By+Christine+Mc+Cafferty

I was on my trip around Europe， and about to leave Brussels1 for England where I was going to be meeting up with my school friend Shannon so we could do our European year of travel together.

There was just one problem. I had missed my bus due to being out late the previous night with Helga and her friends. Having missed a plane before， I had an idea what to do. Step one was to beg for the next available ticket， at no extra cost of course. Tears were useful in achieving that goal. Step two was to make the most of the situation， and thats what I did.

I managed to get a ticket on the bus leavin g that night. Now I had to entertain myself for 10 hours and， in the centre of Brussels， which I still had not yet seen， I should have no problem.

Top of my list was the “Grand Place”2， the central square of Brussels. Take note that that needs to be pronounced with a French accent， if you want to achieve a measure of French sophistication.3 In Flemish （Dutch）， it is known as the Grote Markt （large market）.4 It no longer is a market， but the neighbouring streets are named after5 the sellers of cheese， butter， fish， coal， and so on. In the Grand Place， you are surrounded by opulent halls， the citys Town Hall， and the Museum of the City of Brussels.6 Although the buildings are in a clashing combination of Gothic， Baroque and Louis XIV styles， the effect is harmonious.7 It has been voted the most beautiful city square in Europe and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site8. It is a great place to be.

It is traditional to stroke the statue of the dying Everard tSerclaes which is in one corner of the square， and make a wish.9 What better way to extend your moments in this beautiful place. Everard tSerclaes was a liberator of Brussels in the 1300s and he died as a result of injuries following a revenge attack on him by his enemies.10 The tradition of touching the statue started during World War I. The Nazi Germans had occupied Belgium， even hoisting their flag of the Swastika on the town hall at the Grand Place.11 Tormented by the occupation and longing for liberation，12 the people of Brussels started the tradition of touching his hand and making a wish for liberation. If you are wishing for a year of happiness， superstition has it that you should run your left hand from his forehead all the way to the head of the dog at his feet.13 Even though I do not believe in luck or follow superstitions， I did this hoping for a wonderful year of travel. It certainly had started well.

Some lovely old streets then led me to the“Manneken Pis” （little boy urinating）.14 There has been a statue in that spot of a little boy doing what little boys should not do in public since 1388. There are many different legends15 behind the statue. The most famous is of Duke Godfrey III of Leuven16. The Duke was only two years old in 1142 when his troops17 went to battle against an enemy. The Duke was said to have been hung in a basket in a tree to encourage his men. From there， the boy urinated on the enemys troops， who lost the battle. It is believed that the statue was erected in his honour.18

The statue is dressed in different outfits19 several times each week. Some of the outfits are very old and they include the uniforms of different trades and professions， and of the government， civil， and military services.20

The statue has been stolen a few times. The last time was in 1963. Some students of Antwerp University “hijacked” the Manneken Pis for five days.21 The students demanded money which they donated to two orphanages22. It was then handed back to the authorities. As a result， the statue there now is not the original； the original has been put in the nearby museum for safe-keeping.

I then wandered into an area called The Sablon.23 It is on a hill in a historic part of Brussels. In the 1500s， many rich and noble families built houses in the area， but today it is more of an arty kind of area.24 There are two squares to visit. The bigger of them is the Grand Sablon. Surrounding it are many antique shops， fashion boutiques， hotels， restaurants， pastry shops， and wellknown Belgian chocolatiers.25 Belgium is famous for its lovely chocolates， some of them made in the shape of seashells26.

I was lucky as I chanced upon27 the Sablon Antiques and Books Market. I could have spent hours lost in looking at all these fascinating objects. There I met a chubby28 and friendly artist. He told me that he was a political activist—he knew those two words in English. That sounded very intriguing29 but I never managed to figure out exactly what political views he held. I sat beside him and rested for an hour while he painted， spoke mostly in French so I couldnt understand much， and shared his lunch from his basket with me. It was a happy moment.

Soon it was turning to evening and I still had a few hours to pass. Spending money was not a good idea for me， however a girl needs to eat and a girl needs to sit down inside sometimes too. It was getting a little chilly30 outside. There was one last place my Lets Go Europe travel guide insisted I see， and that was Place Ste-Catherine31. It was the former site of the fish market in years past and， although people no longer sell fresh seafood here， it is home to the best seafood restaurants in Brussels. As you walk down the narrow lanes， you are called on from every side by restaurant maitre ds， “Eat here”， “Weve got the best deal”， and “Come try our…”32 It was hard to decide where to eat but eventually I settled on the place that seemed to offer the best deal， and set about33 eating a fish dish that I could not say the name of.

