Brugge
''Stevie Wonder''
My umbrella!
The winning Gin and Juice team.
Maria!!Amsterdam and Belgium
We arrived in Amsterdam really early on Saturday morning and managed to find our hotel. Since we were not able to check in yet, we decided to get some lunch before I played that day. We went to a little restaurant to sit outside, because it was really nice out. The place we went to apparently had a different menu on the weekends, we found out as the women shooed us away from looking at the menu displayed on the wall. Luke ordered a cheeseburger so I tried to order the veggie sandwich since it seemed reasonable and it was on the menu. She replied in a nasty voice, ‘We don’t do veggie, we like meat.’ Greeeat I though this is going to be a very interesting vacation. So a toasted cheese sandwich is what I got. After my gilled cheese (that’s a toasted cheese sandwich, which I must say was fab) we walked around for a bit. We had plenty of time and I was dying for a coffee so we sat to have some. Luke who is terrified of spiders was sitting right under the tree. At one point there was a spider on him so I very calmly took it off. I then noticed string to a web coming across the table from the tree so I went to try and grab it, well thought I grabbed it. As I was asking Luke if he had ever walked through a web like early in the morning, when I noticed the web was still there and it was attached to his head. Then he had a hilarious minor freak out, while I just laughed uncontrollably.
Finally it was time to head to the lacrosse tournament so away we went. It was not far from where we were, so we got there in plenty of time. Erin had not arrived yet with our fabulous Gin and Juice (yes that was our name) pinnies so we looked like ridiculous scrubs for our first match. I was actually really nervous going into it because we were playing like international teams, where we were a bunch of Americans that had never played together before. Not only did we look like scrubs but we also did not have enough players and had no goalie. We decided to each take turns playing in goal and play a player down. Thankfully Dublin was crap. Erin arrived after the first half and we were able to look like a actually team going out for the second half. Not like we actually needed it because we ended up winning around 17-2. At half time when we went back onto the field. I said to one of the other girls, ‘ahh im so glad we have our bibs, I feel like we can actually play now.’ To which a crazy, loud Dublin girl replied in her Irish accent. 'Ah Thanks a lot as if you were just joking around before.’ Pretty sad.
For our second game we played the Dutch International team. They were pretty decent, well probably the most competition we had all weekend. It was actually fun to play them because it was a bit of a gam. At one point during the game I took a backward shot. It was a very nice goal and obviously the only person behind me was the goalie. We for some god forsaken reason the ref who didn’t like me all weekend, decided it was a dangerous propel (to who I don’t know) and gave me a yellow card. This would be fine, I am no stranger to yellow cards. So off the field I went. Since we did not have enough playes we had decided to get this incredibly annoying girl Tara to play for us this game and she was on the sideline. So she was coming on when I got sent off, but we only had enough bibs for our team. Soooo with no shirt underneath, I needed to give Tara my bib. I had stupidly left my t-shirt over by the bar with the rest of my stuff and so I was shamed with a yellow card and had to stand on the sideline in just a sports bra for three minutes. It was incredibly embarrassing, but it did help that people on the sideline said it was a very nice goal. I got over my embarrassment and went into play in the second half where we won 17-9.
After our final match of the day we went back to check into the hotel. We were not far from where we were playing, staying in the Vondelpark area. On our walk back we noticed a little restaurant with outdoor seating and mojitos, so we decided to check that out later that night. After spending about 10 minutes trying to decipher the menu (it was in Dutch) we decided to ask for an English one. The food was really good and so were the mojitos. We then went to meet up with the other girls in a club where there was supposed to be a special for us that night. We met up with them outside and they said it was pretty much crap and they were going to get some drinks before they went back there. We walked over to Dam Square and went to check out some bars there. The other girls decided it was way to expensive and decided to move on but Luke and I had already bought a beer and really didn’t want to spend ages finding a place to go to. We told them we would meet them back at the bar and staying to have a drink. We then checked out one more placed before meeting up with them again. They were absolutely right, the place was crap. It was 2 euros for a ticket and one ticket got you a very small plastic cup filled beer. It was also one of the dirtiest places I have ever been, think of a run down K’s, before the renovations that is.
Day 2:
The next day we had an early start, a 10 a.m. game. It was not until it was 10 to 9 that I realized I had not changed my clock so it was actually 10 to 10! I rushed out and into a cab only to just make the start of the first game. Erin had not yet made it either and so we were two players short. Fortunately for us it was the first game for our opponents ever and it was an easy win, even if we were really hungover. Our next game was even more ridiculous and we played without a goalie (thank the lord because it was my turn to get in goal) Our final game was against the Dutch international team again. We had two Dublin players join us, one goalie. We ended up winning the game, thus winning the tournament. After the game we got some Heinekens and watch the boys final, waiting around for the ceremony.
