Eating our way through Europe: Part V

Paris, France

On another very early morning, we caught a bus to Paris.  Our first encounter with a French person was not pleasant; I'm pretty sure she had something else bothering her and encountering a group of four young Americans was the last straw.

Once we finally made it to the sunlight level from the uber-efficient subway system, the first building we saw was this one.  It is so characteristically French; it's grand, beautiful, symmetrical, and chateaux-like.  As far as architecture was concerned, we were off to a great start.

Notre Dame. I studied this in my architecture class and it was really neat for me to recall all the information and terms learned and be able to see this for myself.  This church's grand scale could not be captured in a picture; you must be standing next to it, looking up, to learn how small you are.  It's fascinating that this exceptional church was built sans modern equipment and yet it's features are so precise.  It was difficult to take it all in.

The interior of Notre Dame showing the beautiful stained glass windows in the clerestory, the tucked away windows of the gallery, and the ornate arches in the arcade.  Took 200 years to build, but it truly is amazing.

The Rose Window.  Beautiful.

The back of the cathedral where you can see the flying buttresses.

There was a "pigeon lady" in front of the cathedral with birdseed who was freely putting it in people's hands to feed the pigeons.  She also, unbeknownst to me, put some in my hair and so I quickly became quite popular with the birds.  I think the max amount of birds on me at any given time was 5 and let me tell you, it tickled like crazy!

This was our dinner a couple blocks from the Eiffel Tower before we went to the landmark.  This was probably my favorite meal.  I think it was melt-in-your-mouth lamb and potatoes in a wonderfully unique stew/sauce. Yum!

The meal again and our fast disappearing water.  Water came in that wine bottle and it was expensive so we managed to share two bottles of water between the four of us by rationing, but we were still thirsty (and realizing how we take free refills for granted here).

To use Sarah's words, "Gotta have creme brulee in France!"  It tasted just as good, if not better than it looked.  It, like the water, disappeared very quickly.

The Eiffel Tower.  One of the world's most famous landmarks.  We came, we saw, we froze and were bothered by all the hagglers. I felt it was almost anti-climactic for me, but that could be because we weren't going up it, it was quite cold, or whatever, but I can say I saw it now.  It is huge and a neat structure and it lights up in a sparkly fashion every hour, and that was pretty to witness.

This was St. Patrick's Day after all so we found an Irish pub after visiting the Tower and celebrated with everyone else in the crowded tiny pub.

On the way back to our hotel we met a group of friends on the train and struck up a conversation with them.  One in particular, Olivier, lived just down the street from our hotel (so he was headed in the same direction on the subway as us).  We got off the subway at our stop, but not wanting to end the night, we decided to go for a nightcap.  We went in the nearest bar which was pretty empty compared to the last one.  We enjoyed hearing his thoughts on Americans and Texans and we dispelled many wrong rumors for him, as he did for us.  All in all, we enjoyed our French adventure.

Eating our way through Europe: Part IV

Brussels, Belgium
On our way back from Amsterdam (via the train) we made a layover before heading back to Soignies, with what was left of the day in Brussels.

Our first sight after we stepped out of the train station was this HUGE church.  I would say it is around the same size as the front of Notre Dame; you can see people down in front for comparison.  It is baffling that this is what Belgians drive right in front of every day.

This street is open-air and covered with a ceiling and hosts many shops.  We ducked in every chocolate shop and wanted to check out some of the retail stores, but it was closing time for retail when we arrived.  I can't remember exactly it's claim to fame, but it's something to the effect of this street is the longest covered, outdoor "mall" in Europe (again, I don't exactly remember but that sounds closest to being correct).

It's a rivalry to rival Microsoft versus Mac when it comes to window displays for Belgian chocolate shops.  This was one part of an elaborate window display.  They must put more time into this than a woman choosing new shoes! The other shop's window had an equally aesthetic display that was ever-so-slightly different and with the same Easter theme.  In case you were wondering, the actual chocolates were wonderful (coming from someone who's not a great chocolate fan).  

A sweet looking building.  I have no idea what it is but it is a fantastic thought to know that this is commonplace in Europe and other parts of the world (but not so much America).  Having wonderful buildings of old scattered around an international city, helping illustrate the city's multi-century old history, fascinating.

The famous Mannekin Pis, a.k.a. a little boy peeing in a fountain.  It was quite anticlimactic.  He's about 15 inches tall and is simply situated at a street corner.  Doesn't seem too special, but he's one of the most recognized statues.  You can find him peeing on the gardens of Home Depot as he is replicated worldwide for many gardens.

Couldn't stop ourselves from indulging in another waffle before we headed back to the house!

