Un jour à Bruxelles

I have been and left Bruxelles since my last entry. I was there for about a day and half. And I think that was just enough time. The flight there was awful. The night before CNN was saying there would be delays up north because of crazy winds. My flight was on time and so I thought, "OK, maybe it's already passed." Ha! As we descend to land, the plane is rocking back and forth. A lot. All the way up to when we actually touch the ground. Everyone claps. I almost puked. This is the one time that I actually thought the plane might crash.

Bruxelles has the most confusing mass transit system I have ever used. And I've used many. There are trams and the subway. They look exactly alike but somehow are different. The maps are hard to read. Each stop has two names (one in French, one in Flemish) so I kept on thinking I had missed my stop. Through sheer luck, I managed to get to the hotel without getting lost. I would get on a tram/subway and just hope it was the right direction.

I walked around all day Sunday. Apparently Bruxelles is known for comics. It is where Tin Tin and the Smurfs were created. I went to the comic museum and a couple comic book stores. The weird thing is the comics weren't the conventional paper comics we know in the US. They were all hard covered, like a children's book. I also walked around to find cool murals painted all around town.

I also had the most amazing thing I have ever eaten, a Belgian waffle. They don't use batter, it's a dough. They cook it right there. It comes out hot and it has a glaze. I get strawberries and whipped cream on top. I eat it sitting on the curb and it was sooo decadent.

I wanted to buy some beer to bring home. Damn the whole ban of liquids on airplanes because I would have bought more but I can only fit so much in my suitcase. They have stores just for beer and beer paraphernalia but they mark it up. So being the cheapskate that I am, I went to the grocery store to see if I could get a better deal. And I totally did, like half the cost. As I'm waiting in line, I'm listening to my iPod. I feel a tap on my shoulder and it's the man standing in the line next to me. He looks like he could've been homeless but he was in a grocery store so I was confused. He points to my earphones and starts bopping. I immediately laugh and smile. And then try hard not to bop for the rest of the time I'm in line. That was embarrassing. Sometimes I forget people can see me.

I got into Amsterdam this afternoon. What a truly unique city. The canals and bikes everyone would be enough but then you throw in the occasional whiff of pot as I walk down the street. Crazy town.