Je Ne Comprends Pas. Parlez-vouz Anglais?

This is the useful French phrase I learned yesterday. It means “I don’t understand. Do you speak English.” It’s a bit sad, but my knowledge of the French language is so pathetic, that I practically break my arm patting myself on the back every time I respond to a waiter with “Merci” or throw out an “Au Revoir” to the desk clerk as we leave the hotel; so for now, that sad little French phrase is one hundred percent necessary.

It’s been a busy couple of days. Tuesday morning I woke up fairly refreshed from the ten hours of sleep I had. We all got dressed and ready and headed downstairs for the hotel’s free breakfast. Wrong. We were stopped by the desk clerk, who informed us that breakfast would be served in our rooms. Interesting. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door, and the maid arrived with a tray with tea, croissants, and cheese.

After breakfast, we prepared for the fine Belgian weather by throwing on raincoats, and grabbing umbrellas, then we set out to see the sights. After pooling out resources (I swear, everyone got a guidebook for the holidays) we successfully maneuvered out way through the metro system, and tried to find our way to the famous Grand-Place, the town square of Brussels.

Along the way, we stumbled upon Cathédrale Saints-Michel-et-Gudule (St. Micheals and St. Gudula Cathedral). It was one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen in my entire life. The inside had these giant panes of stained glass. We were stunned with the amount of work put into every single piece of art.

Then we wandered toward the direction of the Grand-Place, but got distracted along the way by a scenic shopping center called Galleries St. Hubert. We walked around and marveled at the intricate art on the ceilings, while doing a bit of window shopping. Along the way we passed about 15 chocolate shops. It looks delicious but, for fear I’ll turn into an addict, and for the sake of my wallet, I am attempting to hold out for as long as possible.

Then we walked down Rue des Bouchers, a really cute cobble stone street lined with restaurants. Apparently it is very common for chefs to stand outside their restaurant and try to lure in customers, and as they saw us coming down the streets they came out to meet us. Many of the restaurants had chalkboard that boasted great deals, but we had been warned that they deceptively post cheap prices, but the bills are often higher then expected. Still, it was nice to see the many quaint restaurants.

Please Note the Miniature Mannekin Pis nestled in the ice. Silly Belgians.

Finally, we arrived at the Grand-Place. It was absolutely gorgeous! I couldn’t stop taking pictures of everything. After all of the talk I have heard from people, it was anything but overrated. It was so beautiful, and I definitely intend to spend more time there in the upcoming months. Apparently, during August they take thousands of flowers and create a beautiful carpet of flowers in the square in front of the Grand-Place. I am definitely disappointed that I won’t be around for that.

By this point we were incredibly cold and wet, so we ducked into a little restaurant to warm up and grab something to eat. I had a ham sandwich that was very good and also really cheap. We hung out there for a bit, and then asked for directions to the Famous Mannekin Pis. The restaurant owner gave us directions saying “Mannekin Pis is very small, no? I am the BIG Mannekin Pis.” Haha, I guess that was kind of awkward, but in my experience so far Belgians are very friendly.

We came up on Mannekin Pis and I really was surprised to see how small he was. For those of you that don’t know, Mannekin Pis is a statue of a little boy peeing. He is traditionally naked, but the Belgians love to dress him up, and we narrowing missed the Elvis Costume he was sporting to celebrate the king’s birthday. On special occasions, Mannekin Pis even pees beer. It’s a strange tourist destination, and an even stranger mascot for a city, but there you go!

We finished up the day by going to a splendid little Italian restaurant. The owner was very nice to us, and gave us free drinks and a plate of seasoned olives. The prices were also incredibly reasonable. We will definitely go there again.

Today was orientation at Vesalius College. Vesalius College, or “VeCo” as the administration likes to call it, is an English speaking college that is affiliate with Vrije Universiteit Brussel, a Dutch-Speaking University in Brussels. For those of you that don’t know, Brussels has two official languages, French and Dutch. Today was the first day spent on the Dutch side of town, and it’s definitely confusing to see signs written in Dutch. I guess I’ll adjust.

Orientation was pretty great. It was a mix of speakers, tours, and free meals. They offered free water, so we all drank as many glasses as we can possibly get our hands on because water at restaurants is expensive! They also had a large free lunch and a variety of croissants to snack on; I haven’t had a waffle yet, but if they are anywhere near as delicious as these croissants I have a lot to look forward to!

The Student government at Vesalius loves to host social events and throw parties. And tonight they are hosted a tour of the night life of Brussels. I am grateful for the opportunity to have someone who knows what they are talking about lead me around. The streets here don’t seem to be arranged with any particular organization, and the fact that they are labeled in two languages doesn’t help the lost American find their way.

Au Revior for now!

Emily

Note: This Entry was written earlier, but took some time to post. An inconsistent internet signal, combined with the fact that blogspot (as well as google, and other important sights) has reacted to my travel by automatically switching to Dutch; being that I don't speak Dutch, I have no idea how to change it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. After a prolonged battle with the website, blogspot has decided I need to wait until I have stronger internet signal to post pictures. I promise to post them soon!