Psychedelic Adventures: City of Lights, Paris

Oh the things I had to do to get to Paris.

I missed my train from Brussels, because I didn't have the mind to check the weekend bus schedules in Mechelen. The DeLijn bus stops at IJzerenleen Street every 30 minutes instead of every 15 like it does on weekdays, so I missed it by a couple of minutes. There I was at the bus stop, with a handful of geriatrics and patiently waited.

I was pretty comfortable with hopping on the train from Mechelen to Brussels because of my trip to Antwerp and Rotterdam the week before, but I was going to Brussels Zuid station for the first time and I had no idea how big the place was or how overwhelming it's all going to be when I arrived there. Then there was the mixup between  Bruxelles Midi and Brussels Zuid train stations. The names are different--one for French and one for Dutch, but it is one and the same so I was fumbling back and forth from one station to the next, without my glasses on, confused and squinting at every screen in the Station to check the schedules while contemplating on my next move. My train for Paris leaves at 9:17 from Brussels Zuid, and I arrived at the station by 9:23. Of course, I decided to buy another ticket, a flexible one this time and shrugged off my day's worth of per diem. That's 57 Euros down the drain for a Thalys one way ticket.

This was typical of Paris, I imagined. She was elusive, but I still couldn't resist her allure. Despite the setbacks, I was determined to arrive at Gare du Nord station. It felt like I was being rejected by Paris even before she got to know me. She was channeling her preemptive supalpal moves on me, I thought, but that came to pass later on.

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Psychedelic Adventures: The One About Antwerp

July 27, 2013, Antwerp Belgium

So, Antwerp. I've been reading the guide and figuring out the maps, but in the end they didn't matter because I just walked aimlessly in this city. I didn't have a plan. What I will see, I will see. I consider myself bad at directions, but whenever I get lost, I always find my way. Perhaps the universe is really guiding me, and what I discovered while traveling in Europe is that people almost always smile back when you smile at them. Contrary to what I originally thought about Europeans, people don't shut you out. A smile goes a long way in a foreign place, I suppose. 

I took a train going to Antwerp from Mechelen. From the Veermarkt bus station, Bus 1 stops every 15 minutes and goes to the Station Mechelen where 2 or 3 trains leave every 20-30 minutes to Antwerpen. A De Lijn bus ride goes for 2 EUR from the bus stop to the station and a two way train ride goes for about 4.80 EUR. It was the first time I ever took public transportation in Belgium, and I was terrified the same way I was scared of riding the subway in New York. After my first adventure, I felt like a rockstar with my newly discovered freedom. 

Arriving at noon in Antwerp didn't exactly give me many options for lunch because the restaurants are full and I found them intimidating. I opted for the next best thing--a belgian waffle with cream and cherries on top. It was legit and felt like a warm hug on a chilly day. The fella who sold the waffles was an old Flemish man. He spoke crooked English but he really tried hard to talk to me. He put extra whipped cream on my waffle.

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