Back to Belgium

My first weekend trip alone was to Belgium five years ago. This year for Carnival, I went back to Belgium (and also the North of France) to visit the ¨in-laws. ¨One great thing about the region of Belgium/Netherlands/Northern France is that it's so small and flat, the train connects it quickly and efficiently. So from the airport we took a train to

Tournai / Doornik

Two names since in Belgium they speak French and Flemish. The highlight of this city bordering France was its huge plaza. It would be even bigger if they didn't use a fraction of it as a parking lot. Tournai also has a large cathedral and separate bell tower. We didn't go into either, but stopped to appreciate them from the outside. We found a second, smaller church with the symbol of the Camino de Santiago. Such a far ways from Galicia! Since there weren't many more sights to see, we stepped into a cozy pub. At first it was just us and what seemed to be a Brazilian resident with his parents visiting him in his new home across the ocean. I can relate to that! Then our Belgian Beer Tour began. By the time we ordered the second round, the place had filled. The other bartender/owner appeared from a door behind the bar (not from the main entrance) so I got the feeling the owners lived upstairs. She then proceeded to walk around to all of the tables to say good evening. She stopped and sat down at a few to chat with the regulars. I absolutely loved that! If I ever had a bar, I would strive to be that chummy with the regulars.

Reunited and it feels so good! 

We were killing time in Tournai, waiting for my cuñada to pick us up on her way home from work. Then surprise-- the whole family came to get us! Hooray! Apparently they go quite often to Tournai on Friday nights to hang out with other family friends. So on we went to meet the gang at another bar. The Belgian Beer Tour continued.

Lille
This big city has a few brick buildings mixed into its general fancy French architecture. We spent a good amount of our time there watching a live band play in a square. Our sobriño is future musical mastermind and never gets tired of seeing artists perform.

Ghent
Last time in Belgium, I went to the city famed for its fairy-tale appearance: Brugge. Obviously, it was pretty touristy, but I still enjoyed it. Truly though, Ghent knocked it out of the water! The architecture is just beautiful. I adore the dark brick style in Belgium and Holland. And despite there being plenty of fellow travelers (we heard a lot of Spanish speakers), it still seemed genuine. Our hostess had lived there for several years, so maybe that helped our experience.

Walking around Ghent was a treat. There was a cathedral and a few churches, not to mention bridges and canal walkways. We only went in one cathedral. No museums though. Which is why one day trip wasn't enough. I'll be eager to go back when we're in that region again.

The other highlight of Ghent was dining at Amadeus. I had been hearing about this restaurant for years. I'm not a huge carnivore, and also the fact that here in Galicia the famed ribs have NO BARBECUE SAUCE WHATSOEVER makes me even less interested. But at Amadeus they know how to do ribs right. They were covered in a delicious sauce. And don't even get me started on the baked potato! First of all, baked potatoes aren't a thing in Galicia. They love their potatoes in many ways, but boiled is king. The baked potato at Amadeus was doused in a finger-lickin' good sauce. Did I mention it was all-you-can-eat? It was like a little taste of home.

Dunkerque
Like in Galicia, Carnival is one big party in this harbor town in French Flanders (again, right by the border). Dunkerque has carnival traditions of its own: namely, long umbrellas. For the week of festivities, people dress in bright colors carrying small, colorful umbrellas on long poles. The day we went, the crowning moment was the throwing of herring. For whatever reason, the tradition here is to wait in the town square for them to throw salted fish (now in plastic wrapping). In the minutes before the clock chimes, excitement mounts. The crowd chants ¨LIBEREZ L'HARENG¨ (Free the fish! I could not help but crack up at this). It was then that I figured out why the long umbrellas. To catch some fish! (This isn't the real reason, but seems legit.) This year they threw 500 kilos of herring. And B-man caught one of them! Others slipped through everyone's hands and ended up on the ground. What, nobody wants a stepped-on fish?

Family Time
The reason for our visit was to visit our favorite emigrated galega, my sister-in-law, her husband, and our sobriño. He's two and a whole lot of action. I wouldn't say terrible twos. Well, actually, maybe. On Saturday morning I got to go to open swim with him and his mom. And then it hit me: this is why he doesn't care for the ocean when they come to Galicia in the summer. The pool water was so warm! Perfect for a chilly March morning. Again, I can relate to that!

One day we spent the afternoon babysitting. What could go wrong? Nothing went wrong, don't worry. In fact we even got out of the house and went for a walk. Inside we also enjoyed parading in circles with instruments for hours. That night though, we both fell asleep by 9:30 (probably around the same time our sobriño did).

Paris

Now that I'm home for summer, I guess it's time to write about my springtime trips and adventures, which took up many a-weekend in April and May. I shall begin with the first of my weekend adventure: Paris with my cousin!

From a sign in the teacher's lounge, I thought the last weekend of May was a long weekend at school. It wasn't. But since my school is so great, they let me make up the day later on. I took advantage of my cousin living in Paris to pay her a visit...and see the city for the first time. After living in Europe a few years, it was finally time to see the City of Lights. Of course there is a ton to see there, so for the weekend I gave up my characteristic afternoon siesta time, and started drinking coffee. Since so much happened I'm just going to bullet point the highlights.

