Beware the Puddles!

So contrary to what you might expect, the city of Brussels, Belgium is not the cleanest place on earth. For about 30% to 60% of the day visitors will probably view huge heaps of garbage and trash on the side of the road waiting to be picked up. To make matters worse, in the fish district during the evening hours you are likely to come across  huge puddles of water on the sidewalks and in the roads from where restaurants have rinsed out there ice buckets used for storing their seafood during the day with a water hose. But wait! Around 10pm several random puddles can still be located near the sides of buildings, around plant fixtures, and throughout the crevices in the street. However, as indicated by the time of their appearance and odor these puddles are most likly not water... its urine and alcohol. So as you venture through the bustling city of Brussels, make sure you rinse off anything you may drop in the streets, wear closed toed shoes if possible, and most importantly BEWARE THE PUDDLES!

P&G office

P&G office

Lunch at P&G

Greetings from Brussels!

I realize it has been a while since the last post, so let me fill you in!

We left Rome for Florence, where we climbed the Duomo. We had a great video of us taking the 647 step trek, but unfortunately our videos are not loading as we had hoped. After Florence we spent a couple of days in beautiful Venice, where we randomly encountered a friend we had met in Florence... Overall it was a great trip, but alas we had to bid ado to Italy.

We were very excited to move on to Belgium where we would begin our internship with P & G. Once here we met the great Lieven, who quickly schooled us on why Belgium is famous for beer. We began our internship on Monday, the 16th, where we worked out some details and got familiar with SNIC at P & G... SNIC is an innovative group within the organization that looks at problems in a unique way. Our project is to find creative ideas for solving the problems associated with "the last mile" in online product delivery... So far things have been great and we will keep you updated as we continue on our journey..

So far in Belgium, we have tried to experience everything Brussels has to offer: dancing, parades, waffles, gardens and kebabs are just the tip of the iceberg. This weekend is my birthday, so here's to hoping we have great stories that we can't post here!!

Cheers!
Amber

Always Stamp Your Ticket.....

While in Rome, this has been the most important (and expensive) lesson I've learned. Trying to be frugal and live life like a true Roman, we thought the bus, at a cost of 1 Euro, would be the best transportation to take... Unfortunately, not the case.

We navigated our route and unsuspectingly boarded our bus. Like good travelers we purchased our tickets for a single Euro and reveled in our cheap success.... Two stops later, three gentleman, dressed officially, boarded the bus and asked to see our tickets... No problem! We have them right here sirs... We received a frown. The man pointed at a sign, yet all I understood was 75 minutes. Apparently, there was a second box where we were supposed to stamp our tickets the minute we boarded... Great.

I offered up a Euro to purchase a new ticket and we received requests for our documentation.. They hurriedly ushered us off the bus and told us we would be fined... Confusion doesn't begin to express the looks on our faces. We were told 100 Euro each if he wrote us a ticket, 50 each if we paid now... Awesome. We argued as much as possible, assuming we were being scammed. Alas, we were late for our tour and finally settled on 50 Euro total... Moments later we were running down the street, cursing the men in official uniforms.

But wait! We were still late for our tour, we needed to find a taxi stat. I poked my head in a restaurant to find a smiling server and asked him for the nearest taxi stand (you can't catch a cab just anywhere).... He laughed and pointed right down the street... I turned to leave when he grabbed my hand and asked my name.. I explained we were in a rush and he promptly kissed my hand goodbye... So charming.

We finally reached the taxi stand to be interrupted by a parade.... Luckily, a cab came through at just the right moment and we made our tour on time... At which point our tour guide informed us that what happened on the bus was proper law and we had received a deal... Good to know.

So the lesson here is: always stamp your ticket, but even if you don't you might get your first kiss on the hand from a handsome Italian...

PS... I'm still in love with this city.