Belgium November 20-22 2009

Belgium November 20-22 2009

Arrive to Leuven 11-20-09

Right after classes Grace Andrew and I set off for Fumacino Airport where we were heading to Belgium for the weekend. When we arrived Andrew's uncle picked us up from the airport. We were going to stay with them for the night and spend part of the next day with them. It was really nice to have a night in a home for once. It had been a long time since we had been anywhere but hostels, hotels, and dorm rooms.

Leuven, Bruges 11-21-09

The next morning they served us a large breakfast and treated us very well. Andrew's aunt and uncle were very nice people. Andrew and his uncle went to visit Andrew's Oma (grandma) and he dropped me and Grace off to walk around Leuven. We met later at the church where St. Damian (who was recently canonized) was buried. After we met up again Andrew's uncle Levan gave us a tour of the city and took us through the different colleges, and the main squares of the city. He also treated us to lunch before we got on the train to Bruges. When we got to Bruges we found a hotel then walked around the city. Andrew and I got some brought worst on the main square where they had a Christmas market set up with an ice rink and tons of booths. We walked around the city some more stopped in a few churches where there was another pieta by Michelangelo, a Eucharistic miracle and beautiful sights. After a while we went back to the main square and got some french fries (which were originally made in Brussels) Then got some Belgian beer. I had the best beer I had ever tasted anywhere here. It was called Triple Carmelite-made by Carmelite monks with three different grains, it was very tasty. After that we went back to the hotel and watched a movie and went to bed.

Bruges, Brussels 11-22-09

The next morning we packed up and got some breakfast at the hotel and found a place to go for mass. We walked to the church and went to church and then walked through the city a little bit more before we got on the train to Brussels. When we arrived I had to get a Belgium waffle. We found a place making them fresh and I got the mother-load on top of it. It was covered in melted chocolate, bananas, nuts, and crème! It was amazing. After that we walked down to Monaco Piss Statue and got some fresh escargot from a street vender. Picked up some lunch around the corner then walked around the city checking out the cathedral and the main square. On the main square they were having some sort of scout convention. There were tons of kids in their uniforms running around playing games and singing songs. We had a flight to catch so we went back to the train station and took a train to the airport where we set off for home.