Saturday, July 16, 2011

I Ate Snails. (Yes, plural.)

So today started off with a trip to a local bakery where we picked out breakfast - croissants with chocolate. Afterwards, we headed to Silke's grandmother's house in Lennik where we had some champagne and snacks before lunch. Now, it was probably the champagne, but I did a very brave thing....I ate 2 (two) snails. Yes. Two. They were....interesting. And chewy.



After that once-in-a-lifetime snack, we moved on to a fabulous lunch of "Farmer's food" and ice cream for dessert. Silke's grandmother's house was full of art that she had created - it was beautiful. Silke's grandmother was also the most gracious host, and reminds me of my grandma in so many ways. From her sweet demeanor to constantly checking that everyone has what they need, I'm pretty sure Silke's grandmother and my grandmother must be related.



After that we journeyed into Brussels, where I took way too many pictures once again. We saw lots of churches - and you could tell that whoever made them was going for the awe-inspiring look. I got to see a "big" attraction in Brussels - the "pissing man". Really, he is just a small naked boy who is taking a leak. But for some reason...he's a big deal.

The streets were packed with small stores and waffle vendors. I ate a real Belgian waffle that was delicious - much sweeter than ones at home. As we walked through a street packed with restaurants, Carine (Silke's mom) told me that one of the restaurant staff asked if I was Spanish, which gives me high hopes of fitting in well in Spain.  It rained on us late in the afternoon, but don't worry. I didn't melt. Just got cold and wet.



To end the day we went to see Harry Potter pt. 2. My reactions about the movie theatre:
  • You buy your ticket for a specific seat - (row 9, seat 5) - I think I liked this...it would allow me to waste more time buying popcorn before a movie.
  • The seats were way more comfy than in any other theater I've been to...Lots of leg room, extra wide armrests, and cushy seats.
  • There was a ten minute intermission half-way through the movie. This was one of the negatives. It was slightly weird to suddenly "pause" the movie and restart again....
  • There were subtitles in French and Dutch. This part made me believe I was actually fluent in 3 languages because I could "read" (predict/follow along) with what was in the movie. This was...distracting. 
Oh, and HP7.2 was fantastic. 

We're off to Ghent for a festival tomorrow. And it should be raining. Again. Belgian weather MAY be worse than Michigan's. Maybe.

x

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