When the ceremony finally started we had already has a few beers and so we were being a little obnoxious. We received our metals that said first Price on them, no lie It was not until the boys were getting their metals that we noticed a large wooden rack filled with cups of beer. This is about the time we demanded to know where are beers were. Well apparently we were not getting any because these beers were a special prize being given to the guy who had never missed a tournament. He came back with his 10 beers, giving them out to his friends as I hovered around him and guess who got the final one, ME! It was my best accomplishment of the day.
After we won the tournament we left to get showered and cleaned up. Luke and I went to an Italian place to get some pizza. It was very good. After we went to meet up with the other girls.
Day 3.
We decided to get up early and rent bikes. Almost everyone in Amsterdam rides beach-cruisers. They are all decorated really cute or have nice baskets with flowers in them. Well our bikes were bright red with advertisements around the wheels, hello tourists. So we got our bikes and rode over to the Jordaan area, where the Anne Frank house is located. We found a nice little hotel located on the water and decided to have some lunch. After we were fully rejuvenated we decided it was time to continue our bike ride. We went to find Anne Frank, but the line to her house was ridiculously long so we decided to buy postcards instead! We then just decided to ride our bikes and explore, I was leading at one point, because navigation runs in my family (hello, Cuneo was the navigator on one of Columbus's ships) well that didn't work out to well because I kept taking lefts, who knew that would bring you right back to where you started. After Luke almost died twice from dangerous riding we decided to abandon them for a while and walk around. We went for a coffee (me) and a beer (luke) and bought some suntan lotion since we were both burnt from the lacrosse tournament. It was then we decided that we should probably just return the bikes within the 3 hour mark instead of keeping them for a whole 24, we were not really fit to ride bikes in this city, people were just way to intense on them. It was hard enough trying to avoid them when you were walking around, us being on bikes just put everyone else around us in danger. So we returned our bikes and walked around a bit more. We went back to Dam square where we sat in the sun and had a beer, listening to some guy play music and filling out our postcards. We then walked around the red light district. Oh my dear god. I knew what to expect, I have heard the stories and I know what goes on, but to actually see it was a whole different story. It was so weird. I mean all different women, all different shapes and sizes all chilling in windows, wearing lingerie, watching you walk by. Insane. We slowly walked back to our hotel going to Vondelpark and laying around for a bit. It was a really nice day so there were loads of people out and about. After we back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. We went back to the place we went our first night, Since one it had awesome mojitos and two it had awesome outdoor seating and three it had awesome food. Soo it really wasn't a question. Before we left I had read on the news how it had been really hot in Amsterdam and Belgium the past few days, much hotter then they were used to that time of year and there was going to be thunderstorms on the way that would cool them both down. Well while we were sitting outside at dinner it started to get ridiculously windy. Things were blowing all over the place. As soon as we moved inside it started to absolutely pour. It was kinda cool since I had not seen or heard a thunderstorm in ages, it is pretty much to cold in England for them to happen. We ate our dinner, but decided we were in no rush to run back in the pouring rain, so we just relaxed and took our time.
Day 4.
We got up early to pick up our car which was supposed to be in the city. We had no idea how to get here so we got some breakfast and got in a cab. Once we got our car and our SAT NAV up and running and named of course. (Appropriately named FATTI it was name Fing Annoying Tom Tom Instructor) We got back to the hotel and quickly packed up so we could move onto Antwerp. Luke's parents used to live in Antwerp and it was supposed to be really nice. We got to our hotel and went straight out. We got a map and quickly circled where we wanted to go. First stop was going to be the zoo. When we found out it was 18 euros we decided we really didn't want to do that. So we moved next door to the diamond museum. I am terribly with museums partly because I don't really have the attention span for them so it was not the most exciting thing in the world. As we came back down to leave we realized it was pouring. We were starving so we basically nipped into the first restaurant we saw. Well I was not a fan, but didn't really want to go anywhere else because of the rain. I got tomato soup which I am pretty sure was made with beef stock. So I sulked and didn't eat it. Next we walked through a big shopping area We got some Leonedas Chocolate, apparently its famous. Stopping in H&M for some things and a drug store for shampoo. It was in the drug store that I came across two clowns blowing up balloon figurines. Well this was exactly what I needed to cheer me up after the awful meal. So right up to the clown I went, ignoring the other children around and just stopped right in front of him.
He spoke to me in a foreign language and I just pointed to myself and said, ‘English.’
