Back from Belgium

Wow, so I just had a whirlwind of a weekend but such a great one...I managed to spend 100 euros in three days, clearly I was in the capitol of beer, chocolate, fries and all things yummy. This week is my first week of vacation from school (even though it's not technically vacation because I still have to teach my law classes and medicine classes because those campuses are on a different holiday schedule than me...blah). Anyways, I hoped onto a train Friday morning and headed up to waaaaay northern France to first visit with my friend Mel who Graham and I met on the green tortoise trip last year. Mel lives in a teeeeeny town called Bergues (which is just northwest of Lille) and I stopped by for an evening of fun and festivities as it was the beginning of their fall break as well (let me tell you, French elementary teachers going on vacation know how to throw one hell of a party). Mel and I ended up at her school around 7.30 for drinks, this is French custom, or apérétifs as they are called here, cocktail hour lasted good and long up to close to 9.30 when dinner was served and I was thoroughly blitzed...I am not responsible for the fact that it's rude to turn down good booze and they kept pouring it for me...besides alcohol helps when speaking french, which I was doing ALL night, I think if I'd been living in a small town like Bergues from the beginning of my stay I'd be pretty freaking fluent by now, though conversely and alcoholic, as like in Denton, when there's not much to do, you drink.

I spent the night schmoozing and bastardizing french, also teaching the locals how to hoe-down and properly do the YMCA...music, like most things in France, is about 20 years behind the times in getting across the ocean. One thing never to do, is tell a French person that their music sucks, then they will launch into a story about how it's all about the words even though that doesn't change the fact that sad sappy electronic back up can never be excused by any manner of poetry, not even if you're singing freaking Shakespeare to it. I finished the evening eating and drinking drove away watching the school headmaster take part in the ultimate French tradition of sharing a cigarette with his two mistresses at the same time...clutch.

The next day I headed off to Antwerp, a city in Belgium, to stay with my friend Klara who I met through Graham in Texas over a year ago (I love that people that I haven't seen in years I can just casually drop in on and visit with...Europe sure is great). Klara and I spent the day wandering around in the mist of Antwerp (very much like northern UK weather). The first thing I partook of in Belgium was WAFEL....oh my god the Ooey Gooey sticky caramelized sugary goodness topped with home made whip, strawberries and my own personal touch, chocolate. Talk about a foodgasm, I wanted to cry it was so good. After my sugar coma subsided Klara and I set off through the city exploring (as she has only just arrived in Antwerp about 2 months ago as well). I saw castles, looked at some hoes (and some of them I wanted to pay to close their curtains...talk about some ugly old women you never want to see in lingerie). Klara and I strode over to her favorite local jazz bar and started partaking of the local BEER which was AMAZING. Let me say, that I have never understood the need of having all the individual glasses for all the different kinds of beer, until now. People who take enough time to care that a specialized glass is developed so that at the point of conception their beer is like liquid mana in your mouth, should be awarded prizes of all kinds. I will never ever bastardize my beer again by drinking it in a less than worthy glass. Way too many beers later we schlepped ourselves over to the pizza parlor to partake of something to soak up all the hops:) It was a very good food and beer filled night indeed.

Klara and I headed off to Ghent the next day, where her boyfriend lives in the coolest oldest fashioned house I have ever seen...literally the heating is through little stoves that you burn wood in...it's awesome. The back yard is full of home grown lettuce and three wee chickens for egg producing and garbage eating...spectacular. However, before taking the train out to Tobais's house we wandered around Ghent all day. Seeing the old castles, eating Belgian chocolate, drinking more beer (see my decorative arrangement of glasses below) and touring the general city and admiring the architecture, seeing strange restaurants that hang meat from the ceilings...overall just having an awesome day:) When we got to Tobais's house later a homemade dinner, complete with home made Belgian fries was in the works...Belgian fries are better than anything you have ever had, especially when you smother them in home made apple sauce and follow them with 24% port and chocolate pastry of some sort...then when you wake up the next morning and actually have DRIP COFFEE FROM A DRIP COFFEE MACHINE IN A CUP THE SIZE OF YOUR HEAD, you will think you have died and gone to heaven in Belgium.

All in all it was an absolutely amazing vacation and break away from Tours, I was definitely not ready to come back and I am sad to be here right now instead of hanging out with my friends. It's so nice to see your people and get a little taste of home whenever you are far away. I'm finding that I am finally hitting my stride here in Tours, my days are really occupied and I have the pleasure of meeting new people all the time. I am hitting that happy medium and all in all really enjoying myself. Heading off to Portugal this weekend with all of the English lecturers, and apparently there is a big Halloween celebration there to be had. I am most excited to partake and spend some time with my new found friends here. Life is good today:)

I love you, I miss you

Sarah:)

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