Our first weekend in Brussels

Bonjour!



We had a very fun weekend and were able to see a lot of Brussels! We started out Friday night by going to a pizza place I had found on the Belgian version of "Yelp" called CityPlug. The difference between Yelp and CityPlug is that everyone always seems to give great reviews - there are never any bad reviews on CityPlug. We went to a place called Pizzeria Mirante near the city center, which is also the touristy area. Our pizzas were delicious and well priced, and as usual, the beer was cheaper than water. Since we're not used to drinking a beer or glass of wine with every meal, we started bringing in our own water and tried to be discreet about it. One liter of water (which is about what we drink in one meal) costs between  €5,00-€7,00 ($6.00-$8.40.) We think it's crazy that restaurants in Europe won't just give you some tap water, but perhaps we're just weird Americans. Anyhow - the pizza was great and we really enjoyed wandering around the touristy city center of Brussels on Friday night. There were tons of people out and about, both locals and tourists. It's a really fun area! Of course we stopped and got a piece of chocolate - I don't know how they make chocolate over here, but it really is different and amazing. Luckily we can stop after one piece - the problem is I want a piece every day. :-) We came back to our apartment around 10:30 pm (the sun was still shining bright of course!) and watched part of some weird movie called Salsa - it was the only show on TV in English. We were asleep by midnight - still getting over the jet-lag!



Saturday was also a great day! Brent's boss and her husband (Janet & Kevin) took us all over the city! First we went to their beautiful apartment. It's on the 7th floor of a very nice apartment building overlooking Montgomery Circle, which is a large traffic circle with a big fountain in the middle. The elevator opens up right into their apartment. They have everything we are looking for in an apartment (American-size refrigerator, washer/dryer, American-style shower, etc) so hopefully we can find an apartment like theirs - but a bit smaller and cheaper. They have a gorgeous rooftop patio - I was a bit envious...but I know we'll find something perfect for our lifestyle as well. Next they took us to a large market in Stockel, about 20 minutes by Metro from the city center, and about 10 minutes from where we want to live. I LOVED the market and foresee myself doing a lot of our grocery shopping here. The market is open Friday, Saturday, and Tuesday. There were some amazing fresh fruits & veggie vendors and lots of fresh fish, meat, and egg stalls. We are all about markets, so this was a great find! We wandered around the market for about an hour, and then headed back to Janet & Kevin's apartment to hop in the car.



Our next stop was the military base just outside of Brussels for a "rummage sale." We had to pre-register for this event because civilians aren't normally allowed on the military base. The rummage sale was really just a garage-like sale, but it was cool to see part of the base. I would love to get a job at their health clinic, but that might be pretty tough as a civilian. After that, we went to the British Food store, where English products are sold (i.e. British groceries, books, magazines, and a few American items as well.) I think I will be perfectly fine with what is sold at regular Belgian grocery stores, but it was nice to know where the British food store is in case I need a specific brand. Janet and Kevin also showed us where the massive Ikea is, where furniture stores are, and then took us to lunch - woo hoo! After lunch, we drove around some more, looking at different areas of Brussels, and then they dropped us off at our apartment around 4:00. They spent a total of 7 hours with us, which was very kind and very helpful! I'm so glad Brent has such a nice boss - and her husband is hilarious too.



When we got home, we decided to wander over to the Woluwe Shopping Center - a nice mall about a 5-minute walk from our apartment. Shopping here is very different for me - I am used to buying things on sale, using coupons, or hunting for bargains. In Belgium, there are 2 sales a year - one the entire month of January and one the entire month of July. So we saw some things we would eventually like for our home, but we can't buy them until July. It's a very strange concept to me - but luckily it is almost July. We will be buying a LOT in July. :-) Brent also found a very nice, reasonably priced suit at the mall. European-cut suits fit him so much better than the American style suit - so we were both really excited to find that out. Brent likes to shop - and he loves that European clothes fit him better.



After the mall, we hung out at the apartment for a bit and Brent found the show "The Simpsons" in French on TV! I was super excited and watched 3 episodes in French. We then decided to venture out for some Thai food. Brent drove this time because it was about 9:00 pm and there weren't as many people on the roads. Driving here is...interesting. Traffic circles are a bit scary at times - everyone just goes, there don't seem to be many rules. Brent is doing an awesome job though. I don't know how to drive a stick shift, so I don't have to drive, at least for now. So at the Thai restaurant, in an effort to save money, we split a beer. Again, we are not used to drinking a beer or glass of wine with every meal, and bottled water is way over-priced in restaurants, so we are still trying to figure out what to do. I am going to attempt to find any restaurants in this city that serve tap water or let you bring in your own water, and those will be our new favorite places to eat! As you can imagine, eating spicy Thai food with half of a glass of beer to drink is not so fun. Now combine that thought with no air-conditioning in most restaurants. By the end of the meal, I was sweating like crazy! I think the waiter thought we were crazy for not just ordering some water and sitting there sipping a beer, but I have a problem with spending  €7,00 on bottled water. I will always be carrying some water in my purse. :-) The food was actually pretty good though! Perhaps once my French gets a little better, we can start ordering take-out and then enjoy as much water as we want at our apartment. At least Belgians do not tip - maybe we can justify spending the money we normally do on tips for bottled water at every meal. Hmmm.