'Ahh American (they always know) What would you like?' he asked.
"An umbrella."
He gave me a questioning look to which I just nodded and smiled. I thought an umbrella was incredibly appropriate since it was pouring and I was lacking one.
He called over his partner and away they went blowing up what seemed to be 25 balloons, I think in truth it was about 6 or 7.
'This is not going to keep you dry you know."
"Thanks, I realized that."
Well I was given my umbrella and walked out of the drug store with a smile that I was not able to control. Luke just stood outside shaking his head. I am pretty sure he was contemplating whether to pretend he didn't know me. Well I held my umbrella high, despite the fact that it kept trying to blow away from me. The looks I got from people walking by were so worth the clowns trouble. One Asian girl followed behind Luke and I for a couple blocks and was just dying laughing the whole way. I actually not sure whether it was because I was pretending it was turning upside down and stuff in the rain and then shaking it off as if I had just gotten inside (i got really into it) or because other people were honestly staring and pointing, then hitting their friends so they could also stare and point. It was a really fun thing to have for about 15 minutes and then I got really sick of it. I took my fair share of pictures to document my fabulous prize and then handed it off to some little English girl so we could go into a bar and get out of the rain.
The first pub we went to was so dirty. We got a beer, a snuck a chocolate from our stash and we used the toilets and then peaced. The next bar was much better. It was a very old fashioned pub and it seemed as if it had been there for ages. We had some beers and met some friendly men.
One was Italian, one was a singer, and one was uhh Belgian?
They talked to us about what we were doing there and stuff. What we did in England.
At one point the Italian man asked me how come I was American and I looked the way I did. I was like uhh not all Americans are fat you know, I mean the nerve. He then went to buy some peanuts, he came back and offered us some. I kindly declined and then went in for another chocolate (I was starving after I refused to eat my soup) This is when they went ugh Americans, since I was eating chocolate with beer. Beer and peanuts, very nice. Beer and chocolate, no. I just placed the chocolate in my mouth and smiled, what did they care for anyway?
These men were very interested in our lives I tell you and thinking back on it I wish we asked them some more, because I feel like they could probably right my biography but I know nothing about them. They always spoke to one another though in between asking us questions which I found very rude. At one point the Italian man who may or may not had an attraction to me, asked if Luke and I were friends or just together. This is when they other two yelled at him for being nosey and to leave us alone. They soon left us and we went onto another bar.
After this bar it starts to get a bit blurry. All that drinking and no eating made us hungry so we went out to find some place to eat dinner. We walked around for ages looking for this place that was in my book, only to find out it was closed on Tuesdays for private parties. We found another little restaurant. It was a pretty sloppy meal , that I'm pretty sure neither of us loved.
Day 5.
Brugge.
The ride to Brugge was pretty short. All I knew about the place we were staying was that it was a little women's B&B and she won me over with her profile, so we were staying there because I was convinced we would loved her. How right I was. We drove around for a bit trying to find this one little street. We were finally driving down the correct one when a little women pouring champagne out in our front garden, stops us and says, "you looking for three."
"yes."
"I am three," point to herself.
She makes us stop the car right there and get all our stuff out. She then pulled me inside and sat me down and went to show Luke where to park.
Maria, who spoke very little english lived in Italy for 25 years while her husband was a teacher and now ran this little B&B. She sat us down at her kitchen table giving us a map and telling us exactly what we were going to do that day.
First you do this, then this. She literally planned our whole day right down to what beers we would be ordering and what we would be having that night for dinner. It was hilarious. She knew her stuff though and despite the cold and the rain we had an awesome time in Brugge. We first walked through a little garden. Then we went to the local brewery Brugge Zot, where we had the blonde beer and took the tour. Then we went for some lunch. After we walked to an interactive museum that we only went to because it was a pound. It was crap and we didn't really have any idea what was going on in it. After the museum we were walking though this old hospital when we spotted a cafe that was in my book so we went into have some belgium waffles with ice cream, delic.
Then we went to a church where we met a nice little Australian women who talked our ears off about how her ship was hijacked by pirates, etc.
We then walked around a bit more. We went into some museum where there were loads of pictures of famous people that we had no idea who they were. I decided to start naming random people, such as queen elizabeth, george washington, and then a man with glasses that covered his eyes was stevie wonder. After we went to a church famously called the "blood of the christ church" take a guess what is there. After we went to a pub where Maria had sent us and had the beer she told us to get. We were supposed to eat there as well but we were cold and wet so we decided to bag the chocolate museum and go to get changed and such before dinner. On our way back we stopped at this little bar on the water to have a beer.
