PB&J and Mika!

I made Jonas his first "PB&J" last week for an after school snack.. His face after he took his first bite was just priceless. He just lit up with a giant smile and declared "I LOVE it!!"I thought it was a good idea to introduce him to this amazlingly delicious american food..but now I am regretting a little because he asks for it ALL THE TIME. "Can I have a ummm..PB&J?" (He loves to use his new English lingo whenever possible).

The peanut butter here is not the same as the US.. It is not as peanutty flavored I think, which is really a shame. And you can't find the natural peanut butter here, which is my favorite because its just peanuts and salt, so it really is very, very peanutty!! But oh well, fortunately I don't have a complete peanut butter addiction like my sister, so I think I can survive a year without having my favorite peanut butter on hand.

I also had a little incident with Felix a few days ago... nothing terrible but it definitely made me feel the real stress of being an au pair. So I am preparing Abendbrot (The word Germans use for dinner..it literally translates to "Evening bread," which is because in Germany, they eat their main meal for lunch and then for dinner they have something light, usually slices of brown bread with butter, cheese, or meat, and some veggies. That is usually what we eat for dinner here. You would think you'd get tired of eating the same kind of thing every day for dinner..but honestly the bread, cheese and meat here is really good (also you can get really goood paté.. I love paté, and so does Jonas. He is literally the only 7 year old I know who loves paté)). Anyway, I was preparing Abendbrot and then I hear Niki start to scream. I come in and Felix is sitting on the floor with his mouth open and a small chunk of carrot sitting on his tongue. He obviously has no idea what to do with it because he cant chew yet, and is starting to panic. i run over and put him on my knee, then stick my finger into his mouth, trying to fish the piece of carrot out. But its too slippery and it keeps going farther and farther down his throat. Meanwhile, Niki and Joni keep screaming, which really doesn't help the situation at all. Felix then started choking, and I literally almost had a heart attack. I started pounding hi back to get him to cough up the piece (CPR came to my mind for a second...why? I guess that's what I get for taking my health course online). Suddenly, he throws up all over me..all his milk and baby food..and the carrot piece! I have never been so relieved to have someone throw up on me. Oh the joys of taking care of kids..

One more thing before I head off to bed. Last week in French class, our teacher decided to try something new and have us translate a modern French song by the famous artist Mika into English. I actually turned out to be a great exercise because the song we learned is quite catchy and now I am kind of obsessed. My friend Antonia (she is Swedish and also in my French class, we go out together all the time. She is definitely a big partyer, but I guess its good to have at least one friend like that.. especially here!) and I sing it all the time now..in French! And we learned lots of important vocabulary, including how to say "I don't give a fuck" (J m'en fous), "shit" (merde), the verb "to be high" (défoncer) and "bullshit"(n'importe quoi). We also learned that the equivalent of fuck in french is not as harsh as in English, and that it is regularly used by the French prime minister in his speeches...hmm. But really, we did learn some other, more appropriate vocabulary too:) 
Anyway, you should really hear this song, so here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiHWwKC8WjU

Also, coincidentally  last night (Saturday), I went out with Anotonia and a couple other au pairs and we went to Mr. Wong (that famous club I wrote about in an earlier post..in "Asian Town"), and we were waiting outside to see if we wanted to go in or not, and then the owner came out and started talking to us, introducing himself as Mr. Wong! He seemed to like out very international group, which consisted of a Swede (Antonia), an American (me), an Estonian (au pair named Kelly), a Brit (au pair named Martha), an Italian (a student named Valerie) and an Australian (a random 24 year old guy we picked up at the last bar). We told My Wong about how we read about the club in this map guide we have, and it gave a really good description. he took great interest in this and so we showed him the glowing description of his club. He  was very pleased and seemed to like us a lot, so he said that if we came to the club right at the moment (we were debating if we should come later, even tho it as already 2am..people start clubbing very late here), he would let us in for free and buy us drinks! So we were VIP treated, with drinks and champagne, and we even danced with Mr Wong himself. Then, he introduced us to...you will never believe this..the band for MIKA!!!! I met the keyboard player, the drummer, the bass player and the sound editor! They were all from London and had great British Accents:) Unfortunately, Mika wasn't there, but it was just great to meet these guys who pay the music to that fantastic song! What a crazy night that was:)

Out and About in Brussels and Dimanche Sans Voiture

I have taken so many pictures of the city, so I thought I'd share them:) The first couple are from one of my first tour of Brussels, and the rest after that give you a little tour of my day biking through the city on Dimanche sans Voiture (Sunday without cars) where there are literally no cars allowed to drive in Brussels from 9am-6pm except for taxis, police and trams. I wonder when NYC will do this....

Inside the entrance to the Palais de Justice

Sylvie, this is for you. What kind of columns are these?

Interesting advertisement. No idea what it means. You tend to find strange signs constantly in Brussels.

A "Super Bowling" ally built directly next to the last standing piece of the stone wall that surrounded the medieval city of Brussels for hundreds of years. It makes you ask...what were they thinking?

Some of Brussels beautiful old architecture

One of the many tiny restaurant streets of Brussel's center

They say that the best beer in Brussels is made from the "pis" of the Manneken..yum. (This is not the actual Manneken Pis, by the way, it is just a model of it in front of a restaurant).

Here is the actual Manneken Pis! He is dressed up in one of his 800-something outfits..

Random parade we stumbled upon.. I'm pretty sure it was to celebrate cartoons, many of which were first created in Brussels. Quite funny to watch these giant balloons pass by because every couple meters the 10 people carrying the balloon all yelled at each other and pulled it flat so it wouldn't hit the tram wires hanging in the air. The great thing about Brussels is there is always something going on any day, any time, whether it be a parade, festival, demonstration, concert or dance party. The other night, my friend told me he was just waiting for the tram and suddenly a giant party bus with 3 levels drove slowly by with tons of people dancing and music blasting. The Brussilians really know what's good:)

Band leader (he takes his job very seriously)

The fam, plus one member of the former fam (daddy)

Our garage (great signs, I know..)

 and now... Dimanche sans voiture!

