Bruxelles: A lot of fun on a small budget.

Brussels: A spontaneous weekend away. This year abroad keeps getting better and better.

Soooooo, the previous Wednesday a few of us were talking about going to Brussels for a weekend, although all the trains we looked at seemed really expensive. HOWEVER, our friend Norah had heard about a cheap return ticket to Brussels from Luxembourg- a 'passe-partout' for those who have youth on their side (i.e. for those under the age of 26). After leaving chez nous at 6h50, we finally arrived in Brussels around midday (got a group ticket to Luxembourg, then took a 3 hour train to Brussels). We'd also managed to find a hotel suite for the five of us on booking.com for a mere 2o euros each!

Hilarity ensued when we turned onto the street where our hotel was. Our street was full of soliciting prostitutes, even at 12h30 in the afternoon. Incroyable. This was made worse by the fact that the hotel opposite ours was clearly a 'shag-pad' for a lot of the prostitutes and their clients. Seedy.

Anyway, I'm not going to bore you with an endless 'And then we ate this....and then we did this' account of our fabulous weekend in Brussels, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Highlights included

• Food. Chips, a boudin chaud (sausage) and amazing waffles with chocolate sauce.
• Beer- 9.5% beer in Delirium, quite possibly the coolest bar I have ever set foot in, full of travellers and studenty types. Kriek beer (tasted like cherryade) and others of which I can't remember the name.
• Walking round the beautiful main square and seeing the most famous attraction- the Manneken Pis, a statue of a chubby boy weeing. I hated it- apparently it's because I'm 'soo British'.
• Seeing TinTin graffiti everywhere. Just graffiti everywhere in general. Beautiful buildings right next to piles of rubbish (quite literally). Brussels is Paris' edgy, less pretentious sibling.
• Walking round the European buildings- the Parliament and the Commission. Comedy pictures next to Union Jack flags and the like.
• Going to a flea market in one of the 'working class areas'. Walking back into the centre finding cool vintage shops along the way.

Hope I'm selling it to you. Just seeing the red light area (i.e. our street) was an experience in itself...

Nancy- Je t'aime.

Well what a week it's been. Time flies, etc, etc. A week from now, I will be packing my suitcase ready for England. Although I absolutely love it in France, I can't imagine being anywhere other than home for Christmas (American flatmate Jackie in tow this year- I just can't seem to get rid of her....).

Last Thursday I went to Germany for two nights to see my friend Fiona who is currently working as an assistant in Saarbrücken, Germany. Although a short distance from Nancy, the trip toSaarbrücken involves catching 3 trains- taking over three hours. Bof! After having one minute to (successfully) change trains in Forbach, I arrived safetly in Saarbrücken ready for some festive FUN! Walked round the Christmas market, drinking glühwein from mugs as we went along. Saw Father Christmas 'fly' across the sky in his sleigh at 7pm prompt (basically a sleigh with a man inside travelled along a wire from one council building to another. Made for hilarious viewing, particularly the song that went with it). Went for a lovely Italian- pizza and tirimisu washed down with a Cosmopolitan, what else? Was both shocked and dismayed at Fiona's pizza-eating capabilities- she wasn't on top food eating form that night, ha ha.

Santa Claus, 'flying' across the sky at Saarbrücken's Christmas market.

The following day (after a mandatory trip to H+M of course) we headed to Namborn- a village in the back of beyond of Saarland! Getting there proved to be a little tricky due to the snow but after both a train and taxi ride, we arrived at our destination. Amazing! We were in Namborn for a Christmas meal with the other English assistants in Fiona’s department and the house we went to was amaaaazing! I think the snow helped a lot- the street looked like a ski village- chalet type houses and everything. Picture postcard material, fo’ shizzle. After a great deal of cheesy crisps and wine, we sat down for our Christmas Meal. V. nice, apart from the mashed potatoes that one of the assistants had ‘flavoured’ with a whole head of garlic. Je sais pas pourquoi mais c’était pas bon. After a cosy afternoon/ evening of eating, quizzing and chatting, we headed back through the snow to catch the train back to Saarbrücken. Job done.

I returned on Saturday to Nancy ready for the fête de Saint Nicolas, the biggest event of the year in this neck of the woods. And it was definitely worth coming back for.

In this part of France (and Europe), Saint Nicolas is celebrated on the 6^th December. Children receive presents and good food is everywah (think biscuits, spiced bread and vin chaud- mulled wine). Always something to celebrate, I feel. Saint Nicolas is the patron saint of Lorraine (this region of France), so this was a very BIG deal.

The festivities began on Saturday evening in Place Stanislas, dubbed la plus belle place du monde- the most beautiful square in the world (Je suis d’accord). After ‘double-socking’ it up, we headed to Place Stan for the fireworks. We had been told to arrive early, as it gets mental, crowds-wise so we arrived at 6pm, 90 minutes before the fireworks were to commence. Bof! Cold as. After shivering in the freezing cold for a ridiculous amount of time, the fireworks began!

I have never seen anything like it before. I was quite frankly blown away by the half hour display, which did not only feature amazing fireworks but also the story of Saint Nicolas, which was projected onto the buildings in the square.

In case you were wondering/ vaguely interested, here is a synopsis of the story;

· Three children get lost in the woods (never walk alone in the woods being the moral of the story here).

· Cold and hungry, an evil butcher lures them into his shop before killing them all and chopping them into tiny pieces. (There were some kids crying by this point in Place Stan- I don’t blame them).

· When Saint Nicolas hears of the news, he travels to the butcher’s house and somehow manages to bring all three children back to life (a little imagination is necessary).

· Nowadays, if children have been good, Saint Nicolas delivers presents to them on the 6^th December. However if they have been bad, children are told that Père Fouettard will come and whip them all back into order. Ouch!

Quelle histoire! The following day, we waited around in the cold and rain to see the Saint Nicolas parade. Each area of Nancy made a festive float (which was pulled by a tractor, how agrarian) and paraded round the city. Saint Nicolas and the evil butcher appeared at the end of the parade too, which was a nice touch. Really don’t understand why the French don’t show their appreciation for parades, shows, etc. No one applauded or cheered at the end of the parade, nor after the fireworks the previous evening. How bizarre, how bizarre. Seems a bit rude if you ask me.

Et voilà! Can honestly say the light/sound/ video projections of the story and the fireworks were one of the best things I have ever seen. Amazing night- definitely worth braving the cold. I think the 25000 other people in Place Stanislas will agree with me too...

Words really don't do the fireworks justice. See them for yourself here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_pE1ETSjWo