Brussels and Italy

Alright...bear with me I can not quite figure out this Italian keyboard. John and I got into Venice yesterday afternoon. We are not exactly in the center of town but across the canal (which is like across the street in the normal world but because Venice has streets that are canals...you see the slight difference). Anyway this means we have not seen VENICE Venice yet but we headed to the city center this afternoon. You make ask why we did not go immediately upon arriving here, and that is because it cost 7 (YES SEVEN) euros for a stinkin one-way trip. And even I could swim it! (Maybe.) Anyway, we were worried being far away would be a pain, but actually we are in a really cool part of town. There are lots of locals who live here and we are in a rather residential part so it is really fun to sit back on a park bench, eating some delicious pizza, and doing a little people watching. Our hostel is literally right on the canal. And its huge, but the accommodations are extraordinarily affordable.
I cannot even begin to describe what we have seen of Venice though. The Italians are really lively people and just as fun to listen to as they are to watch. Italian is pretty difficult to try to impersonate, even with a guide book, but we have been really lucky in that people are patient (many even speak English). It is true that Venice is all water. People have little boats they drive around, and we have yet to see a car here.
But before we were in Venice, we were Brussels, Belgium. Land of fries, waffles, and mussels. We could not afford the mussels, but we did indulge in some fries and waffles. I do not understand how you can claim to be the best in fries--I mean how difficult is it to deep fry potatoes--and to be honest, the fries we had lived up to my assumption. But the waffles were a whole other story! Those things were goooooooood. A close contender to my beloved pain au chocolat and that is saying a lot! They are not even waffles like we are used to--they are similar to churro texture (like soft and chewy inside with a slight crunch outside) but they are dipped in a carmalized sugar sauce that hardens. So delicious. Brussels itself was interesting. The city had a few incredibly gorgeous sights...like the Grand Place along with their many many parks but the city as a whole was pretty mediocre. Lots of ugly industrial buildings right next door to centurys old cathedrals. It was worth visiting, but only for about 24 hours. It would have been boring if we stayed longer.

Anyway, I am running out of time on this thing! We took an overnight from Belgium to Italy which was an experience in itself. I just heard from my host mom in Angers and it sounds like we are all having lunch together on Lindsaaays bday but John is not sure if he will be able to stay. We shall see! I will update again!