34 Things I Learned in Europe
- Jessica Faith
- 5 janv. 2020
- 5 min de lecture
Dernière mise à jour : 12 avr. 2020
While staying In Belgium for three weeks and visiting Europe, I learned a few things; things that may be obvious to you, but for a first time traveler in Europe, it wasn't. Plus, these are purely based on my opinion, so you might not always agree with me and that's okay. So here's a list of what I learned and some of my tips! Hopefully, it will come in handy for some of you.
Rome, Italy
1) If you're visiting Rome in August, it will be pretty hot outside. Be sure to bring sunscreen and maybe a hat too. I forgot to bring sunscreen and I caught a major burn.
2) Be sure to carry around water with you as you won't be able to buy some everywhere or fill it up at water fountains. The water fountain over there looks something like this, and they aren't common. Don't worry the water is safe to drink too. The second picture is near the Colosseum, it gives you cold and/or sparkling water as well as providing you outlets to charge your cellphones.
3) If you're like me and you like to walk everywhere, be sure to wear comfortable shoes!
4) Be wary of street vendors (see my other post on Tourist Traps for more information).
5) Fresh made Pizza and Pasta taste better in Italy.
6) Funny enough, I didn't know there were palm trees in Rome. I always thought the first palm tree I would see would be either in Florida or California, but it didn't turn out that way.
7) If you decide on visiting the Vatican, be sure to wear clothes that cover your legs, shoulders, and cleavage or you're not allowed in. If it's really hot outside, bring a pair of pants and a T-shirt in a bag to pull over your shorts and tank top as I did. By the way, I really recommend visiting this place, it's truly beautiful and impressive.
8) Italians are friendly, but when it comes to pedestrians, they don't seem to care if they run you over with their car.
9) Some restaurants only have one bathroom. Therefore, women have to share it with men. It was awkward for me when I wanted to go, the bathroom was full of men walking in and out nonstop. This is also something that can happen in Paris, France.
10) If you love cats, there's a cat sanctuary named Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary. It's about a 6-minute walk from the Pantheon. It is run by volunteers who take in sick, injured and stray cats. They sterilized them and try to find them homes. So yes, you can adopt a furry baby. You can also leave a donation, like I did, to help them out. Fun fact, the cats actually live in the ruins of the Pompeii Theatre, where Julius Caesar was murdered.
11) I was surprised to see that the Trevi Fountain was way bigger than I imagined. Plus, I saw the other side of the Colosseum; the side we don't normally see in most pictures.
12) You can discover really cool things if you allow yourself to wander in the streets of Rome.
BELGIUM
13) It rains a lot, so make sure to bring an umbrella and the right clothes.
14) Belgium kinda reminds me of The Shire in the "Lord of the Rings" movies. It's so pretty and peaceful.
15) Belgians don't understand our Quebec accent and will speak to us directly in English even though we spoke to them in French first.
16) There are more vegetarian options in their restaurants and groceries.
For example, at their McDonalds, they have a Veggie burger and nuggets too. I know it looks like chicken, but it's actually a meat substitute called Quorn.
I also fell in love with Quick's Giant Veggie Burger, also made with Quorn.
17) Belgians love their fries. They have "friteries" opened late as well.
18) Their milk comes in a juice looking carton like this. The milk also didn't taste any different from ours.
19) They have many more Starbucks drinks available than what we have. I loved their Cappuccino's.
20) I'm not a big fan of beer, but the beer over there is amazing. My favorites are "La Pêcheresse" and any Raspberry Beer.
21) In Liège, they have a zone called 'Le Carré' (the square) which is basically a bunch of bars and restaurants near one another on streets that form a square. Apparently, the streets are always filled with people having fun and getting drunk. The bars are also open until 4 am, meanwhile fast-food restaurants, like McDonald's, tend to close around midnight.
22) The bus fare is 3,50 Euros, which is like 6 Canadian dollars. Plus, unlike in our buses, the driver is sitting behind a shield of glass to protect himself from possible violent passengers.
23) Belgians call their Cell phones "GSM", which stands for "Global System for Mobile".
24) In Liège, they have a bar called "Central Parc", I was disappointed when I found out it wasn't a Coffee House like in "Friends". There are also a few shops for our inner geeks near the bar that sells various merchandise such as Witcher 3 figurines to Game of Thrones keychains and mugs.
25) On the 15th of August, it's a holiday (Assumption of Mary) for Belgians. There's a celebration in the streets of Liège, there's music, great food, alcohol, and a small Fair. The desserts below were my favorite, it's a Lacquemant on the first picture and on the other picture, it's Croustillons.
26) It was in Dinant that Adolphe Sax created the Saxophone in 1846. There's a lot of colorful saxophones statues around their city and I wish I had more time to walk around their streets, but hopefully, I will next time.
27) We also came across a fast food restaurant that also serves poutine. Unfortunately, they were closing for their afternoon break so we didn't have a chance to taste and compare it to ours.
Paris, France
28) The Eiffel Tower is a lot smaller than what I imagined, and I had no idea that the Arc de Triomphe is massively huge.
29) Tuileries Garden is beautiful and quite peaceful as well. I couldn't believe how clean every street and garden was.
30) They sell Macarons at their McDonalds.
31) I always heard that Parisians are rude, but I haven't met anyone as such. They were all very friendly and helpful.
32) Parisians say "onion rings" instead of "rondelle d'oignons" like we do in Montreal.
33) Like most places in Europe, you have to pay for the bathrooms, but those in Paris are the cleanest I've seen during my trip.
34) I always thought that the Champs-Élysées was a field of flowers or something because of its name, but it's only when I got there that I realized it was actually a street similar to Fifth Avenue in NYC.
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