I just had a fantastic lunch that cost more than 50 euro per person (yah, you do the math) at L'Ecailler du Palais Royal. Muy expensivo! But, it was pretty good, and it's supposedly famous! :) I think I've eaten more fish this trip to Brussels than the last year in Taiwan. Hah! Um, unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera (stupid!), but! I did bring my cell phone, so there are pictures, just not of the best quality. :P The description of the restaurant on their card reads, "L'Ecailler du Palais Royal is located in a 17th century house in the "Sablon". The charming centre of the Brussels antique trade." The place is actually really nice (cozy feel), and the service was fantastic. They specialize in fish and seafood, so that's what we had! I just realized I forgot to take a picture of the white wine (a type of Riesling), which was pretty yum, and the bread. Ah well, here's everything else:

Ughhhh, Right now, though, I feel disgusting. I just had the first ever subway sickness! Hah! Nothing to be proud of, I'm sure. But of all the subways, metros, and MRT I've ever taken, this is the first time I felt like upchucking my lunch right there. I've figured out potential reasons why: 1) I had a big lunch (as you can see), 2) It was way stuffy and hot down there as they have no a/c in their subways and the windows were closed shut, and 3) The constant swaying and starting and stopping didn't help. Blergh.



Also - new drawing at Lines n Curves. :)

Oh wow, I'm in a blogging mode. :)

Had a conversation about where home is (for those of us with parents that move around) with a friend yesterday that spurred me to be introspective. So, being unable to fall asleep last night, I laid awake thinking, "When did Taiwan become home to me?"

Before, when we were moving to a new country every 2 to 4 years with my dad, I'd always considered home to be wherever my parents were at the time. Taiwan was just a country where I was born and had only lived in for 2 years and went back to visit every once in a while. Then, my dad got sent back to Taiwan for four years, where I finished out high school and applied for college in the States. As graduation approached, I was excited, like everyone else, to be leaving Taiwan and going back to the States. But a few weeks into first quarter of freshmen year, I realized that I actually missed Taiwan. Some time during the four years I was in Taiwan, Taiwan had become what I considered to be home (at the time, I think I was missing more the people than the place, although the convenience of Taipei can''t be beat). There was no doubt as graduation from UCLA approached that I would go back to Taiwan to try my hand in the job industry. I had the option of applying for OPT and staying an extra year, but for some reason it didn't appeal to me. I just wanted to go back home.

Of course after going back, I missed LA and all my friends, but I didn't feel too foreign in Taiwan. I adapted fast to the life back there and settled into a routine. The only thing that was hard was my inability to vocalize my thoughts well in Mandarin, and that was pretty frustrating, making me want to move to somewhere that spoke English. But after a year in Taipei, I think my Mandarin has approved vastly (speaking and listening-wise anyway; writing, not so much) that maybe continuing to stay in Taiwan wouldn't be so bad.

Anyway, when I was given the opportunity to study in Belgium, I decided to go for it because I had the moving itch, and also I thought Europe would be cool. It is cool, I guess. But so far, I've been here for nearly a month, and I find myself constantly comparing to life back in Taiwan and realizing how much I miss home, once again.

Maybe I'm just being close-minded and just need to open my mind a bit to the life and people here. Or maybe I just need to adjust and get over the culture shock. Or maybe I just need school to start to keep me somewhat occupied (if there are even any classes for me to take).

However, this temporary move out to Belgium has reinforced my belief that I will one day settle down in Taipei (whenever that may be) because that be home!

... I just need to stop having this itch to move around (and then regretting it). Ugh!

Image from silentreaper.devart.

Thought I'd split the food entries up. One entry seemed a tad long. :P

Antwerp

Dimsum! That's all that needs to be said, except, we ordered way too much for the four of us. We'd taken the train there and were starving by the time we got there. Needless to say, we left overfull. Yikes! Towards the end, I was too busy eating to take pictures one by one. :P But if you guys come visit me, I know where to take you for some decent dimsum!

Ugh, I'm so bad with names. If I don't get their cards, I never remember them. Anyway, this restaurant is frequented frequently (heh) by my dad and his office for lunch appointments and such with ... people. Eh. Anyway, they serve mainly fish, and sometimes they have lobster. But not the time we went, boo! Instead, we got mussels, which was yum!

Mussels! For my sister's last dinner in Brussels, we decided to be touristy and go where the tourists go! Near the Grand Place, there's a little alleyway that has a whole bunch of restaurants that serve mainly mussels and some other assorted seafood (e.g., lobster, clams, etc.). As you walk down the alley, these waiters try their best to get you to go into their restaurants. It was kinda weird with all of them talking at you, but I guess they have to because there's a lot of competition. Anyway, one of the most famous mussels restaurant is Chez Leon, but my said it was too touristy. So we went to the one across from it, which he likes better. It was pretty darn good. :) All the main courses, except for the lobster came with fries.