"How many waffles can you eat in a weekend in Brussels? Challenge accepted"

After the success of Scotland and Ireland, it was time for a different kind of challenge: language. Megan and I decided that in honor of my birthday, we were going to take a trip to Brussels, the land of waffles and chocolate.

We started our journey by hopping on a train from Bath to London Paddington first thing Friday morning. Once we arrived in London, we briskly walked across town to St. Pancras station (about 2.4 miles), where we had our passports checked for our ride to Brussels. We arrived in Belgium in the early afternoon, and we immediately set off toward the center of the city.

Anyone who has ever visited Brussels will probably tell you that you need to see the Grand Place, and when that was the first stop on our journey, we could tell why. We had opted to walk from the train station, and the roads leading up to the Grand Place weren't really anything special. All of a sudden, however, the streets emptied into a large courtyard. Ornate buildings lined the sides of what was once a central market square. Small streets around the edges led to restaurants, cafes, and shops. We wandered around until we found a cafe, where we grabbed lunch, and then we looked for a good waffle shop.

Waffle 1: banana and chocolate

After we found our first waffles, we continued our quest for Belgium's other indulgence: chocolate. We found a little chocolate shop, and then we bought some chocolate ice cream before walking up to our hostel. We checked in and relaxed for a bit there, letting the day catch up with us. After a short while, we left the hostel in search of Greenwich Tavern, a traditional Belgian pub recommended by my brother's old roommate. Dinner was delicious, and I got to brush up on my French vocabulary, since the menu wasn't in English. This meant that I ordered for both myself and my roommate, which I was proud to have done successfully. Afterwards, we headed back to the Grand Place for dessert, which was of course going to be waffles again :)

Waffle 2: nutella

We walked back up to the hostel, waffles in hand, and turned in for the night. The next morning, we decided to get an early start so that we could cram everything else we wanted to do in before our train back to London. When we left the hostel, the streets were completely deserted. The city was absolutely silent. It was incredible. We made our way back to the Grand Place, where we got breakfast - waffles, of course - at a little cafe.

Waffle 3: banana and whipped cream

After breakfast, we discovered a huge chocolate shop, where we purchased our souvenir chocolate, aka my birthday present to myself. I must say, I've never had a celebration quite as sweet. Our next stop was the Museum of Musical Instruments, which was definitely one of the coolest things I've ever been to. We got audio guides at the entrance, which activated when held over symbols in front of many of the display cases. However, instead of the typical history or descriptions of the instruments in the cases, the audio files were actual pieces of music played by the instruments in question. The museum's collection included an incredible array of instruments in beautiful condition. The featured exhibit explored the history of the saxophone.

After spending a bit of time at the museum, we continued on our route to see the last few big shops. We stopped at Place Royal and the Palais Royal (royal palace). Our last big stop was the Place du Petit Sablon, an adorable little park. We walked back to the Place Royal to grab one more waffle for the day.

Waffle 4: whipped cream

After our last waffles, it was time to head back to the train station. We retraced our route through the Grand Place. We stopped for tea on the way back and then grabbed sandwiches at the station for a late lunch. We checked in for our train ride back to the UK and passed through border security. Our train to London went smoothly, and then we bolted across town to Paddington station so we would have time to grab dinner (a pair of bagels) before we hopped on the train to Bath Spa. Once we got back, we broke into our chocolate before we went to bed, ready for some well-earned rest after a successful birthday celebration :)

A Temporary Home, Part II

In the first part of this post, I focused on the officially sanctioned activities I've been participating in while I'm in Bath. Of course, those don't make a home on their own. The most memorable moments of the places I've called home have been the interactions I've had with people. Friends, teachers/professors, neighbors, they all play a role in making a place feel like home.

I mentioned the knitting circle and choir I joined, which have both exposed me to new people, but "home" isn't a once-a-week activity. "Home" is stopping for coffee or grabbing a bite to eat. It's going on an adventure and knowing exactly where you're going back to when it's all said and done. Some of my favorite moments this semester have been creating a home within the program by getting out and hanging out with people. There have been a few stand-out moments, to which this post is dedicated.

1. Galentine's Day
To those of you unfamiliar with Galentine's Day, it happens on February 13, the day before Valentine's Day. While the 14th is about going out with your significant other, the day before is a chance to leave the boys behind and go out with all the girls. Because our program is almost all girls (we have 47 girls and only 6 boys) we decided that this would be a wonderful decision. However, we didn't realize it was Galentine's Day until midmorning! After our first tutorial session on Thursday morning, the ladies of the education programme (there are 7 of us total) went out for tea with Andrew Butterworth, which was when we made this important discovery. As we walked back to Nelson House, we quickly formed a plan to gather as many of the girls as possible for dinner that night. We spoke to our student helpers to find a restaurant that could hold as many of us as were interested in going, and Hadley called ahead to let them know we would be bringing a decent sized group. In the end, 16 ladies turned up for a wonderful night of girls-only bonding over dinner.

2. Sally Lunn's and Bath Abbey Tower Tour
You may have noticed that there was no post this week about my visit to St. Andrews. (If not, guess what? There was no post this week about my visit to St. Andrews!) That was because this week, the students were on holiday for half term, aka they got a week off. All of a sudden, we had a day to spend doing whatever it was that pleased us. Megan, Hadley and I decided to grab lunch at Sally Lunn's, a local favorite, and then take our obligatory tour of the Bath Abbey Tower. We all indulged in the famous Sally Lunn's Buns as part of our lunches, which were absolutely delicious. We just barely missed the noon tower tour (they leave once an hour), but we were able to get our tickets for the following tour without any trouble. At 1, we started to ascend the 212 steps winding up the tower, which I have to admit was a bit dizzying. We stopped in a few rooms along the way, including the ringing room and the bell chamber, before we reached the top of the tower. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of heights, I had to admit that the view was absolutely incredible. There was something really wonderful about being able to look out and see the city of Bath beneath us.

3. Sushi Night
This Thursday, a group of us piled into Yen Sushi to grab a bite to eat. This was particularly exciting for me, since I had never actually eaten sushi before. I sat near a few more experienced sushi-eaters, who advised me to start with something where I knew all the ingredients, so I stuck to salmon-based sushi for the evening, which I found that I enjoyed. This particular sushi bar was unique in that we were able to pick what we wanted from a conveyor belt instead of ordering, though we could also request specific items if we didn't see them. Different colored plates indicated the prices of the items, and at the end of the night, our bill was determined by the plates sitting before us.

4. Pudding Club
Last semester, Lucie (one of our wonderful student helpers) created a Pudding Club in which everyone could come, bring a dessert, and spend a little time eating and chatting before the week began. Because it was a smashing success, she decided to bring it back this semester, and we started with a theme of "chocolate". Our flat whipped up a pan of brownies and a batch of black bean-chocolate cupcakes, both of which were delicious. The brownies, in fact, were so delicious that we won the prize of "best dessert" for the week! By the end of tasting everything, however, we all went into a bit of a chocolate coma and waited to eat dinner until about 9 o'clock. 100% worth it.

Classes start up again tomorrow morning, so it's just about time for bed. Cheers!