Belgium

On Tuesday, we arrived in Belgium! It was a bit of a trek from the train station to our hosts' house but we made it. It turned out to be a classy town house with 5 floors and an elevator. Needless to say, we felt a bit ragged knocking on their door but Gaelle and her family were very welcoming. After much-needed showers and naps, Philippine, the daughter (19), took us out to drinks and dinner. We had our first famed Belgian beer, peach beer, the favorite drink of the people we were with, followed by sushi in the historic old town of Brussels. Our first real glimpse of the city was at night, and seeing the architectural highlights like Grand Place, the Bourse, and Saint-Catherine glowing in the dark was quite a treat. The night was finished up in a busy alley of pubs, one of which (Delirium) is known for serving over 2000 types of beer.

We slept in the next day and visited La Cinquantaire, an arch carved out of two buildings to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Belgian independence. It offered a far-reaching view of the city, including the giant metal atom that Philippine said was like Belgium's Eiffel Tower. After returning home for a bit, Liz and I went back into the city center to see the sights in the daytime. We went inside Saint-Catherine, returned to Grand Place, ate Belgian waffles, and wandered through the Royal Park. Upon our return, we shared family dinner with Antoine, Gaelle, Alexia, and Philippine. The conversation theme that night was college in America versus Belgium, since Alexia wants to go to school in America but her parents aren't so keen. In Belgium, college is essentially free, is close to home, and students continue to live with their parents. Before bed, Liz and I watched the movie Troy in French in hopes of brushing up on the language.

Thursday morning we decided to take a day-trip to Bruges, a cherished Medieval town that Belgium is known for. We found cheap train tickets and were there by early afternoon. In Church Of Our Lady, we saw one of the only Michelangelo sculptures that was taken out of Italy, and we walked through picturesque parks to reach the town square. It was surprisingly grand, with ornate, gold gilded detailing on the distinctly European buildings. In the surrounding alleys of restaurants and pubs, we chose a place to eat pasta and try a new flavor of belgian beer. After a last stroll along the boutiques, lace and Christmas themed storefronts, and chocolate shops, we took the train home. We enjoyed another dinner and conversation with the family, and watched Pretty Woman before bed. We left Belgium early today, more updates to come!

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