MKNonline Blog

After one of the most memorable New Year’s I’ve had, it was time to head off to Brussels.

And another train station, another debacle. You see, it doesn’t matter that we got there a full hour before the train departed at 8AM (quite an accomplishment after last night’s New Year’s). Why? Because I had forgotten to pick up our tickets in France. You know, when we nearly missed the train to Amsterdam.

I pre-ordered our tickets in France, which meant we could only pick it up there. This dawned on me as the ticket machine failed on me once again. The lady manning the ticket counter expressed her sympathies, but I still had to purchase three new tickets at full price. Ouch. She offered to book tickets to the train leaving in two minutes. The thought bubbles rose from my head of the last time we tried to catch a train with only two minutes and I refused. I didn’t tell Alan or Ezeibe of this oversight until a good week after the trip out of shame.

Brussels got off to a bad start, when the three of us spent a good half an hour trying to figure out how to get to the hotel. Alan believed we could walk. I thought a metro would be more fitting. Ezeibe wanted to get a cab. Ezeibe won out, and it was a good decision, as the hotel was miles away from the train station. In the process, Ezeibe accused Alan of being a racist while cab driver and I stared at each other uncomfortably.

We stayed at a Starwood Le Meridien hotel in the heart of the tourist area. Great location, fancy hotel, except I booked the room for two instead of three (I actually had no choice). I was too chicken to ask for an extra cot because of our reservation thinking that I might get charged more. I volunteered to sleep on the floor the remainder of the trip because the other two were too diva about their sleeping arrangements.

Unfortunately, almost everything was closed because it was the day after New Year’s. Hungry from traveling, we basically chose the first restaurant that sold food. It ended being a big but cramped cafe that served delicious Belgian waffles and frites. The Belgians, much like the Dutch, know how to make fries. I can’t stress how much I miss them.

The streets were definitely quieter, and that silence had its own charms. We saw Royal Palais, the big plaza with these insanely ornate facades surrounding it. Behind those facades, nothing really struck our fancy or was closed.

Alan snaps a few picks of Royal-Palais. This square is the definition of ornate.

And therein lies our issue. After seeing two amazing cities with spectacular scenic views and cultural museums, Brussels really couldn’t measure up. I think we would have been more impressed if we started off here, but by Day 15, it was simply charming, not really cathartic.

If you ever go to Brussels, you will inevitably go to the pissing statue, Mannekin-Pis. I can tell you to no end that it is a huge disappointment, but you will still go. It happened to me, it will happen to you. The issue is that Brussels markets Mannekin-Pis to all get out, that you’re brainwashed into believing that this tiny fountain is a must-see. Only in Brussels can a statue smaller than a bedside lamp of a little boy peeing can be a major tourist draw. It’s an interesting case study on how to attract stupid tourists, I’m sure.

Unofficial slogan: No, really, that's it. Now go buy a keychain.

Really, that’s all we saw. We chilled in a cool bookstore/record shop for a bit, thought about going to a beer museum, but otherwise, we were scratching our heads what to do next. Ezeibe’s answer was charging my hotel room with 20€ internet. My and Alan’s answer was to drink at the local Irish pub a few blocks away. That pub was awesome because of their strong Belgian beers, European football matches, and the fact that karaoke happens most evenings. No, we didn’t go to karaoke. Yes, I regret it.

For dinner, we ate at Le Cap, on the recommendation of the concierge. Apparently, it was a pretty trendy restaurant that served local Belgian cuisine at a very reasonable price. We all walked out of dinner fairly pleased with the recommendation. Ezeibe even tried a mojito.

Have you ever done something you thought was so spectacularly indulgent it made you ill and super-excited to be you at the same time? Well, I just did last night when I booked a round trip flight to Sydney.

It’s official. My next big vacation adventure is to Australia. I had talked it up this to the point of either committing or ruining friendships and credibility. And so, I pulled the trigger last night. $922 from NYC to SYD on Qantas. You got to admit, that’s a pretty stellar deal.

