Belgium & The Zoo

When you plan, God laughs. I have heard that phrase a over a dozen times but did not truly experience it until this week! My Semana Santa (which is the equivalent of spring break in Spain) plans did not want to work out. They constantly rebelled against me until I was forced to wave my white flag and give up. They way I like to describe it is: todo que pueda pasar, pasó. With that said, I did make the best of it. I went to Belgium for a couple of days to start my week off. Thanks to day light savings I boarded my 6 am flight with about four hours of sleep and tried to prepare for the unexpected. When we arrived we soon realized that no one spoke English or Spanish. French and dutch are the two languages of the country (although I did not hear any Dutch while I was there). A shuttle from the airport dropped us off at a random train station in Brussels and then our adventure began. I located a map and was able to direct us to the central plaza. Brussels was amazing. Belgium is known for their Beer, Chocolate, and Waffles. Waffles: the most delicious waffles I have and ever will taste. They are smaller than their American cousin and are topped and filled with anything you can imagine. Perfect for breakfast or a snack to go, reason enough to go to Belgium. Chocolate: The most famous chocolate house is Galler they don't export! Therefore, I was forced to buy a carry on worth of chocolate, again another incentive to go to Belgium. Beer: To my fathers dismay, I did not try the beer. Another highlight of Brussels is the Museum of Musical Instruments. This museum has 5 floors. When you enter they hand you earphones and when you approach a display of a certain type of instrument your headphones automatically begin to play a song played by that particular instrument. It was incredible! Hands down my favorite museum I have been to in Europe. Liege is the town we stayed in, I will refrain from mentioning much about Liege. It was small, few tourist attractions, and in Liege we attended a traditional Passover Dinner. Overall our trip to Belgium can be called a success. It was the first time I have been in a country where I didn't understand a word of what there were saying. Spanish and English came to no use but I think my hand signals improved. After we returned to Madrid, my friend Rachel and I took a trip to the Madrid Zoo. I had no idea there was a Zoo in Madrid either! It was perfect day trip that brought me back to my even younger days. We saw lions, tiger, and bears ( Oh My!) I couldn't resist that..In addition to those animals, we also saw a dolphin show, a seal show, sharks, Nemo, Dory, Pandas, Giraffes, Elephants, Gorillas, every type of monkey, this list can go on and on. Name the animal and we saw it! I highly recommend spending an afternoon there if you get bored of the historical sights of Madrid. Lucky for me I do not have to return to school until Tuesday. I am looking forward to seeing what Easter festivities there will be tomorrow. Missing everyone but see you in just over a month! xoxo