Mussels in Brussels

Last Sunday, we went to Claude Monet’s garden. Thank the Lord my mother wasn’t with me, because she would have wanted to complexly replant the back yard and turn the pool into a lily pond.  I was so in love with the place. And the house that he lived in was my style. Growing up we had a Sesame Street book that had a house where every room was a different color. That’s how Monet’s was. I cannot wait to be a home owner and get the paint out! I did get my mom some seeds that came from the garden, so hopefully they can grow in the Texas heat! Here are a few pictures of the beautiful garden:

On Tuesday, it was the “Fete de la musique,” meaning there is music in the streets all over Paris! I was so excited for my mid-terms to be over! Wrong! On the way to my tests, the metros were jam backed with people. I has sweat running down my legs, and a ride that should have taken 10 minutes took 30, because people kept trying to cram more people in the cars. I was smashed in a corner while a lady’s faux fur bag rubbed my sweaty leg. I will NEVER own faux fur as long as I shall live! I still get chills thinking about how it felt like straw and I couldn’t escape that bag! I was so flustered getting to class and so hot that I am praying for a good grade on my first one! After my exams, I had to walk back home because the metros were even worse than before my tests. My favorite bands were the Brazilians with their drums. I recorded it on my camera, until figuring out that my camera had been on mute the ENTIRE time. Ana and I got cotton candy that as has big as my head! Around 12 it was time to head home, and Ana and I tried to brave the metro. We looked at one another and swore no matter what we were getting on. HAHA… the funniest thing happened that entire night. Some American kid had a freak out because he needed to pee and there was nowhere to go. His friends were no help as they sat there making “sssssss,” sounds in order to make him more furious. Ana and I sat there giggling the whole time.

After class on Wednesday, we went on a boat trip of the Seine River, and it was pretty cool. I didn’t see anything new, just from a different angle. What annoys me is how everyone on the boat felt the need to wave at everyone on the bridges, banks, and other boats. It really got in the way of some of my snapshots!

Thrusday night was a “chill night” because we all had to be up at the crack of dawn on Friday for train to Brussels. We went to a fondue restaurant and it was okay, but I have definitely had better food in Paris.

Friday morning came early! Especially because I kept waking up thinking I was going to miss my train. We had to be there at 6:30am. Once we got there I bought a few cups of coffee and “Boom” I was ready to go. I was going to Brussels with my school, and we were going to be visiting the EU. My favorite part was our speaker from Denmark. His English was very good, but his accent made me laugh. It was very to the point and at the end of his sentences his voice would go higher for some reason. The two girls I had sat with, Erin and Laura, and I had the giggles for some of the presentation, because some girl fell asleep and her hand kept her head up and her jaw looked like it had been unhinged from her head! The entire class took notice and our teacher quickly had her woken up. 

After the meeting, we were off to a grocery store for some booze. (I love how liquor is sold in grocery stores here because it is so convenient) What I didn’t like was that I had to pay for plastic bags! Then it was off to shower and hurry to get ready for dinner. Yes, I had mussels in Brussels! It was my first time to eat them and my table taught me how to eat them. I still have mixed reviews, because I couldn’t handle eating bits of sand in some of them. AND, the guy gave me no broth! After dinner it was off the bars! I had a lot of fun meeting new people, and there were 5 from Texas! 

The next morning Ana, Fernando (her brother), Jonathan and I were off to Amsterdam for the day. We arrived around 4 to a very cold and rainy Amsterdam. In other words: The weather was perfect! We visited the Anne Frank Museum, and it was very touching. I highly recommend seeing that if you are in Amsterdam, but buy your tickets online so that you can skip the line. OR, you will wait over an hour like us in the “perfect weather.” After Anne Frank, we had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant and I ate so much! Then we were off to explore the city. I really thought Amsterdam was beautiful. And, the people are so incredibly nice! We walked down the infamous “Red Light District,” and it was an experience to say the least. I checked it off my list and kept walking. We found a bar, and started drinking the local beer: Heineken. Still can’t wait to find a Miller Light somewhere in this continent. 

The next morning it was back to Paris we go: on a bus. I loved how our bus driver literally pulled over in a parking lot and went somewhere with the police and then came back 30 minutes later as if nothing had happened. We got back around 10pm and we went straight to bed.

This morning I met my new friend, Erin, at Sacré-Coeur to see the beautiful church on the hill. Its dome it the second highest point in Paris, next to the Eiffel Tower. Today’s weather was 95 degrees, so a slight difference in the weather from my previous day. I wore a very thin dress and it still didn’t help. After sweating all the way up the hill to see the church it was off to find some lunch. We stopped at a souvenir shop, where I walked too close to a fan and it blew up my dress. I barely caught it in time, but the man working there saw it and kept insisting that I look at the ash trays behind the fan to get me to get close to it again. After insisting the fourth time I wanted to slap the guy! I put down the items I had wanted and walked out! JERK! Also, beware of men who try to braid bracelets on your wrist. They tell you, “for you because you are so pretty,” and then they request money AFTER they have tied the thing to you! He wanted 5 Euros and I gave him two and stormed off! I was so mad I fell for that!

 View of the Eiffel Tower From Sacre-Coeur

Class was miserable, because we had no AC! I was literally sitting in a puddle of my own sweat! Erin and I are in the same class and the heat brought on the giggles. I asked my teacher if there were any rooms that had air conditioning and he acted a bit offended by my “American-ness.” I wanted to shout off that in Texas this would be considered borderline torture!

After class is was back home where I made dinner, and then Ana I went to the Eiffel Tower to see it at night. At 1am the lights change and they go all crazy! I loved it! What I didn’t love was how some knuckle head proceeded to hit on me after I told him I had a boyfriend. He was so nosey, and wanted to know how long I had been dating him and if he could just buy me “one drink.” I told him no thank you, again, and then told him I had been dating my boy friend for two years. Once again, home boy didn’t get it and needed to tell me that 2 years is not a long time. I finally turned around and told him, “NO!” Idiot...

After taking pictures of the Tower, we hopped in a Taxi and were headed home to where I am currently typing this blog.Its off to bed for me, because after eating so much food this weekend a workout out tomorrow is MANDATORY for this little Faux Parisian! Bonne Nuit!