Well, last weeks trip turned out to be quite the experience.
We decided to use a new mode of transportation for last weekend’s trip. Having used planes, taxis, trains, and buses, we thought a boat would be a nice change of pace. This was convenient since Hull is a port city and the ferry would leave 10 minutes from our apartment.
Wednesday evening we gathered our belongings and headed down to the city center to hail a cab to take us to the port. Although I was fairly confident we weren’t going to be boarding a small shrimp boat having to work our way across the English channel, I wasn’t exactly sure of the conditions our ferry would be in. Don’t get me wrong, I did the sufficient amount of research to ensure that it would be safe and we would arrive at our destination in a timely manner, but it did seem oddly cheap compared to our other trip tickets. We arrived at the port and checked in. After showing our passports and boarding passes 4 times, we were finally admitted entry onto the ship. Once I walked thru the doors off the stern deck, my worries instantly vanished. The ship was gorgeous, with simple luxuries that would provide us with a comfortable trip. First of all, the ferry was enormous. Inside, there were numerous sitting areas to relax and watch the waves, a cafe for grabbing a quick tea or sandwhich, a store which sold everything from candy to perfume to designer sunglasses, a liquor store, a movie theater, a casino, and two gormet restaraunts. Not too shabby. However, we had yet to see our room. Yet again, we had nothing to worry about. The room was small, but had 4 surfaces for sleeping and a bathroom. We were pleased.
Before we even left dock, we thought it would be a good idea to go find dinner. Well, we chose the Four Seasons Buffet, which was expensive, but amazing. We sat down and began eating at 5:55 and didn’t stop until 7:05. A solid one hour and ten minutes of eating ensured we got our money’s worth. Here’s a list of what I had: 2 Sausages, mashed potatoes, green beans, yorkshire pudding, gravy, roast beef, chicken, beef and ale pie, fish, fries, baked beans, spaghetti, meatballs, raw salmon, lettuce salad, grapes, crackers, cheese (to be touched on in a bit), three layer chocolate cake, and a fruit tart. Seriously, my stomach would have burst had I been poked in the right spot. Now onto the cheese. On every trip we have been on, I have made it a point to try new foods and have been successful. On the cold foods line at the buffet, there were a few different kinds of cheese. I got one of each to try since I don’t have a very sophisticated cheese pallet. The first three were fine, edible but nothing great. The last, however, has tainted my view of cheese forever. This cheese was white with flecks of green mold dispersed throughout the hard, stale block. I cut the small chunk into four pieces so we each could have a go at it. We made the mistake of smelling it first. It smelled EXACTLY like cow manure. Not exaggerating a bit. So, we all stuck it in our mouths and chewed. Emily was the first to show her discontent, quickly followed by Caitlin, Mouse, and then myself. How can I describe this? The journey of this cheese was kind of like riding a slip and slide on a hot summer day and upon reaching the end, you slam face first into a pile of freshly deposited dog waste. Ya, just like that. At first, the cheese wasn’t bad. Just different. And then it got bad, really bad. Then you swallowed to escape the flavor, but it remained and grew in strength. Water would not soften it, only time. Turns out, cheese tastes exactly as it smells. Note to self: no more experimenting with cheese.
The rest of the evening, we explored the boat and turned in for our first night sleeping on a ferry.
We awoke the next morning at the dock in Zeebrugge, Belgium. Thru a chain of buses, we eventually reached our hostel in Bruges. We grabbed a city map at the front desk and planned our sight seeing schedule for the next few days.
Our first stop for the trip was a the Fry Museum. On the way, we experienced some of the amazing architecture Bruges is home to. I especially enjoyed the views along the canal which ran around the city center. The Fry Museum actually turned out to be a very interesting experience. Turns out, fries actually originated in Belgium, not France. People speculate that the reason we call them frech fries is because American soldiers were offered fries by French speaking Belgians in WWI and the name stuck. This was just one of the facininating fry facts I learned during our visit. The museum was literally a shrine to everything fry related: potatoes, cutters, fryers, kips, forks, the list goes on. At the end of the tour, we obviously had to have some fries so the four of us ordered two kips of fries to share. A kip is a piece of wax paper or carboard rolled to create a cone to put the fries in, then, the eater can dump all the sauces they want on top and carry it along with them while walking. To top it off, we were given tiny forks (they were actually tritons, forks have 4 prongs, tritons have 3 and are used for ruling the seven seas… and apparently eating french fries) to eat our fries with. They were very good. Their unique taste was attributed to the beef tallow they were fried in, rather than the vegetable oil I was accustomed to.
Next stop was the Basilica of Holy Blood. Legend has it that a piece of cloth with Jesus’s blood is kept in the church here and holds significant meaning to those of Catholic faith. The inside was beautiful and as churchs go it was quite a sight.
The remainder of the afternoon was spent stopping in virtually every chocolate store we saw, which had to have numbered into the 20 range. But, when you are in the chocolate capitol of the world, its hard to pass up the opportunity. Emily bought a 2.2 pound box of chocolate and Caitlin bought one which was probably about half that size. That night, we sampled several of the pieces. It was probably the best chocolate I have ever tasted, but for me, a little chocolate goes a long way.
The next morning, we got up and went out to eat and finally fulfilled Caitlin’s only reason for coming to Belgium: we ate Belgian waffles. We got to eat outside in the shadow of an enormous clock tower in the Markt square in the heart of Bruges, which all in all led to a pretty cool experience. As for our waffle choices, Cait went with fruit and whipped cream, Em got ice cream and chocolate sauce, and Mouse and I chose the cheap alternative and had powered sugar and butter. The best waffles I have ever tasted. They were crisp on the outside and moist on the inside, and well worth the euros that went into procuring them.
Next, we were off to the Chocolate Story, a museum devoted to the chocolatey history of Belgium. Much like the Fry Museum, it was choc(olate) full of interesting facts. Perhaps the coolest part was seeing the chocolate statues resident chefs had made to display. You can see pictures on my shutterfly page. The biggest work was a 110 kg chocolate egg. Seems to me like the chef took the easy route and just molded an oval out of chocolate, but who am I to judge.
Just down the road was the next highlight of the day, Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child.We walked to the area where we thought it should be, but it was nowhere to be found. On a whim, we ducked into a Cathedral to see if it was inside, and sure enough, there it was. The statue was quite amazing, but the cathedral itself was even more impressive. Its hard to describe all of the things we saw inside, so just make it easy on me and go to my shutterfly page and look at it for yourself. Overall, this was probably one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever been in.
As if we hadn’t seen enough candy already, we started off towards a candy store called Zucceros, which surprisingly doesn’t sell chocolate. Instead, they specialize in hard candy, made right there in front of you in the store. Unfortunately, we were a little late to see them pull the sugar, but we did get to see them cutting the long strips of hardened candy into smaller bite sized pieces. Upon further inspection, each candy they made had a small design in the center which portrayed the flavor of the piece. Anything from kiwi to peaches to coffee was featured. They even made some with your name in it or for special occasions. We all, of course, bought some to bring home.
To please Emily and Mouse, we went out to eat at Pizza Hut Belgium for dinner. They definitely skimpped on the toppings, but it did the job.
The next day was pretty much ate up with travel and waiting to travel and we boarded the boat later that evening.
We are now back in Hull and preparing to write our papers and study for our tests. We have decided to take a vacation from our vacations for this weekend, but next week we will be travelling to Dublin to see the wonders of Ireland. I’m not sure if I will be blogging next Monday, but just in case, check in to see what exciting developments were stirred up at the University of Hull Brynmor Jones Library!
Cheerio.
