Crashed

Last week, my computer, overheated by Microsoft updates, somewhat crashed. The updates kept freezing up my computer, causing me to shut down. Apparently, when you do this, it leaves behind some components that ruin your operating system.

Thankfully, the IT department at work are a great group of people, and helpful to situations outside of the realm of work. I purchased a 500gb external hard drive, turned everything over to them, and they returned my laptop the next day - saving all of my precious files on the external drive. I then had the task of rebooting my laptop and erasing every single thing off my hard drive. I think I would've had a nervous breakdown had I lost all my photos and the various documents I had been saving for years.

The only drawback, and it's very annoying, is that in addition to all my favorites disappearing from both Firefox and IE, is that all the tags and collections in my Adobe Photo Album have disappeared too. All my hard work down the drain. Still, there's always the alternative, and that's to have no photos to go with those no tags and no collections. I'm starting from scratch in more ways than one.

So, this has postponed the online album creation for my Paris, Brussels, and Antwerp trip as all my tags fell off and I have to reselect and tag all over again. Again, I'm trying to look at the bright side and be grateful that I even have all my photos, but it still stings like a bitch.

This is Me, Lately

The beginning of the year yielded a lot of fatigue. After ten days at my mom's house, most of them snowed in, my goal of relaxation quickly turned to unrest. I had to start school the day after my staycation was over. Once classes started I remained mentally fatigued. An impending math class will do that to a person, especially when you are not a math person. I ended up making the decision to drop the class, feeling like a failure.

The other class, required for my degree, had mechanical problems from the beginning. That and the fatigue that refused to dissipate did not allow me to really jump feet first into my studies. An added letdown was that there was only one other student in the class, and he dropped out soon after, leaving me the lone student. In a history class, with a dull professor, this did not make a good mix. So, I dropped that class too, feeling even more like a failure. I registered for a mid-session course for another required course and did incredibly well. My academic self esteem boosted few notches upward.

In between school and vacations, I managed to do my taxes. This year was the first in several where I didn't owe the government. Instead, they owed me!

I want to become more politically proactive about an issue that affects me, but I don't want to delve into on a public forum. All I can say is that I am still stunned how much blatant discrimination is allowed right under the noses of certain governments.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the year. I have a lot ahead in terms of knocking things off my to-do list and getting life in order. It's April, and I need to start doing some spring cleaning of the mind.

Day 9 - Brussels and Home

March 22 -

Consuming both wine and beer the night before did me in. I'm not a big drinker and crashed immediately after returning to the hostel. I had to get up early to make the 10am flight, creeping around a full room of snoozing people. I made it to Centraal Station for the express train to the airport quickly. The Gods were watching over me today considering all the times I got lost in this city.

Airport check in was busy, but smooth. I learned at the gate that due to a mechanical problem, the in-flight entertainment system would not be working for cattle class. Of course, it worked for first class! Figures, this would be the only flight where I didn't pack a book to read. Thankfully, there were some free magazines available. Airline food was terrible (what's new?) and I spent the bulk of my flight napping or lost in thought. Having my iPod Touch was a godsend and I don't know what I'd have done without it, on the plane or throughout the entire trip.

My impressions? Paris was fantastic, but I didn't come away in a dreamy state as others do. This jaded city girl was able to see Paris for what it is. I would definitely go back, but to focus on the lesser things and the smaller museums that others don't usually take advantage of their first time. Those are the treasures here.

Brussels was much more multicultural than expected. Not a bad thing, not at all. I was surprised that the city remains bi-lingual with both Dutch and French street signs. It seemed that other than the Grand Place, which is tourist to the hilt, the other neighborhoods offer some sort of treat around each corner. I was especially impressed by the art nouveau houses.

Antwerp was absolutely beautiful. A definite can't miss city. I'm glad to have visited, hokey trolley tour and all. The architecture is to die for. I need to go back and spend more time there. A day isn't merely enough time to see what this city has to offer.

In addition to the usual postcards, here's what I bought -

Madrid -
Valor chocolate (for Spanish hot chocolate)
Saffron. It was cheaper there, but not considerably so compared to NYC prices.

Paris -
Amora mustard (the Maille brand was a bit too posh, and pricey for my tastes)
Crème de Marrons (I want to give this a try, it's a French thing)
Macarons from Laduree (I loved them, but realized there's a place in NYC that does them as good)
Vanilla meringues (bought sort of accidentally and fell in love, love, love!)
Necklace from Diwali in Montmartre
Prints from street artists
Bottle of wine
Shirt from Petit Bateau (it was somewhat cheaper in France and the only real retail splurge my entire trip)

Brussels -
Earrings from a street vendor in Agora Square
Underwear, socks, and camisole from Hema

Antwerp -
Toast rack from street vendor
Belgian chocolates
Speculoos
Cecemel
Hotcemel
A bottle of Leffe blonde beer (shouldn't have bothered, it's found allover the US)
Fresh waffles from the bakery
Licorice

Surprisingly, I didn't go all out and crazy with shopping. The list seems long, but a majority of the items were cheap. Most were only a few US dollars each. The t-shirt from Petit Bateau was the most expensive single item purchased, if you can believe that.