I still have a LOT more planning to do, money to spend, and tours/hotels/passes to book before I take off. And I got plenty of time, I’m not leaving until October, but the anticipation of knowing that I’ll be halfway around the world will keep my eyes on the prize for the rest of the year. One week by myself (not really) in the Outback, one week with Adriane in Tasmania. More or less.

Fun fact I learned: Australia is about the same size as the US. You would never think so on a map, but I’m learning that I will be spending a LOT of time on planes this time around.

Not worth saying anymore on this blog until I actually go, but get pumped. If this blog falls off the face of the earth for the next few months, I’ll at least have something come October.

Now if I can only finish documenting this Europe trip before then…

Day 2 in Barcelona, I think we all may have had one of the best sleeps in our lives. I woke up so disoriented but refreshed, I could have sworn I had died. It was that deep of a sleep.

Today can be summed up as “Gaudi Worship Day.” A trip to Barcelona wouldn’t be complete without some Gaudi sites.

I hate being a dumb tourist, so I did some research on the guy before getting here. From what I can gather from Becky’s book, Antoni Gaudi was a brilliant architect who was known for his parabolic curves and inspiration derived from nature.

The Highlights

Palau Guell – We actually saw this one the day before wandering Las Ramblas, but it fit better in this post. It was the only Gaudi house with free admission, as they were renovating 90% of the house. We did see the basement, which was really cool and covered with arches and curved ceilings. A good taste of what was to come.

La Pedreira/Casa Milo – I think Alan and Ezeibe had been kind of apprehensive about Gaudi up until this point. This was the house that sold all of us on the guy. The rooftop of this apartment complex was the best part. There were great views of Barcelona (we would later become obsessive of views of Barcelona from high vantage points) and the warrior/smoke chimneys were so foreboding and a genius architectural and artistic feature. Gaudi really paid attention to the details, even the doorknobs of this place were carefully thought out as a functional and artistic presence.

Some of the chimney sculptures on the rooftop.

La Sagrada Familia – This cathedral is out of control. It’s almost excessive in the amount of sculptures and carvings and belltowers that make up this place. And it’s only halfway done. If this thing finishes before my lifetime, I am definitely going back. Outside admission, in hindsight, was probably good enough, as the inside was totally empty and the good stained glass and front theater area were blocked when we went. However, the museum is worth the admission fee if you do pay to go into the cathedral.

I thought the Big Dig took forever.

Park Guell – We got to the park close to sunset. We were a little overwhelmed with how much ground we had to cover before sunset, as that was when the park closed. We actually got to see most of it. We did miss Gaudi’s house though. We’re not even sure if we were even in Park Guell anymore, but we had wandered up the hill that it sits on through various paths and ended up with this incredible view of Barcelona and the Mediterranean. Barcelona at sunset is breathtaking.

Ezeibe captures a Kodak moment.

Not-So-Cool Stuff

Walking – La Sagrada and Park Guell…just on the border of a reasonable walking distance. It’s an uphill climb. But, we did get to see another Gaudi-esque hospital (not designed by Gaudi though, but in a similar modernisme style)

All this walking makes me want to break a leg and get admitted...

Paella – Ezeibe was on a mission to find the perfect authentic paella. This did not happen on this day. We found a place for lunch a bit up from La Sagrada Familia that seemed local, authentic, and cheap. However, the paella seemed like it came out of the frozen food section.

Casa Batillo – Another one of Gaudi’s houses. Very nice on the outside. The inside seemed amazing. The price of admission: 20 euros. That was a bit much for our wallets. We and Gaudi are not that tight.

At Park Guell –
Me: Hey, isn’t this the place where they had that America’s Next Top Model finale?
Alan: I just heard someone say that it was.
Me: …How should I feel about knowing this?
Alan: Not good.