When we finally got back to the Marias, we changed into much warmer clothes and went back to have some dinner. Maria was right the food was delicious and we had another beer. I decided to get a "spicy" beer and they brought me back one with like 11% alcohol so I decided I would not have another. After we went back to Cafe Mundo (where we had waffles) because it was a really cool place. They had this outdoor like tent with heaters and lots of blankets so we had a drink there and then finally headed back.
Day 6.
Brussels and Lueven.
Today we were traveling to Brussels, but seeing it was a much better day out we decided to take a canal ride in Brugge before we left. We down for breakfast, which Maria kindly prepared for us. Omelets and croissants. There were two guys from Canada staying there as well and at one point Maria came over and buttered the guys bread and put jam on it because he was apparently doing it wrong. After breakfast Maria showed Luke and I her photo album from when she wen to Thailand. We had no idea what she was saying but everything looked nice. We went upstairs to finish getting ready and when we came back down she started crying that we were leaving.
"one day," she said, "and look." pointing to her eyes.
We took pictures with her and headed on our way to get a boat ride. We took our nice little canal ride and then walked around to buy some souvenirs, it was so much nicer since the sun was out. We bought some more chocolates and pictures and then headed on our way.
We finally got to Brussels to realize we were not staying in a very nice area. As we were driving down this street to get to our hotel (hotel Chow Chow it was called, I mean come on, why would we think that was nice) I was looking in windows only to find prostitutes. Ahh I yelled as Luke drove by, Omg look. He asked what the heck I was talking about since he was trying to avoid all the skevy people in the street. I told him about the sketchy women in the window, not realizing it was legal in some parts in Belgium. An hour later we finally find somewhere to park and decided to head straight to Lueven, a college town where Kwas and Bridget lived and studied. We were right next to the train station which was nice so we hopped on. As soon as we got there we walked to the Stella Factory to hopefully get on a tour. We walked all the way there only to notice it had large fence all the way around. I was convinced it was not where we were supposed to be so we walked all the way there only to cross the street and walk back. As we were passing it on the other side of the highway we noticed a large group of people walking in what looked to be a tour. I tried to pretend that I didn't notice, hoping luke wouldn't since I was the one that convinced him we shouldn't be there, but he did and I got the guilt trip. We walked all the way back to the city centre and tried to find the place Kwas instructed us to go to. After what seemed like ages we found "the largest bar in the world" it was loads of different bars all with outdoor seating. It was really cool and we did a mini-bar crawl going from bar to bar before we went to get something to eat. (yes these are the only two things we did on this vacation) After we got our fill of the sun. We took a break from drinking at this nice little restaurant. We then went back to the Oude Market to play buyers choice. Well I decided that with this game I was going to get drinks that I never had before. What an idiot decision. The first drink I bought was a Kathleen Special. Well this ended up being crap, and I explain, who the f is kathleen and why is she special. We went onto have Margaritas, mojitos, beers, and much more. Until it was finally time to catch the train back.
Day 7. Brussels.
We got up early and went to head into brussels, since we had to drive back to Amsterdam that night. We had a really bad start not being able to get the tickets we wanted since we did not have enough change. Everywhere in brussels seemed to smell like pee and I would have to blame that on the little Manekin Pis statue where the boy peed on the fire saving the city. We first went to Grote Market, there was a big Jazz Festival that night so there was a lot going on. It was also the week that all the gays and lesbians flocked to Brussels, so Luke was not to happy about that. I was finding it hilarious trying to figure out if men were checking out me or him. We found the little boy statue and then looked for a bar called Delirium, since it has the largest beer selection in the world, 2004. We finally found it after what seemed like ages. I had a pink killer and luke had a strawberry beer. We then got some frites from a little fast food stand and then headed back to the hotel so we could get to Amsterdam at a decent hour. The traffic was terrible so it took over two hours to get here. We checked into our hotel which was on the water and was really nice. As soon as we checked in we went back out. Walking around looking for shops and such. We eventually stopped at a cafe on the water, were there were loads of people. It was gorgeous out so we had a drink and some olives and just sat there for like 2 hours. It must have been the place to be because as time went on more and more people came and they were saying how it was always impossible to get tables there. It was right on the water and loads of boats kept going by as well.
We went to a mexican restaurant that night recommended by our hotel. On our way back we stopped in a bar, only to realize a little to late it was a gay bar! I was loving it, but Luke was less then impressed. After we headed back to the hotel because we had a very early flight to catch in the morning.
All in all it was a really good trip. We got to see loads, eat lots of good food and chocolate and drink lots of good beer.