I've realized that my love of Belgium is not superficial after all, but the start of a long romance. I know it's not jam packed with big cities and landmarks. A small country of probably no significant importance when put up against some other European siblings, but it's fine the way it is.

Day 8 - Antwerp

March 21 -

Got my Dutch on today. On weekends, Inner-Belgian train fares are half off. At 7 euros round trip, I couldn't resist a day trip.

I had never been to Antwerp before except to switch trains for Bruges in 2006, and had been intrigued with visiting the place ever since. Brussels Centraal Station was packed, this half fare is quite popular.

Arrival and Lawbreaking
I arrived at Antwerp Centraal and started my day off with a waffle at the station. When in Dutch country... Thankfully, there was a tourist information booth as I hadn't much of a clue where to begin. There were really no major preparations for this excursion. With map in hand and a general direction to head to, the walk would be a bit far and I wanted to concentrate all physical exertion around the main areas. I took the metro from Centraal, illegally. The train pulled in and I immediately wanted to get on, to the point where I evaded the fare. I'm not going to be proud of this fact, but it was easy, even if I had butterflies in my stomach the whole two minute ride to the designated stop.

Not once in my entire time in Brussels was I asked to present my ticket for the metro and trams. No one asked for my ticket for the trip from Brussels to Antwerp. It's a total honor system. Admittedly, I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I was so insistent on getting on this train that I didn't focus on getting my fare.

Groenplaats and Beyond
Arriving in the Groenplaats there was a gimmicky trolley ride that takes you around Antwerp for only 5 euros. I gladly gave in. It turned out to be fun and I got my bearings around the city much better. Plus, I got to relax my legs and feet a bit more for walking around later. After the ride, I went back to explore some of the places I had noted on the trolley tour, but couldn't find this cool comic mural I had seen and desperately wanted a photo of.

I noticed a lot of cool murals in Belgium, Antwerp especially, including a neat one on Wolstraat. The walk along the boardwalk of the river Schelde was made more beautiful by the sunny weather we were having. Although it was a day trip, it wasn't enough, but it would have to do given the time constraints.

Antwerp's City Hall/Old Market Square (Stadhuis/Grote Markt) is almost as stunning as Brussels' Grand Place. Again, photos do not do this square any justice. I lunched at Brasserie Populaire in Sint-Paulus square, receiving a weird look, along with a quizzical "are you sure?" for requesting milk with tea. Milk poured in tea is just not done with the Dutch.

Hema department store, on the Meir pedestrian street, made another appearance and I purchased a baby outfit for my expecting cousin and some licorice. Later, to my horror, I would discover I had purchased salty licorice instead. Shudder!

Antwerp is a fabulous walking city. There are also tons of cafes for rest and refueling. Walking through the streets, I stumbled upon a silver stall and purchased a heavy pewter toast rack. Each slot for toast is a letter that spells out the word "TOAST". It was my most favorite souvenir this entire trip, setting me back a mere 3 euros for the pleasure of owning it.

The oddest part of my visit were the pit bull breed dogs I saw allover the city. It seems everyone here owns one. They clearly outnumbered all other breeds I'd seen that day.

Walking back to the train station, admiring the drop dead architecture, the skies opened and the heavens appeared - Match supermarket was right in front of me! Anyone who knows me knows very well that a trip isn't complete without a visit to the supermarket to stock up on local goodies. Here I bought spekuloos cookies, Cecemel, a package of fresh waffles from the bakery, and a bunch of other items. Being green, I purchased a Match shopping bag to lug everything back.

I got to accomplish a lot on this day trip: sightseeing, relaxing walks, and shopping.


Dinner and Finishing Up
I arrived back in Brussels in the evening, packed for the early morning departure, and headed out for dinner a block from the hostel, where it seemed to be loaded with non-touristy restaurants. I ate at Le Forestier Chez Hatem, enjoying the plat du jour of lamb in a nice gravy, legumes, and the Belgian version of fancy tater tots. All this for only 10 euros. Another glass of wine and a Belgian beer and I could've done without the cheese platter I ordered, which was a bowl of bland cubes of fromage and cornichons. Aside from the let down of the cheese platter, the lamb dish was probably the second best meal of my entire stay here. The first being the tartine in the D'Orsay cafe.

I reflected on my entire trip and how problem free it had been. Aside from getting lost easily in Brussels, everything went off without a hitch. Paris was amazing and Madrid came through in the short time I was there. Brussels had been a nice, quiet way to end the vacation and Antwerp was a fantastic day trip. The weather had turned colder in Belgium, but it was sunny otherwise. I think that's what I'll remember the most about this trip, the constant sunshine.