Back in Brussels

So as of Dec. 30, Miguel and I re-entered freezing mainland Europe, and made our way back to Brussels. We came home to a freezing, messy apartment with a few cat messes and no food, we do live a glamorous life. There was not much to be done that night, or really, in the next few days because of New Years, so we settled in.

The 31st I woke up with a chest cough, which made unpacking nearly impossible, so that was put off yet again. We did manage to have a great New Years night though. Our friend Fionnuala had us over to her apartment, which was great, because I finally got to meet her boyfriend, Matt, from Paris. He and I had quite a few things in common, including being constantly approached by strangers no matter what city or country he or I was in. (For me, whether it's a raving lunatic, a drunk dude on a bus, someone asking for directions in a place I don't know, or even just a tourist, they always approach me, and feel like they can talk. I rarely meet other people with a similar, um, disposition?) Anyway, the evening was grand, we had lots of wine and chili for dinner. We only stayed until about 1am, and then we decided to be civilized and leave.

After that night, we had a few days when Miguel didn't have to go back to work, so we had some time to clean up, stock the kitchen, get the cats readjusted and get ready for our house guests... And so begins a brief (yeah right) account of our visit with Christy, Alex and Niall (aka. Golly).
This is the best picture we could get of all of us. The visit was great despite the crowded apartment. For those of you thinking to come and visit us, be forewarned, we have a futon that 2 sleeping people can fit on, if you have a 3rd person in your party, bring a sleeping bag or something! Golly, the one lying across, had no such thing, but he managed to sleep ok with the help of wine.

Because Miguel had work, I took to showing them around. As many of you know, my sense of direction is, well, special, but I managed not to get lost, even without a map! We wandered around the Grand Place, saw the Parliament, the Manekin Pis (who was wearing an Elvis suit, for some reason), the palace (where Christy and Golly rang the doorbell where there was a sign in both French and Dutch that said NOT to do that), and the bodies exhibit. The exhibit was amazing, totally worth the 16 euros. The boys impressed every person they passed with their pure class. Their version of "merci beaucoup" (which they said wherever they went) was "merry buckets." They took pictures of the "Kunst-Wet" metro station (in french it's called Arts-Loi meaning art and writing). They took pictures in front of the gay bar, Homo Erectus, and just generally terrorized the town. It was hysterical, and really fun, not only did I get to play tour guide (which I love, even if I don't know where I'm going) but I got to cut loose a little bit.


We had a big party (well, big by our standards) that Thursday, for which I made Nana's chocolate cake! It was a lot harder than I anticipated, seeing as I didn't have a mixer, I ended up borrowing one from a neighbor for the frosting, otherwise it would have been near impossible. I also made some sugar cookies. We had 15 people over, the most we've ever had, and had a fantastic time! The cake was for the birthdays of several people, including myself. The cats wanted a piece too... Too bad chocolate is bad for cats. The evening was a great success, and I met some cool new people and expanded my social circle a tiny bit more.


Soon after that our guests left and things almost went back to normal. Another of Miguel's friends was visiting from Barcelona, Iverna. She wasn't staying with us, but we hung out with her a few times, which was great, she was really cool. And we now have an open invitation to Barcelona!

So I'm sure there is more to tell, but this is long enough. I'll be writing again soon!