This most delightful day had all been the result of missing a bus. I didnt want to miss the next one though， so I headed to the bus station and climbed on early. I was tired and ready to go to England！ From Belgium， you travel through France to its northern coast to get the ferry to England. Night had fallen so I did not see much of France， a country Id waited half my short life to see. We went through Lille34， or so I was told. Then it was onto the port town of Calais where we got on the ferry headed to England.35 Going on a ferry was very exciting； basically I was on a ship going to England！ Again it was dark， so I couldnt see much.

Sitting up when youre meant to be sleeping is not much fun but it falls to every true traveller to do this sometimes； and when you are young and seeing the world， you should not complain.36 Nonetheless it was a huge relief for me to see the sunrise over the sea as what is called The White Cliffs of Dover came into my view.37 To be honest till that moment， I didnt really know to expect them， but the words “the White Cliffs of Dover” sounded strangely familiar and made me feel that I truly was arriving in England at last.

The high cliff face owes its white colour to the chalk38 it is made of. The cliffs spread east and west from the town of Dover， which is an ancient English port that is still important today. They face toward Europe at the narrowest part of the English Channel39 which is the channel that separates France and England. It was typically here that invasions threatened and so the imposing cliffs became a symbol of Britains defence.40 The white line of cliffs was also the first or last sight of England for almost all travellers before the advent41 of air travel.

After finally being allowed to disembark42 from the ferry， I walked straight to my bus. We travelled straight to London in about two hours along the motorway43. To say that I was thrilled44 to be driven through London cannot describe my emotions. It felt like Id arrived at the centre of the world. I think that for people who grow up in the former colonies of England， England seems like a homeland and arriving there is a kind of homecoming. Everything seems déjà vu45. I could only wonder what adventure awaited me there.

Next month Christine spends a night in London before heading to meet her former school friend Shannon. Where is Shannon living， and will Christine be able to get some work？

1. Brussels： 布魯塞爾，比利時(shí)首都，也是比利時(shí)最大的城市。

2. Grand Place： 布魯塞爾大廣場(chǎng)，位于布魯塞爾市中心，建于公元12世紀(jì)。Grand Place是法語(yǔ)詞，直接借用到英語(yǔ)中，但依然采用法語(yǔ)的讀音。

3. take note： 注意，留意；measure： 程度；sophistication： 高水平，精通。

4. Flemish： 佛蘭芒語(yǔ)，是比利時(shí)荷蘭語(yǔ)的舊稱；Grote Markt： 即Grand Place，是荷蘭語(yǔ)大廣場(chǎng)的說(shuō)法。

5. name after： 以……命名。

6. opulent： 豪華的，華麗的；Town Hall： 市政廳；the Museum of the City of Brussels： 布魯塞爾城市博物館，位于市政廳對(duì)面。

7. 盡管這些建筑融合了哥特式、巴洛克式以及路易十四世時(shí)期不同的建筑風(fēng)格，但效果十分和諧。clashing： 沖突的，不一致的；Gothic： 哥特式的（12至16世紀(jì)流行于西歐的建筑風(fēng)格，以尖拱、尖窗和細(xì)長(zhǎng)柱為特色）；Baroque： 巴洛克風(fēng)格的（17至18世紀(jì)早期流行于歐洲，氣勢(shì)雄偉、裝飾華麗的特色反映在建筑、繪畫(huà)和音樂(lè)等藝術(shù)上）；Louis XIV： 路易十四世，是17到18世紀(jì)法國(guó)國(guó)王，在位期間修建了凡爾賽宮，宮殿以華麗壯美的古典主義著稱，路易十四的建筑風(fēng)格指的是以凡爾賽宮為代表的建筑風(fēng)格；harmonious： 和諧的，融洽的。

8. UNESCO World Heritage Site： 聯(lián)合國(guó)教科文組織世界遺產(chǎn)地。

9. stroke： 輕撫，輕觸；Everard tSerclaes： 埃弗拉德·塞克拉斯（1320—1388），是古代的比利時(shí)民族英雄。雕塑家朱利恩·狄冷斯（Julien Dillens）在19世紀(jì)建造了他的雕像，據(jù)說(shuō)用左手觸到這個(gè)雕像的手腕則會(huì)交到好運(yùn)，實(shí)現(xiàn)愿望。

10. 埃弗拉德·塞克拉斯是14世紀(jì)布魯塞爾的解放者，他遭到敵人報(bào)復(fù)性攻擊，之后死于重傷。liberator： 解放者，解救者；revenge： 報(bào)復(fù)，復(fù)仇。

