Bruges

No more election ads! I've been relatively removed from it over here, which has been nice, but the election was still followed closely. And a lot of French people have been interested in talking about politics (and mainly asking if I was going to vote for Obama). 

Anyway, I went to the ambassador's house for a post-election breakfast yesterday morning, and it was pretty fun (despite the fact that I woke up at 5:45am). There were lots of important looking people whom I didn't know, international students, and other Fulbrighters.  And Starbucks, croissants, and mini bagels with tiny American flags sticking out of them. : ) I talked with some friends, ate some food, watched Obama's speech and then came home and took a nap. Not a bad morning.  

And a couple of weeks ago, I went to Bruges!  It’s a very cute medieval town in Belgium that is lots of fun to wander around.  I went with three girls from my program: Jackie, Jacque (pronounced Jackie), and Sara.

I had actually been there before in 2007, and I loved the town.  One of my good friends, Emily, just went there with her fiancé, and she also really enjoyed Bruges. (She writes a great blog if you’re looking for something to follow! www.voyage-on.blogspot.com).  The town is very quaint and friendly, but it’s also full of tourists.  The movie In Bruges is really negative about the town, but there was actually a huge flood of tourists after the movie came out. Strange how that happens...

During this trip, it was very rainy the whole time.  So I actually liked it less than last time, and there weren't any Halloween chocolate sculptures, and I couldn't find the artist’s market, so I was a bit disappointed.  But I still had good meals (lots of chocolate and waffles and French fries), climbed the Bell Tower, and drank a couple of pumpkin beers (I can’t find any in France!).

I also stopped in Lille on my way back from Belgium, but it was on a Sunday, so the town seemed pretty dead (even though it’s the fifth largest city in France).  But I walked around for a few hours, found a small market with old books, ate a croque monsieur and took some pictures! 

On the train

Duck in pursuit

They had beer in the vending machines at the laundromat! I bought one.  

 At the chocolate museum. They used to have hot chocolate cups with mustache protectors!

Demonstration at the museum

View from the top of the Bell Tower

In Lille. I took a few pictures of this door because I thought it looked cool at the time, and many people stopped to look at the door after I was done. I was amused.