Blogs from Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium, Europe

SEE TEXT IN ENGLISH BELOW 1-2 diciembre 2011 Mi entrada a Bruselas no fue lo que se dice precisamente triunfal. No sé que es lo que fue, pero cuando aparcamos junto a la estación du Midi y nos apeamos del coche tenía una sensación de malestar y sólo ganas de irme a la cama. Lo peor de todo, es que no teníamos hotel, hostal o habitación donde quedarnos y tuvimos que buscar. Y no sólo eso, cuando empezamos a buscar parecía que todos los alojamientos estaban ocupados. Debe de ser que Bruselas es el centro de Europa, y siempre hay algo qué esta ocurriendo: eventos, festivales, manifestaciones, reuniones, conferencias, congresos ... Seguíamos andando y buscando. Fuimos hacia el centro sin encontrar nada libre. Pasamos por la Grand Place. Muy bonita, pero no la pude prestar atención ... read more

Last night I had flown to London and stayed at Sarahs in order to catch the eurostar to Brussels. Ben flew direct from Edinburgh yesterday arvo after skiving off from work for another day! What a drama – lost his phone turns out in the taxi but he had no idea where so my fri arvo was spent tracking it down and track it down I did!! So picked it up on the way to the airport which was handy. Love Edinburgh and their friendly people. Got completely lost getting to sarahs place and had a dead battery on my phone so couldn’t google map, no taxis would stop for me – awesome! Then as ben lovingly points out to me “why didn’t you just use my phone?!” Very good point! Anywho we were all ok ... read more

Walking, running, laughing, skating, bicycling, kissing, yelling, crying, watching, loving, hating, whispering, eating, smoking, drinking....LIVING. That's Amsterdam and if you can't keep up, no worries; there's always another party to go to. Welcome back, to all my faithful readers! It's been awhile and I know you're waiting anxiously, fingernails bitten down to nubs to hear an update about me and my travels. Well fellows, I will end the suspense and commence! I have been joined by my mother and together we have flitted, like the beautiful butterflies we are, across Belgium and up into the Netherlands, adding to our luggage chocolates of all kinds, frites sans mayonaise, beers, and pastries galore. First was Brussels and with it snow. I realized as I stepped in my third puddle of suspiciously yellow liquid that it had been awhile ... read more

I love Brussels. Every time I go there I feel overwhelmed by the cities capability to encapsulate so many different cultures and ways of life. To most people travelling to Brussels, the city is one of two things. Either, it is the daily life of the machinery that is Europe. Here are the central institutions of European integration; the European Union, NATO and representations of anyone who wants to deal with Europe be it East or West, North or South. This is where Kissinger and later Obama should call when they claim that it confuses them to call Europe. It is +32 2! Or, it is a small provincial French town placed in a partly French country. It is a cozy little city where the café life resembles Paris while Christmas is celebrated by countless of ... read more