Lost in translation in Brussels

Hello! This is Eli in Europe with my first post from Brussels. Now, you're probably asking yourself, "why hasn't Eli posted in so long?" Well, to answer that question, I have only had three hours of sleep in the last thirty-six hours. A lot of that time was a blur of lines, in-flight movies, and cafés.

As soon as I arrived in Brussels I could see the stark contrast between hectic, aggressive attitude at JFK international airport to the calm attitude at Brussels National Airport. My family and I were greeted with a nice "hallo!" and a friendly customs officer, even if he did mock the American intonations of my name ("How you say? Elie? Or Eeeeee-lie?")

Next we continued on to retrieve our rental car. The lady at the desk informed us that she did not have the car we had reserved. For a moment, I was worried we were going to have a stick-shift, which would've probably led to thousands of dollars in damages. Luckily, we were upgraded to a larger car with a navigation system.

We quickly realized how lucky we were to receive a GPS. Even with the GPS, we made multiple wrong turns due to poor signage and impatient drivers. Eventually we arrived at our apartment and fell asleep.

3 hours later I awoke to an obnoxious alarm. After a few sips of expresso from our nifty Nespresso machine (pick one up at Sears for only $149!) I finally managed to get out of bed.

After everyone was awake, we went out in search of food, however, due to the circumstances (3 PM in the day after Christmas) it took quite an effort to find a café. At the café, we a light meal of soup, cold cuts, and bread.

After this, we went next-door to the café and had out first experience with authentic Belgian chocolate. The language barrier between us and the cashier was pretty large, but we managed to buy some chocolate.

Following this, we headed out in search of "Grand Plaza." Whenever we asked someone for directions, they would give us a confused look. We later learned that this was because "Grand Plaza" did not exist. When we arrived in Grand Place, which is what we thought was Grand Plaza, we were greeted with live music and a light show. The pictures and videos to not do their justice as to the beauty of Grand Place.

After a taxi ride back to our apartment,
we settled in and reflected on our first day in Brussels. It was hectic, but it was rewarding and we are looking forward to the rest of the trip! Tomorrow we will most likely go to Bruges (more info to come!)

This is Eli in Europe, signing off.