• Notre Dame: Usually I'm of the belief that once you've seen one cathedral, you've seen them all. But Notre Dame was actually very interesting inside. The outside, iconic. 
• The Eiffel Tower: The Parisian landmark is actually way bigger than I imagined. I knew there was an elevator (thankfully!), but thought the tower was just big enough for one large elevator to go up the middle. In reality, there are four different elevators which climb up the legs. We went up just before sunset, so we were privileged with two views: twilight and late night. From up top it you realize just how enormous Paris really is. Seeing dolled-up couples getting off at the restaurant made me wonder how many marriage proposals they see there in a day.
• The Louvre: So much to see, so little time! I'm honestly not a huge fan of art museums, but of course this was a must-see. There are some great pieces there. My cousin was smart to get a museum membership so she could peruse the art on a daily basis. My favorite section was probably the ancient statues. The Mona Lisa that everyone fusses about was not worth it to me. Plenty of other nice paintings from the same time, with less people. 
• Versailles: As a fan of old-timey royals and wealth, this was another must-see. It's just a short trainride away from Paris. My only complaint is with the way it's set-up. You have to go through 3 different check-points to actually get into the palace. Which means waiting. Outside! Aside from that though, it was lovely. The gardens were swell--too bad it started hailing while we were out for a royal walk. 
• Montmartre neighborhood: Nice place for a stroll. There are still a lot of artists there who want to paint your portrait or sell Parisian landscapes. 



Cousins in red outside Le Moulin Rouge

• Dining: Definitely took advantage of the wide selection of restaurants and food not available in little old Lugo. Most importantly, I ate a Nutella and banana crêpe everyday. Yummo! Aside from that we also savored French cuisine from Bretagne and Southern France. 

Hendaia: or The Time A Public Bathroom Attacked Me

Saturday we experienced Carnavales in Iparralde (French part of Basque Country).
It was pretty similar to that of Irún (which I will elaborate on some day, honestly). There were less people in the crowd though, and no cabezudos. Also, the giants were smaller, and carried by children: thus they were called gigantillas. My friend Kelsey didn't get a chance to participate in Irún, so she and I paraded in Hendaia. I was justice and she was the bishop with a big belly. After the parade, people gathered in a square where they did readings in Basque and French (thus I understood nada de nada). According to my culture class, they were talking about all the problems they want to rid themselves of in the future. Which is why they lit one of the giants on fire. (I should note they removed his head, because it took a lot of effort and would be sad to see it in flames.) After the fire, many people headed down the street to a sort of warehouse/gym. There we had the very Basque txistorra sausage in corn tortillas. Yummy, but not my favorite ever. My friend chatted with the mayor of Hendaye, no big deal. He's trilingual. The Basque folk bands played some classics and some modern songs as well. We hopped along, and even immitated the dance of a pair of women who knew how to folk dance. The night concluded with a Celtic band concert. Except, most people had left by that time, and the area for the audience was filled with little kids in costumes jumping around. Cute. :)

Bathroom humor:
Kelsey went into the public bathroom first, but told me she couldn't figure out how to flush it. No worries, I shut the door behind me and proceeded to the toilet when suddenly it flushed by itself. Well that's handy! But then as the light was dimming, water started spraying above the toilet. Yikes, so I moved back towards the door. Then the water began spraying at foot level, all over my shoes, and it was soapy too. I tried opening the door, but it was locked so I started banging on it yelling "Lemme outta here! OPEN UP!" I could only imagine myself like in those adventure movies: only an inch of water away from the ceiling, struggling to breathe. Luckily the water stopped before things got so out of hand. :D When I got out, we realized that after using the bathroom, you are supposed to close the door because then it automatically closes itself. I'm sure that useful information was posted on the outside, except somebody tore the sign off! Amusing story if I do say so myself.

Yesterday in Basque dance class the teacher was critiquing and offering advice for improving the polka. When he came to me he said "I don't think I can help you. I don't know what your problem is. 1-2-3, 1-2-3..." I told him 3 is just too much for me. Haha I'm just bad at the polka (embarrassing because I'm Polish and Czech!) and my partner has to drag/shove me along, even though technically I am the man in the set-up. After class I had dinner with my friends Diana & Atún. Their host mom said I could come over, probably because they talk about how pathetic I am living without a host family. ;D We had tortilla de patatas (which I had been craving) and quite a selection of prepared vegetables. First truly healthy dinner in quite some time.

Un Jour en France

Well, it was more than just one day, but the song is "Un Jour en France" so yeah.

I'll be home soon enough, so in summary, France was great! I went to Nîmes, Toulouse, et Lyon. In Lyon I visited my penpal Alexandre. That was fun, he speaks perfect English, so it was easy for me jeje. We saw Les Fêtes des Lumières. It was magnifique, but my pictures are very blurry, so I recommend clicking ici. And yeah, I saw a lot of nice views in my time there. Stereotypical French activities: wine and cheese after lunch with his family. And I even had a bowl of coffee with breakfast, accompanied by bread and homemade marmelade. Ah and crêpes as my first lyonnais meal. Very French indeed!

Alex et moi enjoying a view from castle ruins.