Diamonds, animals, and oriental pizza
This weekend, I took a train to Brussels early Friday morning. I didn't want to spend all my time there, though, so without even leaving the train station, I bought a round-trip ticket to Antwerp. Antwerp is another Belgian city, on the way up to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It's known for being Belgium's fashion capital and for its diamond-cutting industry. I'd also heard there was a zoo there. I was looking forward to exploring the city.
When I first arrived, I wandered around for a while and really didn't see much. It was just one street with some shops and restaurants. Where were the diamonds? Where was the fashion? I was kinda hungry so I looked for somewhere to eat, but everywhere was still closed. It was only about 11:00, so many places hadn't opened yet. I saw a place called Pizza Oriental. I didn't know what oriental pizza tasted like, but I was curious, and I didn't have much option. The two main languages in Belgium are Dutch and French. Since they already have to write everything twice, it's unlikely that you'll see anything translated into English. The menu at Pizza Oriental was no exception. I pointed to a picture of pizza with mushrooms.
When the waiter brought it, I saw it wasn't in the typical round shape, but rather shaped like a boat, you know? Then I took a few bites and discovered it didn't have any sauce. It was missing that tomato flavor. I'd eaten a good third of the pizza before I realized something else--that wasn't cheese on top. It was eggs! No wonder I thought I'd smelled eggs while I was eating it. You probably think I'm an idiot for not noticing sooner, but really, it's understandable. I expected it to be cheese; why wouldn't it be? It tasted a little different, but that's because there was no sauce, right?
Oriental pizza tasted all right, but I prefer normal pizza, American pizza. Boy, I could go for a deep dish Pizza Hut pepperoni pan pizza right now.
After walking some more, I found the busier part of the city. I walked by some beautiful parks on my way to the zoo. It was an expensive zoo; but it was good. They had a lot of animals. It was hard to tell how much ground I'd covered and how much I'd missed; there were so many paths, so many ways to turn.
Right next to the zoo was the diamond museum. I didn't really feel like walking around there, so I just took a brochure and read it. Then I looked in some of the jewelry stores. There were so many, one right after another.
I don't know if Antwerp deserves to be called the fashion capital of Belgium. I really didn't see much. But what do I know?
I took the train back to Brussels early in the evening. It took me a little while to find my hostel, walking from the train station. Then, when I got there, the receptionist told me to go to a different hotel a few blocks down. "Tell them you're from Hotel Sabina." OK...So I went there; they gave me my own room, with a private bathroom. Continental breakfast was included in the price. My room had a TV with basic cable also. Most of the channels were in French, but I found one showing American TV with French captions on the bottom. I watched 'The Simpsons', then 'According to Jim', then 'Friends.' That's the first time I've watched American TV in a while, probably since I left home. The door of my room said the room price was 200 euros. I only had to pay the price I would have paid in Hotel Sabina. I'd say it was a pretty nice deal.
When I first arrived, I wandered around for a while and really didn't see much. It was just one street with some shops and restaurants. Where were the diamonds? Where was the fashion? I was kinda hungry so I looked for somewhere to eat, but everywhere was still closed. It was only about 11:00, so many places hadn't opened yet. I saw a place called Pizza Oriental. I didn't know what oriental pizza tasted like, but I was curious, and I didn't have much option. The two main languages in Belgium are Dutch and French. Since they already have to write everything twice, it's unlikely that you'll see anything translated into English. The menu at Pizza Oriental was no exception. I pointed to a picture of pizza with mushrooms.
When the waiter brought it, I saw it wasn't in the typical round shape, but rather shaped like a boat, you know? Then I took a few bites and discovered it didn't have any sauce. It was missing that tomato flavor. I'd eaten a good third of the pizza before I realized something else--that wasn't cheese on top. It was eggs! No wonder I thought I'd smelled eggs while I was eating it. You probably think I'm an idiot for not noticing sooner, but really, it's understandable. I expected it to be cheese; why wouldn't it be? It tasted a little different, but that's because there was no sauce, right?
Oriental pizza tasted all right, but I prefer normal pizza, American pizza. Boy, I could go for a deep dish Pizza Hut pepperoni pan pizza right now.
After walking some more, I found the busier part of the city. I walked by some beautiful parks on my way to the zoo. It was an expensive zoo; but it was good. They had a lot of animals. It was hard to tell how much ground I'd covered and how much I'd missed; there were so many paths, so many ways to turn.
Right next to the zoo was the diamond museum. I didn't really feel like walking around there, so I just took a brochure and read it. Then I looked in some of the jewelry stores. There were so many, one right after another.
I don't know if Antwerp deserves to be called the fashion capital of Belgium. I really didn't see much. But what do I know?
I took the train back to Brussels early in the evening. It took me a little while to find my hostel, walking from the train station. Then, when I got there, the receptionist told me to go to a different hotel a few blocks down. "Tell them you're from Hotel Sabina." OK...So I went there; they gave me my own room, with a private bathroom. Continental breakfast was included in the price. My room had a TV with basic cable also. Most of the channels were in French, but I found one showing American TV with French captions on the bottom. I watched 'The Simpsons', then 'According to Jim', then 'Friends.' That's the first time I've watched American TV in a while, probably since I left home. The door of my room said the room price was 200 euros. I only had to pay the price I would have paid in Hotel Sabina. I'd say it was a pretty nice deal.
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