I have never seen so many bikes, roller blades and skateboards all at the same time in one city. Literally, the streets were full. 

The boys and Sylvia (and Felix in the carrier!)

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Entrance to the festival, which is basically celebrates organic/gourmet food , the environment and health.

Here, a very french baker was making these little sponge cake type things with a very liquid caramel and some kind of sweet alcohol mixture in the middle. They are a delicacy in France:) Unfortunately I can't remember the name. But of course, I had to try one...blame it on my sweet tooth:P

Escargot (snails) are very popular here. You can find little carts all around the city selling bowls of them from a big pot. Apparently they are very chewy but quite flavorful. I do plan to try them one day..

The Palace Royale

Here they are selling fresh plants and herbs for the kitchen. "Un potager" is a kitchen garden...

A band plays for a couple who dances very energetically. They were really getting into it! Before long, other couples joined in and were taught this special dance, which seemed kind of like a medieval step dance of some sort...

A West African food tent that was filled with people! African food can be found all over Brussels and at all the festivals-it is very popular. Here, they had all kinds of yummy foods and drinks including fried plantains, chicken, fish, soups and fresh fruit cocktails. There are many African immigrants here, especially from the Congo, because it used to be a Belgian colony for many years.

A small tent filled with handmade colorful Spanish scarfs, woven baskets, and wooden bowls and spoons.

Brusselicious is the name given to the celebration going on this entire year (from Jan. 1st 2012-Dec 31st 2012) showing off Brussels's abundance of gourmet and delicious restaurants and talented chefs. Basically, it is a bunch of expos, workshops, tastings, and dinners, all trying to be related back to different aspects of Brussels life. For example, they have a independent film viewing and tasting, or a ride on a special tram while being served succulent meals by a star chef. Here is the explanation from the website: "The tram is part and parcel of everyday life in Brussels in much the same way as gastronomy is. Good reason then to involve the tram in Brusselicious in every possible sense. Which is why we are delighted to offer visitors the opportunity to discover Brussels aboard a rather special vehicle: a design furnished tram in white livery that will take 34 guests on a two-hour round trip taking in some of the most beautiful spots of the city as you savouring a succulent and surprising menu thought up and concocted by a star chef who delights in revisiting the great classics of Brussels gastronomy." Interested to read about it some more? Visit:  http://visitbrussels.be/bitc/BE_en/brusselicious/events.do

A girl plays a game set up in the park that teaches kids the complex recycling program they have here in Belgium. They are very into recycling here, with different colored bags for each material. Surprisingly, the kids actually loved this game.

In part with Brusselicious, a bunch of modern arts sculptures were placed around the Parc Royal. Each one represented the popular Belgian food (So, french fries, waffles, chocolate, beer..) This one is showing off (in a very funky way) the famous Brussels frites in a cone. The paper cones are what they use at friteries (or fritkoks in Flemish) to serve the frites. Sticking out of this cone tho are people's legs and shoes...talk about strange modern art.

A giant brussel sprout! No one really knows if they actually came from Brussels..not even the Brusselians are quite sure. They do like to eat them here tho:)

A pasta truck selling fresh, organic pasta.

"Organic Bread to take away" 

All the food stalls had these signs in front, assuring customers that the food is actually organic (bio in French)

A very French man selling fresh cheese (I kind of love his beret)

Sign for the festival

After the festival, I rode my bike down hill to the more outer parts of the city. Here, I cam across a man-made canal area. It is in the more poor part of the city, but still interesting to see.

A funny statue randomly on the sidewalk. Brussels loves strange statutes.. Once I saw in one of the metro stops a giant brass statue of a steaming poop... maybe it's to remind people about all the dog poop you can find on the streets here. They have no rules to clean it up...one downfall of the city:(

Some beautiful old brick buildings with red ivy growing all along the front..

Hundreds of different colored giant pinwheels line the canal

People take a break from bike riding at one of the many cafes.

Thought this was a cute sign:)

After biking for a bit, I found myself in the Spanish quarter of the city. There was a big flea market going on in the little ally, with tons of people walking about, looking at all the old stuff being sold on blankets laying on the cobble stones. All the cafes on the corners were also full of people drinking everything from coffee to beer.

I came upon a little white tent where a young Spanish boy and his father were selling  fresh steamed corn from a gaint pot. It seemed very popular, so I decided I had to try it. Was actually quite good for European corn...

Old wooden alphabet stamps being sold for just 1 euro each

After biking just a few more meters into the city, I found myself in the China Town of Brussels. (here they call it Asian Town). The crazy thing about Brussels is that it is so compact that you can go from one fancy, high-bred commune filled with EU ambassadors, to the more laid back Asian Town in just a matter of minutes. Here in Asia Town, there is a very popular night club called Mr Wong. According to some of the other au pairs, it's a "must go." Guess I'm going then..

Funny street performances can be found all around the city

 Town Hall in Grand Place

Giant Mexican paper-mache sculptures

In the Grand Place, a giant Mexican Fiesta was taking place. Only in Brussels can you  find an organic food festival and a Mexican celebration taking place on the same day in the same city. 

The Mexican band was very loved by everyone. People were dancing and singing along in French accents (yeah, Mexican music with a French accent...not the greatest). You would have never guessed how popular Mexican music here is..I sure didn't. Maybe it was just all the Corona that was being consumed that made the people so rowdy and yelling or an encore.

The "M" stamp I bought at the flea market!