Brussels

Ryanair is either loved or hated by all… it’s very cheap if you catch the right deal, but you must pay extra to use a credit card, to check in at the airport (which you must do if you are not an EU citizen), you don’t even get water on the plane and you cannot carry a purse in addition to your carry on. Still, if you are poor and the opportunity to fly to Brussels and back for a grand total of 30 euro presents itself, one can find herself on the “Ryanair-PRO” side of the fence.

Rachael whisked me away from the airport Thursday evening upon my arrival to this multi-lingual land. We drove into the city center to fetch two of her friends, Sandra and Savegry, then drove to the university part of town for dinner. I had a cherry wine followed by another dark brew, both of which are made in Brussels. The angelic Rachael already had a box of chocolates in the car for us to nibble after dinner and we, after driving in many circles, drove around the Atomiun, a giant model of the atom built for the 1953 world’s fair… it’s no Eiffel Tower but it’s neat looking. Because of bad road signs, it took about half an hour to find and involved some laughs at our driver’s expense, but we had chocolate to keep us happy. I also got to meet her German beau, Peter, who drove two hours to just to have dinner with us and to meet the new girl, knowing the whole time he’d have to wake up in only a few more hours to drive back to Deutschland and go to work. I found him to be a most considerate chap.

The next day, I got to wander the sights of this city, after a tutorial from Rachael. I saw the Manneken Pis, the comic strip museum where I got a picture with a Smurf, or should I say Schtroumpf that somehow didn’t format correctly on my camera (Darn you Gargamel!) They have a great pedestrian zone with shops and crowds, where I was approached by a middle aged man who asked if I had been at his philosophy lecture that morning because he was sure I was the girl who asked a question bout how one goes about reconciling Plato and Aristotle in the artwork of the Sistine chapel… righhhttt. I asked him what on earth needed to be reconciled and he actually smiled and said “That was my answer.” He’s smooth all right. I left him to go and try

a Stella on tap. I stand by my choice.

And chocolate, oh the chocolate! Shops everywhere peddling house-made confectionaries. It turns out Neuhaus was the first man to create the concept of an individual chocolate- a filled chocolate shell. And my oh my, how those Belgians fill those shells. Caramels, nougatines, marzipan, fruit pastes, nut creams. From the ones selling to the masses to the specialty one who is commissioned to perpare confections for the royal family’s events (Pierre Marcolini- where they dress in suits and play trendy music… it’s like shopping for fine jewelry there!), there is

something for everyone and one wants to wander into every one of those shops.
That evening, Rachael and I went to dinner at Sandra’s place and had a wonderful girl’s night. Her friends have enough boy drama to fill many wine soaked evenings so we had a great time. Rachael and I spent the rest of the night up until the wee hours bonding over chocolate and drunky skyping her family.

The next day passed like a blur as we drove around different EU buildings for my last glimpse of the city. Then, like a grand hostess, she could not let me leave without experiencing one of Belgium’s finest inventions: The French Fry. The line for them was comparable to ones I have stood in for the right Philly Cheesesteak or the perfect cheeseburger. They have perfected the

technique by double frying at just the right temperatures before serving to you in gargantuan portions with any number of sauces to dip in.

It is sad that no more weekend trips are possible until Spring Break, being that I’m wrapped up in preparations for midterms. Still, there have been amazing dinners with friends here and celebrations for anything we can get out hands on as an excuse.