As most of you probably know, I really enjoy photography, but in terms of getting all 10,000 pictures to the masses, it’s a little harder. That’s why I decided to make some youtube videos chronicling our travels. So far I have three which you can check out below from our trip to Lisbon, Toledo and Brussels.
Enjoy!
To say that I’ve been having a blast since I’ve been here would be a complete understatement.
To say that time has passed by quickly would be a complete and blatant lie – it has gone by in the blink of an eye.
I’ve been here a month and it’s mind-blowing to think of all the things I’ve done, the places I’ve seen and the people I’ve met. To put things in perspective I’ve listed my top 20 things I’ve done.
So far I’ve:
Casual Wine Tasting
Panoramic View
El Prado
Roomies at Retiro
Dubliners for my birthday and I found Nado Peeps
Waffle, Chocolate, Whip Cream, Chocolate Heaven
Soon to be FB Friends
It’s unreal. One month down. Three more to go.
Off to Andalucía this weekend – be ready for more adventures and pictures from Córdoba and Granada!
I think my computer hates me. Not only is it freaking out because of a proxy I put on it, so we can watch Hulu, but I just uploaded about 800 pictures from this weekend. Simply put, this weekend was picture perfect (minus my fourth roommate Alinah being in Portugal).
From Brussels to Brugge
On Saturday morning, the boys and us met up in Grand Place after a quick breakfast waffle (notice a recurring theme?) before heading to the Brussels train station. Much to our surprise, we were able to get roundtrip tickets for the five us for €50 which only made our day better. After trying to decode some French signs to catch our train, waiting half an hour and changing tracks we were on our way to Brugge.
Headed to Brugge
The hour and a half train ride through the beautiful countryside took us to the North West part of Belgium. It felt as if I were riding back in time, as I saw numerous dirt roads, small towns, and ancient buildings throughout the trip. When we finally arrived, we walked towards the tallest landmark we could see – the cathedral. The first fifteen minutes of our journey it appeared as if Brugge was just a quiet town with not much going on – man, were we wrong. We ended up walking through multiple plazas, through two cathedrals, and finding a main street with stores similar to that of SoHo in New York.
Kev, Meg, Erin, Jess, and Sam
Brugge is a small, very rich, super photogenic place that kept me enchanted all day. After finding the canals throughout the city, we ended up taking a million pictures of the swans that are unique to the water system, the deeply rooted buildings, and walking along the waterway – it was absolute perfection (despite the flurrying of snow).
Kev and his girls
Roommates on the water
Around 2:30 we began to get hungry so stepped into a cute little restaurant, Petit Maxim that looked affordable and had a menu du jour (menú del día). I ended up ordering Pâte, a country omlette (without mushrooms) and the chocolate mousse for dessert. Both Sam and Kevin ended up getting the Pâte, Flemish Stew and a side of warm applesauce, which was absolutely divine.
A Brugge-ian Country Omlette
Out of my comfort zone – trying Pheasant Pâte
Once we finished our Belgian lunch, we continued to walk around but headed back towards the train station. We once again passed a cathedral and decided to enter. Much to our surprise, a mass was going on and we stayed a bit – even though we couldn’t understand a word out of the Dutch priest’s mouth. It was interesting to note that the churches in Brugge had a tribute to victims of sexual assault (because of Catholic Priests) – I had never seen that before.
Before we knew it we were back at the train station chasing down a train. We were all exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep on the hour train back. Luckily for us the train back to Brussels was pulling up to the platform as soon as we walked up. Much to my dismay, I was unable to pass out, but I did unexpectedly find a creative filters feature on my DLSR which kept me busy the whole train ride (below is my favorite picture from the day).
The most faithful dog I ever did see
I bet you can’t guess what we did as soon as we got back to Brussels. Yup – you guessed it – got some waffles and fries for dinner and then rested at the hotel before heading back out with the boys. Once we finished our scrumptious snacks and got ready, we met Sam and Kevin in Grand Place. Sam had noticed a cool “Rock”bar on the way over and said we should check it out. Turns out the bar was home to the Local Hells Angels crew and we stuck out like a sore thumb. We were out of there and headed to Delirium faster than you can say AC/DC.
Twins
Our night at Delirium was hilarious to say the least. As the only Americans in the bar, we ended up singing every word to every song and encouraged everybody to join in. I was a witness to my fair share of dance battles (remind me to take brush up on my European dance moves when I’m back in Spain). We spent another hour in the village and then decided to part ways after we got some frites – the boys had an early flight and we were just exhausted.
Our Favorite Friterie
Somehow Jess, Erin, and I wound up at a tiny café eating gyros wraps and found ourselves taking pictures with the owner before heading back to our hotel. We had a great last night in Belgium to say the least. The next morning we were up super early and walked past Delirium to head to the airport. Though our stay was less than two days, I felt like I had known the city for ages.
Making friends while making Halal Food
Once we got to the airport, we made one last ditch effort to find waffles. We proceeded to fail miserably and opted for the much healthier smoothie stand instead. While waiting for our flight, I spotted the Spanish National Rugby Team walking around. Little did we know that they’d be on our flight. Luckily for me, they sat right in front of us and we became immediate friends (sort of, not really, well you get the point). To say it was an awesome way to end an amazing weekend would be an understatement.