Eating our way through Europe: Part III

I'm trying to get through Europe more and more so in order to write about other stuff and post pictures from Vegas!

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Another early morning to get on the train, but, no worries, we did what we do best to pass the 4+ hours on the train, sleep! This was going to be our first overnight trip.  We got to Amsterdam and started walking in the general direction of the hotel where we were going to stay at.  We stopped in at a little brasserie to get brunch and kept walking toward the main plaza, stepping in souvenir shops along the way.  Let's just say, we all felt very educated after stepping in those shops.  The front part of most shops had the typical souvenirs, but the further back you walk, the more paraphernalia you see. I won't say more on the matter, but if you ever go there, you can't be bothered by it.  It's a different way of life and the Dutch opinions on those matters is very nonchalant. Nonetheless, it was a unique experience.

This is actually a mall right next to the palace, but the palace was under construction with scaffolding wrapped around the entire outside of the building (that's it in the left side of the frame).  The view from the guys hotel room could see the other side of this building and the palace.

We got to our hotel which had a 73-stair walk-up.  These are the 40 that greet you when you enter from the street. I don't know if you can tell, but they have about a 4" tread and are 8" high (a.k.a. very vertical).  This is actually very common because they are taxed on width of houses and the city only has room to grow vertically.  At least we could make sure we got our exercise in (amidst all the eating)!

This was Sarah's and my view.  It was mostly backyards and trees, but I loved looking at the sky at night and snooping on the neighbors!  I almost forgot I was in Amsterdam given the view I had.

One of the canals we walked by.

My absolute, hands-down favorite part.  We went to the Anne Frank House which is a museum as well as the actual house.  First of all, it was very well done.  You had to walk through it in a certain order and it was set up to where you learned the life story of her and her family and those who helped them hide.  We actually went through the hole behind the bookshelf into the "house" she hid in.  It was quite humbling, standing in Anne Frank's room.  It was neat to see artifacts, articles, videos, her actual diary, and well-placed quotes of hers on the walls that met you at every turn.  It was sad, but affected you in a graceful way.  It left a powerful lasting impression on all of us.  Note: they didn't allow pictures to be taken inside.

Another canal with a river cruise on it.  Classic Holland.

If you look up, you'll notice these beams on the top of every building.  Since the stairs are so vertical, and very narrow in many places, one would never want to risk their life carrying furniture up or down them.  These beams have hooks that are for hoisting furniture to the upper floors of the buildings in a safer, easier manner.

Dinner at Sara's Pancake House! The menu was about size 4 font because Sara (the owner and only employee) had so many different kinds of pancakes to choose from.  I'd probably guess over 200! Also, pancakes there are not the same as what we have at IHOP here.  They are thin and crepe-like but oh-so-good!

This hot-food vending machine which was at the front of a cafe or brasserie where the food was cooked then put in these windows.  Matt bought a croquette which is comparable to a cheese stick, and very tasty!

A cute window display at a (dessert) bakery.

On our way back the next day, we stopped in The Hague for lunch in between trains.  I had a panini with  something (I can't remember) on it, but it was yummy because it had a uniquely sweet taste to it. 

Lastly, I have to mention we ran into the Dallas couple (we met during the Zot Brewery Tour in Brugge) outside of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.  Small world concept wins yet again! We named them Amber and Steve because they look like those names, but honestly we never knew their names!

Eating our way through Europe: Part II

Sorry about the hiatus from blogging, I recently went to Las Vegas to celebrate Jordan's birthday, and will get to that later.  Those pictures will come after Europe.

Brugge, Belgium

We took a train to Brugge on Monday morning and planned to spend the whole day there.  Upon arrival, we took a short bus ride into the city center where the architecture is breathtakingly quaint.  It was very picturesque, classic Europe.  When Matt and Sarah went into a store, and Kevin was taking pictures, I took up a conversation with an elderly woman on a bicycle outside the store.  Turns out she was a local, born and raised there in Brugge and she was telling me about the history and the significance of some buildings and to avoid an ugly scar of architecture that was designed by the same man who created the pyramid in front of the Louvre. She was very friendly and helpful.  We really started our day (of walking) after that.

The two above pictures are in the city center and since it was mostly overcast I don't think the pictures really do them justice. Though I only included two pictures, the views were 360 degrees with cafes mostly and other official offices such as a post office.

Though you may not have known it, Belgium is famous for its handmade lace, among other things.  This was in a shop where I ended up getting my mom a Christmas table runner that is absolutely "stunning" (to use her word), and is handmade and unique.  I mean, how often do you really look at lace and notice all the effort that goes into it?

