Well our trip to Brussels started off a little rusty when we ripped our tickets thinking they needed to be put in a machine. After each of us got yelled at in French by the ticket collector, we learned our lesson. The train ride was not too bad, only an hour and 20 minutes. We arrive in Brussels and realized we had no idea what to do. We had nothing planned besides our hostel. We purchase a map and Courtney (our human GPS) guided us to the Grand Place. On our way we walked past a Chocolate museum. Needless to say, 4.50 euros later we indulged. Let's just say we took full advantage of the free samples of each chocolate flavor. We also got TWO biscuits dipped in chocolate because the lady doing the dipping switched. We are such sneaky Americans. The museum was really cool it talked all about the history of chocolate and we got to see how it was made. You may have been one of the lucky ones to be a sent a picture of me enjoying my chocolate in my typical Jamie way.
Next, we headed to the center. It was really cool. But let's get to the important stuff. We followed our noses and found my heaven in a stand. FRENCH FRIES! We obviously ordered the "Frites especial": french fries, ketchup, mayo, and grilled onions. They were actually unreal, they were too big so I couldn't finish them. We then walked around a little bit. We went to the famous statue of the little boy peeing. I'm sorry but I'd have to say it was overrated. If you have been there then you know what I'm talking about. There were chocolate statues that were 5 times the size of the actual little boy peeing. It would be nice if it was life size but it was probably the size of a doll I played with when I was younger. Too much hype.
After the fries we decided to venture to our hostel to drop off our bags that we had been carrying all day. Saying our hostel was a hike away would be an understatement. I think I worked off every single calorie I consumed from the chocolate and fries on that walk. We finally got there and it was better than I expected! There were 5 beds for the 5 of us which was perfect! The shower was like 5 times the size of the shower here. I really can't complain. After 3 hour naps we awoke and decided to head for some dinner. We went to a waffle place to obviously eat BELGIUM WAFFLES IN BELGIUM! I got bananas and chocolate on mine! Sooo delish! After dinner we headed to Derillium, a bar we had been told to go to. They served over 2000 beers there! We literally could not find the place and were going in circles. We eventually ask these people (picked a group that had a girl in it so we knew they were legit) This guy was sooo nice, he walked us to the bar. It was a good thing because it was a maze! Aside from the smoke, it was sooo much fun. We got there and it was PACKED. Eventually we saw a table clear up so me, Monica, and Courtney jumped at it (Christine and Torey were getting beer) at the same time these guys got to it. The table was big so we decided to share it. The guys were from Spain, one of them was studying in Brussels. We had so much fun with them. We were finally able to communicate with people in a language we knew, Spanish (besides Christine who is the only one who speaks French) We eventually left and took a cab back, not in the mood for any hike.
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(Notice the Adam Levy look alike in the center)
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The next day we went to Brugges. On our way to the train station we had the pleasure of walking through a red light district. Let's just say if it were your daughter dressed in close to nothing sitting in a window waiting for someone to wander in, you would not be proud. We walked as fast as we could to get to the metro station which was just past the peep show theatre. We eventually get to Brugges and it is cold and rainy. It was a really pretty small town but very pretty. We went to this little place for more waffles and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was AMAZING. You put the chocolate in the warm milk and that's how you make it (notice the whisker). I guess it was a little better than warm water and powder. The picture does not do it justice but the cup was HUGE. We went back to Brussels to then watch the Bears game. We found an American Sports Bar online, Fat Boy's. We get there and stake out our prime seats...3 hours before gametime. While we are there the men at the table behind us start talking to us and tell us that if we cheer loud enough for the red team (soccer game) then they will buy us a round of drinks. Sure enough, we cheer for the red team, who loses, but they still got us our round of drinks (don't worry Davi, I got a RedBull). We then watch the Bears game which was a little upsetting. Oh yeah, I forgot to talk about the creepy guy from Spain who told Torey that her face was good and then corrected himself to say that it was her teeth that were good.
The perfect way to close this blog entry is with a little anecdote about our walk home...
Two of the guys at the table behind us said they would point us in the right direction to get home. As we are walking we ask how old he is and he reveals he is 31 (we figured these guys were in their mid 30s). He then says so you guys have only been in Europe a week? We reply "yep." He goes "You have only been here for about a week, you are already in a country you know nothing about and you are accepting directions from two creepy middle aged guys. You are bound to have an amazing time in Europe."
After a successful weekend, I would have to agree. Oh yeah and I forgot I was here for school, classes start tomorrow.
After the fries we decided to venture to our hostel to drop off our bags that we had been carrying all day. Saying our hostel was a hike away would be an understatement. I think I worked off every single calorie I consumed from the chocolate and fries on that walk. We finally got there and it was better than I expected! There were 5 beds for the 5 of us which was perfect! The shower was like 5 times the size of the shower here. I really can't complain. After 3 hour naps we awoke and decided to head for some dinner. We went to a waffle place to obviously eat BELGIUM WAFFLES IN BELGIUM! I got bananas and chocolate on mine! Sooo delish! After dinner we headed to Derillium, a bar we had been told to go to. They served over 2000 beers there! We literally could not find the place and were going in circles. We eventually ask these people (picked a group that had a girl in it so we knew they were legit) This guy was sooo nice, he walked us to the bar. It was a good thing because it was a maze! Aside from the smoke, it was sooo much fun. We got there and it was PACKED. Eventually we saw a table clear up so me, Monica, and Courtney jumped at it (Christine and Torey were getting beer) at the same time these guys got to it. The table was big so we decided to share it. The guys were from Spain, one of them was studying in Brussels. We had so much fun with them. We were finally able to communicate with people in a language we knew, Spanish (besides Christine who is the only one who speaks French) We eventually left and took a cab back, not in the mood for any hike.
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