May 21- Leuven, Belgium!

Today, May 21st, we started off early at 9 am with breakfast at a really cute café near our hotel called Panos. There were so many amazing options, including waffles, croissants, sandwiches, tarts, and, most importantly, many different kinds of coffee. After Panos, the group moved towards the center of town for our next activity, a scavenger hunt where we explored the city of Leuven.

For the scavenger hunt, we were divided into four groups and sent out into the city to find and take pictures with different famous landmarks. The landmarks were spread out, meaning teams had to work together and strategize for the best path to visit the landmarks. As an extra challenge, certain landmarks were further away and worth a lot more points. These extra point landmarks were 20 to 30 minutes away from the original spot, meaning groups really had to commit to finding them.

With nothing but a map and each other, the four teams descended on the city and spent the next two and a half hours finding landmarks. Some people stayed close to the center square and tried to get multiple low point landmarks, while other groups fanned out into the city to try and get the higher marked landmarks. Extra points were also given to groups with creative pictures and groups who could photobomb their opponents. So there was a lot of time for creativity and good-natured sabotage. One of the best landmarks was Saint Peter’s Church, a large Catholic Church that had Devotions for Mary, a crypt, and beautiful paintings. 

At the end, group four, including Julia Flynn, Katie Collins, David Wherman, Nora Clary, and your author Samantha Cassidy won with a whopping 106 points, earning them a special Belgian Prize. 

After the scavenger hunt and a small break, the group came back together for a tour of Stella Artois, a famous Belgian beer. The tour included a look into select parts of the facility. We got to wear bright orange vests as we saw the bottling facilities and brew kettles. We also got to see a few different slideshows about the history of beer and how Stella Artois’ different drinks are made. At the end of the tour, we were allowed to visit the gift shop and sample different drinks, including the non-alcoholic beer Stella has been working on. We also learned about how Stella Artois is leaning towards a more premium look, changing their bottle colors to green and serving their beers in chalaces. Though, in the gift shop, they still sold what they call their  “Farmer’s Glasses”, the glasses that most bars in the area still serve the beers out of. 

At the end of the tour, we all returned to the hotel room so people could prepare for dinner. Personally, Sophie Payne and I had food at an amazing pasta place, while other people decided to get Italian or Japanese food. Tomorrow, we get to go and visit the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps.