Happy Brexit Day (?)

Well, I certainly didn't plan this, but somehow I ended up in Brussels, Belgium, the capital of the European Union, during the official Brexit.

I was in a taxi on my way to my hotel from the airport yesterday evening, and my God the traffic was horrific, just straight up stopped. I did some Googling and apparently Brussels is notoriously bad with traffic, but my taxi driver told me it's all this Brexit stuff that was really making everything worse. I did see some buildings in the Union Jack colors and had a lot going on. That being said, the traffic was SO BAD I actually got out and walked some ways to my hotel.

I spotted this on the drive in. Can you recognize
my birthday in European format??

The usual problems ensued: hungry, but no energy to leave. Falling asleep at an okay time and waking up at 3am, unable to fall asleep again. Up early, battling breakfast at the hotel, and mentally crashing in the middle of the visit. That being said, it went really well and I really loved the staff and students at that campus.

On the walk to the metro (I barely had like a block to go) I was approached by a man who wanted me to join in their protest of solidarity with the 3 whistleblowers. Apparently they were going from capital to capital with this statue and asking people to take a picture standing on the 4th chair. I never told him I was from the US, but I LOL'd that I had barely been in Brussels for like 12 hours, it was my first time outside seeing the light of day here and already getting roped into things like this, but whatevs!

Because my school appointment was in the Ixelles neighborhood, I made sure to walk by a certain landmark I have been dreaming of seeing since I was around 12...

Audrey Hepburn's birthplace! This is all it is (the plaque), but while I was there the postman went by and delivered mail and I wondered what it must be like to live in the very same place where Audrey Hepburn was born.

I walked back through the inner Grand Place back to my hotel - it was quite bustling and cute!

Brussels is such an interested mix of cultures!
Some neighborhoods look lifted right out of
France, and others look straight Dutch

Have I ever mentioned how much I love clocks?

I have no Instagram accounts left for my devices
but if I did, I might create a clock account
and this might be the first post...

Mmmm Belgian chocolate (even that mailbox!)

I went straight back to the hotel and crashed, and it's now almost 11pm, where I am just chilling in my hotel and watching the BBC with the Brexit countdown. Apparently all of Brussels' Brexit work was done yesterday, and Brussels isn't looking to celebrate Brexit, all the crazy parties are in London.

Funny story, I absolutely remember that initial Brexit vote years ago. AJ and I were dating, and I was over at his place and it was showing on the TV in his room and I gasped and was like say whaaaa? And now here we are, 4 years later and it's officially happening, and AJ and I are over a year married. What a difference a Brexit makes!