After Breakfast with Anna, Kate, and Megan, we decided to explore more of Brussels.
We ended up walking a pretty long way and ended up in a park or jardin. It was gorgeous. We passed many museums but not only were most closed because it was Monday but a ton of them are doing renovations this month and won't be open until February. We are pretty sure we found the European Union Headquarters as well as the American Embassy. That was very cool to see.
We found an ancient cathedral, at least five hundred years old. And then we went to lunch. Basically we wandered and wandered and settled on a shop that was much cheaper than the others we had passed in the more thick areas. I ordered what seems like a plain a ham and cheese, but they put butter on it. It’s actually really good. When you hear people in America talking about dining out in Europe, they really complain about drinks being so expensive but it keeps you from drinking too much and the glass cups are adorable. Also, you realize how expensive beer is in the US. In most of the restaurants here, normal beers are the same price as “une coca” or a coke.
After lunch we kept wandering around. We did some necessary things like exchanging money, and we did a little bit of shopping. I finally found some really cool post cards, but not quite enough for all the people I promised post cards to.
A little bit later we met up with the entire group for waffles. Kate and I split a banana/strawberry/whip cream waffle. I’m so glad we split it so I would actually had room for dinner later. Perhaps I should warn my readers in advance that my life does revolve around food...
It was nice to see the group again, since we had all been exploring in small packs, but unluckily, Mike, Anna, and I had problems with our train passes, so we had to get pulled away to the gare, or train station to sort them out. It was quite funny watching our coordinator deal with the first rude person we'd met, who distributes the tickets, and it was worth it in the end to wait it out, because now we have five free rides from Louvain-La-Neuve, our actual school, to Brussels.
After, the three of us went exploring and found the grocery store, who’s symbol is almost identical to Food Lion’s. It is called "Delhaize" but when we slipped up and said "Food Lion" locals knew what we meant.
We went to the mall, and while we were waiting to meet up with other students we sort of snuck into the Viage, which is a casio and club and restaurant all in one. I say "sort of" because it's not as if it was a locked building that we broke into. It was very much open but the grand staircase wrapped in lights a la Las Vegas was completely imposing and intriguing at the same time. We weren’t sure if we could go in, but when we got up to a floor that had people on it, the suits didn’t stop us from going to the top of the Viage. That is Anna and I at the rooftop restaurant where the lights change colors.
The Christmas lights were still up as we wandered the streets looking for a good place to drink. These lights say "Joyeux Noel."
We ended up stopping in this place we had discovered the other day. While walking by fairly new and modern building we saw this sort of gothic cement arch over a completely sketchy looking alley. On the roof of the alley was a giant white arrow which pointed to a bar, The Bon Vieux Temps.
The Bon Vieux Temps is a wonderfully classic brasserie, the kind that, if you were a reading nerd like me, you would love to go to and meet a stranger and have an interesting chat with them. First of all everything is wood: old wooden tables, wood paneling on the walls, and a giant mahogany bar. There was a gorgeous and giant fireplace and the windows were stained glass.
I got my first Rochefort in Belgium, Number 8 to be exact, and we all played games and became fast friends.
After that, the group split in two, with half heading home and half going to find the Delirium bar. Delirium is one of the few Belgian beers that is semi-popular in America. To me, most Americans know absolutely nothing about beer, but I think I am pre-disposed to think this because in Clemson too many of my friends are "beer snobs" working at specialty bars, brewing their own beers, working at specialized imported and local beer stores, and writing famous beer blogs.
I was quite excited to go there. It was wonderfully hip walking in. A giant blue metal staircase and three floors of, well, Delirium. I got the undeniable Pink Killer, and I think the bartender was happy with my choice. The beer is ACTUALLY pink, a favorite color of mine, so no doubt I was excited but I did not expect to love it like I did. It is made from malt but I'm guessing the grapefruit is what gives it that pink color, though I can't imagine it being strong enough to change the color so I wonder if they use dye to help it along.
It was very crowded downstairs, and as men are quite forward and we were mainly composed of girls, we went up to the much less crowded third floor where we actually met other study abroad students, although they were French and Russian. It was nice to talk to them especially about the French language and culture, and they recommended my second beer, Deliriums version of and apple beer, a lambic I am guessing.
The best part of the evening though, must have been when Alyssa and I went to the bathroom in Delirium on the first floor. Crowded and sweaty and loud we were yelling to each other, in English, when a girl comes in behind us and hits us with the door. "Oh, sorry" she says, and we both say "no worries" and in the most classically sitcom move ever, we slowly turn to look at each other, and then her, and say "YOU'RE SPEAKING ENGLISH!" and with her excitement and ours we frantically asked each other where we were from.
"America!"
"Me too! Where in America?!"
"South Carolina."
"OH MY GOSH NO WAY, Same here! Are you in university?!"
"Yea, I got to Clemson."
"OH MY GOSH ME TOO!"
Turns out we had ran into the other Clemson Belgium group, a group of business majors and minors who spend their time in Brussels. Small world.