11. Nazi：（1933—1945年間德國(guó)的）納粹分子，法西斯分子；Belgium： 比利時(shí)；hoist： 升起，吊起；Swastika： 納粹萬(wàn)字旗，卐是一種古代的宗教符號(hào)，本代表著和平與持續(xù)，在二戰(zhàn)前被德國(guó)納粹黨用作旗幟符號(hào)和黨徽。

12. torment： 折磨，使……痛苦；long for： 渴望。

13. 如果你要許愿得到一年的幸福，迷信的做法是你應(yīng)該用左手從雕像的前額摸到他腳邊狗的頭部才能實(shí)現(xiàn)。superstition： 迷信；forehead： 前額。

14. Manneken Pis： 撒尿小童像，又名“小于連”，由比利時(shí)雕刻家杰羅姆·杜奎斯諾伊于1619年完成，歷史上，撒尿小童像曾幾經(jīng)磨難，原作雕像現(xiàn)珍藏在博物館內(nèi)，而位于布魯塞爾市中心恒溫街及橡樹(shù)街轉(zhuǎn)角處的銅像則是1965年做成的復(fù)制品；urinate： 小便，排尿。

15. legend： 傳說(shuō)，傳奇（故事）。

16. Duke Godfrey III of Leuven： 比利時(shí)魯汶市戈弗雷三世伯爵（約1140—1190）。

17. troops： [復(fù)數(shù)] 軍隊(duì)，士兵。

18. erect： 建造，豎起；in ones honour： 向……表示敬意，紀(jì)念。

19. outfit：（尤指在特殊場(chǎng)合穿著的）全套服裝。

20. civil service： 政府文職機(jī)構(gòu)，行政部門(mén)；military service： 兵役。

21. Antwerp University： 安特衛(wèi)普大學(xué)，位于比利時(shí)北部安特衛(wèi)普市；hijack： 劫持，控制。

22. orphanage： 孤兒院。

23. wander： 閑逛，漫步于；The Sablon： 薩布隆，是比利時(shí)布魯塞爾歷史城區(qū)附近的一個(gè)高地，其核心是位于西南方的大薩布隆廣場(chǎng)和位于東南方的小薩布隆廣場(chǎng)。

24. noble： 貴族的，顯貴的；arty： 有藝術(shù)氣息的。

25. antique： 古董的，古式的；boutique： 精品店；pastry： 面制糕點(diǎn)，油酥糕點(diǎn)； chocolatier：巧克力制造商。

26. seashell： 海貝殼。

27. chance upon： 偶然遇見(jiàn)，偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)。

28. chubby： 胖嘟嘟的，豐滿的。

29. intriguing： 非常有趣的，迷人的。

30. chilly： 寒冷的，嚴(yán)寒的。

31. Place Ste-Catherine： 圣凱瑟琳廣場(chǎng)。

32. lane： 小巷，小路；call on： 請(qǐng)求，邀請(qǐng)；maitre d： 即ma？tre d h？tel，餐廳服務(wù)員領(lǐng)班；deal： 待遇。

33. set about： 開(kāi)始，著手做。

34. Lille： 里爾，法國(guó)北部工業(yè)城市，靠近比利時(shí)邊界。

35. Calais： 加來(lái)，法國(guó)北部港市，朝向多佛爾海峽，提供去往英格蘭的渡輪；ferry： 渡輪。

36. 本該睡覺(jué)時(shí)不得不熬夜，這并不是一件有趣的事，但有時(shí)每位旅行者都要面臨這樣的境況，而且當(dāng)你年輕并且想要看看世界時(shí)，不應(yīng)該抱怨太多。sit up： 熬夜。

37. 盡管如此，當(dāng)太陽(yáng)在海面升起，多佛爾的白色懸崖進(jìn)入眼簾時(shí)，我還是感到了很大的寬慰。nonetheless： 盡管如此；relief： 寬慰，輕松；cliff： 懸崖，峭壁。

38. chalk： 白堊，很久之前由小型海洋動(dòng)物的殼形成的灰白色巖石。

39. English Channel： 英吉利海峽。

40. 通常在英吉利海峽最窄處，英國(guó)會(huì)受到海上入侵的威脅，而雄偉的白色懸崖就成了英國(guó)防衛(wèi)的標(biāo)志。typically： 通常，一般來(lái)說(shuō)；invasion： 入侵，侵略；imposing： 壯觀的，宏偉的。

41. advent： 到來(lái)，出現(xiàn)。

42. disembark： 下船，上岸。

43. motorway： 高速公路。

44. thrilled： 非常激動(dòng)的，興奮的。

45. déjà vu： 〈法〉似曾相識(shí)。