I apologize that there hasn’t been a new post in almost a month!

But I promise there’s a semi-decent reason for that.

I started my summer job! I am the ‘Head of Headquarters’ for the Brookline site of Steve and Kate’s Summer Camp. Absolutely nothing like any job I’ve had before, but that’s half the fun! I get to try out something different, learn new skills, and add to my growing hodgepodge of a resume.

Seriously people looking at my resume these days must be like:

It could easily go either way.

But back to the actual point of this blog post…mainland Europe!

I spent a whirlwind 2 week trip through France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. There were many buses involved, a lot of food, and some epic friend meet-ups!

FRANCE

Instead of taking the train like most people do from London to Paris, I took a bus. A MegaBus to be exact. Because instead of costing me about $90, it cost me $30. The ride may have been longer, but my favorite thing about buses is you get to see so much more of the country.

And I still got to take the Chunnel! Which I thought was an actual underwater tunnel you could drive through (like here in Boston). Pro tip: It’s not. Our bus was loaded onto a train and shuttled to the other side with lots of other cars, buses, and trucks. Which is possibly even cooler.

Once the bus was on board we all got off and hung out in the train part for a half an hour. As you can see from every person in this photo…the internet still seems to be working even underwater.

I arrived in Paris at night and was met by a friend of mine from high school who has been living and working in Paris for several years. It was so great to catch up with her!

On top of getting to hang out with Jenn for the weekend, she let me stay in her parent’s flat in the 17th arrondissement! I didn’t just have my own room here…I had my own apartment! Absolute bliss.

Even though I’d already been to Paris during high school (Jenn and I both went on that trip), I still made plenty of time for the touristy must-dos like…

The Arc de Triomphe

The Louvre

And of course, the Eiffel Tower!

But what I really enjoyed was walking around with Jenn, seeing parts of Paris that you wouldn’t normally get to see on the tourist trail. I got to meet her awesome boyfriend, watch her call out a bunch of guys (in perfect French) who were being rude because they didn’t think we could understand them (seriously the main reason I want to be able to speak another language is to be able to do this…it’s also apparently one of Jenn’s favorite pastimes), and had a wonderful evening meeting a bunch of Jenn’s friends who were all incredibly nice and welcoming.

From Paris I took a bus north to the town of Lille. I’d been to southern France before, but never the northern part. It was a quick stop, but a beautiful one.It’s also where I had my first French macaroon! Definitely better than any one I’ve had here in the US.

BELGIUM

After two days in Lille it was on to Brussels. I was really only in the city for one full day, so I took a free, three hour walking tour (though I did tip him €10 for being awesome) to see as much of the city as possible in that short amount of time.

We saw the infamous peeing boy

The beautiful street art (many of which involved comics)

And explored the amazing architecture of the city.

But more importantly? I ate a lot of delicious Belgian food. Belgian waffles, Belgian french fries, Belgian chocolate, and Belgian beer. I almost had to be rolled onto the bus the next morning.

They gave me two forks, but I didn’t share. I just got more french fries into my mouth with each bite. Not even sorry.

THE NETHERLANDS

It was one more bus journey from Brussels to Amsterdam, this time to meet up with my cousin Amy for the Easter weekend! She works at a lab up in Norway and was visiting Amsterdam for her Easter break. The city was crazy busy because of the holiday, but we still had a fun time exploring.

We got to watch a man literally fish for money (bonus points for creativity)

Explore the infamous Amsterdam canals

Shake our heads and wonder if they had levels when building Amsterdam

And just marvel at the overall beauty of this iconic city.

Amy and I also spent four hours waiting in line to visit Anne Frank’s house. It was well worth it though, and a must-do for anyone visiting Amsterdam. Which is probably why the line was so long.

Of course we also walked through the Red Light District and visited the Sex Museum, but alas, sadly, there are no pictures of these excursions.

I had two more days in the city after my cousin left, and I ventured out to the famous Keukenhof gardens, known for their tulips of course!

They had many other types of flowers there as well, but the tulips are the main attraction. I was there a little too early to see the main growing area in full bloom, but there were a few that had gotten going!

The rest of the gardens were blooming spectacularly though, and I spent a nice, lazy afternoon walking around, enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery.

The best part though? That night I got to meet up with my friend Babs! You know, the one I met in China, met up with in Nepal, then again in Thailand…and now the Netherlands! That makes country number four for us! Though, to be fair, she is from Amsterdam. But she lives in Australia, so I’m hoping she’ll be back there at the same time that I get back there, and we can make it five.

And since I suck at taking pictures of myself WITH people when I travel, here’s a throwback to our adorable selfie in Bangkok.

So that’s it for mainland Europe!

If I can get my act together and write another blog post soon, you’ll get to read all about my 11 day road trip around Ireland! Be prepared for an awesome and seriously picture heavy post!

Have you ever traveled around mainland Europe? Have a favorite country?