The Belgian Experience

Waffles, Beer, and Chocolate.

The weekend of October 27, I went on the Anderson Tours weekend trip to Belgium with my friends Kate, Nate, and Wes. We took a bus from London and rode to Dover, so I got to see the white cliffs of Dover.

From there, the bus drove onto a Seafrance ferry, which was really more like a cruise ship, we got off of the bus and moved up to the cabin where we ate breakfast and relaxed a bit. The ferry took us across the English Channel to Calais, France where we boarded the bus again and then drove through part of France to Belgium. We arrived in Ostend (pronounced Oostend), where our hotel was located. When we got there, we explored the city a bit,



had lunch at a small restaurant where we all ate bolognese spaghetti (it was one of those experiences where you walk into the one-room restaurant, and everyone all locals, look up at you, stare for a moment knowing that you're from out of town, and then go about their business...somewhat uncomfortable, but more humorous than anything... either way, the food was good). We also checked out the Cathedral...



and got some waffles (so good!). We went for a walk along the beach overlooking the North Sea. This was one of my most favorite parts of the trip, as it was so peaceful and quiet on the beach. There were people walking along the shoreline, seagulls flying about, and a man playing a music box with a stuffed monkey sitting on top. It was such a pleasant change from the hectic city buzz of London.



That evening, we went to a smaller town called Diksmuide where we went to the "Diksmuide Beer Festival," which was really a big room with a polka band, all men wearing Lederhosen, where they served about ten different kinds of Belgian beer. It reminded me a lot of one of the neighboring towns to Winsted (my hometown in Minnesota). They have about 500 types of beer in Belgium, including flavored, such as cherry.



There were people all dressed up, dancing, and drinking beer. It was a fun night.



The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, checked out, and then jumped back on the coach to head to Brugge. This was a truly beautiful city. Brugge felt like walking back through time, a bit, with the old architecture, horse drawn carriages, and the quiet of the city.







It was lovely floating along the canals on the river tour through the center of the city. The guide gave the tour in French, Spanish, and English.



The entire city is surrounded by canals and tree-lined paths that follow along the water. One side of the city also had windmills along the river.



Brugge was also a great place to buy chocolates, as there were all kinds of small shops and things. We finished up the trip by buying a few souvenirs and a stroll along the canals. We boarded the bus one last time and headed back towards London. The ferry ride from Calais back to Dover was pretty rough. It was raining and violently windy, causing the entire ship to sway back and forth--it was actually difficult to walk in a straight line. Bravely, we went out to the deck for a short bit, which didn't last long, as it was scary and dark with the rain and wind.

Eventually, we made it back to London, safe and sound. It was a lovely weekend spent in good company and seeing interesting places.

Premier

Last week I called the GSCC. There is a letter on its way via mail post to my US postal address. I am anxious to find out what it has to say about my qualification. Work has been going pretty well for me. Unfortunately, many people have been out sick, which is pretty hard on the rest of the team. It is certainly a stressful job in itself, but the budget, or lack thereof, means that the caseload per individual is greater because the Borough can't afford to hire more social workers. Typical, I guess.

This weekend I stayed in London. Friday night I stayed after work and had dinner with Kate and our co-worker Ben. Saturday afternoon I went to the National Gallery where I saw all kinds of beautiful paintings and then wandered a bit around Trafalgar Square. That night I went with a bunch of friends from the hostel to see a band at a club in Leicester Square, which was a lot of fun. Sunday I relaxed and spent time hanging out with friends at the hostel and watching movies.

Tonight I went to Leicester Square for the Lions for Lambs movie premier with Tom Cruise. I didn't get the greatest view of the red carpet, so didn't really get a good look at Mr Cruise. I did get to see a glimpse of Robert Redford and the writer, Matthew Carnahan. Even though I didn't see a ton, it was a fun atmosphere to be around. Lots of people and energy. Afterward, Nate and I had dinner at a Chinese restaurant in China Town--a really neat area. It was a very pleasant evening and I'm really enjoying being in London.

Stonehenge and Bath

Saturday, I went with Kate, Wes, and Nate on a day trip organized by BUNAC to Stonehenge and Bath. It was neat to go to Stonehenge for the experience.

