I'm a little behind...

It has been awhile! I've meant to update but I've been so busy with midterms, amendment deadlines and (the most exciting of all) VISITORS! The past two weekends were filled with spending fun times in Brussels with several good friends from the U of R. Because each weekend was unique (and because I really meant to give each their own entry before I got so lazy) I am going to divide this entry into two sections.
Section I. Kierstin Visits!
My good friend Kierstin is studying abroad in London, and she decided to make Brussels her first stop on the European Continent! I met her at the train station Friday evening and we headed back to my house to drop her stuff off, and then ran out to a noodle place for dinner. Then we headed down to Delirium so that Kierstin could sample one of their 2000 beers. We talked over drinks, and met some interesting people from Holland who may or may not have been lying about the documentary that they were making and their affiliation with Disney. Please note that all the pics in this section have been stolen from Kierstin.

Kierstin and I

The next morning we got up bright and early to take on the town. I showed Kierstin some of the sights, and we stopped at a waffle van to grab some hot gaufres au chocolat for breakfast. Then we walked down and I showed her around the Grand Place area before we settled down with Lori and Olivia to enjoy some Frites (with Mayo and a variety of other fine sauces of course) then we grabbed free balloons, and went to stake out a good spot for the balloon parade. In honor of two new murals in Brussels, the city was holding its first ever Balloon Parade. We weren't really sure what to expect of this parade, we were just hoping to see a smurf balloon or two.

Now as I alluded to in my post about Carnaval, Belgians have a very different view of what a parade is. An American parade would have the streets blocked off hours in advance, and the entire activity would be carefully coordinated. A Belgian parade is nothing like this. The parade was completely chaotic. First of all, I'm not sure why they chose to do a Balloon parade rather then a parade involving floats or something. The many low hanging tram wires made it incredibly difficult, and the balloons had to be pulled down every so often so that they cleared the wires.

Secondly, Belgians CANNOT control themselves when it comes to parades. They just get so excited that they rush the streets, and none of the police really care or try to stop them. This is exactly what happened. Within 10 minutes of the parade the street were packed with people trying to touch the cat in the hat. Similar to Binche, it was also incredibly slow moving. Overall the entire thing felt more like a festival then a parade, but I got a free balloon and had a total blast. I also got to see giant balloons in the shape of Mannekin Pis, the Atomium, the smurfs, Clifford the big red dog, and many other interesting characters.

After the parade we went to have hot chocolate, and then walked down to show Kierstin the Parliament and the Parc du Cinquantenaire. It was really a beautiful day outside, and it was just so nice to stroll outside and exchange stories of our study abroad experience thus far.

Sunday we headed to Bruges so that Kierstin could experience the beauty. We walked around and marveled at the sights. Then Monday it was time to say goodbye, but thankfully not for too long, as we decided to meet up in Dublin in a few weeks. Yay!
Section II. Kim and Mike
As if having one visitor wasn't enough excitement my friend Kim and Mike came to visit last weekend! Kim is studying in Granada and Mike is studying in London. Unfortunately both of them had some difficulty making it to Brussels.

Kim's flight left from Malaga, and a late bus, construction and general confusion caused her to miss check-in for her first flight. She hadn't missed the flight, just check-in, but they were very strict. Determined to make it to Brussels, Kim shelled out the extra money for a new flight and I'm so glad she did (thanks for coming to visit Kim!).

When poor Kim finally showed up we hung out in my room for a bit, then headed to the train station to get Mike. Now Mike had forwarded me his itinerary saying that his flight was going to come in at 8:56. When we arrived at the station we discovered that there was no train coming in at 8:56. In fact, the next train didn't make it in until 9:30. Kim and I nervously waited around, praying that Mike was on that train. When he walked down from the train platform we were so relieved! Turns out that the travel agent mike used to book the tickets thought that he meant 6 AM, and Mike turned up for his train about 12 hours too late. He also had to shell out the money for an extra ticket (thanks Mike!).

Well given that they had both gone through so much to make it to Brussels the pressure was on to ensure that they had a good time. Thursday night was spent with me studying for my midterm and the two of them enjoying part of a movie.

Friday I woke up and went to take my test and sent the two of them on a walk involving some pretty scenery and a lovely bakery. Then we met up by the European Commission Building and headed to Parliament. I showed them around the giant complex, and they managed to get some pretty cool pictures of the plenary chamber and some committee meeting rooms. Then we headed downtown and set out to see some of the sights. We experienced Mannekin Pis, the Grand Place, the Bourse, and Belgian Waffles.

Kim and Mike sharing a waffle.

Mike eating a waffle in front of Mannekin Pis. Please note that this is a different waffle from the one in the picture above.

The next day we arose fairly early and met up with my friend Catriona (a fellow intern) to check out the flea market. The market was great! There was such a variety of things: Funny hats, crates filled with buttons, China sets, violins, piles of clothing, painting, and tons of other interesting things. One man attempted to sell me an old quill set for 7 euros insisting that I wouldn't regret it. Another man showed me a figurine of the statue of liberty and insisted "This is Obama." I asked him if he liked America and he proclaimed "I love America and I love Obama." I bit my tongue; at least we agreed on one half of that sentence.

The three of us on the steps of the Cathedral

Next we left the flea market to go grab some food. We grabbed some Frites and sampled more sauces. I'm amazed at the sheer number of sauces that there are. Then we walked around the St. Catherine area, and headed home to get ready for Museum Night Fever.

Museum Night Fever is an event where 7 Euro gives you admission to 14 museums for 5 hours. We made it to 4 museums. The Belvue (it covered the history of Belgian royalty), the Museum of Musical Instruments, the Musee De Ville (which covers the history of Brussels and includes all of the several hundred outfits for the Mannekin Pis), and the costume Museum. The Museum of Musical instruments was by far the coolest. We were given free do-rags, and headphones and headed in not knowing what to expect. It turns out that as you walk by a glass cases your headphone picks up a radio signal, and you begin to hear music that gives you an idea of what it would be like to hear someone play that instrument. We had a blast there.

Kim and Mike dancing at the Museum of Musical Instruments

After that we headed back home, and said farewell to Kim who had an absurdly early flight that required her leaving in a taxi at 3 AM. The next morning Mike and I woke up so early and, due to the slow metro system, I had nearly had an anxiety attack trying to get him to the station before his train.

Overall the weekend with Kim and Mike was filled with tons of good conversation, good company, and far far to much chocolate. My teeth hurt just thinking about it.

Section III. Other highlights of the past two weeks include...

...Include
-Dance parties with the other interns at the Parliament to "Heat of the Moment" and other classics
-having a pseudo-sleepover with Lori that involved facebook stalking, watching the west wing, and reading magazines

-reading 88 pages of Fisheries policy, it made my brain hurt, but I liked it.
-EPA brunch. It was all-you-can-eat, enough said.
-the pretty decent weather (up until today)

-Heading to a free showing of the movie Bella at the Parliament and the question and answer with the main actor/producer of the film.
-Skyping with my insane parents. I fear that the Great Christmas Light Scandal of 2009 will never be solved
-Listening to Celeste's account of assaulting a 12 year old Belgian Boy (believe me, he had it coming)

That's all for now! This weekend is Paris and I couldn't be more excited!

Au revoir!

Em