We took a river tour through Brugge's waterways.  There were only 30 people on the boat and only 4 boats at one time could be on the river because of the very low bridges.  In fact, we went under what the driver called the "Brugge Guillotine", the lowest bridge where everyone but the boat had to duck. 

Also, Bruggians (?) who live on the river are given tax deductions based on how many windows they have (more windows=less taxes) and the waterfront property here goes for an average of €11,000 per square meter (or $15,290)!

We went on the Zot Brewery Tour and learned all about how they make their beer and how laborious and odorous it is.  This shot is on top of the brewery with endless views of Brugge and where we met a couple on our tour who was from Dallas. Small world. Our tour guide had a very subtle sense of humor and explained that a beer is to be poured with 3 cm of froth on top and you are to wait until it is gone before you consume it.  This time is for you to build a relationship with your beer, talking to it, and increasing your anticipation.  She said that you know it's your last beer when the beer talks back to you.

At the end of the tour you get a Zot beer. Sarah and I didn't like it so we gave ours to Matt and Kevin to drink.

L to R: Sarah, Matt, Kevin, myself

This was dinner in Brugge in a tucked away restaurant just off of the city center. Sarah and I both had waterzooi which is comparable to a chicken stew but with a creamier, denser sauce than the typical broth. It was great! 

The group in the restaurant. Matt had a mushroom-covered steak and Kevin had half a chicken. Restaurants in Belgium are kind of expensive and people tend to eat at them when they have a reason to. Brasseries and cafes are the more typical eat-out options.

This is more or less a side note. When we were driving back to the house one day, Mitzi made a point to stop by and let us see the afro chicken! He seemed to be a very cocky chicken (no pun intended).  He was quite hilarious, both in antics and the way he looked!

Eating our way through Europe

In order to spare an extremely long post and inundating you with pictures, I am breaking up my pictures and cities into multiple posts. I'm going in order of travels. I'm trying to include interesting facts I learned, cool architecture, and of course, food pictures!


Mons, Belgium
This is near where we stayed in Belgium (thanks Mike and Mitzi!).  We walked around Mons the day we flew in, and woke up early the next morning to go to Sunday Market.  It's a cute town with neat architecture bustling with people, at least on Saturday.  

Our first group picture in Belgium!  I know we're tiny but more pictures will come.

L to R: Kevin, myself, Matt, Sarah

This is the City Hall in Mons and in front of it is the Lucky Monkey.  If you rub his head with your left hand you get good luck for a year (and then Mitzi will make you sanitize your hand). 

Possibly the coolest door handle I've ever seen.  It was the handle and lock to City Hall.

While walking through Mons we came across our first taste of Belgian waffles.  Let's just say, it created a monster out of all of us. For the rest of our trip, every time we passed a waffle, we got one, they were amazing!! The one in the picture is Brussels-style, it's fluffy and has toppings, mine has chocolate and powdered sugar.  The other style, my favorite, is called Leige and it's denser, and more naturally sweet so it doesn't really need toppings (in my personal opinion).

Helin Pain, all night and day.  HA! This was a recurring joke on the trip.  Pain means bread in French; this was a bakery bread vending machine.  These are everywhere and it's fresh bread stocked from bakeries, and it's really cheap.

We did a 5K around this chateau but before we did we had a beer break. 

I ordered a raspberry beer, one of the 127 national beers of Belgium.  My beer was yummy because it didn't taste like beer, it tasted like sparkling raspberry juice.  Fun fact: it's illegal to serve a beer in Belgium without the corresponding glass; they must match.  If a restaurant has a beer in stock, it must have the matching glass to serve it.

 I thought this was really cool...these are shopping carts in front of the supermarket.  You have to put a euro in to get one and you get your euro back when you return it.  This system makes people return them!

Some neat facts I learned: Belgians are taxed on how wide their house is (the wider it is, the more taxes), almost no one has a front porch because if they sit outside they're more likely to sit out back, they park on one side of the street for the first half of the month and the other side for the second half, and they have weird road rules because they make you yield to the right at the most inopportune turns.

So this is new...

I have always wanted to start a blog and write with a plethora of readers following my ramblings on about this and that, so I finally did (at least the blog part).  Here it is. It took long enough to come up with a title which I believe explains my goal here quite well.  I am excited to write about my recent European travels, of which kind of gave me the kick in the butt to actually start this once and for all.  I do not plan on limiting myself to those travels however, I will blog about a wide range of topics, hence the pursuitS, with an "s". Either tonight, or sometime before this weekend, I will begin the posting of pictures and storytelling of my adventures during Spring Break.  Until then, I will inform my friends of this recent undertaking. We'll see how this goes!

Best wishes,
HP