Fotografo de Bodas, Santiago

October 16, 2009

I’m still not sure how much of the trip that hasn’t been shown on here already, I’m going to go back through and post, but I know I definitely wanted to talk about Brussels since we absolutely loved this city.

A long time ago, back when this blog was still JMCS pre-facelift, I wrote a post that had been inspired by an expat living in Brussels talking about how much she loved it and how the city was the perfect fit for her. I talked about how I think cities are like soulmates, we just have to find the one that’s right for us — and that somedya I hoped to find my own Brussels. Someone, unsurprisingly, left a nasty comment responding something along the lines of, “A spoiled little American like you could never handle Brussels.”

At the time I though, “Ok fair enough. She doesn’t know me at all and has no idea that no, I’m really not spoiled, but then again, I’ve never been to Brussels so ‘I have no clue as to whether or not I could handle it. No sense in arguing.”

But after visiting Brussels, I’ll just say this — it’s umm…not at all hardcore. Sure, they’ve had their political issues. Though, according to Cloe, the hot Belgian bridesmaid from Heather and NIck’s wedding who we’re staying with, while they were without a government last year, the average citizen’s day to day life wasn’t affected too much. Sure, there’s the ocassional “gangsta,” walking around with his pants down to his knees, rapping in French, hanging out at the skate park. Super hardcore.

And like everywhere in Europe there were signs all over the place warning tourists to watch out for the pickpockets. Totally understandable because I’ve seen tons of gringos wandering around with their purses half open or their cameras hanging out of their bags, completely oblivious to the world — much like a certain American girl I know when she first arrived in Chile. But, if you have ever lived in a big city, Brussels really didn’t feel the least bit dangerous. Of course, we only spent three days there total but Cloe tells us that while there are dangerous neighborhoods, the city in general is quite safe. It really makes me wonder what kind of experiences the person who left that comment must have had — if by some small chance you’re still reading, I hope you’ll speak up!

Anyway, Seba and I absolutely loved the city. Again, we could totally live there if it weren’t for the cold.

A lot of our first impressions might have just come from good luck and timing though.

We arrived on a Saturday night and immediately headed out to meet with Fned and hubby. It just so happened that a celebration called “White Night,” was going on (an idea copied from Paris). This meant that all the museums and public buildings stayed open to the public until super late and then there were also other “cultural events,” happening — like a fog machine in the street accompanied by techno music, or a display of old casette tapes with their insides ripped out.

The next morning was the marathon of Brussels (which was the original reason we had booked a flight but I didn’t end up running because my knees are still a little wonky and I hadn’t trained at all). I was so inspired seeing people coming over the finish line — they ended up in one of the most beautiful plazas we’ve seen in Europe so far, and there were tons of people cheering them on. Witnessing a few people finish who looked SO happy and proud of themselves — rightly so — made me more certain than ever that I have to run a marathon at some point!

We thought it was because of the White Night and the marathon that there were so many people out and about but again, according to Cloe, the city is always a pretty happening place. Truth. The next day, a dreary rainy Monday, the streets in the center of town were just as full.

5 Comments

Facebook comments:

5 Comments »

I'm glad you guys visited some places you liked, and sounds like you may have found candidates for a more permanent life in one of these places. But it also sounds like you are still looking…

The other place I loved in Europe -granted we were there for a 4 day lightning trip- was Portugal!!! I don't know what kind of jobs you could find there though and don't know much about their economy, but it was gorgeous and the weather was pretty nice and we were there in winter. It was cool but sunny.

Comment by maeskizzle — October 16, 2009 @ 9:17 am
That's funny someone suggested Brussels was a tough city! Maybe they meant you couldn't handle the waffles and moules-frites? That stuff is pretty filling.

Comment by jonnifer — October 16, 2009 @ 1:13 pm
Have you thought about somewhere in Australia? I may be biased but I think you'd love it here! Brisbane would be perfect since you don't like the cold. I lived there for 18mths and it's great. Where I live now is great too (Newcastle) but smaller than Brisbane (but only a couple of hrs drive from Sydney.) I've also been briefly to Brussels and enjoyed it.

Comment by Madeline — October 17, 2009 @ 1:30 am
I've never had much desire to go to Belgium until recently when I made a friend from about an hour and a half our of Brussels. Now, I'm considering it definitely as a place I would want to visit, and possibly a place I might want to live in.

What's up with the blog haters lately? I had some dude leave me some weird comments too.

Comment by Sara — October 18, 2009 @ 3:25 pm
I've never had much desire to go to Belgium until recently when I made a friend from about an hour and a half our of Brussels. Now, I'm considering it definitely as a place I would want to visit, and possibly a place I might want to live in.

What's up with the blog haters lately? I had some dude leave me some weird comments too.

Comment by Sara — October 18, 2009 @ 10:25 pm