{"id":800,"date":"2010-06-02T03:52:38","date_gmt":"2010-06-02T03:52:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=800"},"modified":"2017-10-18T15:54:27","modified_gmt":"2017-10-18T13:54:27","slug":"voyage-a-bruxelles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/voyage-a-bruxelles\/","title":{"rendered":"Voyage \u00e0 Bruxelles!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00c0 Paris, j\u2019avais des vacances scolaires g\u00e9niales <\/em>(In Paris, I had amazing school vacations). We had deux semaines <\/em>(two weeks) au printemps <\/em>(in the spring), and I wanted to vraiment profiter<\/em> (really profit from them).\u00a0 I toyed around with lots of ideas, but more than anything, I wanted to go to la Tunisie<\/em>\u2014Tunisia.<\/p>\n

Mon copain <\/em>(my boyfriend), on the other hand, had a different idea. La Tunisie, c\u2019est bien<\/em> (Tunisia is nice), he said. But let\u2019s go\u2026 to Brussels!!!<\/p>\n

I\u2019m assuming you\u2019re as underwhelmed as I was. \u00a0Brussels? Land of\u2026 mussels? La Tunisie, c\u2019est l\u2019architecture, c\u2019est une nouvelle culture, c\u2019est la mer, c\u2019est fascinant! <\/em>(Tunisia is architecture, a new culture, the sea, it\u2019s fascinating\u00a0!) J\u2019avais trop h\u00e2te d\u2019y aller<\/em>\u2014I really wanted to go\u00a0!\u00a0 What on earth was in Brussels that could compete with Tunisia?<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t know whether to rire <\/em>(laugh) or pleurer <\/em>(cry). He said: \u201cBrussels \u00a0has NATO!\u201d My boyfriend wanted to go see the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (l\u2019OTAN, en fran\u00e7ais)<\/em>. \u00a0This was worth giving up Tunisia. Somehow, ne me demandez pas pourquoi<\/em>*, he convinced me. Off we went \u00e0 Bruxelles<\/em> (to Brussels).<\/p>\n

En fait<\/em> (in fact), les vacances \u00e9taient formidables<\/em> (the vacation was great). It turns out that a city predicated on chocolate, beer, and french fries is a great place to go on vacation. We ate du chocolat<\/em>, drank de la bi\u00e8re<\/em>, and ate des frites <\/em>when we\u2019d had too much beer and chocolate (oui, avec de la mayonnaise<\/em>\u2014yes, with mayonnaise). We had a really good time. We didn\u2019t even see NATO.<\/p>\n

Actually, there\u2019s not much to see in Brussels, in my opinion. \u00a0(Yes, bring it on, Bruxellois<\/em>! I would love to know what there is \u00e0 voir<\/em>\u2014to see\u2014in your city.) Unless you consider la Commission europ\u00e9enne <\/em>(the EU\u2019s European Commission) and l\u2019OTAN <\/em>to be attractions touristiques<\/em>. It\u2019s a marvelous city, but it begins to feel small.<\/p>\n

So we took a day trip (une excursion) \u00e0 Bruges<\/em>, a small city near Brussels. Here\u2019s what I remember from Bruges:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The train ride there was really relaxing after several days of beer and chocolate.<\/li>\n
  2. There was un chocolatier<\/em> (a chocolate-maker). There are des photos <\/em>of me peering anxiously into his vitrines<\/em> (shop windows). Il y avait tellement de chocolat!<\/em> There was so much chocolate!<\/li>\n
  3. We took a boat ride! Un petit bateau <\/em>(a little boat) took us around les canaux <\/em>(the canals) of the city.<\/li>\n
  4. \u00c9glises<\/em> (churches). This is a theme in Europe.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Is this une liste exhaustive<\/em> (an exhaustive list)? Bien s\u00fbr que non<\/em> (of course not). \u00a0Among other attractions, <\/em>there\u2019s la Grand-Place<\/a> and Manneken-Pis, the icons of Brussels. La Grand-Place is actually fascinante<\/em>, an architectural reckoning of centuries of foreign domination, manifest in stone. Go, munch fries and chocolate, maybe drink a beer, and you will have a surprisingly good time. Brussels n\u2019est pas \u00e9vident\u2014<\/em> it\u2019s not an obvious vacation choice\u2014but it\u2019s really fun, whether or not you like NATO.<\/p>\n

    *\u201dDon\u2019t ask me why.\u201d But actually, if you ask, I\u2019ll tell you\u2026 and it\u2019s a really good reason.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

    \u00c0 Paris, j\u2019avais des vacances scolaires g\u00e9niales (In Paris, I had amazing school vacations). We had deux semaines (two weeks) au printemps (in the spring), and I wanted to vraiment profiter (really profit from them).\u00a0 I toyed around with lots of ideas, but more than anything, I wanted to go to la Tunisie\u2014Tunisia. Mon copain…<\/p>\n

    Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,13],"tags":[8580,9220,9223,9215,9216,9222,9221,9219,9217,9218],"class_list":["post-800","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-vocabulary","tag-belgium","tag-biere","tag-bruges","tag-brussels","tag-bruxelles","tag-chocolat","tag-frites","tag-lotan","tag-la-belgique","tag-nato"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t