One more trip to France my friends and then it is back to the good ole US of A.
We arrived in Amsterdam really early on Saturday morning and managed to find our hotel. Since we were not able to check in yet, we decided to get some lunch before I played that day. We went to a little restaurant to sit outside, because it was really nice out. The place we went to apparently had a different menu on the weekends, we found out as the women shooed us away from looking at the menu displayed on the wall. Luke ordered a cheeseburger so I tried to order the veggie sandwich since it seemed reasonable and it was on the menu. She replied in a nasty voice, ‘We don’t do veggie, we like meat.’ Greeeat I though this is going to be a very interesting vacation. So a toasted cheese sandwich is what I got. After my gilled cheese (that’s a toasted cheese sandwich, which I must say was fab) we walked around for a bit. We had plenty of time and I was dying for a coffee so we sat to have some. Luke who is terrified of spiders was sitting right under the tree. At one point there was a spider on him so I very calmly took it off. I then noticed string to a web coming across the table from the tree so I went to try and grab it, well thought I grabbed it. As I was asking Luke if he had ever walked through a web like early in the morning, when I noticed the web was still there and it was attached to his head. Then he had a hilarious minor freak out, while I just laughed uncontrollably.
Finally it was time to head to the lacrosse tournament so away we went. It was not far from where we were, so we got there in plenty of time. Erin had not arrived yet with our fabulous Gin and Juice (yes that was our name) pinnies so we looked like ridiculous scrubs for our first match. I was actually really nervous going into it because we were playing like international teams, where we were a bunch of Americans that had never played together before. Not only did we look like scrubs but we also did not have enough players and had no goalie. We decided to each take turns playing in goal and play a player down. Thankfully Dublin was crap. Erin arrived after the first half and we were able to look like a actually team going out for the second half. Not like we actually needed it because we ended up winning around 17-2. At half time when we went back onto the field. I said to one of the other girls, ‘ahh im so glad we have our bibs, I feel like we can actually play now.’ To which a crazy, loud Dublin girl replied in her Irish accent. 'Ah Thanks a lot as if you were just joking around before.’ Pretty sad.
For our second game we played the Dutch International team. They were pretty decent, well probably the most competition we had all weekend. It was actually fun to play them because it was a bit of a gam. At one point during the game I took a backward shot. It was a very nice goal and obviously the only person behind me was the goalie. We for some god forsaken reason the ref who didn’t like me all weekend, decided it was a dangerous propel (to who I don’t know) and gave me a yellow card. This would be fine, I am no stranger to yellow cards. So off the field I went. Since we did not have enough playes we had decided to get this incredibly annoying girl Tara to play for us this game and she was on the sideline. So she was coming on when I got sent off, but we only had enough bibs for our team. Soooo with no shirt underneath, I needed to give Tara my bib. I had stupidly left my t-shirt over by the bar with the rest of my stuff and so I was shamed with a yellow card and had to stand on the sideline in just a sports bra for three minutes. It was incredibly embarrassing, but it did help that people on the sideline said it was a very nice goal. I got over my embarrassment and went into play in the second half where we won 17-9.
After our final match of the day we went back to check into the hotel. We were not far from where we were playing, staying in the Vondelpark area. On our walk back we noticed a little restaurant with outdoor seating and mojitos, so we decided to check that out later that night. After spending about 10 minutes trying to decipher the menu (it was in Dutch) we decided to ask for an English one. The food was really good and so were the mojitos. We then went to meet up with the other girls in a club where there was supposed to be a special for us that night. We met up with them outside and they said it was pretty much crap and they were going to get some drinks before they went back there. We walked over to Dam Square and went to check out some bars there. The other girls decided it was way to expensive and decided to move on but Luke and I had already bought a beer and really didn’t want to spend ages finding a place to go to. We told them we would meet them back at the bar and staying to have a drink. We then checked out one more placed before meeting up with them again. They were absolutely right, the place was crap. It was 2 euros for a ticket and one ticket got you a very small plastic cup filled beer. It was also one of the dirtiest places I have ever been, think of a run down K’s, before the renovations that is.
Day 2:
The next day we had an early start, a 10 a.m. game. It was not until it was 10 to 9 that I realized I had not changed my clock so it was actually 10 to 10! I rushed out and into a cab only to just make the start of the first game. Erin had not yet made it either and so we were two players short. Fortunately for us it was the first game for our opponents ever and it was an easy win, even if we were really hungover. Our next game was even more ridiculous and we played without a goalie (thank the lord because it was my turn to get in goal) Our final game was against the Dutch international team again. We had two Dublin players join us, one goalie. We ended up winning the game, thus winning the tournament. After the game we got some Heinekens and watch the boys final, waiting around for the ceremony.
