In case you're ever confused by my titles, they are often song lyrics. Clever, I know. This one is from a Josh Ritter song (I'm so predictable sometimes) called "Right Moves." There's a line in which he asks "Did you look up at the stars / and feel something for the constellations?" And my response right now is a resounding yes.
Brussels:
Brussels is a quirky little city with a distinct personality. It is famous for it's chocolate, waffles, beer, and the statue of the peeing boy. I can assure you that the former three are indeed delicious, and the latter is small and very strange.
While in Brussels, we attended briefings at the European Commission (this was a school excursion, after all) and then pretty much wandered around the city for the rest of the visit. I swear I traipsed from one end of that city to the other and saw every building in between. My favorite was the Cathedral de Saint Michel et Gudula. It's an absolutely stunning place. When we first wandered in, it was Sunday night and there was a service going on in which (I think) they were installing a new priest, which meant that we got to see the bishop! Plus the organ was pretty cool. I ended up going to that cathedral three times. One of these times was for a free organ concert in which the most incredible choir sang. It was awesome.
On a less holy note, we also "visited" another famous Belgian establishment: Delirium. In case you haven't heard of it it's a bar that has 2,004 or more beers at any given time. The fun part is that you can order it in a boot, which is a liter of beer (which is A LOT to have in front of you at one time) in a glass shaped like a boot. This led to some classic "Das Boot" jokes. Of course.
We also went to the Royal Art Museum, ate moules frites (mussels and french fries, a Brussels classic) and generally enjoyed ourselves.
Paris:
I'm going to admit something right now: I didn't think I was going to like Paris. It seemed way too hyped. I mean, the most romantic city, the city of lights, so on and so forth. I figured it couldn't possibly live up to it, and it was going to seem very fake and contrived in it's efforts to do so.
This is not the case. I found Paris very genuine and I absolutely LOVED IT. My program, in another wonderful stroke, got us a hotel literally across the street from the Moulin Rouge. The Moulin Rouge is mildly glamorous, but it is also in the middle of a working sex district. It was amusing and shocking to walk out of the subway and end up in the middle of this. Eye opening!
I saw the big sights in Paris, of course, which was lovely. The Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, etc. I think my favorite was the Sacre Coeur. It's at the top of this massive hill, so you have to climb a million and a half stairs to get there, but standing on the steps gives you an incredible view of Paris. Plus the inside of the cathedral was just stunning. I may be in the minority, but I liked it better than the Notre Dame.
Another fun aspect of the trip to Paris was seeing my old friend from Phoenix, Adam. We had facebooked each other about our respective locations (he's studying in France this semester) and we planned to meet up in Paris. He and I (plus a few kids from my program and his friend, Rose) went to dinner together and we caught up. It was such a strange thing to see someone so very clearly reminiscent of years past while in a foreign place. A strange dichotomy, but a fun one.
I was a little amused to realize that most of my associations with Paris were from the movie "Ratatouille." I don't know if I should be embarrassed to admit it or not, but it is what it is.
I'm sorry I just blazed through everything, but if you want to hear the mile-long story of the whole week, just e-mail me or something. I don't want to burden the blogosphere with all the details!
Hopefully I'll post about this weekend sometime tonight...
On a less holy note, we also "visited" another famous Belgian establishment: Delirium. In case you haven't heard of it it's a bar that has 2,004 or more beers at any given time. The fun part is that you can order it in a boot, which is a liter of beer (which is A LOT to have in front of you at one time) in a glass shaped like a boot. This led to some classic "Das Boot" jokes. Of course.
We also went to the Royal Art Museum, ate moules frites (mussels and french fries, a Brussels classic) and generally enjoyed ourselves.
 |
| Brussels is kooky. |
Paris:
I'm going to admit something right now: I didn't think I was going to like Paris. It seemed way too hyped. I mean, the most romantic city, the city of lights, so on and so forth. I figured it couldn't possibly live up to it, and it was going to seem very fake and contrived in it's efforts to do so.
This is not the case. I found Paris very genuine and I absolutely LOVED IT. My program, in another wonderful stroke, got us a hotel literally across the street from the Moulin Rouge. The Moulin Rouge is mildly glamorous, but it is also in the middle of a working sex district. It was amusing and shocking to walk out of the subway and end up in the middle of this. Eye opening!
I saw the big sights in Paris, of course, which was lovely. The Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, etc. I think my favorite was the Sacre Coeur. It's at the top of this massive hill, so you have to climb a million and a half stairs to get there, but standing on the steps gives you an incredible view of Paris. Plus the inside of the cathedral was just stunning. I may be in the minority, but I liked it better than the Notre Dame.
Another fun aspect of the trip to Paris was seeing my old friend from Phoenix, Adam. We had facebooked each other about our respective locations (he's studying in France this semester) and we planned to meet up in Paris. He and I (plus a few kids from my program and his friend, Rose) went to dinner together and we caught up. It was such a strange thing to see someone so very clearly reminiscent of years past while in a foreign place. A strange dichotomy, but a fun one.
I was a little amused to realize that most of my associations with Paris were from the movie "Ratatouille." I don't know if I should be embarrassed to admit it or not, but it is what it is.
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| Totally Ratatouille, no? The view from the Sacre Coeur cathedral. |
I'm sorry I just blazed through everything, but if you want to hear the mile-long story of the whole week, just e-mail me or something. I don't want to burden the blogosphere with all the details!
Hopefully I'll post about this weekend sometime tonight...
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