Thursday night was finally time to spread my figurative wings on the car driving situation – to drive around Belgium outside of the 8 KM stretch from my hotel to work everyday. So my boss and I went to the town he grew up in, Sint Niklaas to grab dinner at his favorite pizza place and grab a couple brew-ha-has. It was nice to finally get that Audi out of 3rd gear and open it up a bit! After dinner we went to the Grote Markt to see the huge, ugly Sint Nik statue and then to play pool for a bit before I headed back (unfortunately I left my cmaera in the car). On the way back he said it would be easier to take the highway – which it was until the E-19 highway to Brussels was closed to construction but luckily my GPS got me home – I did quite well except that I need to drive faster, people were passing me like I was driving backwards and I was going 120 kmph!
Good thing Emma is bringing Nicholas' GPS with EU maps! Amsterdam this weekend with Emma, Jessie, Hugo and his girlfriend! Def some good posts next week...!!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Oh Brugge!
When I woke up in the morning it was so bright outside that I was afraid I slept in till noon. Luckily, it was only ~9 AM but due to the time change it felt much later. I quickly got around and started heading for the rail station as I knew I wanted to catch the 10:25 train to Brugge. I had booked a ticket to go on a hot air balloon ride over Brugge in the evening, choosing sunset over sunrise as I was hoping to see the sunset over the sea and I chose a perfect day for it as it was sunny and warm without many clouds in the sky (rare for Belgium). I knew I needed to call the ballooning company by 2 PM to confirm of the location in the city they would pick me up at, as well as confirm that the trip was still scheduled for that evening. They originally pick you up at 6 but due to the time change they were starting to pick people up around 2:30 which totally shot much of my chances to see the rest of the city so I was quite perturbed when the train was delayed 40 minutes! I started heading to the city center hauling past all of the lazy losers who were waiting for the bus shuttle and was trying to find a hotel where I could find a phone to use. I finally found a hotel and made the call – and of course, the journey was canceled due to high winds!!! So I was quite bummed but I knew at least I could slow down a bit and enjoy doing all I had planned in the city for the day. I then went back to the Grote Markt which I was unfortunately unable to soak in the first time as I was running around trying to find a phone!
I then decided it was time to do the boat canal tour which was very nice – the city has quite a few parks and a bunch of trees that were changing colors it was beautiful! There were these lame French women who not only cut in front of me (of course I was first), but stole the seat I wanted (truth: I waited for another boat so I could get the seat I wanted), AND she blocked my view and “did not want to squeeze her legs close to the seat” so she wasn’t even sitting in the seat I wanted… I almost knocked her sunglasses off of her head into the canal--that would have been sweet.
I then walked around and went into a couple shops looking for a cool magnet as I decided I am going to get one magnet from each different city I visit so then I can remember them all when it is said and done, and finally be able to put things on my fridge. There was a store which sold almost all of the Belgian beers and the glasses for that specific beer, it was amazing how many there are. So I went to quench my thirst by grabbing a Leffe on the patio of one of the restaurants in the Markt and just people watched while I planned the rest of my afternoon.
Caption: Amazing view. Amazing beer.
Next I decided to go to the brewery tour I was interested in – it was pretty interesting, the coolest part was they took us on the roof which gave some remarkable views (minus my camera battery dying at that exact moment…) plus a ‘free’ beer included in the admission. After this I knew I had just enough daylight left to rent a bicycle for an hour and ride around the outskirts of the city center without all of the tourists in effort to see some of the parks and streets where “the real people” live. And boy did I have a bike that flew… Within the first ten minutes I was feeling to confident that I thought I would try a Cru Jones move and try to ride up onto a sidewalk, up over this tiny maybe 3 quarter inch curb, but the bike tire did not like that and I completely bit it… luckily I escaped with only a nice strawberry on my right knee and a couple bent wheel covers on the bike. I then found a bike path and rode along a river where there were a handful of old-style windmills which was very nice. Let me tell you the perfect equation for clown fingers – me flying around in this bike on brick roads, so the cold of the wind and the vibration from the brick roads – wow I definitely had to stop a couple times to let my hands breathe a bit before they swelled up too much. While I did this, I had a chance to get another quick picture out of my dead battery camera.
