Day 1 in Brussels: Rugby is Lovely
It’s a beautiful day in Brussels, but, after a long morning and afternoon schlepping around the city on foot (including a stop at the Museum of Musical Instruments, which is highly recommended: http://www.mim.fgov.be/home_uk.htm), I needed to take a break. I got into Brussels after about 12 hours of flying and layovers (again, through the dreaded Heathrow) last night and was trying to make a valiant effort at sightseeing.
I stopped in my hotel room in the middle of the afternoon to rest my feet a bit, and made the mistake of turning on the TV. There it was, on channel 21 -- the rugby (as in, the 2007 Rugby World Cup playoffs) match between Australia and England, in which England, improbably, won. And then later (I tried to find a pub to watch it in, but the concierge here had me running around in circles, looking fruitlessly for some joint in the central shopping district named O’Reillys), the match between France and New Zealand (in which, VERY improbably, the French won) aired.
I didn’t realize I like rugby so much. Well, actually, I realized I like rugby back in 1991, when I went to a match in Buenos Aires between the Pumas and the All Blacks, but in the intervening years between then and now, I had totally forgotten. I’m a bit of a flake that way – I don’t make the effort to follow any particular sport very closely, but if I go to a game (usually because someone invites me, or throws some tickets my way), be it ice hockey or basketball or soccer or baseball, I come out being a HUGE fan, and it lasts for all of about a week, and then I get back to my life and forget all about it. I like going to games, but I hate keeping track of all of those numbers.
But rugby is, well, unforgettable. The players are incredibly athletic, but it’s far more physical and action packed than American football. And their outfits are smaller than those of soccer players – they wear their shirts like rash guards (presumably, in order to avoid having loose fabric to grab hold of), and their shorts well above their knees. This leaves the bulging, rippling muscles well within plain view. And it’s really breathtaking.
When I first tuned into the England/Australia game, I thought, “What is Heath Ledger doing kicking a ball?” Then I found out that’s Jonny Wilkinson, star fly half for the English selection and for Newcastle Falcons. He’s beautiful. Jason Robinson is also quite fetching. Uh, and they play well, too. I'd post photos, but Blogger isn't letting me, for some reason - just goodle 'em! Yeah! Guess I’ll be watching tomorrow as well.
Still feeling peckish after dinner, I stopped at a grocery on Boulevard Adolphe Max to pick up bottled water and assorted munchies. You know you are no longer in the United States when you are standing in the refrigerated section of a general supermarket, staring at shelves filled with 74 different varieties of prosciuotto, speck and other varieties of artfully-arranged, ready-to-eat cuts of pork. It’s like being in the breakfast-cereal aisle of a Piggly-Wiggly in Buffalo. Confronted with too much choice in cured-meat selections, I grabbed three random packages with friendly-looking labels and headed for the checkout aisles.
I stopped in my hotel room in the middle of the afternoon to rest my feet a bit, and made the mistake of turning on the TV. There it was, on channel 21 -- the rugby (as in, the 2007 Rugby World Cup playoffs) match between Australia and England, in which England, improbably, won. And then later (I tried to find a pub to watch it in, but the concierge here had me running around in circles, looking fruitlessly for some joint in the central shopping district named O’Reillys), the match between France and New Zealand (in which, VERY improbably, the French won) aired.
I didn’t realize I like rugby so much. Well, actually, I realized I like rugby back in 1991, when I went to a match in Buenos Aires between the Pumas and the All Blacks, but in the intervening years between then and now, I had totally forgotten. I’m a bit of a flake that way – I don’t make the effort to follow any particular sport very closely, but if I go to a game (usually because someone invites me, or throws some tickets my way), be it ice hockey or basketball or soccer or baseball, I come out being a HUGE fan, and it lasts for all of about a week, and then I get back to my life and forget all about it. I like going to games, but I hate keeping track of all of those numbers.
But rugby is, well, unforgettable. The players are incredibly athletic, but it’s far more physical and action packed than American football. And their outfits are smaller than those of soccer players – they wear their shirts like rash guards (presumably, in order to avoid having loose fabric to grab hold of), and their shorts well above their knees. This leaves the bulging, rippling muscles well within plain view. And it’s really breathtaking.
When I first tuned into the England/Australia game, I thought, “What is Heath Ledger doing kicking a ball?” Then I found out that’s Jonny Wilkinson, star fly half for the English selection and for Newcastle Falcons. He’s beautiful. Jason Robinson is also quite fetching. Uh, and they play well, too. I'd post photos, but Blogger isn't letting me, for some reason - just goodle 'em! Yeah! Guess I’ll be watching tomorrow as well.
Still feeling peckish after dinner, I stopped at a grocery on Boulevard Adolphe Max to pick up bottled water and assorted munchies. You know you are no longer in the United States when you are standing in the refrigerated section of a general supermarket, staring at shelves filled with 74 different varieties of prosciuotto, speck and other varieties of artfully-arranged, ready-to-eat cuts of pork. It’s like being in the breakfast-cereal aisle of a Piggly-Wiggly in Buffalo. Confronted with too much choice in cured-meat selections, I grabbed three random packages with friendly-looking labels and headed for the checkout aisles.
posted by Clown Hair at
7:33 PM
2 Comments:
And how were they, the meats? Did the labels accurately reflect the friendliness of the meats themselves? I suppose it doesn't matter, since if you did not like said meats, you could comfort yourself by watching more rugby.
By
Anonymous, at 4:22 PM
Both rugby and the meats are good.
By
Clown Hair, at 3:49 PM
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