i've been MIA for the last few weeks because adam hahn came to visit!!! he flew over on july 4th and we met up in brussels for the weekend. his flight happened to get in 30 minutes before i arrived so after i got through passport control, i looked up and he was rushing towards me with his bags :)
we took the train into the city center and dropped off our stuff at the airbnb that we rented before heading out to explore. we walked through the main square and along the typical shopping streets you find in every european city, i swear, then found some lunch to eat (mussels and fries!!) before making it to the magritte museum. he's the surrealist artist who did the painting of the man with the apple in front of his face, and the painting of a cigar that says this isn't a cigar. i'm not huge into art museums, but this one was really interesting. i suppose that is surreal art to begin with since it's out of the ordinary! we also found the mannekin pis, an icon that is often synonymous with brussels. expectations should be set that it is extremely underwhelming, but i still had to get a picture of it :)
main square in brussels
they had some event the night before so these trucks were taking everything down still. how impressive is this though!?
lunch!
moules frites!
the mannekin pis!
by the afternoon, adam was full on jet lagged, but managed to make it through dinner which was an excellent restaurant recommended by our airbnb's host's cousin! he described it as a good homemade meal his grandma would cook at a reasonable price. works for us! there was a slight wait but it was worth it! adam ordered the most delicious veal meatballs in sauce while i got the fish with shrimp sauce which was also fantastic. we paired the meal with belgian beer, naturally.
brussels was not the most charming city and we felt like we'd done most of everything we wanted to see that day, so the next morning we set off for bruges! belgium is such a small country that it only took an hour to get there by train!
we were off the next morning, along with all the tourists, to bruges which was a world of difference from brussels. i don't think the town became popular until the movie 'in bruges' came out. i loved bruges. i loved the buildings and the flemish architecture that decorated them. every street was so quaint it was easy to spend the entire afternoon exploring. their main square might be one of my favorites with a huge belfry in it surrounded by colored flemish buildings.
smedenpoort gate - dates back to 1200's!
they love their dragons
see?
tiny drawbridge!
the belfry in the main square
we took a lot of selfies.
belgian waffle!! sooo good.
later that evening, belgium was set to play against argentina in the world cup quarter finals, so adam and i packed into one of the main squares with probably most of the population of bruges to watch the game that was broadcast on a large projection screen. sadly, the belgians lost but it was still cool to be in that environment! after grabbing a quick bite to eat, we got on a train back to brussels!
on our last day, we trained to ghent which is supposed to be a less touristy version of bruges. it certainly was less touristy that day since it was raining!! we paid for this boat cruise, and ended up being the only people that signed up in that 15 minute span so we essentially got our own tour up and down the canals! after that, we grabbed some lunch before heading to the castle which was ok then it was time to head towards the airport to head to london!
random graffiti corridor in ghent
private tour :)
local brew!
back in london, we still had a lot of fun things planned (read: meals). for my birthday present, adam had made a reservation for restaurant gordon ramsey for when he'd be here in july. it is the first 3 star michelin restaurant that we've eaten at and it was amazing. everything was executed so well and made with such care. every bite resulted in silence and appreciation for how great it all tasted. we made sure to not order the same thing so we could try everything! we left very happy, very full and very poor. with the price tag, i'm not sure that we'll be doing that again anytime soon. adam hahn spoiled me!!
lobster, salmon and langoustine ravioli topped with caviar...
later that week i got my boss to give me the day off last minute, so adam and i trained to windsor & eton for the day. windsor is known for the castle which is still one of the official residences of the monarchy. i genuinely enjoyed touring that castle. i think part of it is because people still stay there today, but there were so many artifacts that they displayed that it was really interesting to see where everything came from. dignitaries worldwide have given the royal family gifts so you could see what year something was given and by who dating back many centuries. sometimes they would admit to straight up taking something from someone as well, which is awesome.
got there in time for the changing of the guard!
love english pubs
found this in eton!
after the castle, we wandered over to the town of eton which is known for eton college which is a highly respected boarding school that prince william and harry both attended. this was my first time outside of london so it was nice to see what a smaller town was like. there's still several that i'd like to check out!
before we knew it, it was time to head over to france! we flew to nice in the south to spend a longer weekend to celebrate adam's 28th birthday! his birthday happens to be on bastille day (french national day) so he thought it would be fun to be in the country to celebrate that!
nice was amazing and just what my body was craving: sun and beach! it honestly felt like we were in italy with all of the italian food and the colors of the buildings, but it's not too surprising since it's quite close to the border. our airbnb this time was by their old port so it was easy to walk around.
nice's old town
the first day there, we trained over to cannes! there weren't any film festivals happening so the town was quiet aside from tourists but it was cool to see where the action takes place! we walked on the red carpet and then gaped at the huge luxury yachts docked all around. adam and i learned that yachts really aren't extremely expensive themselves from looking at listings, but it must be the docking fees and upkeep that add up! after scoping those out, and walking along the high end shopping street, we decided we were over cannes and it was time to head back to nice for the evening.
more italian food...
the next day we headed to st. paul de vence which is one of the oldest medieval towns along the french riviera that's on a hilltop about an hour from nice by bus. this town was a haven for artists and still is. there were galleries everywhere. while the town was quite, it was incredibly touristy and probably something i'd pass on next time around. adam and i only stayed for about 2 hours before heading back to the rocky beaches of nice!
st. paul de vence from afar
view from st. paul de vence
those beaches are no joke. i will say the upside to not having sand is that it doesn't get everywhere! the rocky beach didn't bother me until i wanted to get in and out of the water and that's when i looked extremely special because i was trying not to fall over from how unhappy my feet were with me while the water crashed against the shore. i went home and ordered aqua socks the next day. i don't care how ugly they are, but they will come in handy again someday!!
the next day was adam's birthday and he realllllly wanted to go monaco so the birthday boy got his wish! nice is fantastic because there is so much to see nearby and transportation is easy and cheap! to get from nice to monaco only took 40 minutes by bus and cost €1.50 each way. win! the first thing you notice once you get in is all the nice cars cruising around town! bentleys, aston martins, rolls royces...everywhere. i suppose it is fitting with the monte carlo casino in town adam and i happened to be wearing acceptable clothing (no flip flops and a collared shirt for him) so we were allowed into the lobby to check it out. to go on the actual gambling floor was another €10 and i'm fairly certain $5 blackjack tables don't exist there so adam and i continued about our day.
back of monte carlo casino
i snuck a pic inside
front of the casino!
part of the prince's antique car collection
1986 lambo!
after we'd had our fill, we headed back to nice to get some dinner and then it was off to the beach to watch the fireworks! we didn't get our usual 4th of july ones, so at least we were able to get the 14th of july ones :)
our last day was spent at the beach in the morning before getting one last carb-loaded meal before heading back to london!
the last few days were spent eating some amazing meals, surprising adam with his birthday present and spending as much time with each other as possible before he headed back this morning. yay long distance relationships.
adam's bday gift was book of mormon! could not recommend this enough!
the namesake dish at duck and waffle
gnocchi with spring peas, crispy hen's egg and ricotta. yum!
stunning views from duck and waffle
sherlock lived here!
