Today was a very long but exciting day! We left the Netherlands and headed back to Belgium. On our way we were able to stop in Brussels, Belgium which is the NATO equivalent to our Washington DC of the US. Brussels was amazing! We were able to get off the bus and tour around the city for a while. We were able to do a little sight seeing, eating and shopping of course! The first thing we saw was Christmas and chocolate stores galore! Then we ran into the French Military basketball team, who were playing in the tournament at the base we were traveling to later on that day. We took photos with them which was an interesting picture since they were all a couple feet taller then us!
We then ventured off in pairs taking in the sights and culture around the beautiful city of Brussels. We visited Place de l'Agora, the Royal Galleries of Saint Hubert and the Rue des Bouchers. We walked around The Grande Square or Grand 'Place, this is one of the most beautiful town squares of Europe. Lindsay and I started to get hungry so as we are walking by all the restaurants in the Rue des Bouchers we saw a waffle cafe with fresh Belgium waffles so we immediately walked in and had a warm fresh waffle and a cup of hot chocolate! Belgium is known for both chocolate and waffles, it was delicious!
After our stop in Brussels we continued on to SHAPE (NATO Headquarters). We arrived to find out we would be performing between games of the Military Basketball tournament. There were ten teams from all different countries represented in the tournament, and before our show we were able to cheer on the USA team. They unfortunately lost in the last two minutes to Lithuania but it was still fun to watch. We then performed a show for a large audience made up of many different people from around the world. It was one of our best shows, and we were greatly appreciated! Following the show we did an autograph signing which was one of the highlights for sure! There were so many different languages, people spoke to us in French, German, Greek, Flemish, Dutch, British, Spanish and English. It was so much fun to listen to and just take it all it!
This was just one of the many fully, filled days we have had on our two week adventure! It has touched my heart in more ways. It was so rewarding each time I saw one person smile! This trip has been amazing and one that I know all of us will cherish and remember for the rest our lives.
