Our great Belgian odyssey has officially begun! Our itinerary for the coming days is vast -- visiting influential political leaders, exploring the headquarters of the European Union, touring museums and art exhibits -- that it seems imperative to write about it, not just to reflect, but to cast a light on some of the incredible opportunities we’ll be engaged in. We’ve all been doing our research on two of the most pressing issues currently facing the EU, migration and the EuroZone crisis, and I am so excited to meet with professionals that can finally answer our many questions. I can’t begin to imagine the things we will learn, and the discoveries we’ll make.

I write this as our very first day in Brussels comes to a close, and boy, has it been quite a day. It honestly feels like weeks have passed since I awoke to my blaring 7:30 alarm in Florence this morning -- time has already moved by so fast. It has been a jam-packed, remarkable day, and one I couldn’t possibly capture properly in a simple post. But nonetheless, here is my best attempt at a full, no holds-barred unpacking of all of today’s many eventful globetrotting activities. Let’s jump right in!

It began at 9am this morning, as we rendezvoused in the ground floor of Villa Natalia. I had made the unfortunate decision of trekking to campus on foot, unafraid of hauling my luggage with me up the much-dreaded Via Bolognese hill. Already a sweaty wet rag by the time I arrived, I was more than ready to be cooled down by the expectedly chilly Brussels weather.

As we all finally coraled in Villa Natalia, we set off to grab the bus. Within minutes, we were stepping off at the entry of the airport and making our way through the sluggish airport security regiment. Once through security, I hopped over to the airport cafe with some of my fellow travelers, insistent on doing some carbo-loading prior to our airplane’s departure. I devoured a delectable, sugary muffin, infused with a thick and creamy vanilla custard. Not going to lie, I was quite content.

By 11:45 we had boarded the plane and were on our way out of Italy. I sat between fellow student Seeta and the always-jolly Julian, the trip’s coordinator from the OSL. We had a fruitful, wide reaching conversation throughout the duration of the flight, ranging from our movie preferences, the story of our middle names, to even making wagers about certain European geography (none of us, sadly, had any clue what body of water Belgium was bordering -- the North Sea).

By 13:20ish, the plane was landed. We are officially on Belgian soil! We quickly snaked our way through the terminals, shopping centers, and food courts of the what-seemed-to-be unending Brussels airport. I was honestly astonished by just how big it was. We met up with our bus driver, and were soon off to our hotel. It was at this time we all began to feel the deep gurgles and grunts erupting from our stomachs -- we were ready for some Belgian food!

Just before 15:00, we arrived at the Renaissance hotel. Though I won’t go into detail about just how nice this hotel is, I will say this: NYU never really fails to go all out. My fellow peers and I sprinted to our rooms to lay down our luggage, and soon met back up in the floor lobby. With Lizzy manning the GPS, we set off to see the city.  

 

For a short three hour period to go around town, we covered a ton. Our destination in mind was the park of Cinquantenaire, which is famous for its great monumental arches built in the late 1800s as a celebration of Belgium independence. But there was also another motive we couldn’t ignore: Food!

Prior to going out, our crew had made a short list of all the Belgian gastronomic specialties we needed to indulge in:

• Frites (or Fries)

• Chocolate

• Beer

• Waffles

And I’m proud to say that in those three hours, we had no issue checking off all of these (and more so). We began with frites, at a hustling and bustling outside vendor called Maison Antoine, we each ordered a gargantuan cone of fries, and had the pleasure of choosing a unique dipping sauce to go with it. With the exception of one of us, we all chose to try the house-favorite, sauce andalouse, which was a zesty, creamy aioli comprised of mayo, tomato paste, and roasted peppers -- goodness, was it delicious. We ate these fries in the outside seating area of a pub named Primus Haacht, which was located right across from Maison Antoine. I thought it was hilarious to see that each pub  located by the frites vendor would have a sign saying “Fries Accepted,” meaning that you were welcome to eat your fries in leisure whilst sitting in their pub. The salty, crunchy, slightly greasy frites coupled perfectly with the pub’s dark, creamy, frothing house beer. It may not qualify as fine dining, but we most certainly felt like royalty.

