April 17, 2006 by Drew.

The main square in Brussels, Grand Place, is incredibly beautiful. The architectural detail floored me each time I passed through. For the size of the city, I don’t feel like I spent enough time there, but really enjoyed just walking around.

I’ve been trying every Belgian beer I can get my hands on. Favorites are still Heogaarden and Chimay.

In Bruges, I stopped at a nice little delicatessen and had an awesome pate, lettuce and tomato sandwich on baguette for only 3 euros and 20 cents. I’m tempted to go again tomorrow.

Yesterday, it rained for the first time on my trip—actually hailed for a second—and my stuff got soaked, but all’s well now. It’s windy and I almost bought a sweater, but all-in-all it’s beautiful here.

Earlier today, I visited some windmills on a sort of mini-tour. The sky had tiny little clouds that almost looked fake. And from the hill we were on, all of the rooftops were visible. We also went to the top of an old bell tower. The stairs felt like they’d never end, but it was worth it for the view.

I’ve run into very few other Americans so far—mostly other Europeans and Australians, there seem to be Australians everywhere. For dinner I’m joining a few other people from the hostel and we’re going out for mussels. One of the guys has a guidebook that says everyone should try “Mussels in Brussels”—I’m sure Bruges will do.

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April 12, 2006 by Drew.

The Eurostar is non-smoking. Amazing!

The Eiffel Tower seemed quite small at first, but as I walked closer, it grew and grew. I decided to wait to go to the top because it’s foggy this evening, but I went out for crepes which were fabulous. The marzipan one was perfect in every way.

There was a film crew shooting some ice skaters this morning. I went to a bakery and bought a baguette, which I ate for breakfast with some Bonne Maman apricot and almond jam and a café au lait. Très French! I’ll definitely be bringing home some jam. The variety here is just so much more interesting than back home. I love the grocery store. I wish I could bring back yogurt and cheese, but that seems less likely.

The river is an intense green today. There are musicians on the subway, but they aren’t just next to the tracks, they’re actually on the trains.

I had a nice panini with chevre and tomato for lunch and then went to an upscale grocer called La Grande Epicerie where I sampled all sorts of wonderful things and bought a whole candied orange.

It’s so much fun to people watch here. The French have a definite sense of style. Lots of tall boots on girls and scarves on everyone. Picked up a couple books at Shakespeare & Co.

The Centre Pompidou was great. Huge, but great, and the building is really cool. After the museum, I stumbled upon a flea market that stretched all the way between 2 train stops. There were so many great things to look at, not the least of which, the people and small dogs. I had to buy a scarf. It felt wrong not to. Then off to La Coupole for coffee.

Hands down the coolest thing in Paris so far: the catacombs! Wow, that was so creepy and yet somehow beautiful in its meticulous arrangement of bones. The dripping ceiling kind of freaked me out a bit. I must’ve shot half a roll of film down there. And it amazed me that it didn’t smell at all. Maybe because the air is cool. Well, I’m off to get a Nutella and banana crepe before heading out.

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April 8, 2006 by Drew.

I went to York today. The York Minster is amazing… so many angles, curves, details… There was a service going on when I first arrived. When I returned later the choir was singing and the acoustics were great. It was really wonderful.

I poked around a few thrift shops looking for odd items to bring back. Haven’t found anything yet though.

The Viking Museum was really cool. Kind of pricey, but the authentic smells and weird animatronic people and animals were great!

I found a fabulous upscale Chinese restaurant for dinner (haven’t been too keen on British food so far – though the fish and chips with malt vinegar were good) and later walked along the wall surrounding the city.

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April 3, 2006 by Drew.

I’m finally backpacking around Europe. I’ve got a few thousand dollars, a week worth of cloths and a backpack to stick it in.

…and a notebook, pens, and actually too much other stuff…

I hope you enjoy my new blog, and mom, if you’re reading this, please don’t worry too much

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