Beer, fries, waffles, and small weeing boys

After we arrived in Brussels we miraculously found our hostel after having to stop and ask for further directions about 5 times, given that the ones we got from the hostel were nothing but useless. Dreams of Belgian fries, waffles, and beer danced through our heads, and we set off in search of them with our new friend and roommate, Mary (from LA). She was great as was all of the food and beer :) With the exception of the drunk asshole in the city square (where we sat drinking our beer), we had a fabulous night out in Brussels!

The next day we set out to find a small, weeing boy known as Mannequin Pis. Mikayla was surely more excited than the plethora of surrounding Asian tourists to see this national mascot. What could be more exciting? We ate mandatory Belgian waffles (another one checked off the list), froze in the chilly weather as we milled about the city's streets a while longer, and then headed back to the hostel to retrieve our packs.
We boarded the train to Bruges and helped a couple of Italians get on the right train. Look who the expert travelers are now! :) Upon arrival in the quaint medieval town, we resorted to maps once again as our directions from the internet never seem to be trustworthy. The hostel turned out to be a cute little Mom-and-Pop bed and breakfast joint with a restaurant/bar on the ground level. The lady who checked us in was cute as a button and gave us the warmest welcome. We left our things in our room and walked along the main street, trying to ignore our growling stomachs. Along the way we saw Michelangelo's sculpture, The Madonna with Child, before we gave in to our hunger. We settled for the most over-priced and untasty burger and fries at Quick, the French version of McDonald's. Bad decision. A stop at an internet cafe was the next thing on the agenda, and we got to hear our families' voices for the first time since we left Milan three weeks ago... we couldn't have been happier :)

We returned to the hostel early in the evening on account of having to wake up early to catch a train to Paris by way of Brussels in the morning. Before we went to bed and after we journaled for nearly three hours, the ignorant boys in the next room over blew the fuse not once, not twice, but thrice. Who knows how they managed to do this, but the fact is that we lost power three different times. Thanks to the handy little flashlight provided for Mikayla by Grandma and Grandpa Wesche, we were not left completely in the dark. Yey!

Waking up in the morning and catching both of our trains was fairly easy by our standards. We picked up some coffee and croissants before boarding the pricey (unexpected 26€ reservation fee) train to Paris. We got to the City of Lights in hella good time, as we should have for the price we paid. Regular tickets for the short, 1 1/2 hour journey run at 96€ a pop... hot damn!

We got checked in to the magnificent HOTEL(not hostel), a gift to us from Grandpa Ken and Grandma Ruth(!!) early and the awesome lady at the front desk let us check in early, too. We are having a great time in Paris but due to the lack of time and internet accessibility we wont blog about our stay here until the 9th when we return to Milan. We are sorry but we really want to do it justice and we just don't have time here.

We love you all- thanks for your thoughts and prayers. See you soon... four days!!

<3, KJ and MK