I now understand why some of my friends have suggested train travel around Europe. Both my trip to Brussels from Paris, and then later from Brussels to Chloe and Jerome´s hometown, were super comfortable and a great way to enjoy the countryside.
I arrived in Brussels Thursday around 5:30. My friends picked me up from the airport and we walked back to Chloe´s place which was just about a five minute walk. I dropped off my bag and we went for a night tour of the city, which immediately reminded me of San Francisco.
This artist is all over Brussels on random walls :)
On our walk we stopped by a grocery store for some cheese and headed back to Chloe's for dinner. We started the meal with a Belgian beer that Jerome has been bragging about forever. I must admit, Jerome was right. Belgian beer has made me like beer haha.
After finishing some delicious pasta that Chloe made, a few of their friends came over for drinks. We then headed to a club that is literally a two minute walk from Chloe's apartment, which was definitely a plus because of the cold! It was my first European club experience and it was really fun! Definitely a lot of American music, which I found entertaining, but I really like the French techno I'm getting exposed to.
The next morning, we had a nice breakfast chat with Chloe's roommate Stephanie about the education system in Belgium. I´m really loving the opportunity to soak in the different perspectives of young people from all over Europe.
Chloe and I walked around downtown Brussels during the day for a few hours, during which time I purchased an awesome leather jacket. We then met up with Jerome to grab some lunch. Even though it was just a random sandwich shop, I though my sandwich was amazing haha. Just a chicken pineapple concoction, but I swear everything in Europe is just such better quality.
After lunch we grabbed our bags and headed towards the train station to head to their hometown. However, before we left, we spent time in the Grand-Place in Brussels, which is definitely one of my favorite places I have seen in Europe, made more magical by my first, and amazingly delicious, Belgian waffle.
Just to clarify, waffles are EVERYWHERE in Brussels, so if you were´t sure if Belgian waffles are really Belgian, they are haha
We next went to a famous bar in Brussels to grab a special type of sweet beer before heading out. Again Jerome was right about how delicious it was. I had apple, Jerome cherry, and Chloe strawberry. All three were so good. It's unfortunate that beer doesn't always taste like that :)
The train ride to their hometown took about 2.5 hours, but it was a very pleasant/beautiful journey. They grew up in Arlon, which is a very small town, about 20,000 people. I was really excited to finally see a more intimate part of Europe!
For dinner, we actually went to IKEA since they were having a Swedish meatball special for only 1.25euoro. Sadly, it took me going to Europe to finally set food in my first IKEA. I particularly liked how they served cranberry sauce to the meatballs, definitely something I need to add to my own attempts at Swedish meatballs back home :).
After dinner, Jerome and Chloe picked up some special Belgian candy for me to try, cuberdons, which were really yummy.
Definitely had too many haha. After such a long day of eating, I definitely slept well.
The next day, we took off to Luxembourg, one of the world´s smallest, and richest, countries. To cross the border from their hometown in Brussels into Luxembourg literally takes all of ten minutes. We spent most of the day in Luxembourg with another one of their friends. It was absolutely gorgeous....
The city's fortifications, which I had learned about in European history as some of the best in Europe, were incredibly impressive in person.
After a lonnggg day of walking and sightseeing in the cold, we went back to Chloe´s house. I love how Europeans (or at least her family) treat meal time. First, we began with appetizers and drinks for a good hour, before moving onto dinner. The meal was delicious, a family recipe of fondue, followed by Italian cookies Jerome and Chloe had picked up at a Luxembourg market during the day.
Even though I wasn't able to speak much to her family because of the language barrier, they were incredibly welcoming and wonderful. I think the best thing I got out of the trip was to spend a good amount of time in a European household and observe the differences, but mainly similarities, between our cultures. Staying there definitely made me a bit homesick because of all the familyness and comfort :)
After dinner, we went to their friends house for a drink and visit, but were back to Chloe´s house and in bed by midnight. We were both pretty exhausted and slept until nearly 11 the next day. Chloe had a project to finish for school, so we spent Sunday afternoon hanging around the house, which was more than fine with me! She gave me Harry Potter in French to attempt to read, which was definitely more than enough entertainment!
Her mom prepared a delicious lunch of pork and mushrooms in a yummy sauce, over rice. Later, for snack, we had a Belgian specialty of sweet break with raisins and another with chunks of sugar, yum! I have definitely eaten quite well in Belgium haha.
We headed back to Brussels that night with Chloe's grandparents. We arrived around eight and had some homemade lasagna her mom had sent with us. The next morning, we had a few hours to kill before my train. I had one main mission: buy Belgian chocolate. Happy to say mission accomplished :)
Made it back to Paris by 5:15 and am now focused on preparing for classes which begin on Wednesday. No more travels for me until my winter break trip to Spain, but I'm excited to get into the routine of school and get a better idea of what my semester is going to look like.
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