After this epic bike ride I grabbed dinner at a cozy place called “La Curiosa” and ordered a fish stew – goldfish, salmon, shrimp, etc. – so delicious that even the family sitting next to me asked me what I was eating because it smelled so good. After dinner I checked the time and realized I had 16 minutes to make it to the train and I made the decision I was going to make it. I knew I did not even have time to check the map and I just started going in the direction I thought the train was in and guessed correctly. As soon as I saw the train station I ran to check which rail my train was on and ran all the way up to the train and of course when I get up to the platform the first three cars I try to get into are packed, so I run to the back of the train and slide in the door just as the usher was blowing his whistle to close the doors, so glad I made it otherwise I would have had to hang out in the station for another hour!
I then decided it was time to do the boat canal tour which was very nice – the city has quite a few parks and a bunch of trees that were changing colors it was beautiful! There were these lame French women who not only cut in front of me (of course I was first), but stole the seat I wanted (truth: I waited for another boat so I could get the seat I wanted), AND she blocked my view and “did not want to squeeze her legs close to the seat” so she wasn’t even sitting in the seat I wanted… I almost knocked her sunglasses off of her head into the canal--that would have been sweet.
I then walked around and went into a couple shops looking for a cool magnet as I decided I am going to get one magnet from each different city I visit so then I can remember them all when it is said and done, and finally be able to put things on my fridge. There was a store which sold almost all of the Belgian beers and the glasses for that specific beer, it was amazing how many there are. So I went to quench my thirst by grabbing a Leffe on the patio of one of the restaurants in the Markt and just people watched while I planned the rest of my afternoon.
Next I decided to go to the brewery tour I was interested in – it was pretty interesting, the coolest part was they took us on the roof which gave some remarkable views (minus my camera battery dying at that exact moment…) plus a ‘free’ beer included in the admission. After this I knew I had just enough daylight left to rent a bicycle for an hour and ride around the outskirts of the city center without all of the tourists in effort to see some of the parks and streets where “the real people” live. And boy did I have a bike that flew… Within the first ten minutes I was feeling to confident that I thought I would try a Cru Jones move and try to ride up onto a sidewalk, up over this tiny maybe 3 quarter inch curb, but the bike tire did not like that and I completely bit it… luckily I escaped with only a nice strawberry on my right knee and a couple bent wheel covers on the bike. I then found a bike path and rode along a river where there were a handful of old-style windmills which was very nice. Let me tell you the perfect equation for clown fingers – me flying around in this bike on brick roads, so the cold of the wind and the vibration from the brick roads – wow I definitely had to stop a couple times to let my hands breathe a bit before they swelled up too much. While I did this, I had a chance to get another quick picture out of my dead battery camera.
After this epic bike ride I grabbed dinner at a cozy place called “La Curiosa” and ordered a fish stew – goldfish, salmon, shrimp, etc. – so delicious that even the family sitting next to me asked me what I was eating because it smelled so good. After dinner I checked the time and realized I had 16 minutes to make it to the train and I made the decision I was going to make it. I knew I did not even have time to check the map and I just started going in the direction I thought the train was in and guessed correctly. As soon as I saw the train station I ran to check which rail my train was on and ran all the way up to the train and of course when I get up to the platform the first three cars I try to get into are packed, so I run to the back of the train and slide in the door just as the usher was blowing his whistle to close the doors, so glad I made it otherwise I would have had to hang out in the station for another hour!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Antwerp and Brussels (Thank you time change!)
