Longest blog post I've ever written. Sorry everyone!
London:
It’s funny how different it is going back to England after
living there for a few months. In a way,
it feels like going home. Not in the
sense that my family is there, or that I grew up there. But I feel comfortable enough in getting
around, knowing where I am. I’ve seen
the same landmarks a bajillion times.
Although it’s sad, Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden seem less exciting
the 50th time you see them! Also,
I’ve managed to outshine Mat a few times in the England street-smarts
department. He, for example, had no idea
that you could use Oyster cards on buses outside of London (like in Dorking). Turns out you can!
This trip was one of the least relaxing vacations I’ve ever
had. Before I went, I felt like we
needed to jam-pack a million things into the 9 days I was there. We bought Lion King tickets, made dinner
reservations at the Globe Theatre, and booked a trip to Brussels. We also had to go see Mat’s parents, visit
his brother in Brighton, and I wanted to go back and visit my school. So many things to get done in 9 days! I almost wish we had planned more time to
just hang out, not doing anything planned.
I have to say, although it was disastrous for the most part,
my last day in London was my favorite.
We got up and had a lazy morning watching Saturday Morning Kitchen
(nothing but cooking and cars for Mat!).
We left for Lion King around 1:15, giving ourselves plenty of time to
get to Convent Garden for the 2:30 show.
Good thing, because everything that could go wrong, did! We got on the wrong bus to start with, so we
ended up going to Broadway Market. We
got off the bus and had to walk back to the taxi place and just get a taxi (it
was pouring rain as well). We get in the
taxi (it’s 140 by this time) and he takes the most convoluted route to get
halfway there, then decides he needs to stop for petrol! You could literally see the smoke coming out
of my ears! We finally made it to Lion
King, soaking wet and 16 pounds poorer.
The show was amazing – incredible set, costumes, and performances by
everyone involved!
Afterwards, we had dinner at the Globe Theatre. Also not an easy place to get to, as all the
theatres in Convent Garden let out around 5 pm so there wasn’t any empty taxi
in sight. Also, still pouring down
rain. We finally found a taxi and went
to the Globe, still soaking wet and another 16 pounds poorer. Dinner was lovely at the Globe. We had pre-dinner drinks in the bar, and went
up to the restaurant at 730 for dinner.
The view was amazing out the window (besides the gloomy rain). We were looking out over the Thames, and
could see Millennium Bridge. Our food
was amazing (after we had them re-cook my steak – I’ve never sent food back in
my life but if you’re going to pay 31 pounds for a steak and ordere it cooked
medium, it’s hard to enjoy it when it’s well done). Our waiter was lovely, and the atmosphere was
nice and relaxing.
This trip also helped me realize how much harder everything
is in a city like London. It sounds so
simple to just get a taxi after dinner at the Globe to go home. Instead, we end up walking around London
Bridge (not an empty taxi in sight!) for a solid hour in the absolute pouring
rain. The place where the taxi rank
should be was under construction, and it seemed like everyone else was also
looking for taxis! We ended up taking
the Tube home, which also sounds easier than it actually is. Hopping on the Tube at London Bridge, 1 stop
to Bank on the Northern Line, changing to the Central line, 3 stops to Bethnal
Green, then getting on a bus, 5 stops to Mat’s flat in Hackney. The whole process is just long! Especially when you factor in waiting for the
trains, and waiting for the buses, and the overcrowded trains you have to ram
yourself into. As efficient and convenient
as the public transportation system is in Central London, it doesn’t compare to
being able to hop in your car and drive home in 10-15 minutes.
Brussels:
The most notable thing about visiting Brussels is how
similar it is to other big European cities.
There were times I forgot I was in Brussels because it looks so similar
to the streets of Rome, and Paris. Old
cobblestones, small alleyways filled with tiny shops and restaurants with
outdoor seating. Even the men outside
the restaurants trying to beckon you in to eat at their restaurant instead of
the identical restaurant across the street were the same!
At the Eurostar station, the language barrier was
immediately obvious. I went into a
pharmacy to buy toothpaste. The man told
me my total in French, and I just kind of looked at him trying to decipher what
he meant. He then quizzed me about
whether I’d studied French in school, and how long did I study. I didn’t think anything of it, just thinking
the man was making conversation. Mat
informed me, however, that the Belgian people are very impatient with
English-speaking people who don’t make the effort to speak French to them. Because British children study French in
school for many years (usually), the Belgian people feel like they should all speak
French. Lucky for me, I have an American
accent so I could get away with not attempting any butchered
French-speaking. Thank you, America! Most of the country speaks Flemish, which is
similar to Dutch, but Brussels tends to be French-speaking. Most signs were in French, Flemish, and
German, so it was definitely a test of how much French Mat and I remembered
from school!
We left the Eurostar station and waited in a massive queue
for a taxi. 12 Euros later we were in
Grand Place, the place to see in Brussels.
Honestly, I have no idea what Grand Place is, what its historical
significance is, or what it is used for today, but it is a pretty impressive
square. Massive gothic buildings
surround the square on all four sides, and the middle is full of art vendors
and touristy stands.
Belgium is famous for chocolate, waffles, and beer, all of
which we managed to try multiple times in our 2 days there. It is hard to tell which shops are actually
authentic Belgian chocolate, but all the chocolate we ate (whether it was real
Belgian or not) was phenomenal. The
shops were ornate, and elegant, and the chocolates were presented
beautifully. The waffle stands were
everywhere! The waffles are served with
cream and a choice of other toppings on them.
We soon realized that plain waffles were cheaper, less fattening, and
still delicious.
We didn’t sample the beer until day 2, where we spent a few
hours popping in and out of little Belgian cafes, breweries, and pubs. Mat was more into the beer tasting that I was,
but we found a cute little place called the Delirium Café that had 30 beers on
tap, and over 200 bottles of beer. It
was tucked away in an alley near Grand Place.
The bartender there was really helpful, letting us sample beers before
we ordered them, and recommending some he thought we’d like. We were the only people there (it was noon on
a Friday). After that, we went for lunch
in a place that looked cute and Belgian, but ended up being the worst food I’ve
had in a long, long time.
Brussels is famous for mussels, so Mat was after some
good mussels for lunch. We stopped at a
little place by Grand Place and Mat ordered mussels. I had cannelloni with spinach and rocket. My meal was absolutely disgusting. I wish I had taken a picture. It looked pretty, but smelled and tasted like
rotten cheese, and was insanely greasy.
I cut it up and moved it around my plate so it looked like I ate it
because I didn’t want to send it back. Mat enjoyed his mussels, but decided Brussels mussels aren’t any better
than mussels anywhere else in the world!
All in all, it was a great trip! Mat and I had lots of quality time J I can’t wait until we live
in the same country so we can hang out all the time and not just for a week
every 2 months.
This is such a long, rambling blog post. I wrote most of it on the airplane on the way
back (it was a really long flight!)
Already counting down the days until Mat graces America with
his presence again J
… 51 days!
