What do you get when ten people interact with a professor who interacts with six others in Aveiro? A flurry of mails, a zillion trans-Atlantic telephone calls and a lot of ‘Ó MEU DEUS! Ó MEU DEUS!
Do we need a Police Clearance. Yes we do ! No we don’t
Ó MEU DEUS! Necessitamos de Visto para o Aeroporto de Heathrow. Não! Sim!
Ó MEU DEUS, Aveiro SOS. Mudamos rota via Bruxelas.
And that is how we landed in Brussels. My first whiff of Europe! After interminable journey, a tired lot reached Brussels. Those of us who had stylish shoes with laces, had to get them off! Why do they need to see the soles of our feet is beyond me. Anyway, the tired lot made its way to a waiting area. Brussels Airport is stark, simple and to some extent cavernous.
The intrepid amongst us, suggested a visit to the Brussels City Centre or the Grand Place. All of us had different things in mind, but it all revolved around food! Waffles, I had visions of gluey syrup dripping down. Others had mussel stew on their mind. Most wanted chocolate and fries.
For 8€ we had our ticket by subway to the Grand Place, a calculation of Euros to INR left me reeling, but after a few days with Euros, we were pros. A conversation went something like this;
How much did you pay ?
Oh! not much just 3 €. Really that’s not too much.
Yes, I thought so. We were pros by end of three weeks.
So the slightly battered bunch of travellers descended on to the Grand Place Station. And that’s when it happened, I saw the fast moving escalator and decided that I would use the elevator, lugging my unwieldy bag, full of warm clothing (in case the weather turned nippy) I got out of the elevator expecting to see those oh so familiar faces.
Ó MEU DEUS! Nothing, not a familiar face in sight, all I saw was trendy group of Europeans. Where were those familiar faces? Anyway, I wasn’t about to give up Brussels for nothing. A good tour of the nearby areas and then I would take the train back to the Airport and that’s when I saw my friends waiting for me.
And that’s when we got the famous 50€ talk.
A very worried Herculano got us all together and said;
‘Here we have no leaders because there are no followers (The sheer logic of it beats me) If you get lost pay 50€ and take a cab to the Airport!! 50€!! Was this guy kidding, I did not even try to convert this princely sum to INR. And what about the return metro ticket we had purchased?
Anyway we meandered off to the Grand Place, through narrow cobbled lanes
An open mouthed Sonia breathed in the Grand Place. We just walked round the mesmerising Grand Place, taking in the sights and most of all the colours, the beautiful ensembles, the exceedingly stylish ladies with those beautiful shoes and bags!
Sigh, it’s only the powerful Euro that kept us from attacking every shop.
The chocolateries left us drooling, I could afford however, to window shop.
At least we could eat the Waffles, of course we got separated once again, but by then we were pros and nothing could faze us.
No comments:
Post a Comment