Brussels is such a great city to travel through. We ended up having to stay in two different hostels. The first was most definitely better than the second. The first hostel we stayed at had internet, a kitchen, and was really impressive for the price we paid. The second hostel was actually called a hotel, but was anything, but that. Online it said that there was a continental breakfast. The real breakfast consisted of bread and cheese... not exactly my idea of continental breakfast. However, we did manage to find a restaurant that had GREAT food. I think the food may have been one of my favorite parts of Belgium. I am so used to eating only sandwiches in Maastricht so I look forward to the food when I travel.
I could blog forever about Brussels, but I will try to keep it short by telling you the best stories and loading this blog with pictures.
The last night out in Brussels, Morgan and I ventured near the City Center. A random guy came up to me and asked to take a picture with me because it was his birthday. Of course, I told him it was mine too. The old man across the alley invited us in to his restaurant to have a free birthday beer. Well, one beer turned into four beers and a cheese plate. We were also offered mussels. He said we have to have mussels in Brussels. The owner's cousin grabbed my hand at one point and said he loved my hands. I wish I could document how ugly my hands were at that point. I will try to describe. I haven't put on lotion in weeks and my Fiercely Fiona, yellow nail polish is chipping to the max. He also asked me to meet him back at the restaurant when they closed and he would take me out.... I was in bed watching television, at the hotel, by 12:30 AM.
The next day we went exploring in Brussels. There was a lot to see, but we managed to power through everything by early afternoon. There is a church on a hill that you can see from almost any point in Brussels and we were determined to find it. We didn't exactly realize how far this church was or what we had to pass through to get to it. First of all, this church was far. I'm talking an hour and a half walk just from the other end of the hill. On the way there, we passed through an area of Brussels that no tourist should go through.
First of all, I witnessed at leasstttt three drug deals. I was so terrified of this area I shoved my purse down my pants, zipped my coat all the way up, and held Morgan's hand. There was no way I was getting pick-pocketed or ending up in a real-life version of the movie, Taken.
Secondly, we managed to walk through a massive street sale. I'm not talking vintage jewelry and teapots. I'm talking mutilated baby dolls without heads that were thrown in the trash and televisions with smashed screens; not your run of the mill street sale. This continued for at least seven blocks, which seemed like fifty.
After we made it through that mess I found a really neat church that was painted black. Being the tourist I am and feeling a bit more safe, I took out my camera really quick to snap a picture. After I did, I felt people watching. I turned around to find at least twenty pairs of eyes mean-mugging me. At this point I wanted to run, but I was afraid this Middle-Eastern mob-looking crew was going to chase after me. I hid my camera and quickly walked past with my head down.
.... But we made it and it was so worth it. We even got to go inside and take pictures.
My final story involves our departure from Brussels. We left our bags at the hostel and planned to pick them up on the way to the train station. We asked the man at the front desk to call us a cab. Since we were in a hurry, we thought it would be faster than lugging our bags on foot. Apparently this man was too infatuated with the Indian spin-off of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" that he couldn't find time. He told us a short-cut to take and we would be there in five minutes. Okay, fair enough. Well, fifteen minutes later, after we managed to make our way through the crowds of people on a street that smelled like kabobs and body odor, we found a street where the train station was actually visible. Phew.... until I turned my a head to the left. I see a significantly overweight woman, in a bikini, smoking a cigarette in the window. Ahhh. Look away, look away. I couldn't help, but laugh in disgust. Until the next store front and the one after that and so on. I even saw an old woman, overly tan with white hair, in one window. This strip of store fronts was like watching any reality show on MTV; you know it's terrible when you're watching it, but you can't look away. The worst part wasn't even the women in the fronts, it was the creepy men drooling over them. So, if you are ever in Brussels, do NOT take any shortcuts. Go all the way around, even if it takes forty-five minutes to walk.
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