Belgium

Our Belgium trip consisted of mainly three parts.
1. Brussels
2. Ypres
3. Bruges

Part 1:
We arrived to Brussels and went on a tour of the centre of town. It was rainy and we'd left Switzerland at 6am, so most of us weren't really into the tour. We'd actually travelled by bus, plane and train (in that order) that morning. And of course being the last minute packer I am, I didn't get much sleep.
The town square was quite grand and it seems (as my adventures in Europe so far have shown) that every European city has it's own grand square. This one was quite impressive.
Highlights of the tour included standing in the main square in awe, the Mannekin-Pis (the pee-ing boy), smelling the wafting waffle goodness, drooling over chocolates displayed in windows, a really big clock that's sort of hidden and gives a history lesson with it, and walking through a narrow street lined with stores and restaurants displaying their selection of seafood. Yum! I loved how each restaurant had a host, all dressed to impress who would haggle you to take a seat and eat at their restaurant. That was kind if interesting.
After the tour we had a little free time and I dutifully went on my way purchasing extreme amounts of Belgian chocolate. So busy was I making purchases for loved ones, that I never sampled the local yum yums myself. Waffle or moules. I did manage a piece of chocolate only because after blowing substantial Euros in one store, the sales lady (whom I had an interesting conversation about the little differences in French sayings depending on if you're in France, Switzerland or Belgium) offered me a truffle that I had just purchased. Super rich...definetely needed a glass of milk to go with it.
All told, we only spent an hour and a half or so in Brussels, but of course I'd like to return on my own at some point.

Part 2:
November 11th, was a day in Ieper (local name). I wasn't sure how the day would pan out, but I was interested to experience it. Remembrance Day has never really effected me very much. My personality (perhaps a flaw, depending on how you look at it) is very flighty (can't think of a better word) in terms of world issues and ancestral facts. I take an interest when someone tells me a story, but I don't seem to retain. And often, even if related to me somehow, I never really take any of it to mean something to me presonally. My memories of Remembrance Day is standing in the gym of CHPS and listening to two people play "The Last Stand" and listening for mistakes as it is hard for an amateur musician to have the right embouchure and switch from 1st to 5th and 8ve with ease. During the moment of silence, I always thought about what it was that I was "supposed" to be thinking about, or feeling, but it's still pretty emotionless. I hope you don't find it disrespectful of me, as I don't mean it as such. I do understand what it means, and what happened in our past, but it's just who I am. I was wondering if being at the source would create different emotions.
Menin Gate was quite impressive. There was a huge crowd and so I couldn't really see most of the ceremony, but of course I heard it all. The speeches, the commands by the commanding officers and most importantly, the music. Music seems to touch me most often. One French speaking gentleman beside me who was on a bleacher was nice enough to take some pictures of the ceremony for me and sometimes I would catch a glimpse of what was happening. I was surrounded by many British people, and I spoke with some men who were I'd guess at least 50 who said that they came to the ceremony every year. Another elderly couple echoed the same sentiment, and the group was nice enough to explain what I would have seen as it happened had I been at a better vantage point.
There were many different people from many different places. Many cars lined the street as well as tour buses.
Highlights of my time at Menin gate include: talking with the friendly people around me, hearing the choir sing, noticing a large media contingent filming the ceremony and realising that it must be a big deal, watching "poppy petals" being dropped from the top of the gate, feeling like I was at something important, the playing of "The Last Stand", noticing the extreme amount of names that were carved into the walls of the gate signifying the soldiers who's bodies were never found, seeing blood red wreaths and breathing in the crisp air.
After the ceremony and exploring the Gate we were taken to a variety of sites. Some highlights follow. Mass cemetaries of British and Commonwealth countries as well as a mass cemetary of German soldiers. We listened to a reading of "In Flander's Fields" by a descendant of John McCrae. Reading tombstones. Imagining now farmlands and industrial areas being sites for war. Walking through original trenches. Observing large craters formed by explosives and realising that small curvatures in the terrain could be due do past events. Listening to an informal ceremony at the largest mass cemetary (name escapes me right now) which consisted of many hymns/songs and short words in between.
One stop stands out. The Canadian Memorial at Vancouver Corner. The Mourning Soldier itself was I believe the most moving monument of the day. Our group layed a wreath at its feet and a hushed rendition of "O Canada" was sung impromptu. It was elegant.

Part 3:
Throughout our time in Belgium, we were staying in Bruges. It was quite lovely. Again, a large square and beautiful old buildings were in our midst. Canals snaked through the town and wonderful restaurants and stores to explore. I did have a dinner of Moules and Frites (lovely), but did not have room in my stomach to sample waffles. I did have a hot chocolate which was far superior to any other I've had previous (not including the white chocolate variety). It was like they took a piece of gourmet chocolate and melted it down. On a completely unrelated note, while in Bruges, H&M launched it's Karl Lagerfeld line, and I must say I wasn't too impressed. It was pretty generic I thought, but I'm sure the store in Bruges only had a small sample of the line. Bruges did have a nice line of boutiques to wander through. Yet another place I would like to return to. Our hotel had a great variety of tv stations to choose from, and I have learned that Flemish is completely foreign. Oh, and hotel had a fat cat that didn't like to be picked up. I know this because it slapped me (sans claws) in the head. Cats who slap are hilarious. My cat at home (whom I miss bunches) slaps vacuum cleaners. That's some crazy fast twitch muscles in effect.

All in all a wonderful trip. A good first exposure to Belgium and as mentioned before, I'd like to return. Also some experiences that I wouldn't otherwise get to experience or even have thought of participating in. Fab.