From the pub, we sauntered our way over to Neuhaus, one of Belgium’s very oldest chocolatiers, and the inventor of the praline. I quickly scarfed down three unique praline truffles, one being hazelnut, one dark chocolate, and one salted caramel. The fluffy chocolate filling was stuffed inside the crunchy, toffee-like praline, which was enfolded in another layer of velvety homemade chocolate. My sweet teeth was in heaven.

We then set off to complete our journey to the Cinquantenaire Park. We had been fortunate the entire afternoon to have had relatively moderate weather, only a slight briskness really. The park was sprawling, surrounded by looming trees and nice walking paths. We stumbled upon a 19th century tower known as “The Tournai Tower,” which had been built as a way to flaunt the technical innovations promised by the newly found stone, Tournai. It was so funny to see such an old, ominous tower placed so casually in the middle of the park.

Within minutes from the tower, we arrived upon the park’s pièce de résistance, the Arc du Cinquantenaire. It was an enormous, imposing stone archway, with stunning copper warriors and horses perched upon the top, and colorful war illustrations along the side walls. It was something to behold. By the arches, they were setting up for the annual Brussels marathon, which starts and finishes at the arches. Because of this, we were fortunate to stumble upon a waffle food truck, and quickly took advantage of its offerings. I went for a simple waffle with chocolate, while others went with plain, and some went all out with strawberries and cream. It was buttery, rich, and oh so satisfying.

Upon completing our waffles, we ran on back to the hotel to make it to our 6 o’clock dinner -- Yes, there was still more food to be consumed! The hotel had a smorgasbord of food available, ranging from raw meats and artisanal cheeses to boiled beef and stir-fried noodles. By the end of dinner we had all hit the food wall, cupping our stomachs after hours of gluttony. During the dinner, we had the pleasure of meeting three incredible students from NYU in Washington, D.C.: Ali, a freshman, was from Morocco; Nia, a sophomore, was from Chicago, and Valia, a senior, was from Athens, Greece. Each of them were kind, witty, and had many stories to tell about their time in the U.S. capitol. We all immediately felt like one big family.

But the event I was most grateful for this evening was at the end of our dinner, when we had the pleasure of being visited by Cecile Kyenge, an ex Italian minister of Integration and a current member of the European Parliament. She is the first black member of the European Parliament, and gave us a great speech about the importance of fighting racism and prejudice, and how she continues to confront and fight hatred on an international stage. She was clearly a busy person, and only had so much time to spend with us, but still gave an impassioned plea to us to get involved in our communities as agents of change and social justice. She talked about how she was currently in the process of taking legal action against those who had attacked her with verbal and physical violence, and how she was not backing down in her fight. She spoke with an incredible coolness and directness that made her both intense and charming. It was inspiring to listen to such a prominent, influential figure, and I felt honored to be able to ask her questions about Italy’s future in the EU with the tide of nationalism sweeping over the country. She answered all of our questions with care and consideration, and I am just so grateful to have had that chance to have met her.

After dinner, all of us kids went back on the town. Under the nighttime lights, we walked past the palace of the Belgian Royal Family, and got a remarkable hilltop view of the center of Brussels. We made our way down into the narrow, cobblestone streets of the city, browsing numerous chocolate stores along the way. We spent a good bit of time in the Delirium Cafe, a labyrinthian bar that holds the world record for most beers offered in a single establishment (over 2000!!). It was a monstrous, three-floor cornucopia of beer, each room with a different eclectic design and an atmosphere all its own. Music blared, people were loud and uproarious, and beer-related memorabilia covered nearly every inch of the building. I was overwhelmed, but completely entranced by its charming chaos. We closed off the night there, sitting together, drinking quality Belgian beer, and playing “Head’s Up” on Nia’s phone. It was a great way to wrap off day 1.

Boy, that was a lot. Thanks for staying with me. I should probably get some rest, as it’s getting late, and we have much more on our plate tomorrow as we begin our exploration the EU and its institutions. I can’t wait to see all that awaits! Good night!

 

Until Then,

Ryan