mussels in brussels
hamsterdam the second time round,
and i had everything all planned out for immediately after i touched down.
a quick shower and a skip and a hop on to a bus,
to begin a day-long tour to belgium.
we started off in antwerp,
finally getting there after a long and restless bus ride
that the guide spent pecking relentless on my tired eardrums
with her sharp and booming voice.
there was a festival going on in antwerp,
so there were balloons aplenty and a little pasar malam in the square.
the architecture there is amazing -
the towering buildings,
the glitter of the statues on the guild houses,
the looming clock tower of the church...
lit two candles in the church.
world peace.
out and about, spending precious minutes exploring the town,
we stopped to take away coffee from a busy sandwich shop.
we ordered mochas,
the guy said ok!
we got espressos instead.
a bench on the sidewalk became our spot
to make the coffee more drinkable (lots of milk and sugar).
i finished it in a gulp.
we also had a taste of the best fries in the world:
there were many many sauces to choose from,
so we left it up to the owner of the shop.
he decided that we look like his special spicy mayo,
so that was what we had and it was YUM.
onwards to brussels which was an hour's drive away.
we stopped for a photo-op at the atomium,
and were fascinated by the world's biggest iron atom.
the journey from there and through the little streets of brussels
was a whole load of "on your left, on your right, far away, behind that little tree" etc.
we took whatever photos we could
and gave up on even remembering the names of what we shot.
the most exciting moment was when our driver had difficulties maneuvering
our bigass double-decker bus through one of the narrow roads
lined on both sides, and at corners, by many cars,
and a squealing police car got stuck right behind us all the way through
and we could see men handcuffed in its back seat.
felt a bit like we were in a movie!
brussels was having a music festival or something
so i took a shot with the stage before moving on to more important stuff
like the manneken pis.
the world famous peeing boy that everyone flocks to take a peek at is TINY.
plus he wasn't naked coz apparently, they dress him up,
and change his outfit everyday.
responsible parenting indeed.
of course, once that was done,
all we cared about was filling our rumbling tummies.
we settled down in a cafe,
and attacked a big pot of mussels
before i went on to devour a rabbit
that will never hop again.
washed all that down with a belgium waffle
coated with a generous helping of chocolate sauce.
*burp*
the rest of the tour was even more "to the left to the left"
so that was that.
antwerp, checked. brussels, checked. YAY.
the next day started with pancakes and a cuppa,
following which i wandered the streets in searching of a globe,
and fell into a garden of flowers...
spent the rest of the afternoon in the van gogh museum,
leisurely admiring his amazing work,
and rounded the day off with a delicious slab of ribs at castell.
i amsterdam.
hamsterdam the second time round,
and i had everything all planned out for immediately after i touched down.
a quick shower and a skip and a hop on to a bus,
to begin a day-long tour to belgium.
we started off in antwerp,
finally getting there after a long and restless bus ride
that the guide spent pecking relentless on my tired eardrums
with her sharp and booming voice.
there was a festival going on in antwerp,
so there were balloons aplenty and a little pasar malam in the square.
the architecture there is amazing -
the towering buildings,
the glitter of the statues on the guild houses,
the looming clock tower of the church...
lit two candles in the church.
world peace.
out and about, spending precious minutes exploring the town,
we stopped to take away coffee from a busy sandwich shop.
we ordered mochas,
the guy said ok!
we got espressos instead.
a bench on the sidewalk became our spot
to make the coffee more drinkable (lots of milk and sugar).
i finished it in a gulp.
we also had a taste of the best fries in the world:
there were many many sauces to choose from,
so we left it up to the owner of the shop.
he decided that we look like his special spicy mayo,
so that was what we had and it was YUM.
onwards to brussels which was an hour's drive away.
we stopped for a photo-op at the atomium,
and were fascinated by the world's biggest iron atom.
the journey from there and through the little streets of brussels
was a whole load of "on your left, on your right, far away, behind that little tree" etc.
we took whatever photos we could
and gave up on even remembering the names of what we shot.
the most exciting moment was when our driver had difficulties maneuvering
our bigass double-decker bus through one of the narrow roads
lined on both sides, and at corners, by many cars,
and a squealing police car got stuck right behind us all the way through
and we could see men handcuffed in its back seat.
felt a bit like we were in a movie!
brussels was having a music festival or something
so i took a shot with the stage before moving on to more important stuff
like the manneken pis.
the world famous peeing boy that everyone flocks to take a peek at is TINY.
plus he wasn't naked coz apparently, they dress him up,
and change his outfit everyday.
responsible parenting indeed.
of course, once that was done,
all we cared about was filling our rumbling tummies.
we settled down in a cafe,
and attacked a big pot of mussels
before i went on to devour a rabbit
that will never hop again.
washed all that down with a belgium waffle
coated with a generous helping of chocolate sauce.
*burp*
the rest of the tour was even more "to the left to the left"
so that was that.
antwerp, checked. brussels, checked. YAY.
the next day started with pancakes and a cuppa,
following which i wandered the streets in searching of a globe,
and fell into a garden of flowers...
spent the rest of the afternoon in the van gogh museum,
leisurely admiring his amazing work,
and rounded the day off with a delicious slab of ribs at castell.
i amsterdam.
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