Day 0: Getting There

A bit of context: Cliff spent a week and a half working in Torino, Italy, before our trip. So I had to travel all by my lonesome to our meeting place in Brussels, Belgium.

The night before I left, I stayed at my parents' and got to spend time with my mom and my goofball buddy Adrienne. It was a great way to start my vacation!

Zelo cornmeal crust pizza. Where is Ado's food??

Look at this crazy goofball. Way too much energy for 10pm!

The next morning, I flew from LAX to Montreal. A couple asked me if I would switch to a middle seat so they could sit together. I kindly said no. I could hear the guy cursing me out in French (making it a very awkward 5 hours sitting next to his wife).

At the Montreal airport, I had enough time to sit down and have a glass of wine and some poutine. I've decided to reserve judgment on the dish until I have it somewhere other than an airport. I was amazed at the ability of French-Canadians to switch back and forth rapidly between English and French, sometimes in the same sentence, talking amongst themselves.

I blame (Air) Canada for faulty video screens

Then I flew from Montreal to Brussels. I had a very pleasant flight, even though my video screen didn't work at all. I got lots of reading done—yay for reading about the mafia and Sicily (great book, Midnight in Sicily) and sipping wine, miles above the earth! They offered me another seat toward the back of the plane. Why in the world didn't I move, you ask? Well, a) I had a non–seat-kicker behind me, and, more importantly, b) I was very fortunate to have a GREAT seatmate, Caitlin, a Graphic Design student from Maine who was heading to Belgium to visit a family friend and then settling in Dubrovnik, Croatia, to study abroad. She was a pleasure to chat with, and we found we had quite a few things in common, including our love of running. Caitlin was blogging about her travels. And this, I must say, was really the inspiration for THIS blog.

Sunrise in Brussels, Belgium. Thanks, Caitlin! I believe you took this photo.