Somehow, today is the unofficial end of summer. I feel like it was just Memorial Day and yet here we are in September with our Pumpkin Spice everything and leaves already falling from the trees.
While I'm not at all happy to see summer go, I have to admit it was most definitely a good one. One big across the pond trip. Numerous trips to Naptown. A day at the beach. A Navy Football Game. A hot as heck day in DC and a presidential-ish day in NYC. The Color Run for the Second Time and my very first (and most definitely not my last) Supernatural Con. And two concerts - Darius Rucker (Awesome!) and Mumford & Sons (not so awesome.) I aso saw Benedict Cumberbatch, Jim Parsons, President Obama and the entire cast of Supernatural live in person - oh and I saw Mickey from Doctor Who at Heathrow. I really can't complain!
So, as we all say hello to Fall tomorrow, I suppose I'd like to say, it was wonderful seeing you Summer, I can't wait see you again next year!
I've decided to not use the Good, Bad and the Ugly because nothing on this trip was every truly bad or ugly. The entire trip was awesome! But there were a few things that were better than others.
The Good: First let me say, I loved Brussels! The city had absolutely gorgeous architecture. Just like everything in Europe, the buildings and palaces were just so old and so beautiful. The Grand Place was enormous, and gilded and so full of life. People milling around taking pictures and eating and laughing - it was just such a great place to be and people watch.
Speaking of people, everyone we met were so genuinely kind and helpful. Most everyone spoke English but even those that didn't tried to get out a few words. We most definitely did not speak Flemish but we could understand a few important words in French. As long as we tried, with please or thank you, they were more than willing to meet us halfway. Not to mention, everything just sounds so much better in French!
The Very Good: Chocolate & Waffles - Have I mentioned the chocolate and waffles? I mean it's fairly cliche to go to Belgium and pig out on chocolate and waffles. But actually knowing how good they are now, I completely understand why everyone does it. So very delicious! I honestly believe if I could (and not gain a million pounds) half at least one of those waffles and some of that chocolate every week, I'd be a much happier individual.
Speaking of chocolate, the chocolate tour was also all kinds of fabulous as I said before. I can definitely see why they win the best of Viator so often. They had that tour down to a science. I was able to taste test chocolate, make chocolate, see the sites of the city and walk off all the waffles in one single fantastic tour. What's not to love!?
The Odd: Atomium is by far the strangest attraction I've ever been to. After about 2 hours in the thing, I still have absolutely NO idea what it's for and why it's there. We stood in line for about 20 minutes, then had lunch (a fairly decent tomato mozz salad with the most expensive bottle of water I've ever drank) then went down a floor looked out the windows, then left. And all of this required a train ride to the outskirts of the city. I still have no idea why we did it...Don't get me wrong, it wasn't terrible. I was able to get some artsy shots of it, I just don't know exactly what I have the artsy shots of : )
I don't usually buy into tours. They're most definitely not my thing. I do a lot of research before planning a big trip, so I find it much cheaper and much easier to just do a "tour" for myself. Also, with tours you're stuck conversing with people that you may not want to converse with and most of the time you have to listen to some boring tour guide drone on and on about the history of some small rock you're looking at for what seems like hours. See? I told you I didn't like tours.
However, that may have all changed during this vacation.
My friend found 2 specific tours online that she was totally gung-ho about and therefore we had to buy tickets. At the time, I was skeptical to say the least. I thought they'd both be just like every other tour I've ever been forced into attending. I was very, very wrong! They turned out to be my 2 favorite things I did on the trip.
First up, was Viator's Chocolate Walking Tour of Brussels. I was a little less skeptical of this one, because it had the word chocolate in the title. It was billed as a 4 hour (4!!) walking tour of Brussels' Chocolatiers. What it was, was so much more. With this tour, you're introduced to Avo who's your guide throughout the tour. He'll take you into 5 different chocolatiers and you'll get the chance to try chocolates at all of the shops. As you walk to and from the chocolatiers, he'll point out special parts of the city and stop to take photos of the most beautiful spots. Then halfway through, you get to go to a small storefront and make your own chocolate using different ingredients. And to top it all off, you get your bag of candy you made to take home at the end of the tour.
It was, to say the least, awesome! We got the chance to see so much of Brussels and really had the chance to taste the differences in specific types of chocolate. The guide also gave great advice on what to look for in chocolate, as well as the best places for food and drink around the city. I would go back and take the tour again in a heartbeat!