Stonehenge

I really liked Bath. It was a beautiful city with a lot of Roman architecture and was a little touristy, but not too bad. I think I may try and make it back there again for a longer trip sometime. While there, we saw The Roman Baths, Bath Abbey, The Circus, The Royal Crescent, and some of Royal Victoria Park.

Street performer in Bath.

Roman Baths

Sunday, I went to breakfast with some friends, cleaned my room, and went to a nearby park to read for a bit. It was nice and relaxing after a long week.

Today I had work, as usual, which went pretty well. I also finally(!!!) received my PIN to access my UK bank account and then went to the Acton Library to get a library card. These were certainly highlights, as I have been attempting to do both of these things for the past few weeks.

This evening, I looked for some places online tonight to move out of the hostel. There is some problem here with the plumbing that started this evening. Maybe a sign that I should start looking harder for new housing...Anyway, things are going pretty well for me. I miss everyone from home and think of you often.

Another week

has passed. I've been here in London for over three weeks now. I am still living in the BUNAC Hostel, which I am okay with. I like living in Central London, the people here, and having everything I need (laundry, full kitchen, comfy bed, close to the public transportation, etc.). The biggest thing is that it is far from work and the space I have is limited. However, for now, it's okay. I did look at another place one evening last week and liked it, but it didn't work out. So, I'm going to keep my eyes open for new opportunities and casually look for new housing until I get
really sick of it here at the hostel enough to motivate me to move.

This week at work went pretty well. I have my cases now and have scheduled home visits with clients. I will be learning the 'art' of managing a case load over the next couple of weeks. I still have not heard from the GSCC, besides that they emailed me asking for my updated contact and employment information. I hope to hear good news...soon.

This weekend went by fast, as usual, but was fun. Saturday I went with my friend Nate on a day trip to Canterbury (this is the same Canterbury from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales). It was a pretty neat little city. We saw the Canterbury Cathedral, which was beautiful.







We also stopped by the Eastbridge Hospital, which has never actually been a hospital, but was a place of 'hospitality' for poor pilgrims visiting the tomb of St. Thomas Becket at the Cathedral. After that, we went on one of the Canterbury Historic River Tours--a 35 minute row down the river with a tour guide who provided little bits and pieces of history about the area. It was short, but peaceful and the guide was pretty entertaining. We walked around a little bit more seeing the different shops and things and then had dinner at a neat little place called The Weaver's Restaurant. The food there was really good. I had salmon served on chopped cherry tomatoes, onions, herbs and spices, along with mashed potatoes and fresh steamed broccoli, pea pods, and carrots. It was delicious and a nice way to end the day. When we finished dinner, we made our way back to the bus stop. The bus ride was a little less than two hours long, so not too bad.

Today I went to breakfast with some friends at a fun little place called Giraffe nearby the hostel. I had English breakfast tea and a waffle with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and yogurt on top. It was the sweetest and most crunchy waffle I have ever had, in a good way. Yum! After breakfast, I did some grocery shopping, and then Julie and I went to Covent Garden. I was mistaken to think that it was a garden. It was a shopping area with an open air market and other shops. There were entertainers, as well. One of them, my favorite, was a woman dressed as an angel who moved like a robot and would make kiss noises when people gave her money. It was really neat. We were only in that area for a short while before we went to find the movie theater. But it would be fun to go back again sometime soon.

After wandering a bit, Julie and I met up with my friend and co-worker Amber to see the movie "Control." I really liked the movie. It was in black and white and had really great camera shots all throughout. It is about Ian Curtis, the lead singer of the band Joy Division (I hadn't actually heard of this band until learning of this movie, but will be sure to explore their music a bit after hearing the soundtrack). He suffered from Epilepsy, struggled with love and was overwhelmed by the demands of stardom, eventually leading to his suicide at the age of 23. Even more interesting is that the movie is based on the true story "Touching From a Distance" written by Curtis's widow Deborah. It was a sad story, but the movie was very well done and all three of us enjoyed it.

This evening I went to Russell Park near the hostel and kicked the soccer ball around a little bit. The city is busy all of the time, so the being in the parks are a nice way to escape it a little bit. It was a good weekend.