That’s all from Brugge – got to get back to work!
Au Revoir!
Just chilling with the Spanish Rugby Team
Delirium: The Morning After
Greetings from Belgium – home to the worlds most magnificent chocolate, waffles, fries and beers (also known as comfort food central). It still hasn’t sunk in that I’m really “here” and my stay will be less than a full weekend, but I’m still very excited.
After staying up on Thursday night until 3 and a quick siesta in the cab to the airport, Los Chupitos arrived at Brussels international airport by 5. Less than three hours later the distinct, sweet smell of waffles infiltrated our noses as soon as we stepped off the plane and into the natural sun lit terminal. With just our backpacks and smiles upon our weary faces, we ventured down to the train station and figured our way into Brussels. We had decided to meet up with the boys at their hostel in the city because we couldn’t check in until later, but the general lack of direction and signage in Brussels had us more lost than anything.
After finding Grand Place – the center of Brussels – we searched for a bar, restaurant, hotel, pretty much anything with internet to let our friends know where we were. Luckily for us, we found an Irish Pub, O’Reilly’s, with an English speaking bartender to give us directions and the password to their network. Sooner rather than later we were sitting down engulfing our first Belgian Waffle at a lovely little restaurant named Drug Opera – we don’t entirely know what the name means, but it’s probably just a severe case of Engrish. We all decided to order a waffle with whip cream, chocolate, and ice cream. The lemon tinted waffle was covered in the ice cream and whip, and they served us a side of steaming hot chocolate to drizzle over the sweet sensation. While I was busy taking pictures of our sweets, Jess and Erin dove in. Their “mmmmms” and “ahhhs” with each bite made me put down the camera immediately.
Drug Opera Waffles
After our scrumptious breakfast, we met the boys in Grand Place to walk around. Prior to coming to Brussels, I had compiled a list of things to do and see, but other than that there was no general plan other than to have fun. They had been there a half day longer than us and had found the famous Mannequin Pis statue around the corner so we decided to walk there. I was pissed (pun intended) about the size of the statue – it was less than a foot tall – we were all expecting a grand sculpture of some sort, not some tiny corner dedicated to this famous landmark. In all honesty, I would have missed it just walking down the streets if it weren’t for the large group of Japanese tourists crowding around it.
At the Mannequin Pis
By the time we were done with the minuscule statute it was time to check in so we trekked to our hotel. Even though our accommodations at Hotel Le Grand Columbier were great (definitely recommend it for the price and hospitality), it was very difficult to find. It was between two main roads on a quiet alley and the alley name did not match the one on the website. Twas a wild goose chase to say the least.
After dropping our bags off and grabbing some warm clothes we headed back out on the road to find some waffles for the boys and the cathedral. Once Sam grabbed his raspberry waffle, which smelled absolutely divine, we were on our way once again up the hill to the church.
On a side note… churches are a huge deal in Europe. Every city has massive cathedrals and are open to the public which is wonderful. This cathedral was no different.
We walked around by ourselves, gazed at the marvelous stained glass and ended up whispering to each other in the pews talking about God, our pasts, and the trip. Our deep conversation ended up making us hungry so we returned to a quaint restaurant on an alley off of Grand Place. Though the food was delicious, it did not compare to our previous waffles and chocolate, however meals are more about the conversation and people you are with than the food.
Dinner Crew
Waffle, Chocolate, Whip Cream, Chocolate Heaven
After realizing we had spent over two hours in that cozy booth, we decided to head back to our hotels and take a quick siesta before venturing out on the town. We had all heard of this place called Delirium Village which holds the Guinness Book of World Records for number of Beers served with over 2000 different types. Both Sam and Kevin boasted about how great it was last night so we decided to meet up there but not before having another waffle (best one yet). We ended up meeting tons of people and ran back to our favorite waffles and fries place around the corner before piling into bed.
Delirium by Day
Roomies at Delirium
Today we’re off to the city of Brugge – about an hour outside of Brussels. I heard it’s absolutely stunning and will post as soon as I get back!
Au Revoir!
The first and last lines of my college application essay read:
“I am a planner, a mapper, a person who needs each and every second to go according to plan… I became spontaneous. I now live by the Latin phrase Carpe diem– meaning ‘seize the day’.”
Though these lines are referencing my ACL tear back during high school, this most definitely applies to Wednesday night. Jess, Erin and I had just finished our visit to Museo del Prado – the most famous art museum in all of Spain – when our friends, Sam and Kevin, asked us if we were doing anything for the weekend. Though we were planning on heading South to Cadíz for Carnevale, nothing was set in stone. They told us they had gotten cheap flights to Brussels, Belgium and invited us to come along. Though Belgium had never crossed my mind as a destination, I was eager to get out of the country – Spain is awesome, don’t get me wrong, I just had a little bit of cabin fever.
That night we booked our tickets for Friday morning (tomorrow) and a cute little hotel on the north end of the center of Brussels. Spontaneity at its finest? I think yes.
Just a little bit excited
I’m so beyond excited to get another stamp in my passport, go on my first adventure without plans, and just travel for travelings’ sake. I don’t know what awaits us in Brussels, except for cold weather and delicious waffles, even so, Los Chupitos are taking on Belgium and Belgium best be ready.
¡Au Revoir!
