(that's the only part in flemish, i swear)
as previously identified, our adventure took us to three countries: belgium, england, and france. naturally, i will break this down into three blog posts because i always have SO MUCH TO SAY and so little ability to formulate appropriately lengthened stories. as anyone who knows me might assume, lots of preparation and anxiety went into the planning process of this trip. naturally, i left an entire city of out of my planning, thus thrusting the responsibility into the arms of our dearest cooper, which we will get to later.
the largest stressor for me was the fact that we packed into one carry-on suitcase each for a two-week trip. fourteen days. yes, the standard two weeks. we only spent one morning doing laundry at a laundromat in paris, so i knew that i needed to pack smart. it became my goal to pack the perfect suitcase, and i think i came really close. i don't want to shove a lot of talk on that into this post, so let me know if you're interested and i might consider breaking it down for you.
today, we start in belgium. i don't want to talk much about getting to belgium, as we had a few snafus that we have worked so diligently to overcome, so let's talk about actually being there. we flew into brussels and immediately hopped onto a train from brussels to brugge. once in brugge, our apartment* was within walking distance from the station, so we decided to haul our suitcases over the cobblestones (officially the first time i was relieved to have packed such a small bag) and see a bit of brugge on foot.
*pause: did she say our apartment? in brugge? yes, she did. jett and i own several homes throughout the world and, because we saw a movie with colin farrell in it that one time, we decided we would buy one in brugge just because we liked the way it looked. we bought an apartment in cambodia one time as a dare! haha!
just kidding. instead of going the hotel route, we decided to procure temporary homes through a service called airbnb. most of you have heard of this, but for those who haven't it's a really cool thing. people just rent out their homes via the website. all homes and hosts are certified by airbnb so you're not going to get yourself into a sketchy situation unless you're doing it on purpose. some places you get an entire home, some places you get a private bedroom, i think i even saw a few where you could share a room with someone if you were that desperate. we were not. end pause*
we did so enjoy our twenty minute wander, but we were tired from travel and therefore thrilled to find our apartment as our host jesse described it to us. at our first stop, we decided it would be fun to stay with someone that could give us a few pointers and help us break into european society. jesse had the coolest two-story flat and jett and i had a nice bedroom with a huge skylight-type window that opened on a hinge. we unloaded our things, freshened as much as we could, and picked our first spot to have dinner.
 |
| hello, home! |
l'estaminet was just down the road from us and was recommended by both jesse (our host) and rick steves (whose words i followed as though i were living from the Bible itself), so we decided to try it out. we got the house special - two giant plates of spaghetti and two beautiful belgian beers.
belgian beers require a brief intermission and also a shrine should be built right here on my blog in their honor. there are no adequate words to describe the sweet nectar that is a belgian beer. actually, we should observe a moment of silence for the death of my reasonable standards for what beer should taste like. thanks, guys. that was nice. i will borrow my husband's conclusion, as i believe he said it best while describing this insurmountable joy (i swear i am not exaggerating here): american craft beer is magnificent and has incorporated all sorts of quirks such as blueberries and/or bacon to create memorable beers. belgian beer needs no such thing for it has mastered the fundamentals. it is pure and it is right. a trappiste ale is something that i believe all beer lovers should experience in the homeland within their lifetime. for real.
we slept hard that night and woke up to meet our host over coffee at his breakfast table. for the sake of his privacy (you guys already know his name and where he lives and what he looks like what more do you want from me?), i won't go into the details of his life. just know that he is a really cool guy and we gained invaluable experience by stepping out of our comfort zones, dropping our morning itinerary, and talking about life with a stranger. plus, he makes a mean cup of coffee.
 |
| cafe a la jesse |
we spent our day in brugge doing all the typical touristy things one does in brugge. we stopped and got some croissants and then strolled into the city centre to see what it was all about. such beauty! we climbed the 366 narrow and winding steps to the top of the belfry, built in 1240.
 |
| this is a photo of me trying to pretend i am not battling a claustrophobia-induced panic attack |
we boarded a small motor boat and were guided through the city's canals with dozens of fellow tourists and given some of its history.
 |
| so picturesque |
we toured a local brewery, de halve maan, and tried brugge's most beloved brew fresh from the factory.
