After a very long flight accompanied by stomach churning turbulence and three full movies, I arrived in Brussels this morning (Saturday) at about 8am. I hurried off the plane only to stand in the customs line for an hour and a half with hundreds of other smelly travelers. What is it about planes that make people stink so bad?
I decided to be ambitious and take the train from the airport to the City Centre because at €7 for a ticket, it was way cheaper than a taxi. Of course, the train's last stop was still 1.8 miles from my hostel according to my iPhone (aka my lifeline aka my soulmate - look for save the dates in the mail). I walked about half a mile with my massive suitcase in the slippery rain until surrendering and hailing a cab the rest of the trek. Dropped off my luggage at the hostel and was on my merry way for some grub and an authentic cappuccino.
I decided to be ambitious and take the train from the airport to the City Centre because at €7 for a ticket, it was way cheaper than a taxi. Of course, the train's last stop was still 1.8 miles from my hostel according to my iPhone (aka my lifeline aka my soulmate - look for save the dates in the mail). I walked about half a mile with my massive suitcase in the slippery rain until surrendering and hailing a cab the rest of the trek. Dropped off my luggage at the hostel and was on my merry way for some grub and an authentic cappuccino.
I've walked around what feels like the entire city of Brussels in the last five hours and here's what I've learned so far:
- Belgium is the Boise of Europe. Everyone here is so friendly! Even strangers greet each other with a polite "Bonjour!" upon entering any business.
- Pedestrians have the right of way here. Thank God.
- Belgian men are very forward. They whistle out their car windows obnoxiously and honk their horns. One man drove past me slowly and asked if I had a cigarette. I don't remember how to say, "I don't smoke" in French so I just replied, "Non, monsieur."
- Like everywhere else in Europe, today's weather went from chilly/windy/rainy to sunny/too warm for a scarf within an hour.
- Everyone here smokes. Inside. My brain hurts.
The highlight of my trip so far was being mistaken for a local. Two older women asked me directions to some restaurant, and I took it as a massive compliment. Obviously, this means my fashion choices and French accent are parfait, n'est ce pas?
Well, whatever. It was cool anyways.
I'm waiting to check into my hostel room (24 more minutes, but who's counting?) but here are some photos I've taken. Ironically, it was raining when these photos were taken and the sun came out almost immediately after. Perfect weather here.
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