~BEER FEST~

Ok, so after I got over the blatant nudity shock. I left the store and stepped back onto the cobble stone streets of town. Town was packed with people, I didn’t know why but I was loving it. All of a sudden I heard the sounds of a great big band. I looked behind me and a PARADE was coming around the corner! I got so excited and whipped out my camera faster than lightning! My favorite were the men on the super tall stilts!

A few guys from South Africa stood next to me along the street and I asked what the parade was for. They looked at me as if I were crazy. “It’s for the Beer Fest of course!” They traveled to Brussels just for this very occasion. They said the parade was on its way to The Grand Place where all the commotion was taking place.

So I meandered my way to The Place and I couldn’t believe my eyes! People everywhere drinking beer at 1pm! (Pic below) Hah! How cool! It’s the fourth annual weekend-long Belgian Beer Fest! So I went home and told the others. We had dinner in the area then made the line for the Beer Fest. You had to buy bottle caps (1€ each) which took the place of money. So you’d go inside (the area was barricaded) and buy beer worth two bottle caps and up.

The place was like a MASSIVE football tailgate but with heavy beer glasses instead of red plastic cups. People of all ages and languages; the common language being: BEER! Lots of Irish and German in their folklore attire.

But my favorite thing throughout the night was the beer wave. Although the area was shaped like an oval, it wasn't your average football (circular) wave. This wave would start with one group of people then rapidly scatter in all directions until everyone in the place was yelling “ehhhhyyy” with glasses up high! It sounded like a fierce ROAR (pic below).

I felt like I was at Mizzou’s Frat Pit when the cannon at Faurot Field explodes: “Ehhhhhhyyyy!!” (Frat Pit: huge, Fraternity, football tailgate where sorority girls and frat guys would cluster for the unlimited alcohol. It no longer exists for obvious reasons).

While I was at the front of the line, a girl named Aime from the Dominican Republic asked if I could get bottle caps for her and her friends. They closed the line right behind us because the crowd was getting too big. But anyway, as a fellow Latina, I agreed and we made friends quickly. I met her friends from Venezuela and Cincinnati.. all three are doing their masters here. (Valentina and Katie: I spoke about both of you and we had convos about St. X, Ursuline, Caracas and Arepas!! In fact the Venezuelan said the best line of the night!!.... Miami obviously came up and he responded with: "MIAMI IS THE CAPITAL OF LATIN AMERICA!" Haha… loves it!

Anyway I had a fabulous night! So fun!