When the ceremony finally started we had already has a few beers and so we were being a little obnoxious. We received our metals that said first Price on them, no lie It was not until the boys were getting their metals that we noticed a large wooden rack filled with cups of beer. This is about the time we demanded to know where are beers were. Well apparently we were not getting any because these beers were a special prize being given to the guy who had never missed a tournament. He came back with his 10 beers, giving them out to his friends as I hovered around him and guess who got the final one, ME! It was my best accomplishment of the day.
After we won the tournament we left to get showered and cleaned up. Luke and I went to an Italian place to get some pizza. It was very good. After we went to meet up with the other girls.
Day 3.
We decided to get up early and rent bikes. Almost everyone in Amsterdam rides beach-cruisers. They are all decorated really cute or have nice baskets with flowers in them. Well our bikes were bright red with advertisements around the wheels, hello tourists. So we got our bikes and rode over to the Jordaan area, where the Anne Frank house is located. We found a nice little hotel located on the water and decided to have some lunch. After we were fully rejuvenated we decided it was time to continue our bike ride. We went to find Anne Frank, but the line to her house was ridiculously long so we decided to buy postcards instead! We then just decided to ride our bikes and explore, I was leading at one point, because navigation runs in my family (hello, Cuneo was the navigator on one of Columbus's ships) well that didn't work out to well because I kept taking lefts, who knew that would bring you right back to where you started. After Luke almost died twice from dangerous riding we decided to abandon them for a while and walk around. We went for a coffee (me) and a beer (luke) and bought some suntan lotion since we were both burnt from the lacrosse tournament. It was then we decided that we should probably just return the bikes within the 3 hour mark instead of keeping them for a whole 24, we were not really fit to ride bikes in this city, people were just way to intense on them. It was hard enough trying to avoid them when you were walking around, us being on bikes just put everyone else around us in danger. So we returned our bikes and walked around a bit more. We went back to Dam square where we sat in the sun and had a beer, listening to some guy play music and filling out our postcards. We then walked around the red light district. Oh my dear god. I knew what to expect, I have heard the stories and I know what goes on, but to actually see it was a whole different story. It was so weird. I mean all different women, all different shapes and sizes all chilling in windows, wearing lingerie, watching you walk by. Insane. We slowly walked back to our hotel going to Vondelpark and laying around for a bit. It was a really nice day so there were loads of people out and about. After we back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. We went back to the place we went our first night, Since one it had awesome mojitos and two it had awesome outdoor seating and three it had awesome food. Soo it really wasn't a question. Before we left I had read on the news how it had been really hot in Amsterdam and Belgium the past few days, much hotter then they were used to that time of year and there was going to be thunderstorms on the way that would cool them both down. Well while we were sitting outside at dinner it started to get ridiculously windy. Things were blowing all over the place. As soon as we moved inside it started to absolutely pour. It was kinda cool since I had not seen or heard a thunderstorm in ages, it is pretty much to cold in England for them to happen. We ate our dinner, but decided we were in no rush to run back in the pouring rain, so we just relaxed and took our time.
Day 4.
We got up early to pick up our car which was supposed to be in the city. We had no idea how to get here so we got some breakfast and got in a cab. Once we got our car and our SAT NAV up and running and named of course. (Appropriately named FATTI it was name Fing Annoying Tom Tom Instructor) We got back to the hotel and quickly packed up so we could move onto Antwerp. Luke's parents used to live in Antwerp and it was supposed to be really nice. We got to our hotel and went straight out. We got a map and quickly circled where we wanted to go. First stop was going to be the zoo. When we found out it was 18 euros we decided we really didn't want to do that. So we moved next door to the diamond museum. I am terribly with museums partly because I don't really have the attention span for them so it was not the most exciting thing in the world. As we came back down to leave we realized it was pouring. We were starving so we basically nipped into the first restaurant we saw. Well I was not a fan, but didn't really want to go anywhere else because of the rain. I got tomato soup which I am pretty sure was made with beef stock. So I sulked and didn't eat it. Next we walked through a big shopping area We got some Leonedas Chocolate, apparently its famous. Stopping in H&M for some things and a drug store for shampoo. It was in the drug store that I came across two clowns blowing up balloon figurines. Well this was exactly what I needed to cheer me up after the awful meal. So right up to the clown I went, ignoring the other children around and just stopped right in front of him.
He spoke to me in a foreign language and I just pointed to myself and said, ‘English.’
'Ahh American (they always know) What would you like?' he asked.
