I traveled to Maastricht in May of 2013 and it was a breath-taking trip. It’s amazing how the culture can change in only an hour long plane ride. The top three things I learned there were to (1) not be afraid to walk on the grass. There was so much green everywhere, and sometimes I wasn’t sure if i was supposed to walk on the lawn or follow the path. Then I saw lots of people running and biking over the grass, so I learn it was okay. (2) They plant a tree when they get a new queen. I didn’t quite understand this tradition, but it seemed to be a specific type of tree that was planted and had a dainty little gate around it. (3) There were roman baths here. I was walking through a square and I saw different colored tiles on the ground. The family I was visiting there explained to me that there used to be roman baths in that area. Instead of preserving them by not building over them, the builders of the town decided to remember the baths differently. they outlined them in different colored tiles. Now that I knew, I started seeing them everywhere! Interesting!
Alyssa in France 