Just like old times pt. 1

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Sorry for any spelling mistakes, but I'm still learning how to stumble my way across a European keyboard. It's getting better, but... still not great.

So I've been in Belgium for just over a week now, and I've had an amazing time so far. I wish I could post some pictures right now, but my computer and the wireless router at Brianna's host families house are having some major compatibility issues (virus maybe?) therefore I can't put them up. As soon as I can, however, I will... because there are some good ones. Belgium is a beautiful country. So far I've been to Brussels, and Mons only, but I'm going to Gent on Thursday and possibly Bruges on Saturday (I was supposed to go today but there is a rail strike so thats now a no-go). I'm also going to Charleroi on Thursday to go to the Irish pub aaaand an amusement park on Friday which looks AMAZING!!

So, heres a condensed version of what I've been up to so far:

The first few nights were spent in Brussels at the Marriot, thanks to the generosity of Brianna's parents, who let me stay with them in lieu of me paying for something shittier but cheaper. It was nice and gave me time to spend with Brianna and her family again. We mostly just walked around, eating a lot of European food and experiencing the culture. The first night we were there we went on a really long walk around the Grand Place (pronounced Grand Plasse) and it was so warm out that the Grand Place was just filled with people sitting around, talking and drinking. Apparently Brianna has never seen it like that before, so we also sat down and had an interesting encounter with an Italian and his friend who had fallen in love with Brianna. It was hillarious.

Then the next day we woke up quite late... or at least I did, and we took the train out to the Atomium, which was constucted in the 1950's for the Belgium World Fair. Its actually quite an impressive structure, even nowadays, and heres me wishing I could post a picture. But yeah.. soon. Then we took the train back into the main part of Brussels and went looking for "the best fries in Belgium" aka. Chez Antoine... Which we couldn't find and which resulted in us going to the GB and buying stuff for us to make a sandwhich back at the hotel. Then Brianna's parents went out and we discovered that the hotel had a free exercise room... Sooo that occupied the rest of our night. That, and French "Parental Control".

Then the next day we got up early, ate breakfast, and went to a Chocolate Museum, where we learned about chocolate's origin and got a demonstration from a chocolatier. It was actually really fun, and the free samples were nice. Then we went walking around looking around for an H&M aaand me and Brianna did something thats sort of becoming a tradition for us... Stole sunglasses!! We did it once last year on a dare and then, well, this time it was just sooo tempting to because the store had the stand outside unmanned. So we did. Not really something to be proud of, buuut thats my one international fellony for the year. The end.

After all of that we tried to find Antoines again because we were supposed to be meeting Brianna's parents for lunch, but we ended up getting lost and not finding them, so we decided to walk up to the castle. It was gorgeous, and we were just in time to see the guards do some little marching exercise that seemed pointless but was cool to see nonetheless. After that we got lunch at subway, and then we walked back up to this park across from the castle that had a huge fountain in the middle so we rested there for about an hour and then who did we see? None other than Brianna's parents. Somehow we had found each other, which was lucky, because we had to check out and catch a train to Mons soon and since we were supposed to meet at lunch had no other way of meeting them.

After a quick dinner we dragged out luggage to the train station only to find it super crowded, even for rush hour. I bought a train pass, and then we found out the reason it was so crowded was because one of the other stations was on fire, so all the trains were messed up and no one knew when anything was coming. Down inside the station was so full it looked like a war shelter. There were just people everywhere. We were lucky that our train ended up coming soon, though, and so it wasn't too bad.

I checked into my hostel in Mons with a little less than a warm welcome. I found them really unaccomodating to the fact that I didn't speak french, and I felt I was treated badly during my stay because of it. So yeah, I personally wouldn't reccomend staying at Auberge de Jeunesse, however, it is the only hostel in Mons, so you're kind of hooped there.

The next morning Brianna's family picked me up and then we walked to the Grand Place to meet her host dad, who was going to show us around. He took us for a drink and explained a bit about Mons to us. After, we met his wife and we all went for lunch. More talking about Mons, and then we all piled into his car and he drove us to Brianna's first host mothers for a chat and some coffee and then out to a distillery where he gave us a tour and then we each got a shot of the liquer there to sip and enjoy... which I found hard because it was SO STRONG!! I was having a hard time not just shooting it back, but I thought that might have been rude, so I sipped it and silently died every time. I was like drinking straight vodka or something... because it basically was, but worse!! The flavour did help a bit - raspberry - but was not enough to cover the taste.

After the distillery, they drove us over to a little chateu nearby which was amazing. It was filled with the most amazing modern art, and the grounds were so beautiful. I wish we had been able to spend more time there... or that I could live there!! So nice. And the man who gave us the tour was very nice and at the end we went into the stables and had some juice while the "dads" each had a beer. It was really fun, and if I can remember the name, I'll post it in the next entry. I definetly reccomend going there if ever in Belgium near Mons. The people who live there are very kind and very good at showing people around.

After that we drove back to her current host families house to have dinner with all of Brianna's past host families. It was a little awkward at first, and I felt a bit out of place, especially since everyone was speaking french. But then Abel's (the host dad who had shown us around all day) daughter came out with her baby daughter Rose and I spent my time talking with her and Brianna's dad and playing with the baby, who is honestly one of the happiest children I've ever seen. So cute. And Abel's daughter, Marie, is soon moving to London and she invited me to come and stay with them if I was ever in the area, which was so nice. I'll probably take her up on the offer sometime over the next year. They are just such a nice family, all of them, and I was so glad to have met them.

Then I went back to my hostel, content to go to bed, when suddenly my roommate and her friends come in. I haven't seen her the entire time I'd been there, and they started talking to me. Only one of then really spoke English, and they invited me out to have a beer with them. Theres a huge festival going on in Mons right now, and it had only started the night before, so the Grand Place was filled with people. I decided to go, and I had a really good time. I found out that they were the biggest Celine Dion fans ever, and that they travelled the world seeing her, which I found funny but I kept that opinion to myself. They bought me cherry beer (Kriek) which I had never had before but was sooo good, and showed me around the festival grounds. Then they walked me back to my hostel when I decided it was time for bed. So overall, a good night.

Anyways, I've got to go now. I still have more to write, however, before I'm up to date. And therefore, this is part one. I figure there will probably be three parts plus pictures, but we'll see... Later!!

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