"An umbrella."
He gave me a questioning look to which I just nodded and smiled. I thought an umbrella was incredibly appropriate since it was pouring and I was lacking one.
He called over his partner and away they went blowing up what seemed to be 25 balloons, I think in truth it was about 6 or 7.
'This is not going to keep you dry you know."
"Thanks, I realized that."
Well I was given my umbrella and walked out of the drug store with a smile that I was not able to control. Luke just stood outside shaking his head. I am pretty sure he was contemplating whether to pretend he didn't know me. Well I held my umbrella high, despite the fact that it kept trying to blow away from me. The looks I got from people walking by were so worth the clowns trouble. One Asian girl followed behind Luke and I for a couple blocks and was just dying laughing the whole way. I actually not sure whether it was because I was pretending it was turning upside down and stuff in the rain and then shaking it off as if I had just gotten inside (i got really into it) or because other people were honestly staring and pointing, then hitting their friends so they could also stare and point. It was a really fun thing to have for about 15 minutes and then I got really sick of it. I took my fair share of pictures to document my fabulous prize and then handed it off to some little English girl so we could go into a bar and get out of the rain.
The first pub we went to was so dirty. We got a beer, a snuck a chocolate from our stash and we used the toilets and then peaced. The next bar was much better. It was a very old fashioned pub and it seemed as if it had been there for ages. We had some beers and met some friendly men.
One was Italian, one was a singer, and one was uhh Belgian?
They talked to us about what we were doing there and stuff. What we did in England.
At one point the Italian man asked me how come I was American and I looked the way I did. I was like uhh not all Americans are fat you know, I mean the nerve. He then went to buy some peanuts, he came back and offered us some. I kindly declined and then went in for another chocolate (I was starving after I refused to eat my soup) This is when they went ugh Americans, since I was eating chocolate with beer. Beer and peanuts, very nice. Beer and chocolate, no. I just placed the chocolate in my mouth and smiled, what did they care for anyway?
These men were very interested in our lives I tell you and thinking back on it I wish we asked them some more, because I feel like they could probably right my biography but I know nothing about them. They always spoke to one another though in between asking us questions which I found very rude. At one point the Italian man who may or may not had an attraction to me, asked if Luke and I were friends or just together. This is when they other two yelled at him for being nosey and to leave us alone. They soon left us and we went onto another bar.
After this bar it starts to get a bit blurry. All that drinking and no eating made us hungry so we went out to find some place to eat dinner. We walked around for ages looking for this place that was in my book, only to find out it was closed on Tuesdays for private parties. We found another little restaurant. It was a pretty sloppy meal , that I'm pretty sure neither of us loved.
Day 5.
Brugge.
The ride to Brugge was pretty short. All I knew about the place we were staying was that it was a little women's B&B and she won me over with her profile, so we were staying there because I was convinced we would loved her. How right I was. We drove around for a bit trying to find this one little street. We were finally driving down the correct one when a little women pouring champagne out in our front garden, stops us and says, "you looking for three."
"yes."
"I am three," point to herself.
She makes us stop the car right there and get all our stuff out. She then pulled me inside and sat me down and went to show Luke where to park.
Maria, who spoke very little english lived in Italy for 25 years while her husband was a teacher and now ran this little B&B. She sat us down at her kitchen table giving us a map and telling us exactly what we were going to do that day.
First you do this, then this. She literally planned our whole day right down to what beers we would be ordering and what we would be having that night for dinner. It was hilarious. She knew her stuff though and despite the cold and the rain we had an awesome time in Brugge. We first walked through a little garden. Then we went to the local brewery Brugge Zot, where we had the blonde beer and took the tour. Then we went for some lunch. After we walked to an interactive museum that we only went to because it was a pound. It was crap and we didn't really have any idea what was going on in it. After the museum we were walking though this old hospital when we spotted a cafe that was in my book so we went into have some belgium waffles with ice cream, delic.
Then we went to a church where we met a nice little Australian women who talked our ears off about how her ship was hijacked by pirates, etc.
We then walked around a bit more. We went into some museum where there were loads of pictures of famous people that we had no idea who they were. I decided to start naming random people, such as queen elizabeth, george washington, and then a man with glasses that covered his eyes was stevie wonder. After we went to a church famously called the "blood of the christ church" take a guess what is there. After we went to a pub where Maria had sent us and had the beer she told us to get. We were supposed to eat there as well but we were cold and wet so we decided to bag the chocolate museum and go to get changed and such before dinner. On our way back we stopped at this little bar on the water to have a beer.
