Bruxelles
I've always wanted to go to Bruxelles (Brussels) since i was a kid. Back then, i used to play a computer game 'Railroad Tycoon'. And Lille and Brussels was among the 2 nearest city that is easy to start off a railroad company apart from Amsterdam-Utrecht or Paris-Reims. (Computer games do have big impacts in life)
Our TGV departed at 7.20 and we arrived at around 8+. When we arrived, we were quite lost and knowing where to go. We got a map from the info tourisme counter, the we took a metro to the city center, had our breakfast at the station, and ventured of like 2 blindmen, not knowing where to go nor what to do. We walked and walked and not realising we passed the Palais de Justice. It was nice, and resembles much like St Bastia in Vatican. It's situated beside a cliff. If you can imagine a cake of 4 inches thickness, sitting next to a cake of 2 inches of thickness, then you can imagine how brussels looks like in term of topograhy. And the funny thing is, they have a lift to connect the two different levels.
Then we walked and walked, and we passed the office of BeNeLux (Like EU but only for Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg), we passed the Royal Palace and also a frozen pond. Then we walked down hill, to the senate, and it was slippery enough to make you fall. I had to hold to the railings to help me walk properly. It must've been minus 5 then. Then we walked to the Grande Place, where they used to have a huge carpet in the middle of the square, but it was replaced by some artistice work for christmas. While we were taking pictures, i saw a sign that i've been looking for ever since we arrived. Godiva. One of the finest Belgian chocolatier. Inside the shop, or shall i say, gallery, it looks like a jewellery shop, everything was under a glass display. It was quite surprising to see the prices weren't that expensive. I mean, i imagined the number would be at the least 2 digits for a pack. But you can easily get a nice pack for less then 5 euros. Of course, compared to ordinary chocolates, they're expensive, but by how many percent? 30? I bought SOME but syazwan only bought ONE, and the one he bought was the least nicest chocolate i've ever tasted.
We went to the i and found out where the heck is the Mankenpiss. We've been learning about it in class, and i imagined it was at least as tall as my brother. But i was wrong. It was only the height of my knee. It's a statue of a boy who piss. That explains the name. Man can Piss. I think. And then there's a female version. But this one is situated in a back alley. I'm so confused with Brussels. You have a street of fine restaurants and turn left, you have a suspicious looking alley. Anyway this statue, Jeankenpiss or whatever, looks like it's forgotten. And if Mankenpiss is standing, Jeankenpiss is squatting.
Syazwan bought some postcards, and i took one, and we wrote to our family while we had lunch. And guess what, after all the things that we've done, it was only 1130. Time doesn't seem to fly in Bruxelles. Maybe that's why the EU parliament is seated here. Syazwan even said that we might get back to Lille and 3 days have already passed. What? He believes in Gullivan's travel? We went to a post office, to find a horrible looking man behind a counter. If that is how a plump man looks like when he becomes thin, then i don't want to become thin. Ewww...... And syazwan bought a bag of stamps. I wonder why did he buy it. He doesn't collect stamps.
Then we went to Atomium and Mini Europe. It's at the other end of the Metro. I wanted to visit the Tintin museum but it was closed. Because it's Monday. Atomium was closed too, but not only today, but until 2006, for renovation works. So we took some pictures from far, and went to the Mini Europe. It was superb, except for the fact the the lakes were frozen, the roads and rails were covered with frost, so the small things that's uppose to move like ships, trains, and airplanes, didn't work. We took picture of everything from Eiffel, to Big Ben (who needs London huh?), to Pisa, to Parthenon and to Vesuvius. This is where we stayed the longest. why? because when you push the button, the mountain will errupt and the floor beneath you will vibrate. We pushed almost 20 times. We played some games at the Euro Centre and i found out that i've lost 13 kilos since i came here.
Bruxelles or perhaps Belgium is aweird place. Everything is bilingual. Everything. From signboards, to names of places, cities or stations, to even your first name. A guy might call you Charles, and another calls you Karel. It's bilingual between french and either flemish or dutch. Hey, i can undertand an advertisement. Niu in de bioscope (new in the cinema). It must've been a 'pening kepala' thing to have this bilingual thingy.
When we finished Mini Europe, it was only 2, so we rested for a milkshake in Quick, and walked again at 2.30. We had nowhere else to go, so we went to the EU's parliament. There was nothing. Then we looked at the map again and saw a 'Natural Museum' with a picture of a kangaroo at the side. I was tired but syazwan insisted that we visit it since he had never seen a kangaroo before. When we got there (it was on top of a hill), we realized that it was not a picture of a kangaroo but of a T-Rex, and the museum was closed. My watched showed 3.45, and we couldn't spend another minute in Bruxelles, we decided to change our tickets and took the soonest train possible. We begged the guy behind the counter 'S'il vous plait monsieur, on ne peut plus passer une autre seconde ici'. Ok we didn't say that. Luckily the next train was 30 minutes away. It was a Eurostar. Who needs London huh? There wasa passport check. Luckily they didn't see my visa has expired. Anyway EU is a borderless block, only UK and Ireland are still 'mengada-ngada' asking for passports.
On the train, we met a group of malaysians. They were the noisiest group of people ever. And there's this one pakcik ' Ni kawan pakcik yang ajak ni. Bayar 5000 sorang. Mahal ni'. I almost wanted to say' 5000 pakcik? saya tiap-tiap bulan dapat 3500 (700 euros) tak bising pun'. But i didn't. Got off quickly from the train in Lille and had dinner altogether at KFC Roubaix again. Went back and watch a hindustan movie and dozed off.
