At first I was nervous because I had booked on Ryanair, an airline equally infamous for its low fares as for its high fees if you don't follow the rules. But nothing went wrong, neither on my way there or back. I had just one bag for the whole weekend and actually napped on both flights, which is apparently unheard of since the seats aren't that comfortable and the crew walks up and down the aisles selling stuff the whole time. Door to door, it was about a six hour journey from Aix to Brussels. Not bad to get to a whole other country!
Liv's study abroad program has apartments (not homestays like I'm doing) which was quite refreshing. We cooked all our meals and got plenty of chill time, which I've really missed. Can anyone say couch in the informal at DZ?!
Brussels is a very interesting city. It's appearance is extremely typical of Northern Europe: ornate city buildings; tight row houses with tudor accents; lots of stone and brickwork. But it also has a lot of cultural confusion from the German, Dutch, and French influences on the country. The three official languages are French, German, and English, but Flemish is also prevalent. In fact, the Flemish part of Belgium is constantly threatening to secede (like Catalonia in Spain). So communication was not an issue for me, since basically everyone spoke French and English - if not more languages! The culture cannot be described by just one thing, and I think that the rise of a global youth culture plus the amount of foreigners living in Brussels has made it even more difficult to pinpoint. Liv called it a very "independent" city - as in indie, as in hipster (she totally would say that, what an SF girl), which makes sense, since everyone seemed to bring their own vibe and contribute something. You could think of Brussels as the great potluck city! (And New York is the melting pot!)
typical brussels architecture
8-bit cthulu strikes again! what?!
tintin! quintessential belgium
When I arrived on Friday, we went right into tour mode:
The Palace...
Grand Place...
A market (not too different from the ones in Aix, but this one had a guy who could recreate any perfume just by smelling it!)...
famous belgian chocolates
Some of Liv's favourite bars...
The "pissing statue," who someone had dressed in a monk's robe for the day (perhaps to keep him warm?)...
And on the way to this park, I almost got hit by a trolly...
On the way home, we got frites from Maison Antoine...
"pitta" sauce that tasted just like ranch dressing
fries and ranch - me and doug's favourite late-night snack!
When I got to Liv's apartment, I was so glad to put my bag down! While it was small, I had been carrying it for twelve hours now, and it had gotten pretty heavy!
Her place is so cute :) This is the backyard, where she told me they ate almost all their meals when they first arrived and the weather was still warm.
going shopping... what are "pasta spices" supposed to be?
Then we went out to get food for dinner. Inspired by Liv's Belgium cookbook, we bought chicken breast and veggies at the supermarket and began what would be one of the funniest cooking experiences I've ever had. Turns out, all three meals we made during the weekend were hilarious, mostly because me and Liv both love to take charge in the kitchen, which always results in a tiff... and a delicious meal :)
mixing up the carrots
our prep station
just the right amount of chefs in the kitchen... usually
Having no idea what we were doing, I just threw some olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic in a bowl; tossed the chicken around; added it to a pan with carmelizing onions, butter, wine, and chicken stock; and it turned out to be über tasty!
plated... and ready for gordon ramsey
We also made some very-parsley-y veggies. And we ate everything. I've missed cooking so much!
That night, we went out with a bunch of other DU kids who are studying abroad in Brussels. It was so great to see a crew of familiar faces and experience a new city.
The next day, we woke up, made a scrumptious breakfast, and had a leisurely time getting ready. It really wasn't so much what I was doing, so much as spending time with one of my best friends. And cooking is something we just love doing together, so I was happy! :)
This meal was inspired by the Spanish omelets I had in Barcelona... except they didn't turn out as well. It was less of a fritata and more of just a regular omelet... that got broken into lots of pieces... but still tasted really good!!!
the most farm-fresh eggs i've seen outside of vermont
making toast on the stove (hi dad!)
no coffe? two tea bags please!
nom nom nom
We went to another park and got a gauffre au chocolat (chocolate waffle) from a nearby stand. Liv said there are better waffles from specialty restaurants and stuff in the city, but I can't imagine how they got much better because this was the best waffle I've ever had! And I don't even like waffles that much!!! At the end, I had chocolate all over my face... mmmmmm :)
Hanging out in this park made me wish Aix had more big parks to hang out in - with benches. Most of the parks in Aix are great for picnics on the grass, but when it's rainy you just need a bench. Brussels knows what's up... probably because it rains more there :P Anyway, it was beautiful, even in the overcast weather.
We continued on to the city center where we made our way to the shopping street of Avenue Louise via the cityscape view of the Atomium and the Palais de Justice. The Atomium is the iconic site of the 1910 Brussels World Fair.
the atomium in the distance (that ball-and-line statue thing)
the palais de la justice or courthouse. the architect had a breakdown when it was first built, so there are doors that lead to nowhere and stuff - wacky!
avenue louise
hey, that's my name!
I know this trip to Europe shouldn't be spent shopping, but I really needed a new pair of pants after losing a battle with bleach on one of my faves. Liv and I stopped in this cool store called Pull & Bear that they do not have in the U.S. so I got new pants there that I LOVE! Originally I was thinking about buying a 100% replacement pair from Urban Outfitters, but hey, when in France! Or Belgium! I am now the proud owner of European pants :)
We chilled at a café for a long time before heading back to make dinner. A yummy meal of traditional Belgian moules frites (mussels and fries) was planned, and we had our own version in store.
back from the store, looking so french with my baguette and fresh produce
...and my pull&bear bag
Again, just going with the flow, we tossed a ton of butter, wine, milk, and water into a pot; added celery, carrots, onions, and mussels; and cooked along to some Taylor Swift music! At first we considered having some rice or something to go with the broth... but when you make moules frites, you've gotta have a baguette to sop that broth up with! Mmmmmm, perfection :) We also made some "frites" to go along - basically just sliced potatoes cooked lightly in a pan. Probably too much food for the two of us (um, a whole kilo of mussels, who were we kidding?!) but every bite was amazing!
oil and salt make everything better
our version of frites
moules! yay!
After dinner, we went with a few people to Taverneas (?), which is a chill bar with live music that Liv and her friends frequent. There, I tried cherry beer for the first time. At first I was pretty skeptical - what is fruit doing in my beer?! But it tasted like juice (dangerous!) and I would totally get it again sometime! We didn't stay long because I had to leave at 5AM to get to the airport for my flight, but I really loved just hanging out with people and watching some old people dance. Not the typical routine in Aix!
On my flight out, the air was suuuuuper foggy! All the airport lights seemed like they were just hovering in space and you couldn't see planes more than three rows away from you. But we left safe and sound, I was welcomed with a sunny 75°(25°C) day at the Marseille-Provence airport, and a clean, happy room at home :)
Such a short visit to Brussels! :( But that's why it's just a weekend trip. I loved all my time there and was so happy to see some great friends!
xxo, S
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