Tag Archives: Vacation

My diet for the 3 days in Brussels = Waffles and Chocolate

On Sunday, I experienced the “Chunnel” for the first time. Chunnel = Tunnel + English Channel = Eurostar to continental Europe =My journey to Brussels, Belgium. As part of my European Business class (IP 405), we hopped on the train to go check out the capital of Europe. Really, not a big deal. 😉

This was my first weekend trip since I arrived in London, so needless to say, I was extremely excited. Not that I’ve run out of things to do in London, but the thought of escaping the cloudy, dreary, misty weather for three days seemed appealing.

Eurostar, the train with particularly comfortable seats, travels at 208 miles per hour, thereby reducing the travel time to only 1 hour and 25 minutes to Brussels and 2 hours and 30 minutes to Paris. The only time I’ve been to Brussels in the past was when I stopped by for about 3 hours while driving from Paris to Amsterdam. So spending 3 days this time was definitely a different, more fun and exciting experience.

When we arrived Sunday evening, I was at first disappointed to find everything closed at 7 p.m. Apparently, stores in Brussels like to close early on Sundays. We ended up rushing to the first restaurant we saw (The Cheesecake Cafe) for a quick dinner. After all, we were all starving. After a wonderful burger and a milkshake (YUM) we went on an adventure.

Brussels is a fairly small city. In fact, you can see everything you need to in less than a day. We got a Belgian waffle, obviously, and experienced a super-smokey Irish pub. Yes, an Irish pub in the middle of Brussels. With live bands. Walking out of the pub with my sweater reeking of cigarette smoke isn’t exactly my favorite activity, but I enjoyed hanging out for a few hours and listening to live bands.

Monday was filled with “educational” sessions at NATO and the European Parliament, and we ended the day at Delirium. Oh, Delirium. This place carries over 1,000 kinds of beer – their beer menu is a binder. Between about 6 of us, we had just about everything from cactus beer to honey beer. Definitely a must-see if you’re planning on visiting Brussels. http://www.deliriumcafe.be/. That is the website! Check it out!

And here are the pictures:

-Waffle #1!

-European Parliament

-Waffle #2! Obviously…

-Oh, and did I mention we acquire a DAS BOOT??? Really, NBD 😉

-And the last waffle of the weekend. Miss the waffles. Oh man.

Overall, what a great trip! My mouth still waters when I think about those waffles and loads of Belgian chocolates. 🙂

-Yoojin

Windsor Castle & Eton College

It’s already been two weeks! WOW. More accurately about 11 days, but who cares… Same difference, right? This week was filled with lectures and orientation events, including Imperial College pub night and start of the semester party at Langley. I have so much to say about both places – and of course about Tate Modern Museum, St. Paul’s Cathedral and generally being Harry Potter, but I am going to try to keep this entry focused on the daytrip I went on today.

That, my friends, is WINDSOR CASTLE – the place where past kings and queens of England have used. Most importantly, it is the oldest occupied castle and Queen’s official residence. The castle is absolutely gorgeous, especially the front entrance used by the Queen. It is just like what you see in fairytale where there is a long walkway leading up to the gate where you’re greeted by those guard with funny hats. And only after that, you enter a majestic courtyard, and up on the second floor is the Queen’s hall.

The tour of Windsor was very simple. All there was to do was circling around the circle, seeing the chapel where the Order of the Garters met and admiring the gorgeous garden. But, the most impressive and possibly the most popular feature was Queen Mary’s Dollhouse. Honestly, those dolls have it so much better that us normal folks would ever be able to afford. So. Jealous. It was fascinating to see an elaborate dollhouse that was taller than I. PS, the dollhouse is equipped with perfectly working electricity and plumbing. Why is that necessary? Not sure, but it’s SO COOL! Unfortunately photographing inside the exhibit was not allowed, but here is the taste:

That is the living room… Really, NBD.

Another site we visited was Eton College. Don’t let the name “college” deceive you. It is simply an all boys boarding school where Price William & Harry spent their high school years. Once again, really NBD. Eton is right next to Windsor Castle (only about 15 minutes of a walk), situated very nicely along Thames River. While the campus is really pretty, and according to our awesome tour guide Penny, the education the boys receive is superb, you do have to be able to pay close to 10,000 pounds per term – and there are 3 terms a year – to attend this school. Wow.

Windsor & Eton was a nice short getaway from the little bubble called South Kensington, but I’m not sure if I can ever afford to actually live in the area. It is indeed a nice little village that I enjoyed visiting.

Next up – hopefully very very soon – is my thoughts on some London explorations I’ve done so far, such as pubs around the area, Buckingham Palace, Tate Modern, etc.

PS. Today was the first sunny day in London. What a miracle!

-Yoojin