Excursion to Belgium
We just got back from Brussels, Belgium last weekend! It was great, we loved it there! I would have to say that Brussels is definitely up there with London now in my eyes at least, not Brandon's, but I think it's because of all the amazing chocolate and waffles! Anyway, we got into Brussels late Thursday night and just went to bed. We got up early on Friday morning and ate an all you can eat breakfast which was very good. We then headed off to our first destination with the school (other Link Campus students) to the European Parliament which was really neat to see the room that they made all their important decisions in. After that we headed to the European Economic counsel, then to the European Commission were we learned a lot about the European Union which was all new to me. Then it was lunch time and I got a falafel and Brandon got some French fries (which Brussels is famous for I guess) which we shared, a kebab, and this sausage meat ball that they fried and it was actually really good and so different. Our last stop of the day with our school was to NATO. We had to go through a lot of security to enter.
After NATO we headed back to our hotel and took naps because we were so tired. Later that evening we went out to Grand Place wh
ich is the main part of town and WOW was it beautiful at night (it was beautiful in the day too)! All the buildings were so medieval/baroque looking. We went to see “The Famous Manneken Pis” which was a lot smaller than I thought it would be (it's this statue of a little boy peeing). We then went to this little waffle stand right next to Manneken Pis which is famous for its waffles and each got a waffle with all the works (strawberries, chocolate sauce, and whip cream ~ YUM!). It was amazing! I don't even know how to explain them except ~ heaven! We then walked around a little and checked out some of the shops and all the chocolate. After we called it a night and went back to our hotel.
The next day we got up and headed out to the town. We went to the Palace, the park next to the Palace and the Parliament. Then we did a little shopping (mainly at all chocolate shops) trying to figure out which ones had the best deals on chocolate. We then went to get lunch. Brandon wanted to try the fast food place there called "Quick" where he got a hamburger and fries. Me, on the other hand wanted more Greek food! Let me just say that I have really been getting into Greek food! I wish they had it more in the U.S. I got another falafel which was amazing! After lunch I decided to go back to the hotel and take and break for 45 min. while Brandon went to see the entrance way into Brussels. I then met up with him later and we got another waffle. This time I just got one with chocolate sauce on it and it was really good. After we tried to 
find these antique stores but they had already closed by the time we got there so we just headed back to Grand Place and did some more shopping.
On Sunday we got up really early and went to this little town outside of Brussels called Brugge. This was the cutest little town I have ever seen! It was like being in a fairytale! All the buildings were very medieval looking and it was almost unreal. I wish that all of you could have seen it because I don’t think our pictures will do it justice. We just spent a couple hours in Brugge and then we had to head back to catch the bus that took us to the airport. We got more Greek food before we left Brussels that day. I loved Brussels. The town was so cute along with Brugge of course and the people were nice and friendly which surprised me because they mostly spoke French. - Cortny
So I won't make you listen to all the intricacies of our trip to Belgium, because there wasn't really too much that went on. Brussels was a nice place to relax, and eat! Two things Cortny forgot about was one, the beer in Belgium! There are over 400 different types! I sadly only tried 4 or 5. And two, when we were in Brugge, we went on a very lovely boat ride along the canal that dissects the town in two, it was really cheap and really cool to see the town form the water. It was well worth it! -Brandon