Bon Voyage Eugene (and don't come back!)
Apologies for the lack of updates. Let's get you caught up to speed.
The second day in Belgium, headed out of Brussels to visit the city of Brugge. Admitedly, I didn't get what the big deal was about Brugge - but everything you read says to visit it. When you arrive in Brugge, you don't get what's so special - cars driving past on a big highway. Seems like any other European country.
Then you cross the road, walk a few feet, and then BOOM - you've jumped into a time machine and gone back 500 years. Amazing town, where everything looks like it's been frozen in time.
Bruges had my favorite dumb-American moment. Some American guy was trying to take a picture of his 12 year-old son. His son was having none of it. So the dad is following his son with a camera shouting at the top of his lungs, "TURN AROUND AND LOOK AT ME SO I CAN TAKE THIS PICTURE!" The boy dutifully responds, "No! I don't want to!" The dad goes nuclear, chasing his son with the camera. "LOOK AT ME NOW! I'M YOUR FATHER! LOOK AT ME!" I almost took a picture of them, because it was so awesome watching this wonderful father-son dynamic.
Bruges also has the Chocolate Museum, which had this great story about wealthy Spanish women having chocolate delivered to them by their servants while in church. This so outraged the priest that he BANNED chocolate during mass... so the women STOPPED going to church! The situation was resolved and the ban was lifted when someone ended up POISONING the priest. Wow - never ever get between a woman and her chocolate.
One last thing about Belgium. One night, we all went out for Belgian fast food. I got the Belgian-style meatballs, which are really tasty, but have a remarkable similarity to Chef-Boyardee. If I hadn't seen the cook make them in front of me, I would think that Belgian-style meatballs are a made-up entity for the express purpose of feeding Chef-Boyardee to tourists. While I enjoyed my Chef-Boyardee, my family had the Belgian Waffles... and were given this really cool fork.
Is this not awesome? It's half fork, half knife! It's a knork! Or a Fife! Whatever you call it, I'm very impressed by the Belgian utensil technology.
The next day, the Eugene World Tour headed off to Paris, France. Unfortunately, there are no French people in Paris - it's swarmed over by Americans. Everywhere we go are hundreds of American tourists - it's like an infestation and we're coming out of the woodwork.
I don't know where the rude Frenchman stereotype came from, but man, these French people are amazingly cool. The only rude ones I encountered were the drunk homeless guys outside the Louvre.
Seriously - what's with all the drunk homeless guys hanging out at the Louvre? I blame Dan Brown.
Anyways, the people here in France have been incredibly nice, even though I'm doing my best to butcher the French language at every opportunity. Even got into a great English conversation with this woman on the metro.
Oh, and I wasn't aware of this, but apparently there's some sort of Harry Potter movie coming out? I only became aware of this recently since I've been BOMBARDED with advertisements in every country I've been in. I half expected the Eiffel Tower to be turned into a giant broomstick.
And my visit to Paris has re-affirmed my love of bread. There's something in the water here that makes bread amazingly good.
Can't wait to see this film after I get back in the states. Thought the sight of the poster in Paris was neat.
Lastly, one tip for anyone who's ever going to visit Paris? Before riding on the Metro, don't forget to learn what the word SORTIE means. Otherwise you end up being a Eugene, wandering around the Metro station like a moron.
The tour continues...
The second day in Belgium, headed out of Brussels to visit the city of Brugge. Admitedly, I didn't get what the big deal was about Brugge - but everything you read says to visit it. When you arrive in Brugge, you don't get what's so special - cars driving past on a big highway. Seems like any other European country.
Then you cross the road, walk a few feet, and then BOOM - you've jumped into a time machine and gone back 500 years. Amazing town, where everything looks like it's been frozen in time.
Bruges had my favorite dumb-American moment. Some American guy was trying to take a picture of his 12 year-old son. His son was having none of it. So the dad is following his son with a camera shouting at the top of his lungs, "TURN AROUND AND LOOK AT ME SO I CAN TAKE THIS PICTURE!" The boy dutifully responds, "No! I don't want to!" The dad goes nuclear, chasing his son with the camera. "LOOK AT ME NOW! I'M YOUR FATHER! LOOK AT ME!" I almost took a picture of them, because it was so awesome watching this wonderful father-son dynamic.
Bruges also has the Chocolate Museum, which had this great story about wealthy Spanish women having chocolate delivered to them by their servants while in church. This so outraged the priest that he BANNED chocolate during mass... so the women STOPPED going to church! The situation was resolved and the ban was lifted when someone ended up POISONING the priest. Wow - never ever get between a woman and her chocolate.
One last thing about Belgium. One night, we all went out for Belgian fast food. I got the Belgian-style meatballs, which are really tasty, but have a remarkable similarity to Chef-Boyardee. If I hadn't seen the cook make them in front of me, I would think that Belgian-style meatballs are a made-up entity for the express purpose of feeding Chef-Boyardee to tourists. While I enjoyed my Chef-Boyardee, my family had the Belgian Waffles... and were given this really cool fork.
Is this not awesome? It's half fork, half knife! It's a knork! Or a Fife! Whatever you call it, I'm very impressed by the Belgian utensil technology.
The next day, the Eugene World Tour headed off to Paris, France. Unfortunately, there are no French people in Paris - it's swarmed over by Americans. Everywhere we go are hundreds of American tourists - it's like an infestation and we're coming out of the woodwork.
I don't know where the rude Frenchman stereotype came from, but man, these French people are amazingly cool. The only rude ones I encountered were the drunk homeless guys outside the Louvre.
Seriously - what's with all the drunk homeless guys hanging out at the Louvre? I blame Dan Brown.
Anyways, the people here in France have been incredibly nice, even though I'm doing my best to butcher the French language at every opportunity. Even got into a great English conversation with this woman on the metro.
Oh, and I wasn't aware of this, but apparently there's some sort of Harry Potter movie coming out? I only became aware of this recently since I've been BOMBARDED with advertisements in every country I've been in. I half expected the Eiffel Tower to be turned into a giant broomstick.
And my visit to Paris has re-affirmed my love of bread. There's something in the water here that makes bread amazingly good.
Can't wait to see this film after I get back in the states. Thought the sight of the poster in Paris was neat.
Lastly, one tip for anyone who's ever going to visit Paris? Before riding on the Metro, don't forget to learn what the word SORTIE means. Otherwise you end up being a Eugene, wandering around the Metro station like a moron.
The tour continues...
posted by Eugene at 1:54 PM
2 Comments:
Ever go to Paris Baguette or Tous Les Jours here in LA? Those would be the places to go if you're craving French pastries after you get home...
Why am I only NOW hearing about these places, Raven? :) Thanks for the tips - I'll definitely check them out.
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