America's Next Top Model cave...where's Tyra?

Disasters

Arsticket – We decided at La Pedrera to get a museum pass. I’ll talk more about this on the next day in Barcelona, but this was an ill-advised choice as we didn’t really see any other museums.

Dinner – Our hunger and lack of research and ability to agree on one restaurant led us to another overpriced and sub-par-food chain. This one was another Ruby Tuesday’s type of incarnation, just in Barcelona. The menu looked promising, but Ezeibe and Alan realized they had eaten at a restaurant with the same exact menu the night before. And thus the dilemma of picking a dinnertime restaurant with Mike, Ezeibe, and Alan: We can all agree we want something authentic, although none of us really know what authentic would be, and authentic doesn’t sound very appetizing in Catalonia when push comes to shove. Ezeibe is a stickler for quality. He lives for that pricey five-star shit. Alan prefers inexpensive and reasonable prices, but not a chain. And me, I’ve been craving Kentucky Fried Chicken for the past week and a half. And their ads were everywhere in Barcelona. You can see how these opposing viewpoints and our passive-aggressive introverted ways can lead to a lot of awkward silent tension come dinnertime.

Other photos:

I'll always looked unprepared in any of our group shots because I'm too anti-social to ask someone to take our picture. Therefore, I use my mini-tripod to set up the shot, set the 10-second timer, and run into the group shot to varying levels of effectiveness.

So less than 24 hours before I leave for Europe. I’ve been answering a lot of repetitive questions, so thought I’d post them here:

Why Europe? Why now?

Why not?! There’s never a good time to travel, so now is as good of a time as ever. In fact, there are a lot of positives for the timing of this trip. Winter is off-season, so less tourists and wait times. The economy sucks, so strong dollar versus the Euro. And, I’m in between job rotations, so I don’t even have the stress of work lingering over me. As much as I’m against it, I’m still that guy that would be sending out work emails all day. That’s just my hard-working tendencies.

You’re going to blog and stuff while you’re on vacation?

Um…yeah. Got a problem with that? Listen, I don’t intend to be totally lame and spend my entire trip on a laptop screen. My -3 regular visitors sure don’t expect any constant updates or anything anyways. I hope to be as disconnected as possible from my regular world. But writing, photography, video journals, it’s all very therapeutic for me. So let me do my thing and enjoy the rants as they get published…

Aren’t you making this a bigger deal than it is?

Yes, I’m being mad overexcited for a two week holiday in some very ordinary destinations. Forgive me. The reality is I never had that life-changing study abroad. While I consider myself well-traveled, I don’t really venture far and away that much. No money, no time, too much going on, etc. I think all young, new working professionals need to take full advantage of their very limited time off and do something amazing with it. There’s nothing wrong with a little excitement in life.

I try to keep my personal life out of blog posts because it’s generally boring and unexciting. I work…a lot…and then I go home and work some more…while watching television. And I wonder why no one reads my blog…

Months and years of this grind has caused me to yearn to travel more often. Last time I was out of the country (besides Canada, which should never count…) was high school, and that is now 6 years behind me. I’ve barely made it out of the east coast since then.

So this December, one week after my 23rd birthday, I’m taking whatever money I have left in my savings and going on a soul-invigorating trip to western Europe. Not the most original trip for a 20-something out of college, but it will do. Hopefully, this lights the fire to more adventurous and exciting locations in the future. I was supposed to travel alone, but I found two friends to tag along who share my basic tenants of travel: total independence, good food, careful but inevitably naive planning, and museums. Lots of museums.

This trip has invigorated my blogging a bit. Hopefully, you’ll see more posts, pictures, and thoughts on here as I take the travel opportunity for content and inspiration.

So, how stupid is it that I’m traveling in the worst economic crisis of modern times? Contrarian genius (“the euro has never been lower…”) or just impulsive idiot (“i can live off 5 euros a day, right?…”)?