Our TGV departed at 7.20 and we arrived at around 8+. When we arrived, we were quite lost and knowing where to go. We got a map from the info tourisme counter, the we took a metro to the city center, had our breakfast at the station, and ventured of like 2 blindmen, not knowing where to go nor what to do. We walked and walked and not realising we passed the Palais de Justice. It was nice, and resembles much like St Bastia in Vatican. It's situated beside a cliff. If you can imagine a cake of 4 inches thickness, sitting next to a cake of 2 inches of thickness, then you can imagine how brussels looks like in term of topograhy. And the funny thing is, they have a lift to connect the two different levels.
Then we walked and walked, and we passed the office of BeNeLux (Like EU but only for Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg), we passed the Royal Palace and also a frozen pond. Then we walked down hill, to the senate, and it was slippery enough to make you fall. I had to hold to the railings to help me walk properly. It must've been minus 5 then. Then we walked to the Grande Place, where they used to have a huge carpet in the middle of the square, but it was replaced by some artistice work for christmas. While we were taking pictures, i saw a sign that i've been looking for ever since we arrived. Godiva. One of the finest Belgian chocolatier. Inside the shop, or shall i say, gallery, it looks like a jewellery shop, everything was under a glass display. It was quite surprising to see the prices weren't that expensive. I mean, i imagined the number would be at the least 2 digits for a pack. But you can easily get a nice pack for less then 5 euros. Of course, compared to ordinary chocolates, they're expensive, but by how many percent? 30? I bought SOME but syazwan only bought ONE, and the one he bought was the least nicest chocolate i've ever tasted.
We went to the i and found out where the heck is the Mankenpiss. We've been learning about it in class, and i imagined it was at least as tall as my brother. But i was wrong. It was only the height of my knee. It's a statue of a boy who piss. That explains the name. Man can Piss. I think. And then there's a female version. But this one is situated in a back alley. I'm so confused with Brussels. You have a street of fine restaurants and turn left, you have a suspicious looking alley. Anyway this statue, Jeankenpiss or whatever, looks like it's forgotten. And if Mankenpiss is standing, Jeankenpiss is squatting.
Syazwan bought some postcards, and i took one, and we wrote to our family while we had lunch. And guess what, after all the things that we've done, it was only 1130. Time doesn't seem to fly in Bruxelles. Maybe that's why the EU parliament is seated here. Syazwan even said that we might get back to Lille and 3 days have already passed. What? He believes in Gullivan's travel? We went to a post office, to find a horrible looking man behind a counter. If that is how a plump man looks like when he becomes thin, then i don't want to become thin. Ewww...... And syazwan bought a bag of stamps. I wonder why did he buy it. He doesn't collect stamps.
Then we went to Atomium and Mini Europe. It's at the other end of the Metro. I wanted to visit the Tintin museum but it was closed. Because it's Monday. Atomium was closed too, but not only today, but until 2006, for renovation works. So we took some pictures from far, and went to the Mini Europe. It was superb, except for the fact the the lakes were frozen, the roads and rails were covered with frost, so the small things that's uppose to move like ships, trains, and airplanes, didn't work. We took picture of everything from Eiffel, to Big Ben (who needs London huh?), to Pisa, to Parthenon and to Vesuvius. This is where we stayed the longest. why? because when you push the button, the mountain will errupt and the floor beneath you will vibrate. We pushed almost 20 times. We played some games at the Euro Centre and i found out that i've lost 13 kilos since i came here.
Bruxelles or perhaps Belgium is aweird place. Everything is bilingual. Everything. From signboards, to names of places, cities or stations, to even your first name. A guy might call you Charles, and another calls you Karel. It's bilingual between french and either flemish or dutch. Hey, i can undertand an advertisement. Niu in de bioscope (new in the cinema). It must've been a 'pening kepala' thing to have this bilingual thingy.
When we finished Mini Europe, it was only 2, so we rested for a milkshake in Quick, and walked again at 2.30. We had nowhere else to go, so we went to the EU's parliament. There was nothing. Then we looked at the map again and saw a 'Natural Museum' with a picture of a kangaroo at the side. I was tired but syazwan insisted that we visit it since he had never seen a kangaroo before. When we got there (it was on top of a hill), we realized that it was not a picture of a kangaroo but of a T-Rex, and the museum was closed. My watched showed 3.45, and we couldn't spend another minute in Bruxelles, we decided to change our tickets and took the soonest train possible. We begged the guy behind the counter 'S'il vous plait monsieur, on ne peut plus passer une autre seconde ici'. Ok we didn't say that. Luckily the next train was 30 minutes away. It was a Eurostar. Who needs London huh? There wasa passport check. Luckily they didn't see my visa has expired. Anyway EU is a borderless block, only UK and Ireland are still 'mengada-ngada' asking for passports.
On the train, we met a group of malaysians. They were the noisiest group of people ever. And there's this one pakcik ' Ni kawan pakcik yang ajak ni. Bayar 5000 sorang. Mahal ni'. I almost wanted to say' 5000 pakcik? saya tiap-tiap bulan dapat 3500 (700 euros) tak bising pun'. But i didn't. Got off quickly from the train in Lille and had dinner altogether at KFC Roubaix again. Went back and watch a hindustan movie and dozed off.
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