 |
| brugge zot |
we had a delightful dinner in a gastropub that boasted over 400 choices in beer, then wandered through the streets, stopping at a few chocolate shops (another moment of silence for the beauty of belgian chocolate please and thank you) along the way, and took in the scenery on our way back home. that is a gross understatement of how we spent our day in brugge, but i am truly trying to limit myself and hit the highlights. though our day was a delight, it was only the beginning of our trip. so after our two nights with jesse, it was time to pack up and move on.
 |
| jett and jesse |
after our our stop in brugge we headed back to brussels for a night. the most exciting part of brussels was that we finally got to see harper, jett's little sister who has been studying abroad as an exchange student since late last summer! harper was so kind to join us for the day so we could catch up and see what she had learned as a stand-in belgian.
 |
| j'adore harpie! |
brussels was, at best, lukewarm. we managed to have a good time, of course. we had lunch at a spot right in the square and had our first croque madame sandwiches (little did i know that i would only see ham on sandwiches for the next two weeks) and tried a few new beers. i got a duvel, which goes down in my personal history book (aka this blog) as the grandest beer of all time. jett tried a kwak, which was especially cool because it came in it's own special wooden stand. each and every beer in belgium has its own glass that is designed to best complement the beer inside. and it will always be served in that glass. you know all the standard pint glasses in america? that's not a thing in belgium.
 |
| exhibit a |
 |
| exhibit b |
after lunch, i may or may not have stolen an ice cream cone directly from the hands of my husband. i can neither confirm nor deny this story. then, after a bout of thievery overcame me, i am fully convinced that we walked in circles for twelve miles looking for a specific chocolate shop that had some macarons that we all, for obvious reasons, needed in our lives asap. can you truly blame us? we finally happened upon pierre marcolini: haute chocolaterie. doesn't that just make your mouth water? we cautiously drooled along each and every counter and meticulously smudged our noses along the glass that separated us from the dainty chocolates. ultimately, we left with a box of macarons and some yummy hazelnut truffles that were not long for this world.
our next pursuit: find mannequin-pis, the small urinating boy in statue form, replicated in tacky gardens all across the united states of america. the fountain itself was, as one would expect, underwhelming and tacky. that did not stop us from pushing into the throngs of asian tourists (not racism, just obversation) to snap some pictures for ourselves.
 |
| behold! the tiny peeing man-child |
our final goal was to find the bozar museum and check out an exhibit recommended to us by our brugge pal jesse. michael borremans is an eerie and talented videographer and artist. his work was haunting but in a more comforting than disturbing kind of way for me. it was really difficult to understand my emotions. check some of his stuff out! but be prepared for a little bit of a spooky factor in some things. here was my favorite piece: the ear.
 |
| the ear |
anyway, we sent harper back to her pseudo home after the museum stop and jett and i found a place to have dinner on the way back to our apartment. mussels are very popular in belgium, so we felt like we should probably partake. also extremely necessary, find a reputable mussels restaurant. no wandering for this one. we consulted our handy dandy rick steves bible and found good reviews for restaurant 't delkurke right on the square. it was here that i ran into a man from alabama and i yelled "SEC!"and we high-fived. not my proudest moment but i would venture to say i am probably one of the only people that has yelled that in the brussels city square. so there's a smidgen of pride back.
we ducked into delkurke and found a little stuffy cellar full of cozy booths. we were led to a booth in the back corner (he might have heard the SEC thing...) where we ordered a pot of mussels with frites and two chimay bleues to sip on.
 |
| happy as a clam (it was really hard for me to not say mussel just then) |
we clumsily pried the shells open and ate every last slimy bite. this meal spoke to my soul, but jett says he could take it or leave it. i am especially fond of the fact that nearly every dish comes with a side of frites and was quite surprised to learn that mayo truly is the superior choice to ketchup when it comes time for dipping. after we were stuffed, we took the metro home and spent our one night in our forgettable yet perfectly acceptable and accessible fourth-story apartment in brussels.
 |
| moules frites |
seeing places and buildings and people that are so richly steeped in culture is what traveling is about. climbing out of your box and taking off your american pants (figuratively, not literally, please) and living like a local is what makes a trip a trip. try new food! try new drinks! learn a few phrases in a new language and sloppily use them to make strangers smile! strap your camera around your neck and don't be afraid to look like a silly tourist! (news flash: you look like a silly tourist no matter what so at least get some good photos along the way.) embrace flexibility! change your plans to follow the advice of a local! just enjoy.
 |
| ricks + brugge = 4 ever |
this concludes part one of the #euroricks journey. tune in next time to see where the ricks head off to next. spoiler alert: it's london and everyone already knows that.
