Brussels Sprouts

"Brussels sprouts are misunderstood - probably because most people don't know how to cook them properly."

-Todd English

This weekend, Stern took us on a much-needed trip to Brussels.  It was my first time traveling outside the UK since I've been in London, and I was thrilled.  The trip was perfectly timed after midterms, so we all got to relax and truly enjoy Brussels without worrying about work we needed to do or tests we needed to study for.

St. Pancras International is probably one of the most beautiful train stations I've ever seen.  One of the NYU London residence halls is near it, so I pass it a lot.  Since we were taking a late night train, we arrived to the station while the sun was setting, which just made it look like a castle.  There's a one hour time difference from London to Brussels, so we arrived at around 10:30PM.  It had been a pretty exhausting week due to midterms, so after I exchanged money, I just went back to the hotel and went to bed.

Real money or Monopoly money?

The hotel had a sauna, which was divine, so Sidney, Alison, and I made an effort to wake up early and relax.  Let me tell you, saunas and free breakfast are a great way to start the day.

View from our 20th floor room

We started our day with a lecture at the European Commission, which made us all feel really fancy because we had to dress up.  If there's anything to be said about us BPEers, it's that we like to dress up.  Business casual is our jam.  Anyway, my new obsession (other than #oldmeetsnew) is taking pictures of people taking pictures (inspired by Jack Johnson).

Andrew taking a picture of the EC building

Glass on glass on glass

We had a three hour break before a lecture at the European Union Parliament, so we decided to explore the center of Brussels.  Luckily the sun was shining and the temperature was perfect for a good walk.

Not quite sure where this was...

The outside of the Museum of Natural Sciences

We sat in Parc Léopold for a while since it was right near the European Parliament building.  After the lecture, we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.  By "getting ready for dinner," I mean napping.  We had a little bit of culture shock in Brussels since places there are open past midnight (unlike London), so people were staying out later.  Staying out later and having to wake up early for 9AM lectures about the EU, not really a great combination.  Any free time we had, we used for naps.

YUM

We had the best dinner (provided by Stern of course) at Belga Queen.  I can't even begin to describe how delicious everything was, especially the dessert.  It had berries in Belgian cream, topped with meringue, in a soft cookie.  I may or may not have had two...

Rachel