Then later in the trip, we decided to take the Secret Cottage Tour of the Cotswolds. This one was billed as a 6 (!!) hour tour of the Cotswolds via a luxury van, including tea at the owner's cottage in the Cotswolds. What it was, was 6 hours of beautiful scenery, quiet-away from the tourists locations and perfect picture taking locations, mixed with breakfast, lunch and tea in a gorgeous thatched roof cottage. Spending 6 hours in a van never sounded like much fun, but the guide, Ian knew pretty much everything there was to know about the Cotswolds properties and villages and took us to the most beautiful places to view them. And the food?! The food was fantastic, served on the best china in a blooming garden in the country - so you know, the food was perfect!
I may finally be a tour convert - though if I'm planning anymore anytime soon, I'd like them to have food involved too. I think that's the key to my heart when it comes to tours : )
~ Miami International Airport is a truly terrible place to fly into. Between lost baggage, lightning strikes, crazy crowds and unhelpful workers, I was quite happy to finally get out of there - albeit 1.5 hours late...
~ You can never have too many waffles in Brussels. Every one of them is better than the last. Oh, and the best part is they make you supremely happy!
~ When staying in a country inn in York, you must tell the innkeeper that you want 2 beds in the room you booked because it was advertised as having 2 beds. She will get a bit uppity that you didn't tell her even though you assumed you wouldn't need to since that's how the room was billed on Expedia...
~ Books are heavy. Not that you should not buy them, but just be aware that they are heavy and you may want to prepare for that fact by purchasing another suitcase to put them in.
~ The still water in Europe must have gold laced in it based on what most restaurants charge you for a Liter of the stuff. After the 10 Euro bottle in Belgium, I was seriously considering learning to drink beer. It would have been cheaper or at the very least, after a few beers, I wouldn't have cared how much the water cost.
~ You can never underestimate the amount of damage a Tube Strike can have on the city of London. Everyone will go mental while millions of Londoners pour into the streets.
~ The European rail systems including Eurostar, the Tube (when it was running), the Metro and the midlands trains, are all super easy to use. Why must we Americans make things so difficult over here?
~ Apparently, eating earlier than 6:00 is ridiculous to the Brits, and most pubs don't start serving until after 5:30 at least. People with little old lady tendencies (such as myself) may find this unacceptable.
~ And last but not least, England is still my most favorite place in the world! It hasn't lost a step and I still adore every one of its idiosyncrasies : )
I'm finally home after a truly awesome trip around England and Brussels. Weather was fantastic. Food was delicious. Sights were amazing. Pretty much everything was perfect - except the ridiculously long and arduous flight home. (Avoid Miami airport at all costs!) But aside from that - pretty much perfection!
While I've been busy attempting to go over all my photos, unpack and figure out just what to say about the amazing places I've been (while actively dreading work tomorrow...), I have been able to find a few photos on my phone that pretty much tell you what you need to know about my adventure. Here's my entire 12 days at a glance. (Have I said lately, just how much I LOVE that phones have cameras in them?!)
In T minus 4 days I will be back here - England in all its glory. This trip has been in the works so long, it's hard to believe it's almost here. I cannot wait! The truth is, even though I have 2 more days of work, I'm pretty much mentally checked out already. All that's left is to get everyone up to speed on what I do and hit the road. It really is a lovely feeling. Mostly because, since I'm not stressing about work, I have time to stress about everything else.
Currently on the making Kristen crazy list:
~ What if the Tube decides to go on strike early, and it's down the entire time we're in London? Or what if the entire city shuts down because of the 24 hour strike and we're left stranded without a way to get to Hamlet on Thursday night?
~ Speaking of Hamlet, what if it's terrible? It is after all, only the second night it will be playing. What if the whole cast is just wretched?
~ What if the Tube strike or the migrant situation in Calais affects the train we're taking to Brussels?
~ What if, while in Brussels, no one speaks English and what if all the menus are in Flemish?
~ What if 24 hours in York isn't enough time at all and we're very very grumpy about leaving?
~ What if driving on the other side of the road and the other side of the car is too difficult and I wind up careening into a field of sheep?
~ What if my friend decides to rely on me solely for directions and I get us lost never to be seen again in England?
~ What if the clothes I'm bringing won't keep me warm enough for the 66 degree temperatures they're having? Or what if the heat wave comes back and I'm super hot because I've brought clothes for 66 degrees not 96?
~ And most worryingly of all - what if I don't have enough space in my luggage for all the books, chocolate, tea, lace and tea cups I plan to buy?
You see? Maybe I should have stayed mentally checked into work. At least then, I'd be worrying about normal problems, rather than the crazy town my head is imagining... : )
