A lesson on gaining weight

It's probably about time I make a post dedicated to french desserts, especially considering how often I indulge myself (let's just say I put the cookie monster to shame). I am a firm believer that dessert is necessary at least once a day- I mean if I don't reward myself for eating veggies, who else will?
The greatest (in my humble opinion) patisserie in Bordeaux would be San Nicolas, which happens to be situated right near my walk to and from the tram. Probably not the best coincidence.
The lady I usually see there is wonderfully nice and never fails to honestly tell me which dessert she would pick that day and why (which is usually the dessert I end up getting).

  



The 48 is another patisserie/boulangerie/sandwich shop which happens to actually be right across the street from my house. It's a chain store and the prices aren't bad- but the flavor is nothing compared to that of San Nicolas. And besides, the women who work the counter always seem like they're counting down until the end of their shift. But as far as pastries go, if I'm really dying for a sweet thing The 48 works fine.

Now a major surprise comes in the form of a well known American fast food joint: McDonald's. Here they're actually pretty popular- and pretty decked out. I'm talking two to three stories with comfy chairs, nice decoration and free internet galore. And though I have yet to try any of the actual food, I did once go to the counter dedicated to desserts (oh France). I got a slice of flan, and I must say, it was really quite good. Please note, that is a real plate, not paper or foam or anything weird.

Finally, I think it's very important to talk about a little place called Fauchon. Why, you may wonder, is it so important to bring up Fauchon? Would it happen to be because their kitchen is located three houses down from yours and that every day you walk by the wonderful smells of baking goodies and get to peek inside and watch high class chefs moving about? Yes. Yes indeed.
After a few months of smelling the smells and wondering what expensive cake tastes like, I finally took the plunge and bought myself one of their beautiful treats. Cost me almost seven euros, but sometimes in life it's necessary.

It was really good- I'm not saying it wasn't... but it definitely wasn't the greatest thing I've ever tasted. I think that was what I was expecting, so my artwork cake was actually kind of a disappointment.

At least I will always have San Nicolas

The final leg

Though it's taken me weeks to put up photos I took during a four and a half day journey, I've finally reached the end, Luxembourg. What a city.
I was only there for about two hours, I can't get over how incredible the place was. Here I am, tired, ready to go home, walking through an 'alright' city, when all of the sudden the buildings open up into a gigantic valley filled with yellow, orange and red trees; old castle ruins; and expansive bridges that cross the beautiful terrain.

This lovely lady was nice enough to let me take her picture. She fit in so well with the beautiful fall colors!

A bunch of photos of Brussels

For times I can't think of clever post titles (ie all the time) I like to title them with a description of exactly what will be in the post. Get ready for a bunch of photos of Brussels.

Mer du Nord was a really popular joint where all the food was made outside and people crowd around trying to get an order in. It looked delicious though I didn't try any myself.

Tourist to the core

Much of my trip to Brussels was characterized by my need to see every famous art piece I could. I think I succeeded.
The Magritte Museum was my second favorite place to visit- especially since I got in free for being an Art History student. It was three stories dedicated to Magritte's life and work put together in a wonderfully smooth and visually appealing way. It would have been my first on my lists of favorites, but unfortunately for Magritte, I visited the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, where The Death of Marat exists. I died a little when I saw it.

 

I couldn't take enough pictures of it.

For those who aren't familiar with The Death of Marat, it's a painting by Jacques Louis David from 1793, right smack dab in the middle of the French Revolution. It's an awesome painting, and if you happen to be in Brussels, don't miss out. And here are some other art pieces I got to see.

 The last three pictures are of a really cool art exhibit I got to climb (free, you just had to put on a hard hat) and from the top you got a great view of a cathedral.

City wandering

Though my start in Brussels was a little stressful, a good night's rest made me feel all new and sparkly, ready to embrace everything the city had to offer. I spent most of my first morning just exploring, hitting some of the major tourist sites I had marked on my map at a leisurely pace. Though I got lost quite a few times, it actually turned out for the better when, after a wrong turn, I came across a beautiful antiques market set up outside of a church.

I couldn't really afford anything there.

Why Brussels was almost terrible

My train going from Bruges to Brussels was delayed by an hour. In my mind it didn't seem like such a terrible thing until I was halfway there, watching the scenery out the window, and it started to get dark. I arrived at the Brussels train station just as a really creepy twilight was setting over the city. There I am, a young girl caught without pepper spray or brass knuckles, wandering through the dingy, seedy streets of Brussels (areas around train stations never seem to be nice) just trying to find my hostel. It was terrible, I just wanted to sit down and cry. Fortunately for me I ran across these lovely ladies, who made my day worth it.

They were doing a promotion for Lush, offering free products to anyone who would do the twist with them. So I did. To an upbeat 1950s song, I twisted and jived in the middle of the city- and I didn't even bother to take my backpack off. And as I walked away with new friends and shampoo, I decided Brussels was a pretty cool place.

Bruges in Pictures

Two days in Bruges was the perfect amount of time to thoroughly explore and visit every inch of the city. Sadly most of the museums I went to didn't allow photography (including the hospital museum, dating from 1188 ad and set in the still preserved medieval hospital; as well as the Michelangelo's Madonna, the only one of his works to leave Italy while the man was alive). But here's a little taste of my Bruges experience when cameras were allowed.

Medieval ruins in the basement of a hotel

My first Belgian waffle, not my hand

My tour of the De Halve Brewery

The bar underneath my hostel