16 Things

I was just reading Amanda's blog and thought I would take a bit of a break from posting travel photos to share a few things on the blog today that you might not know about me!

1// My natural hair color is a dark blonde, not red. A lot of people are surprised by this fact!

2// I am not a morning person at all and my ideal waking up time is about 9:30 or 10.
3// I have an older brother and a younger sister. I am the epitome of a middle child and have a lot of personality traits that are the complete opposite of both of them. I think my little brain went to the extreme of my sister's personality to survive :)

4// My sister and I did NOT get along when we were younger (see above) but now I'm glad to count her among my friends!
5// I am a total introvert. There, I said it. I recently read this blogpost from Elizabeth which resonated with me and then saw this hilarious post on Buzzfeed. I don't normally like to define myself as an introvert because it makes me feel antisocial and loser-ish. I'm coming around to accepting that part of my personality and rolling with it! Not everyone is the life of the party and that's ok :)
6// I love dance parties. I used to have them with friends all the time in college and I miss them. I don't need any drinks to hit the floor. Anyone want to come over and have one?
7// I'm a total anglophile. I admit it. 2/3 of the shows I watch are from the BBC and I wish I lived in the UK. I studied abroad in Scotland which only fueled the flames...

8// I am not a fan of summer. There, I said it. I love being outdoors but I hate the hot, humid weather. Give me a cooler day where I can  wear jeans. Is it fall yet?
9// I try not to let them get to me but I have a lot of pet peeves. I won't bore you with all of them but number one is probably hearing people eat. There is a quiet way to eat and an annoying way...
10// I don't like vegetables. I'm trying to learn to like them but it's really hard! I went to the farmer's market on Wednesday and bought peppers, zucchini and cucumbers. Slowly but surely.
11// You are going to think I'm weird but I like to eat things in even numbers. I will either eat 2 or 4 oreos but not 3. I don't freak out if this doesn't happen but I prefer if it doesn't.
12// I love cheese. Enough said.
13// My mom is 5'1", my sister is 5'2" (ish) and at 5'5", I was the tallest one in my family other than my dad for a long time until my brother grew taller than me when he was in high school.

14// I am a doctor of audiology and work for a hearing aid company. It makes my day to day outfits very casual and boring...
15// I hate voicemails. If you are my friend, don't leave one. Send me a text.
16// My favorite color is green but I own very few green items of clothing. Guess I better work on that.

Anything else you want to know, just ask! I can't think of anything else :)

Paris Day One

After we left Belgium, we took a train to Paris. Man, do I love Paris. There is SO much to see but you could also be content to do nothing but walk around or sit at a cafe all day. My friend had never been there so we saw a lot of sites. On the first day, we managed to see Ste. Chapelle, Notre Dame including going up to the top, walked by the Louvre, walked through the Tullieries and ended at Luxembourg Gardens.

  

Luxembourg garden is probably my favorite place in Paris which is saying a lot. It is so beautiful and serene there. Everyone just relaxes in chairs around the large pond. We got there right as the sun was setting and it just added even more to the beautiful setting. I've been here in early spring, winter and now late spring. It was just as amazing each time I've been and I will go again if I'm ever in Paris again. 

   

Stayed tuned for Day Two! See WAY more pictures on my Flikr page here.

Brussels

From Brugge, we caught the train to Brussels after a very long jog to make it on time. We stayed with Sheena's college friend Ellyn who has been living there for the past couple of years. We headed out with Ellyn and two of her expat friends to grab some of those famous Belgian beers. On our way to the bar, we stopped at Grand Place to see it lit up at night. It was so breathtaking!

 Then took us to a famous bar called Delirium which is also a very popular beer brand. We managed to snag a table and enjoyed some beers (for them) and a very delicious cherry lambic (or two).

  

The next day, Ellyn took us on a great tour of the city. We walked by the Royal Palace which looked so lovely. Ellyn told us that Brussels doesn't usually look this nice so I'm glad it put on such a good show when we were there!

We stumbled upon this sort of block party where lots of people were enjoying the nice weather. I'm still not sure what it was for but I got a free balloon so I was happy :)

  

Then we walked over to this really lovely church (that I forgot the name of) which was across the street from a beautiful garden. We were there at the perfect time of year to see all of the tulips in bloom! If you go there, do not try to get close to the flowers to take a photo. They had a cop standing there yelling at people to get off the grass...

After we saw some culture, we headed over to some chocolate shops. You hear that Belgian chocolate is some of the best in the world but it probably isn't true, right? WRONG. We got a couple pieces at four different shops for some variety. Let me tell you. It was the best chocolate I've ever had. Some places had very traditional flavors and other had very unique ones. They were all amazing. 

  

After the chocolate, the only logical next step was waffles. I'm not a huge fan of them but these are unlike any old American waffle. It isn't as sweet of batter (in my opinion) which allows you to pile on the toppings. I tried to eat the one below alone and lost the battle. According to Ellyn we had to eat our waffles in front of Manequin Pis. It is exactly as it sounds; a statue of a little boy peeing. The people of Brussels love this little guy though. He even has costumes that get put on him during different parts of the year... Hilarious.

  

  

We headed back over by Grand Plas and had some lunch some drinks. It was such a lovely day and a great city!