That's Europe For Ya!

Had a couple of experiences today that were prime "blogg-fodder". We decided to finally get off our butts to go to a movie. However, Kristen has had a craving for McDonald's for the past few days, so on the way to the movie theatre we stopped at one of Ronald's few locations within the city of Brussels.

First of all, the interior decor was similar to what you would find in a Starbucks. Dark colors and wood. No candy-reds or mustard yellows, aside from the sign outside. The second thing that is hard to miss is the fact that it was packed with people. If you've ever been to an In-n-Out Burger, this is the kind of throng that we encountered. The food tastes pretty much exactly like it does in the US. You have to pay 25 cents extra for ketchup. The drinks don't come with ice, but they're still quite cold. You can also buy a beer. Canned Jupiler (something akin to Miller or Coors), but beer nonetheless. They also had McCheese nuggets; wierd. Kristen had a double cheeseburger meal and I had a Royal (a quarter pounder)with cheese meal.

At the theater, we had to make sure we bought tickets for a VO (original language) movie, rather than a VF (dubbed in French). We chose Matchstick Men. Kristen got a student discount (5.25 euro ticket), but mine was the regular price of 7.50 euro. Of course, at the theatres in Brussels, beer is also available. And I'm not talkin' bout no paper cup, I'm talking about a glass of beer (to borrow a line from "Pulp Fiction"). The theatre had 12 screens, but since real-estate is scarce, they had to build up instead of out. We took several escalators to get to our theatre. The decor was spare and modern, slightly stark. With black, leather chairs in a lounge for people to wait for admittance. Inside was stadium seating, roomy seats, and a big, pristine screen.

It was nice to catch a movie. Been a while. Good movie, too. Highly entertaining. Matchstick Men... go see it.

--RP--