Day 2: Brussels
Boy have I had an interesting day! Firstly here's a few things I have noticed about Brussels: the are a lot of churches, fountains, statues of people peeing into fountains, strange people, and way too much food for one person to eat in a day.
Even though I've only averaged about 6 hours sleep over the last 3 weeks, and I'm now on holiday, I still found myself getting up at 7 this morning (one of the downsides to hostels). This meant that I had a lot more time to sightsee though. I decided to brave the metro to go to see Mini Europe (a model village of famous landmarks from all the countries in the EU) and the Atomium (a giant sculpture of an atom that was built for the 1958 word fair). The metro was really cheap and easy to use, and I felt really proud that I'd managed to do it on my first day, until I saw something you don't really expect to see in a public place: a guy masturbating on the train! (sorry to my family for that, I don't want to worry you). I moved seats and luckily my stop was next, but still, it wasn't the best start to my day. Anyway, onwards and upwards. Well, until I got to Mini Europe half an hour before it had even opened (my punishment for being an early bird). When I finally got into the park though it was worth the wait. I was able to have a sneak preview of some of the cities I've yet to visit on this trip. I especially liked the full model of the houses of parliament that represented the UK. After I had seen most of Europe in less than an hour (how many people can say that?) I ventured over to the Atomium. The thing is impressive to say the least. You can actually go inside it, taking escalators up through the bonds to the viewing platform in the highest proton. After I'd finished my very interactive chemistry lesson I made my way back to the city centre to see the real Brussels. By now it was early afternoon so I made my way to Grand Place (very picturesque) and had some lunch. Keeping with my travelling mission statement I chose a traditional (well as traditional as you can get in a tourist area) Belgium restaurant and ordered some moules frites (mussels with chips) and a Belgium beer (why not, I'm on holiday) that the waiter recommended. The food was great, and just what I needed. To my surprise the guy sitting next to me bought me a drink and said I was "tres belle" (he didn't speak any English so the conversation pretty much stopped there). Considering what happened earlier it was really nice to know that not all foreign guys are perverts. After lunch I did a lot of walking! I saw the cathedral, Manneken pis (a tiny statue of a little boy peeing into a fountain, that was surrounded by tourists), a lot of parliament buildings, the EU headquarters (which I got lost on the way to), the royal palace, two massive weddings (bit random), a group of girls in fluorescent pink wigs on a bike tour (even more random), and I got asked out by a guy who complimented my "tres Joli" floral jeans (I said no mum!). I finished my long day (10 hours) of sightseeing with a much deserved Belgium waffle (yum!) in a little cafe, where the waiter asked if I was Russian as all the models come from there (bless!).
So there you have my whirlwind tour of Europe's capital. Overall a really nice city (let's just forget about that first thing). I can't wait to see what tomorrow, and Luxembourg, has in store for me.
Watch this space.
Lois x