Beth and Barb’s First Trip to Europe

Hey, so remember that one time that Mom and Aunt Barb came to Europe! Yeah, let’s talk about that!

The morning of Thursday March 10^th, 2010 Beth and Barb found themselves in the most unusual of places: the Brussels International Airport! After having spent about an entire day in travel the two had finally arrived. I waited at the gate with a sign saying “BETH AND BARB WELCOME TO EUROPE” and a bag full of waffles. So far, this was going to be a lovely trip. From the airport, we took a bus to the metro and from the metro, we took the tram to their hotel, aka they got a first-hand look at how Belgium does public transportation. At their hotel, they were both ready for naps, but I knew if I let them nap then (it was around 3pm), they would never be able to conquer jet leg, so we continued on.

First thing we did was Grand Place. Obvious for many reasons: it is beautiful, it is one of the first things people think of when they think Brussels, and a lot of touristy things are a block away from it. In Grand Place, they admired the rich history of the buildings and we went to the statue of the girl that everyone rubs for good luck. From there, we saw the main attraction, Manneken Pis. Today this I do not understand why its Belgian’s signature monument, but a little boy urinating has caused quite the curiosity of the world, so we went. We stuck our heads into the St. Hubert’s galleria, and like all good tourists sampled some of Belgian fries.

By now, the two were quite tired, so we went back toward my family stay. My host mother and I had gone to a Flemish Ash Wednesday service the day before and she’d asked me what I was doing with my mom and aunt, and was at a loss as to what they should do, so she invited them over to dinner that first night. So, we went to the Piette’s and poor Mom and Aunt Barb were so tired, but the Piette’s were ready for guests. We were invited in to a room that frankly I didn’t even know existed! There we had drinks and appetizers and just chatted about the flight, America, traveling, what they were going to do, all the niceties.

Now, if there’s one thing that you need to know about Madame Piette it is that she loves to cook. And if you don’t eat all on your plate and go back for seconds or thirds, even if you’re sick, she will feel offended. Hence, why I have gained some weight overseas! But Mom and Aunt Barb were simply not quite ready for the feast that they were served. Madame Piette went above and beyond! Besides for the aforementioned pre-dinner, dinner consisted of salad, coquettes, chicken, vegetables, potatoes, God only knows what else. It was awesome! Just when you think you have a minute of downtime to digest, Monsier Piette turns off the lights and everyone sings me “Happy Birthday!” It was a really great night. Since Madame knew I wasn’t going to be dining with the family on my Birthday and since Mom and Aunt Barb were there, we had a special Belgian pie. NOM NOM NOM.

After dinner, I showed the two my room, aka I made them walk up 4 flights of stairs to see my room, which honestly doesn’t have much in it compared to previous rooms of mine that they’ve witnessed.

Just when they thought they were off the hook and done for the night, the Piette’s are out with tea and coffee. After about another rolls by and the dinner that I had promised wouldn’t last more than an hour was now rolling onto hour four, I told the Piette’s that in order for me to get them back to their hotel safely and for me to get back before the metro closes at midnight (all valid reasons) we left.

We made it safely back to their hotel, where Mom the instant she got into the room went straight to the bed and went to sleep!