Normandie & Brussels

Monday morning we jumped in our flashy super speedy VW Jetta and headed to Etretat to see the cliffs. It really is a beautiful spot. We walked along the boardwalk before climbing the one side. The view of the North Sea was incredible and with a pasture field right there with some beef cattle, it only got better.

Tuesday we left Honfleur and drove down to Hermanville sur mer, which is near Juno Beach. We went through the museum, went for baguette sandwiches and were back for the 3pm english tour. It was a good day : I learned a lot, felt intense Canadian pride and could picture myself working there next summer.

Wednesday we took the scenic route back to Paris stopping in Evreux for lunch. We made it into the city at 18:00, so right at rush hour. We found the hoitel for M Verhey and Roland, checked them in, brought the car back, said goodbye and caught our train further into the city to find our hostel. We arrived at 23:15, did some laundry ( by hand in the sink) and were sleeping by midnight. It was a long day.

Our train left Gare de Nord at 11:58 to Bruxelles. we got there, printed out our tickets, mailed some postcards and collapsed on the train. Once we arrived in Brussels, it was a 25min hike from the station to the tourist info center and then 10min further to find our hostel. IT was a super nice place and because they were full, we got a triple room to ourselves (or so we thought, we woke up with another girl there) for the cheapest price - go us! We wandered the town. I couldn't get over how it was the best of both our worlds coming together - French pastries and baguette, Dutch koffee, and gouda and haggelslaag.

Saturday, we woke up to rain. blah.... but whatever, we ate a good breakfast of sliced bread - super rare in France - and then headed out. We had three goals for the day : find internet so we could book the next hostel, find an english novel for me (i realized just how much I love reading non-french non-required books) and see the sights. We went to the European Parliament buildings, but they were closed up tight. We saw the Royal Palace, the Manneken Pis ( Brussels' Tour Eiffel) and found a book for me. There is a tourist info center in European countries - just for YOUNG people. They had sweet maps of the local cities and free internet. They helped us find a hostel, recommended things to do and gave us some tips. Mathilde told us of a local meeting that was happening at 19:00. It was a group going out to do a flashmob. We learned a dance routine and then headed to the main square in town. we loitered around like tourists at the concert and then at the signal, we all broke out in dance. we did the routine three times - the second two getting other people involved. it worked out pretty well, we went for drinks afterwards before heading out to catch our train to Brugge. IT was alot of fun. We met a whole bunch of people. Good times. Here is a youtube link to a flashmob dance in Antwerp station : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k

Yesterday, we slept in, went to a church did our own little Bible study for over an hour and then wandered the town. We had a picnic lunch and just relaxed. We are now ready for the week!