Sorry it's been awhile, nothing exciting really happened at the end of last week and I was too tired from the weekend until now to update! Saturday I woke up early (had my alarm set for 6 but waited until the wake-up call at 7 to get up) and walked the 25 minutes to the rail station. On the way I passed 3 bakeries, that smelled absolutely delicious and had some treats in the window that looked better than they smelled; but I had to make the 8:25 train or I was going to be hanging out in the station for awhile. When I arrived in Antwerp I was absolutely amazed by the train station, sounds dumb I know but check out a couple of the pics - I walked around for about 20 minutes before even leaving the station!
Captions: Trains arrive in at least 4 different levels of the station. Outside of the station.
OK, enough of the station. I just started wandering towards the city center and came across the 'Meir', a street lined with stores and shops, which was very nice. Then I saw a couple historic cathedrals and found my way to the Groeneplaat (open square with shops and pubs) and the Grote Markt (Main place or square). The Grote Markt was incredible, it was very neat with the fountain statue of Brabo in the middle - unfortunately the fountain was not running.
Captions: Picture of the Markt - good view of Brabo throwing whomever's hand he cut off and a picture of the other side of the grote markt with Brabo-licious and the main Catherdral behind him.
I then kept walking toward the Schelde river and hung out on the terrace for a bit watching the boats go by. It was a much bigger river than I expected. I then headed back toward the Markt and it started to rain again so I decided to go into this shop that had a couple large cows outside of it - it ended up being more of a 'odds and ends' store and I found myself a small das boot glass that was on sale for 1.50. I needed to plan the rest of my afternoon so I decided to head back to the Markt and relax at the famous Angel's Den pub and luckily the only table available was by the window so I grabbed it and enjoyed a Leffe while taking in the scenery. I was sitting at a table for 4, and 3 older couples walked in and since the place was packed one of the ladies ask me, "Is anyone sitting in this chaiiiir, would ya mind if we sit in 'em?", with heavy English accents. I was so happy that someone talked to me in English I said yes of course. So the three ladies sat next to this handsome young American gent while their husbands fetched them a couple Stellas and a cappuccino from the bar. I kept reading my book until I finished reading what I wanted to, and then I started talking to them - come to find out they were in for the weekend from outside of London, for one of the lady's 40th wedding anniversary whose husband was from Antwerp. So of course we started talking beer and chocolate and they had asked me if I had tried a 'Kwak', they said it was served in a large test tube type of glass. After a half hour of amazing English discussion and another beer I decided to try to find some food. So I wandered away from the Markt a bit to get away from the tourist food traps and stumbled on this cute little place that had an Uijtsmeiter (bread, ham, cheese, and fried eggs) on the menu and I had yet to have one in Belgium so I went in. On the menu I noticed a Kwak (so good) - so I had to try it! Check out my amazing meal below:
Captions: Trains arrive in at least 4 different levels of the station. Outside of the station.
OK, enough of the station. I just started wandering towards the city center and came across the 'Meir', a street lined with stores and shops, which was very nice. Then I saw a couple historic cathedrals and found my way to the Groeneplaat (open square with shops and pubs) and the Grote Markt (Main place or square). The Grote Markt was incredible, it was very neat with the fountain statue of Brabo in the middle - unfortunately the fountain was not running.
Captions: Picture of the Markt - good view of Brabo throwing whomever's hand he cut off and a picture of the other side of the grote markt with Brabo-licious and the main Catherdral behind him.
