A home for my words.

Fries are one of my favorite things to eat EVER. So I was happy to be in Belgium, a land with an abundance of quality frites! Besides stuffing myself with fries, here’s a quick breakdown of a few things I did when I visited Belgium back in the day. 

Bruges Beer Experience

I used to be a huge fan of beer, and I remember the trip to this museum was way more informative and interactive than I’d predicted! Each of these barrel-shaped spaces taught you about a different facet of beer-making and I recall there even being experiences where you could be hands-on.

Waffles!

I’ve always been a huge fan of simple waffles, so I loved how easy it was to order just a freshly made waffle with powdered sugar – – delicious!

The Chocolate Line Factory

Fries, waffles, and chocolate…Belgium knew how to make a girl happy!

I was able to observe staff assembling chocolate creations and even buy chocolate gifts for some friends that I was heading off to meet in Paris.

Fashion Museum

I went to a fashion high school and while my proclivity towards minimalism keeps me from overindulging in purchasing clothing, I love being around it! What you see below was actually a piece in a spinning display. I just broke it down into a few frames since, at the moment, I’m not embedding videos into my blog. That’s part of another plan for yet another day!

One Downside

I stayed near the train station in Brussels because I wanted to make for easier day trips. From what I experienced, it was a bit of a rough area and I also had one of my least pleasant hostel stays. The lobby staff were great, but it was a tall building that lacked a communal feel. I also recall a sketchy man checking into the room after midnight who stunk like the most pungent cigarettes and kept leaving and re-entering the room.

After some hours, I realized I wasn’t going to fall back asleep and decided to just head out for the train station. Unfortunately, there were some men scattered around the area in those early morning hours who were trying to antagonize me, at first because they assumed I must be a s*x worker and then simply because they could. Experiences like that should not exist, ever. I am trying to do a better job of accurately portraying the highs and lows of travel, and this is disappointingly a reality of life itself.

My Favorite?

Out of all of the cities I visited, Bruges was the standout destination. For such a small place, it is bursting with design beauty. I was tempted to purchase various things, but alas, I was traveling a lot and carrying light. I did purchase one small thing for myself: gold nail polish (pictured above with my chocolate gifts). When I returned to Brussels, a local woman complimented my nails and I told her I bought it in Bruges. “Of course it was!” she said, acknowledging how Bruges lives up to its fancy reputation. I actually went on to add gold nail polish as a staple in my wardrobe, and I’ve been wearing the color on my nails routinely ever since!