Well, my journey has begun. I left Toronto airport Tuesday evening for an overnight flight to Brussels, Belgium with Jet Airways.  

The flight was pretty good. I really lucked out. I was NOT looking forward to being in the middle section of the plane in one of the center seats. To my surprise, both seats next to me were vacant. SCORE! The flight was less than 8 hours. I entertained myself by watching the movie called The Debt (I would give it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars!).   The on board meal was fantastic. Those of you that I spoke to before I left will be surprised with what it was.   One of my favorites....curry!! Yum. Please contain your laughter. Even though I had the empty seats, I only managed to get a couple of hours sleep. The time difference is 6 hours ahead in Europe. 

The plane landed in Brussels at about 7:40 am. All in all, it was a smooth transition out of the airport.  

I purchased a return train ticket in the lower level (-1) for just under 11 EURO and headed to the platform. I had some time before the I needed to wake up so an extra cup of coffee was calling my name.   At 4.20 EURO a cup I'm not sure that I'll be drinking it often!!  

I actually packed lighter this time than my previous trip to Europe. I bought a new camera bag that looks very hip and has lots of storage compartments. It will be with me daily to take pictures of my adventure. 

I am using my iPhone to type these clogs so if there are any errors, blame my fat fingers (or auto correct). Ok. I did that on purpose. Correction: BLOGS 

I then made my way to Central Station and started to look for La Grande Place. After wandering around for about 45 minutes, I realized I was going in the wrong direction. I did however discover a beautiful park with a fountain and lots of statutes. I took a few pictures of them but what intrigued most was the set up of trees surrounding the park. They looked like nets. Badminton nets to be exact. Upon closer inspection I realize that they trained the trees to grow horizontally and blend into one another. Vertical sticks are then tied to the horizontal branches. See the picture to get a better idea. Its spring and the trees haven't filled in yet. Imagine how great they look in the summer? Not only is it artistic, unique and clean looking but also provides shade for the passer-byes in the park. Well done!!

I finally found my way to La Grande Place. It was stunning. One of the buildings was being restored or cleaned. They often do that with old buildings because pollution builds up on them and the don't look like they should. The detail was quite remarkable. Gargoyles and statue upon statue of famous people imbedded into the walls. The pictures don't do it justice. They've done a great job at saving its original look.  

There were several students around. I'm not sure if they were on field trips or vacation. I'm sure my students would love to spend a day or two hanging out in Brussels for a field trip? I can just see the smiles on their faces....the nods...and the commotion. Guess we all have to move to Europe now don't we?? 

It seems like every street you walk down in the tourist areas you'll notice several waffle makers. No, I don't mean the metal waffle iron. Waffle vendors. I had to have one. They had about 20 different choices. I picked a waffle with strawberries, whipped cream and Nutella chocolate sauce drizzle on top. Hungry yet? Oh gosh, if I recorded a video of me eating that thing I'm sure I'd be in the top 10 most viewed videos on YouTube. Fingers, beard, nose, jacket and even my camera had a little taste of that amazing waffle. Thank goodness I brought some wet-naps. Everyone loved the waffle so much that WE had to have another one. Except this time, I wasn't sharing!! ;)

I wandered around for another hour or so trying to get an Internet connection. I was very frustrated. My phone battery was dying and I wanted to see one last thing before I headed back to the airport. So I gave in and went to McDonalds and ordered a drink. I took advantage of their free wifi. I found my attraction. The 'Manneken Pis' statue. Yup. You guessed it. It's a statue of a man....peeing!!! Complete with water spraying out! It's a famous statue so I won't put a picture of it here. I'm sure you have seen a reproduction in someone's lawn ornament display. Now I'm positive my students are bursting at the seems. No pun intended.  

I made my way to the train station and headed back to the airport. On my way there I did catch a quick glimpse of the Atomuim. A huge structure built for one of the world fair in Brussels. I wish I had the time and energy to see it up close. Maybe next time.  

You can probably sense my excitement. Those of you that know me well, heard me whining and complaining about how nervous I was. Well I'm still somewhat nervous but I have not reached my destination yet; Rome.  

I'm in the airport waiting for that flight at the moment. I have a few more hours to go. I'm running on very little sleep and my eyes feel very heavy. It will be great to get some rest. I don't arrive in Rome til around 11 PM. By the time I get my luggage, catch the train and get to the hostel, it will be midnight. Sigh. 

Trip 2012 Trivia:  

Q1

In which year was the Atomium built?