Today started out great. As I walked to the laundrymat, I passed Thai Coffee (the restaurant next door), and Nam came out to yell “Hi, Michael!” I said, “Good morning!” and headed off to my day.
After washing my clothes, I had a bit of trouble getting the dryer to work. Luckily, two friendly French-speaking men decided to help me out. I bought the wrong token for the dryer – the 3.50 Euro one, not the 0.60 Euro. After I bought the right one, they were even nice enough to buy the other off of me, when I offered it to them for free (since I won’t be coming back).
Next, I went sightseeing. First, I saw Manneken Pis, a famous statue of a boy urinating into a fountain. I was fairly surprised by the size of the statue; pictures make it look huge, but in reality, it’s tiny. I must say, I’m glad I’m going to be getting out of the Conner 3 environment next year; my exact thoughts at the statue went, “Woah, it’s so small; I thought it would be much bigger… That’s what she said.”
Nearby is a famous courtyard, the Grand Place. The architecture is all 1700s, so it looked very scenic. I also wanted to see the Royal Palace and the European Parliament, so I started to walk that way.
One of the best things about Brussels is the fact that they have signs everywhere explaining the sights nearby, so as I walked, I could tell what I was passing. In front of the Royal Palace, there is a large garden where I decided to eat a waffle with cream and relax in the shade next to a fountain. The street vender’s waffle was absolutely delicious. I don’t know how they made it sweet, crispy, and tender all at the same time, but it worked. In fact, I think I’m going to stop writing for a little while to go find one (I’m currently in a train station)…
Well, that one wasn’t as good as the last, but I did get to put Belgian chocolate ice cream on top, which was quite a bonus. Anyway, after the park, I continued on to the European Parliament complex, but only saw it from the outside. I couldn’t tell if there was a tour/guest entrance, but I was alright with that.
Actually, I just realized that I missed a stop. In between Grand Place and the park, I went to the Museum of Ancient Through Modern Art. Personally, I think that just makes it a general art museum, but who am I to say? I decided to only see the modern (19th Century – Present) sections this time, both to save on time and because I haven’t seen much of it yet on this trip. Really, even though I’ve grown to appreciate art much more than when I was younger, I still didn’t see a large percentage of the works that impressed me. Only three or four even made me want to stop and think.
Finally, I wanted to see the Atomium and Mini-Europe, but because they were on the last Metro stop, I also didn’t think I had time at 4:00 to go and see much. Instead, I took a short nap at the hotel, then walked around the city and took photos in the botanical gardens.
For dinner, I decided to go with Thai again; it really was delicious before, plus they were really friendly. This time, I ordered without Nam’s help, and ended up with rice, green curry, beef, coconut milk, and peppers. Nam told me that it would be too spicy for my sensitive Western palate, but I insisted. Yes, it was spicy; the coconut milk, however, calmed the peppers a little and made the whole dish bearably delicious. At the end of dinner, it was 9:30. I took a picture of the sunset and went to bed.
It’s been a while since I wrote in my journal, so bear with me if I forget a few details. Right now, I’m sitting in a park in Barcelona feeling quite sick, but I suppose we’ll get there in time…
On the way to Berlin, I met two Korean girls, Younghee and Eunhee, because none of us were sure about which train to board. The two of them are sisters who live together in Seoul, and now they are travelling through Europe for a few weeks. Neither one speaks English perfectly, but Younghee lived in Canada for a year, so she does alright and helps Eunhee out if she has trouble.