I then kept walking toward the Schelde river and hung out on the terrace for a bit watching the boats go by. It was a much bigger river than I expected. I then headed back toward the Markt and it started to rain again so I decided to go into this shop that had a couple large cows outside of it - it ended up being more of a 'odds and ends' store and I found myself a small das boot glass that was on sale for 1.50. I needed to plan the rest of my afternoon so I decided to head back to the Markt and relax at the famous Angel's Den pub and luckily the only table available was by the window so I grabbed it and enjoyed a Leffe while taking in the scenery. I was sitting at a table for 4, and 3 older couples walked in and since the place was packed one of the ladies ask me, "Is anyone sitting in this chaiiiir, would ya mind if we sit in 'em?", with heavy English accents. I was so happy that someone talked to me in English I said yes of course. So the three ladies sat next to this handsome young American gent while their husbands fetched them a couple Stellas and a cappuccino from the bar. I kept reading my book until I finished reading what I wanted to, and then I started talking to them - come to find out they were in for the weekend from outside of London, for one of the lady's 40th wedding anniversary whose husband was from Antwerp. So of course we started talking beer and chocolate and they had asked me if I had tried a 'Kwak', they said it was served in a large test tube type of glass. After a half hour of amazing English discussion and another beer I decided to try to find some food. So I wandered away from the Markt a bit to get away from the tourist food traps and stumbled on this cute little place that had an Uijtsmeiter (bread, ham, cheese, and fried eggs) on the menu and I had yet to have one in Belgium so I went in. On the menu I noticed a Kwak (so good) - so I had to try it! Check out my amazing meal below:
After lunch I just continued to walk around and stopped at some more shops, checking out cell phones etc. on the way back to the train station. Then I headed to Brussels to meet up with my friend Hugo for the evening.
I arrived in Brussels with about 35 minutes to spare before having to meet up with Hugo, as this was my third trip to Brussels I have a pretty good feel for the area around the Centraal stop and I had 2 sights I wanted to see:
1) Manneken Pis (crazy amounts of people around this little guy)
2) Grote Markt (again.. wanted some pics before it got dark, last time I was there on the first trip it was night)
Long story short I made it in time, did not get lost and made it to the meeting spot in time. Hugo had a friend over made some dinner and we went out for my first Belgian waffle (with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce) and a few drinks before he drove me home (sounds like a hot date right?) where I was falling asleep on the ride home. I was looking forward to gaining an hour of sleep, for a busy Sunday in Brugge!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Trip 2, Day 3 - Let's Do This
Couldn’t wait for lunch so I could have my next driving lesson. My boss was “mean” to me today and took me to the country on a sloped bridge and made me hold the car still by only using the clutch. Then, took me to a construction area where there is of course lots of traffic and another bridge where I could practice starting and stopping on a hill – I didn’t stall once! We also went to the highway which is my kind of driving… get it in 6th and just sit there . Overall, I only stalled twice and one was backing out of the stupid parking lot – they park on a sidewalk essentially so the curb screws me every time. I think tonight is the night I will try to drive myself home!! And of course, the only car that is available for me to take, is the same car that the president always takes… an Audi A3 which is sweet, but now even more nervous now AND it’s raining.
Luckily it’s our CIO’s birthday next week but he will be in Ivory Coast kicking off the project there so he brought in “mattentaart” (http://www.mattentaart.be/)today, a famous dessert in Belgium. The link proves that! It’s very good, the taste is very sweet and it melts in your mouth.
So, the time finally came when I could leave work and take this magical Audi A3 on a test drive, in the dark and rain to my hotel. Luckily my boss was not in a hurry so he followed me to the hotel in case I stalled then I would not have to worry about someone hitting me. I actually did very well! I only stalled once off of the stupid sidewalk / curb area again and made it to the hotel with no issues. Driving stick is actually pretty sweet and this car was fun to drive. Hope I get to drive it in a week when I really feel comfortable and can have some fun with it!! So I enjoyed the accomplishment tonight in the hotel with a steak dinner and a couple Leffe Blondes. Forecast says it is supposed to be raining everywhere in the country for the whole weekend so my trips this weekend are looking not as much fun, but I am still going!
Luckily it’s our CIO’s birthday next week but he will be in Ivory Coast kicking off the project there so he brought in “mattentaart” (http://www.mattentaart.be/)today, a famous dessert in Belgium. The link proves that! It’s very good, the taste is very sweet and it melts in your mouth.
