I didn't really think I'd have another chance to be back in Europe again so quickly, but here we are! So, I have to say how lucky I feel that Ryan likes to travel as much as I do now, AND that he has a good job that lets him travel for the time being. I've been joining him quite a bit, since I think there's only been one week out of the last two months that Ryan hasn't had to take a deposition. I've traveled with him to St. Louis, New York, Purdue in Indiana (it was his birthday week, but honestly that was the most underwhelming "trip" I've tagged along on) and now we are in Belgium for the week-just the perfect amount of whelm here!
We started playing with the idea of me coming along with Ryan to Belgium a month or so ago. I kind of knew it was a long shot, but originally he was supposed to be here for about a week and a half, and I wasn't quite keen to stay home alone that long, especially because it's only about a week now before my surgery, and since it's a source of anxiety, what better way to curb it than distracting myself with beer, frites, waffels, chocolate, humungous churches, cobbled streets...you know, the uge. :)
Does it surprise anyone that I LOVE it here? No, it doesn't really surprise me. We got in very, very early on Monday morning. Ryan's first dep wasn't until Tuesday, so the plan was to check in to this really adorable botique hotel down the winding streets from the Hilton in the town square (we were supposed to be booked there all week, but the secretary didn't get on the ball, and Justin Bieber and his enterage (you read that correctly) snatched up all the rooms at the Hilton for the first half of the week...damn you Beebs!) Anyway, turns out the De Witte Lelie was the perfect little place to set up shop for a few days. We were taken up the back staircase to a room at the top of the back of an old house, an attic room with slanted ceilings and a beautiful bathroom and giant bed that we feel into immediately following the long flight. It was divine!
I woke up feeling better around 1 pm, Ryan got to work prepping for his dep in our room and I went out to check out Antwerp. First up- frites. I wandered around the Old Town Square area, lined with reastraunts and people dining outside on the sidewalk (even though, I can't say it's quite WARM out yet!). The Church of Our Lady takes up almost the entire backdrop view from this square, which is beautiful and chimes out songs hourly. I sort of just started walking wherever my heart desired, which seems to be the best way ever to see Antwerp! I spent the day snapping photos, finding a frites (french fries, but they were actually invented here, so Belgium fries) in a paper cone, enjoying the views of the river, my mouth watering in chocolate shop windows. I was still tired, so it was sort of all a bewitching kind of haze or delicious smells, tastes and views all around. I walked for about 3-4 hours, returning to Ryan to see how things were going and get ready for dinner. The mission for dinner that night was mussles, another Belgian treat. Nailed it! Found a great restaurant that served many different flavored sauces with tons of mussels and the best tasting beer I've had in a LONG time.