We were fairly exhausted Saturday night and went to sleep shortly after dinner. We also slept in on Sunday. We have found quite a few English speaking Christian churches in Brussels, but we decided to wait another week before trying some out. It finally rained on Sunday - supposedly it rains 200 days/year here, but it had been gorgeous all last week. We watched what I imagine is the British version of "Top Chef" (again, only English-speaking show on TV) and the rain let up around 2:00 pm. We set out to explore the city some more and get some exercise! We walked a total of 5 miles, from our apartment all the way past the city center, and then took the metro back. The weather was beautiful the whole time we were walking (although quite humid!) We even stumbled upon a large festival in Cinquantenaire Park. We think it was some sort of ecological festival, but it was fun to walk through. We want to live near Cinquantenaire Park - it reminds us a lot of Balboa Park in San Diego, which was 5 blocks from our old house. Cinquantenaire Park is not quite as big as Balboa Park, but it is nice nonetheless. The neighborhoods around the park are very nice and seem like a fun area to live. When we got to the city center, there was a lot going on, as usual - lots of tourists and locals out enjoying the weekend. One thing we have learned is everything is closed on Sundays. Grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants - everything is closed. In some ways, it's great because you literally have to rest and do nothing, in other ways, it's frustrating because we are used to everything being open in the USA. As you can imagine, Saturday is quite a busy day in Belgium! We did notice though that in the city center where all of the tourists are, there are quite a few open shops and restaurants and even a small grocery store is open.



At the end of our long walk, we discovered a row of restaurants in Saint Catherine Square along a small canal that all have lobster specials. We have no idea why, but all of these restaurants seem to feature lobster. A lot of you probably don't know this, but Brent and I's nickname for each other is "lobster." Neither of us can remember exactly how it started, but I think it's because I was pinching him once on a road trip and I am always imitating animals...even though I am 30, I still act like a kid. :-) We have "lobster" engraved on our wedding bands, lobster beach towels, Brent has a few lobster t-shirts, etc. And now you all know the weirdest part of our lives - that we call each other "lobster" - and every time you see a lobster, you'll probably now think of us. Anyhow - so we also both happen to love lobster, so finding a row of restaurants that all feature lobster was a real treat! You just never know what you're going to find when you're out for a stroll on Sunday! We can't wait to go back and try one of the restaurants.



When we arrived back at our apartment, we decided it was laundry time. One load of laundry costs  €5,00 ($6.00.) We will definitely be investing in a washer and dryer when we move. We also had a grand time trying to figure out what the different settings were on the washer/dryer. Have I mentioned yet that I really have got to pick up the French language again? After laundry, we had a fairly normal night. I cooked dinner for the first time here. Since I have no oven and only pots to work with, my cooking is limited, which is unfortunate because you all know I love to cook! We had pasta with cheese, sausage, and peas. Yes I know, not very exciting, but I don't have a lot to work with here! :-) I think we'll be eating a lot of pasta and rice dishes since I can make those on the stovetop. We start looking at apartments on Wednesday and as soon as we find one, we can have our boxes shipped. I can't wait to have the rest of our stuff here with us! After dinner, we watched various TV shows in English - an old episode of "Doogie Howser, MD" and a show called "Without a Trace." We'll watch anything in English now.



We had a really great weekend overall. Living in Brussels feels like being on vacation so far! There are definitely times I really miss San Diego though...the beautiful weather, our awesome friends, our church family, and playing with our dog Sadie are a few things that come to mind. I am going to a luncheon on Friday hosted by the American Women's Club of Brussels, so I am looking forward to meeting some new friends! The next few weeks will also be fun - next week we head to Rotterdam for 3 nights (Brent has a big training there with all of the European tax people from PriceWaterhouseCoopers) and then the following week, we will be in a city called Breda (also in the Netherlands) for about 10 days. Also, we leave for Africa in just 4 weeks for our mission trip!!! There are a lot of exciting things coming up in our lives and we feel extremely blessed right now!



Ok, I am off to the grocery store for now, which is always an adventure since nothing is in English... :-)