Bike Lessons

Tuesday we started out the day with nutrition class. Our teacher is so hilarious, we've really been enjoying laughing about the situations she gets us in. We had a lunch break and then she led us to the African museum. The museum was in the middle of some woods. It was a miracle that she knew how to get there on the tram and how to find the museum. The museum had gardens all around it. They were in need of a little maintenance but were still pretty. We walked through the museum. It reminded me of the natural history museum. The Congo was at one time a Belgium colony. The museum was mainly focused on the Congo. It was interesting to see the artifacts and stuffed animals.
Anna and I left the museum and made our way to the Midi train station. We had to find out about chunnel tickets to London. Apparently we hit the train station at rush hour. We found the Eurostar center and waited to talk to the ticket office. Finally we were able to book our chunnel ticket for one way and then booked the ride back online. We both needed some groceries so we stopped at the store before coming home. I made myself a great little meal out of cherries, blueberries, some cheese made with beer, multigrain bread, and a lemon tart. It was great! The whole group decided we wanted to go downtown for a little while. We made it into the city and had a great time trying differnet beers.
Wednesday was the day.....bike riding. I had been stressed about this day since we got the email about bike ridding in April. My roommates, friends, and family had given me tons of lessons and pointers about riding a bike. Something I never really mastered as a child. We made it to Brugge, a small city about an hour away from Brussels. The bike tour guide met us in the main square and we walked back to the garage where the bikes were stored. She handed me a bike and I practiced for a minute in the garage area. I made sure I knew which brake controlled what. The last thing I needed was to knock my teeth out in Belgium. We started the ride all in a line. We were in the city. Cars passing us on one side and parked cars on the other. I was terrified. Jessie has a picture of me with the look of terror in my eyes. We made it through a few traffic lights and then to a bike path. Thank goodness for the bike path. We were able to get out of the line formation. I made my way, slowly, down the path to the old windmill. Then we went to another even smaller city and had a snack. I treated myself to a waffle and fries. It was freezing cold, windy, and spitting rain the entire trip so it felt nice to warm up inside the little restaurant. I tried to relax but was still a ball of nerves. We got back on our bikes to go back to Brugge. I had a hard time getting back into my bike momentum and slowly made my way back to the city. The tour guide was so nice and was explaining things about the countryside the whole time. The only thing I saw was the pavement in front of me that I was totally foccused on. I was determined not to fall. After cobblestone streets, traffic lights, and the smell of cows in the country I had just completed my first bike ride ever. NINE miles. Huge for me. An item crossed off my bucket list for sure.
We had a walking tour of the city and went inside several beautiful churches. Then we shopped around for a little while. Dinner was great. We went to a place on the main square and had the fixed menu. I had a cheese croquette, Flemish beef stew, and chocolate mousse for dessert. It was great to all be together after our bike ride in the country. We caught the train back into the city and worked on some homework before going to bed.
Today we had nutrition class this morning. For lunch we all went to a local place with Dr. Haley. She had arranged for us to have a family style meal so we could all taste different dishes. We had tons of great traditional food. I even ate the mussels that Brussels is famous for. We were all stuffed for our afternoon class. Anna and I did our presentation on chocolate and then class was over. For our chocolate fix today we headed into the city. Best of the day was the dark chocolate filled with mango passionfruit flavored ganache. Great! It has been cold(high 58 degrees) and rainy these last few days. I never thought I would say it but a part of me actually missed the warm Alabama temperatures. I hate wearing a coat in July! All of us are going to Amsterdam for the weekend. I know we are going to have a great time being all together for a weekend trip!