When we finally got back to the Marias, we changed into much warmer clothes and went back to have some dinner. Maria was right the food was delicious and we had another beer. I decided to get a "spicy" beer and they brought me back one with like 11% alcohol so I decided I would not have another. After we went back to Cafe Mundo (where we had waffles) because it was a really cool place. They had this outdoor like tent with heaters and lots of blankets so we had a drink there and then finally headed back.
Day 6.
Brussels and Lueven.
Today we were traveling to Brussels, but seeing it was a much better day out we decided to take a canal ride in Brugge before we left. We down for breakfast, which Maria kindly prepared for us. Omelets and croissants. There were two guys from Canada staying there as well and at one point Maria came over and buttered the guys bread and put jam on it because he was apparently doing it wrong. After breakfast Maria showed Luke and I her photo album from when she wen to Thailand. We had no idea what she was saying but everything looked nice. We went upstairs to finish getting ready and when we came back down she started crying that we were leaving.
"one day," she said, "and look." pointing to her eyes.
We took pictures with her and headed on our way to get a boat ride. We took our nice little canal ride and then walked around to buy some souvenirs, it was so much nicer since the sun was out. We bought some more chocolates and pictures and then headed on our way.
We finally got to Brussels to realize we were not staying in a very nice area. As we were driving down this street to get to our hotel (hotel Chow Chow it was called, I mean come on, why would we think that was nice) I was looking in windows only to find prostitutes. Ahh I yelled as Luke drove by, Omg look. He asked what the heck I was talking about since he was trying to avoid all the skevy people in the street. I told him about the sketchy women in the window, not realizing it was legal in some parts in Belgium. An hour later we finally find somewhere to park and decided to head straight to Lueven, a college town where Kwas and Bridget lived and studied. We were right next to the train station which was nice so we hopped on. As soon as we got there we walked to the Stella Factory to hopefully get on a tour. We walked all the way there only to notice it had large fence all the way around. I was convinced it was not where we were supposed to be so we walked all the way there only to cross the street and walk back. As we were passing it on the other side of the highway we noticed a large group of people walking in what looked to be a tour. I tried to pretend that I didn't notice, hoping luke wouldn't since I was the one that convinced him we shouldn't be there, but he did and I got the guilt trip. We walked all the way back to the city centre and tried to find the place Kwas instructed us to go to. After what seemed like ages we found "the largest bar in the world" it was loads of different bars all with outdoor seating. It was really cool and we did a mini-bar crawl going from bar to bar before we went to get something to eat. (yes these are the only two things we did on this vacation) After we got our fill of the sun. We took a break from drinking at this nice little restaurant. We then went back to the Oude Market to play buyers choice. Well I decided that with this game I was going to get drinks that I never had before. What an idiot decision. The first drink I bought was a Kathleen Special. Well this ended up being crap, and I explain, who the f is kathleen and why is she special. We went onto have Margaritas, mojitos, beers, and much more. Until it was finally time to catch the train back.
Day 7. Brussels.
We got up early and went to head into brussels, since we had to drive back to Amsterdam that night. We had a really bad start not being able to get the tickets we wanted since we did not have enough change. Everywhere in brussels seemed to smell like pee and I would have to blame that on the little Manekin Pis statue where the boy peed on the fire saving the city. We first went to Grote Market, there was a big Jazz Festival that night so there was a lot going on. It was also the week that all the gays and lesbians flocked to Brussels, so Luke was not to happy about that. I was finding it hilarious trying to figure out if men were checking out me or him. We found the little boy statue and then looked for a bar called Delirium, since it has the largest beer selection in the world, 2004. We finally found it after what seemed like ages. I had a pink killer and luke had a strawberry beer. We then got some frites from a little fast food stand and then headed back to the hotel so we could get to Amsterdam at a decent hour. The traffic was terrible so it took over two hours to get here. We checked into our hotel which was on the water and was really nice. As soon as we checked in we went back out. Walking around looking for shops and such. We eventually stopped at a cafe on the water, were there were loads of people. It was gorgeous out so we had a drink and some olives and just sat there for like 2 hours. It must have been the place to be because as time went on more and more people came and they were saying how it was always impossible to get tables there. It was right on the water and loads of boats kept going by as well.
We went to a mexican restaurant that night recommended by our hotel. On our way back we stopped in a bar, only to realize a little to late it was a gay bar! I was loving it, but Luke was less then impressed. After we headed back to the hotel because we had a very early flight to catch in the morning.
All in all it was a really good trip. We got to see loads, eat lots of good food and chocolate and drink lots of good beer.
One more trip to France my friends and then it is back to the good ole US of A.
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