So, the time finally came when I could leave work and take this magical Audi A3 on a test drive, in the dark and rain to my hotel. Luckily my boss was not in a hurry so he followed me to the hotel in case I stalled then I would not have to worry about someone hitting me. I actually did very well! I only stalled once off of the stupid sidewalk / curb area again and made it to the hotel with no issues. Driving stick is actually pretty sweet and this car was fun to drive. Hope I get to drive it in a week when I really feel comfortable and can have some fun with it!! So I enjoyed the accomplishment tonight in the hotel with a steak dinner and a couple Leffe Blondes. Forecast says it is supposed to be raining everywhere in the country for the whole weekend so my trips this weekend are looking not as much fun, but I am still going!
Trip 2, Day 2
We called for the normal cab to pick me up to get me to work and at lunch my boss took me to another parking lot and let me drive a bit on his car, then said let’s hit the town. It was nice to finally graduate from the parking lot. So I was able to drive around for a half hour or more around the streets of Lebbeke as he explained some of the signs to me and watched me stall a time here or there. After the session I felt much more comfortable but still wanted one more session before I took the plunge to driving back to the hotel by myself. I hate slopes, and of course they have big sloped speed bumps at lots of intersections just begging me to stall!
I had a co-worker drive me to my hotel and then I took the long walk (~2-3 km) to the city center of Aalst, trying to find an ATM to get some cash and a good place for dinner as the weather was nice. Halfway there I realized I forgot my book so I knew it was going to be a boring dinner. I found an ING bank right away, and of course they don’t accept my ATM card so I walked and walked to find a different bank than ING – finally found the Citi I was looking for and of course their machines weren’t working. So I then went to the bank next door to my old hotel (grudgingly) and got some money there – would have been nice to know my ATM card worked there during the last trip! So then I went to the same Italian place as before because I wanted one of their pizzas. Just as I am about to leave the client EU president walks in and says “Hey, come join me!” So after another drink I took the long walk home and of course took a wrong turn off a roundabout and ended up near someone’s farm where an animal came out from the trees and scared the crap out of me – it was a stupid donkey. So I took pictures of it.
Then, finally backtracked my way to the hotel and worked on my business case for them putting me in an apartment in Gent. Tomorrow I am thinking of driving to the hotel after work on my own.. wish me luck!
Picture captions: Very delayed pictures of the Aalst market place. Very nice smaller town I call home.
I had a co-worker drive me to my hotel and then I took the long walk (~2-3 km) to the city center of Aalst, trying to find an ATM to get some cash and a good place for dinner as the weather was nice. Halfway there I realized I forgot my book so I knew it was going to be a boring dinner. I found an ING bank right away, and of course they don’t accept my ATM card so I walked and walked to find a different bank than ING – finally found the Citi I was looking for and of course their machines weren’t working. So I then went to the bank next door to my old hotel (grudgingly) and got some money there – would have been nice to know my ATM card worked there during the last trip! So then I went to the same Italian place as before because I wanted one of their pizzas. Just as I am about to leave the client EU president walks in and says “Hey, come join me!” So after another drink I took the long walk home and of course took a wrong turn off a roundabout and ended up near someone’s farm where an animal came out from the trees and scared the crap out of me – it was a stupid donkey. So I took pictures of it.
Then, finally backtracked my way to the hotel and worked on my business case for them putting me in an apartment in Gent. Tomorrow I am thinking of driving to the hotel after work on my own.. wish me luck!
Picture captions: Very delayed pictures of the Aalst market place. Very nice smaller town I call home.
