When people think of the most famous structure in Paris, chances are they think of The Eiffel Tower. My first glimpse was of the tip over some trees. As we worked our way towards it, more & more was revealed until...ta-daaaah....there it was, in all it's glory. I have to say (as cliched as it sounds) it was a bit of a moment & one of the highlights of our entire trip so far. It's not that it's that classically beautiful...in my opinion that honour would go to Sacre Cour...but it is just so iconic. When you see the Eiffel Tower for the first time, you really know you're in Paris! To add to the romance, we had a lovely little picnic on the grass in front of it....chocolate brownies & coke!! A pretty perfect day.
The walking tour was great, it gave us our bearings & made us realise just how much we will be squeezing in when we return for a week or so in a couple of months time.
After only 2 nights in Paris, we were on the move again...this time to the home of my 3 new favourite things: Belgian waffles, Belgian chocolate & Belgian beer - we were in Bruges! Bruges is a gorgeous little medievil town in the north of Belgium made up of windy cobblestone streets & the obligitory European town square. We were lucky enough to join a walking tour here too...only this was a walking tour with a difference. It was led by an eccentric New Yorker named Kai, who added some excitement to the tour by getting us to hide behind the walls on the stone bridges & then jump out screaming just as a boatload of tourists appeared from under the bridge...apparantly the aim of the game was to scare one so much that they would fall out of the boat. I am sad to report that we had no luck. Although we did come across a strange German lady who interrupted us in the middle of the tour & asked Kai "Are you a tour guide?"....he replied "Yes"....to which she asked "Do you know what sort of tree that is??". Kai looked slightly bewildered for a second before responding with "No, I'm afraid I don't". The lady gave him massive stink eye, muttered something in German under her breath & stomped off. When she got back to her friends, they had a very animated conversation which involved lots of pointing & staring in our direction. Seriously, what did she expect him to say? He vowed to learn the name of the tree & is now going to make a special mention of it in all future tours!!
At dinner that night we tried a Beer Taster Plate - a collection of 3 beers all made in Belgium. Belle-Vue beer is my new favourite - it is cherry flavoured & is soooooo sweet.....right up my alley! Also up my alley was The Choco-story factory & Museum. It wasn't until our final morning that I finally got to go there....it advertised the promise of free samples & the world's only chocolate Barrack Obama statue. Well, if you count one chocolate drop at the start, one chocolate drop at the end & one sample of the chocolate made in the demonstration "free samples" you would have been satisfied.....Andrew was even more disappointed than me however (if that is possible!!), so much so that he even asked the sample making lady if he could have a milk & a dark sample...she replied with a very terse "No, not usually". Andrew came back with "Is today a usually day?"...she must have seen how sad & desperate he was & took pity because I think he is the only person in the history of their tours who got 2 freakin samples!! P.S He did not share with me!
Now, you might be asking yourself...what about the waffles? Well, they deserve a page all to themselves. I don't call myself a religious person by any stretch of the imagination, however I believe that with my first mouthful of waffle, I had a religious experience! A freshly cooked, still warm waffle drizzled in melted milk chocolate & topped with fresh, whipped cream. Oh my God....I have no words....those waffles made me sooooo happy....however, come between a girl & her waffle & there would be bloodshed!! I can't write any more because it making me too emotional!
From Bruges, we headed for Amsterdam. Now of course we would choose to arrive in the city at the same time that the Dutch team arrived home from the World Cup. The city was in complete chaos....drunken, orange Nederlanders lined the streets & there was a massive dance party in full swing in the town centre. It was mad! The bus parked on the edge of the city & once we had negotiated all the road blocks & revelers, we had walked almost 5kms to our hostel...carrying our 20kg backpacks!
We were only in town for the one night & as such didn't get much sleep. We headed out for a bite to eat, swung by the Hard Rock Cafe & of course up to the red light district. Now forgive my shock, but I was blown away by how gorgeous the majority of the girls were. Talk about a Victoria's Secret fashion parade! For those who are interested the going rate is 50 euros for 20 minutes....allegedly the same price as it was a few years ago when Shawn was there or so he "heard"....good to see inflation hasn't impacted all of lifes simple pleasures!!
And so it was onto the bus for Berlin. I am quietly looking forward to Germany...& not just so I can put my high school German to use.....finally!!
No comments:
Post a Comment