tours of Italy, London, and Ireland. The following blogs will highlight our travels to date. We promise to keep it updated more frequently now that we actually have a place to unpack our bags.

Cheers!

Andy, Erin & Ryan

Italy, here we come...

2008-05-07T13:57:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I depart Sunday, May 11th and arrive in Italy to start our journey. Keep Checking out the site to learn more about our days in Italy. Andy Mc