Trip 2, Day 1
Since we forgot to book my hotel for my stay, I am out in the crappy hotel out of the city center close to the highway – see the pictures this place is strange! But, since I am out of the city center they offered to let me drive a company car home each night as people only use them during the day – sounds like a great deal right? Well yes kind of, except they only have manual cars available! (Nicholas, I solely blame / credit you for these posts because I always wanted to learn how to drive stick but you sold the sundance before I was 16 so I only learned briefly on the Russell's Rabbit and your Passat.) So, as I am telling them that I have not driven stick in 8 years – they say its not that hard here’s the keys. Craziness – I am jetlagged as hell on 3 hours of sleep, I have no clue where I am going (car has GPS though), I don’t understand the road signs and they have this crazy rule that anyone coming from the right in an intersection has the right of way (!), its dark outside, and I am about to drive a manual client company car to my hotel. Luckily, my boss offered to give me a quick lesson in the parking lot before he left and I drove around and started to get the hang of it – but still felt very nervous as I was so exhausted. So he said “I think you have a 95% chance of making there safely, I think we should therefore put the car back and I will drop you off tonight.” So luckily I did not have to experience that adventure – I said I felt adventurous this week but I had no clue I would be learning how to drive a stick!
Picture Captions: Yes, they put two small beds together to make it seem like its a real bed... and look at the HUGE keychain thing they put on your key, WITH your room number on that AND the key. So if I lose my key for some reason the person knows exactly where to go... I took that fern gully leaf off as soon as I got to my room! Plus the free breakfast tickets...
Picture Captions: Yes, they put two small beds together to make it seem like its a real bed... and look at the HUGE keychain thing they put on your key, WITH your room number on that AND the key. So if I lose my key for some reason the person knows exactly where to go... I took that fern gully leaf off as soon as I got to my room! Plus the free breakfast tickets...
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
I am Growing Up.. :-(!
I definitely just officially read and finished the first book I have read since Christmas 2007 (which is what makes me feel like I am getting old), and the longest book I have read since reading the slavery book in Mrs. Snyder's class in sixth grade... Just finished "The Associate", John Grisham's new book and it was very good, but left way too many questions unanswered which reminded me why I hate reading so much. Grandma R has pry read more books this year than I have in the last 15 years combined and she's slacking this year!!
It has been raining here this entire week, so besides last night's Accenture team dinner I have not really been out much this week. However, I did eat dinner with the client's European president who is staying in the same small town as me as we happened to run into each other at the same restaurant, so hopefully that will help me out!
Tomorrow is my last day in the office as I fly back to Chicago Friday morning :-), so tomorrow night I am hoping it is not raining so I can take some pictures of Aalst on my way to the train station; I am going to Brussels tomorrow night to meet up with a friend and have a couple beers and see some of the sights.
I will be back in Chicago in the early afternoon on Friday and look forward to reconnecting with everyone over the weekend. Chicago marathon in on Sunday so gonna be cheering on a lot of friends I know that are running in it.. and unfortunately my week in Chicago is heavily filled with chores (pack, move, call verizion, etc.)! I am afraid my phone is going to explode after being off for 2 weeks when I turn it back on!!
It has been raining here this entire week, so besides last night's Accenture team dinner I have not really been out much this week. However, I did eat dinner with the client's European president who is staying in the same small town as me as we happened to run into each other at the same restaurant, so hopefully that will help me out!
Tomorrow is my last day in the office as I fly back to Chicago Friday morning :-), so tomorrow night I am hoping it is not raining so I can take some pictures of Aalst on my way to the train station; I am going to Brussels tomorrow night to meet up with a friend and have a couple beers and see some of the sights.
I will be back in Chicago in the early afternoon on Friday and look forward to reconnecting with everyone over the weekend. Chicago marathon in on Sunday so gonna be cheering on a lot of friends I know that are running in it.. and unfortunately my week in Chicago is heavily filled with chores (pack, move, call verizion, etc.)! I am afraid my phone is going to explode after being off for 2 weeks when I turn it back on!!
Monday, October 5, 2009
London
Gonna keep this short for real this time! London was amazing - so nice to be in a country that speaks English again :-). Highlights from London - walked around a lot saw London and Tower bridges, Bourough Market, south bank, London Eye, parliament, Buckingham palace, Soho, Chinatown, and some other sites. Also ate at an amazing Vietnamese restaurant on Saturday night and ate quail and duck for the first time in my life - Duck much better than the quail, but still not bad! Eurostar trains are amazingly simple and very convenient. Check out a couple pics!
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