Showing posts with label Belgium. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Belgium. Show all posts

18 April 2011

Belgian Chronicles # Tidbits and treasures ..

6:04 PM 8 Comments
The weekend just zipped past but for a change it was full of excitement ..does gorgeous weather and spending a day on the beach have anything to do with it .. TOTALLY !!

But this post is not about the beach ( maybe later .. ) its about a certain kind of thrill you experience while exploring new things and places like when I was in Brussels ..

Assuming that you still remember all those places I showed you ,today I'm going to give you a lil behind the scenes action like Oprah..because all those pics you see were taken the second time around when we visited the attractions together ..
The first time ... well it just happened that I went alone ..coz with hubs working the whole day and having only a couple of hours in the evening it made sense for me to check out the places ,
ponder on the logistics where , how , what ..
and believe me when I say , its not something I get to do everyday , show hubs the way or order him around and therefore I admit to ' sadistically ' enjoying being in charge hehehe :D

Being and feeling at ease is not what you'd consider my forte ..but much to my surprise I was ... and so armed with a map in one hand and my handwritten lists in another I took to the city as if I belonged there ..
not that I didnt commit the odd mistake - like you'd expect any tourist to ..

take for example the transport system in Brussels ..Its well connected but its extensive ..
There's STIB/MIVB , there's TEC and DE LIJN and there's SNCB/NMBS

and there's Greek and Latin-which is what the above is,till you get a first hand experience...

and my first hand experience went like this ..
In an attempt to be the boss who knew it all ..I assumed I knew the diff transport systems and that I had hit the jackpot when I found I could purchase a 3 day pass that would give me the freedom to travel freely and not worry about paying every time I boarded a tram , bus or train ..
Smart , eh ?

Yeah if I was living in Brussels ..
apparently I wasn't ..
I was told later , I was living in Flanders where the jackpot wasn't acceptable coz it was a different provider .. so 9.20 euros * 2 go straight down the drain ..

I read somewhere “When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money.Then take half the clothes and twice the money”.

and now you too , know one of the reasons ..
why you need ' twice the money ' :P

The other reason is ofcourse the love for good food and drink.. only that my love for good food even while travelling is limited to what I like ..I just don't have the excitement to try out something new except this time I sorta found myself in ' Osaka ' a Japanese restaurant and had to admit I had the yummiest dinner .. the ambience was quite good too ..

But if you're in beer heaven , food should come second .. right ? and top on our list was this place called ' Delirium Cafe ' ..
Did you know Delirium cafe is known to house as many varieties of beer as the year we're in ..so 2011 for 2011 ??
but did you also know that there's a Delirium cafe right next to the Delirium pub ..??

So guess what happened ...
we went , we drank and we SAW ..
we saw that all this time we were supposed to be in the cafe ,we were actually in the pub ..

Looks like what usually happens with people post binging happened to us in anticipation of binging .. hehe :D
A classic case of mix up..but compensated by the bartender who gave me this..

Delirium in Delirium Cafe ..
you bet ;)

09 March 2011

Belgian Chronicles # Rocker Vs Shocker

6:38 PM 10 Comments
Remember this , my first post of the year ?
Well life certainly seems to be making plans for me ..how else can I explain the most unexpected / unplanned trips of all ..all I can say is whichever way it happened , I am certainly thankful .. ( to you too my hubs ) ..
We might be short on time but I still managed to visit not only Brussels , but Bruges ( thanks Bella for the advice ) and best'est' of all PARIS and the only way I can relive this fantabulous vacation is penning down my experiences on this sojourn and so with immense pleasure I bring to you the " Belgian Chronicles " edition ..

They say “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” and first impressions are almost always the truest ..so here are some of mine ..

  • * A 'No Smoking' room meant getting a room that apparently reeked of smoke ...Before you come to conclusions perhaps it would be fair to tell you that the hotel we put up in def ranks as the worst hotel we've stayed in ever ..I mean lifetime ever .. but since it was prearranged for us, being an official trip, we had to grin and bear it ..
* Shocker *

  • * Bus drivers ( both male and female ) are the most ingenious people I came across - the dexterity with which they drive the biggest of the buses on the smallest of roads .. hats off !!
Definitely a ** Rocker **
(and just for this I am willing to ignore the annoying fact that buses never stop at a bus stop , always 10 to 15 ft ahead of the bus stop Confused Yellow Smiley Face Smile Images ..)
  • Moving staircases better known as escalators are meant for running / walking up ..If you're standing comfortably and not running up ( Lord forbid if you are ..) you're most definitely a tourist.. I would understand running / walking up the escalator once in a while if you're missing a bus/ tram/train but always , everyone ??
* Shocker *
  • If you know the right place , you're definitely in for the most amazing frites or fries , chocolates and beer .. I have fallen in love with the chocolates from Galler ..if you've not had them , you must and when you do , think of me and ship some my way too ..you'll forever be my best friend !!
Double ** Rocker **
  • You have to pay for everything ..and I mean literally everything ..
  1. Tourist maps are free ..right ?? Wrong ..they're available for .50 euros ...and that makes it the only place where I've paid for a tourist map.. * Shocker *
  2. General Shopping - be sure to carry a bag coz plastic bags aren't free ...I support eco friendly so I do agree that the only way to cut down on plastic bag consumption is to ask ppl to pay ..This one gets my support - ** Rocker **
  3. Going to have a burger , be prepared to pay for burger and ketchup ( .60 euros )..Maybe being in America has spoiled me but even back home in India ketchup in restaurants is free ..* Shocker *
  4. If the above doesn't rattle you this will , every time you use a public restroom you have to pay .30 to .50 euros ( even restaurant restrooms are not free ) ..and judging by the number of times I need to use the restroom ..well.. there's where all my money for shopping went So Sad Crying Yellow Smiley Face Gifs Images ..I'm telling you someone should have prepared me for this ...coz seriously for me , when I'm travelling , looking up a restroom within running distance is perhaps as important as researching the tourist attraction .. **Whammy Shocker ****

I'm not saying I din't enjoy myself but one invariably compares it to what you have back home ..I always do , do you ?
and have you been somewhere you found a rocker/shocker you'd like to share ?

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