Lueven; Belgium

A few entries back I was excited to announce that one of my closest friends was coming to Belgium to visit me during her Spring Break from Law School.  I was super happy to have my dear friend Danielle for 5 days in my home, and I wanted her to get as much out of this trip as we could in such a small amount of time.

I planned out a few "day trips" to the nearby cities, the first city we visited was Lueven, it was my first time in Lueven so I got to enjoy it just as much as she did.

Lueven is located in the Flemish region of Belgium, meaning their primary language is Dutch/Flemish, not French. Lueven is mostly known for a college town or like the local people like to call it "student city."  It is home to Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the oldest Catholic university still in existence in the world and the biggest University in Belgium.

There was no doubt in our minds that Lueven was indeed a "student city" once we arrived.  There was hundreds if not thousands of students roaming around the city. Since this time of year there isn't many tourists visiting, the students really stood out to us, giving us a young, vibrant vibe to the city.

While in Lueven, Danielle and I got to see the famous and beautiful  Town Hall, St. Peter's Church,  the statue Fonske.....  and all the stunning buildings with beautiful architecture around it.

The rest of the cities I took her to were all cities I previously visited and blogged about in previous entries.
Such as Gent, Amsterdam, and of course she got to see my current city Antwerp in between it all :)

It is wonderful having friends and family visit, I really make it a priority to make sure everyone that comes to visit me has a wonderful time and leaves with a smile on their face, and living in Belgium makes it easy, it is a beautiful country, has everything to offer, we are surrounded by great cities to visit all in a close range.

A day in Bruges

Our next trip was to the romantic and charming city of Brugge (aka Bruges)

Located the the northwest of the country, 

Brugge is still in the Flemish region of Belgium

Driving to Brugge via E17, rather than E34 

Took us a little over 1 hour

Brugge is one of the most popular attractions here,

Everyone who comes through Belgium, usually stops by Brugge.

Brugge, like Ghent, Amsterdam and North Venice

is known for its wandering canals, ornate houses.

It fascinates everyone who steps foot in the city

Unfortunately it was pouring (rain) this day,

but I must admit, the little rain did not take away from the trip,

It's something about the rain and the medieval streets, 

that made quite of an enchanting experience for us.

Whether you visit Brugge in the summer, or wintertime, it is always beautiful.

If you can get through the cold...... winter does has its perks,

The Christmas Market is as good as it looked!

Day trip to Ghent

Having my parents in town

motivates me into getting to know and visit the surrounding cities

And being that Belgium is such a small country

it was something that could be easily done

by a quick car ride.

The first road trip we did was to Ghent, also spelled Gent.

It is about 1 hour away from Antwerp, still in the Flemish part of the country

(Meaning their primary language is Dutch, not French)

and WOW! I was highly impressed by the city of Ghent.

I definitely overlooked this town before, 

being that is known as a city full of university students. (Ghent University).

 I was surprised and amazed that the resemblance to the popular city in Belgium called Brugge.

The city has remarkably preserved their medieval architecture.

It houses amazing churches, has a great shopping area,

and best of all, the canals wandering through the city

makes everything extra spectacular to look at.

And since it is Christmas time, my family and I had a chance to enjoy

a little bit of their Christmas market.

Ghent has definitely caught me off guard with its beauty,

and became a destination spot to take all my visitors in the future.