Four days in Brussels with Evo fighting a cold isn't the best time ever. Still, we got out, did some things, and made it to England. Along the way, we managed to get some recording done, too!
[smarter]
EVO: Not to bore you with yet another tale of medical woes from this journey, but I caught a nasty cold virus the moment we hit Belgium. Bah. I don't normally catch colds, but exposure to the elements and soaking in an unfamiliar germosphere had me wiped out, which put a damper on our plans to drink beer all four days.
SHE: Evo may have slept for a day and a half, but don't let him convince you he didn't get to try any Belgian beer. Even when he's down, he's not beyond a couple of pints. Strictly for medicinal value, you understand. And he still had a little making up to do with me for that French museum debacle, so I talked him into one short afternoon of sightseeing.
EVO: Knowing I wasn't up for a full day of traipsing around the city, Sheila chose Atomium as our destination. I got us to the appropriate stop via the Brussels train system, but really had no idea where we were going. I sure wasn't expecting a towering structure of chrome balls connected by tubes some 300 feet in the sky. To my cold-medicine addled brain, it looked vaguely like molecule. A really, really big molecule. Or maybe... an atom?
[my chemistry sucks]
SHE: It was actually nine, not eight, huge spheres. And it was modeled after an iron crystal, not an individual iron atom. Which is a little strange, since it's called Atomium, not Crystalium. But hey, whatever. The structure was built for the 1958 World's Fair held in Brussels, the first world's fair held after the end of World War II. The structure is pretty famous, even if Evo hadn't heard of it. (And honestly... neither had I.)
[unexpected]
EVO: All snark aside -- OK, maybe only some snark aside -- It is pretty cool. Inside, it's a lot like an amusement ride, mixed with a museum, mixed with a submarine. And in places, it gets a little silly, if not over the top.
[throw a bone]
SHE: Hey, it was the space age. Don't be so cynical.
EVO: Did you see those late 60s - early 70s displays?
[retro]
EVO: And since I was born that year, I can make fun of it. So save your hate mail for when I say something truly offensive. But seriously, if you're into too much plastic and no hard edges, visit the Atomium in Brussels. You'll fit right at home, you sexy swinger you
SHE: Ooh wait! You forgot about the space mountain part of the experience on the escalator
EVO: Ugh. Flashing lights and slow moving escalators. Who thinks this is a good idea? Still, it could have been worse.
[tube]
EVO: OK, we're just having a little fun at your expense, Belgium. Please accept my apologies to all of your countrymen. Your Atomium was quite cool. Your beer was, as you know, fantastic. But you're waffles, however... now THERE's a national symbol.
SHE: Of deliciousness! Sidar -- you heard about him on the last episode -- promised to take us out for Belgian Waffles. Not all that hard to find, as you might imagine. But he had somewhere special to take us, and skipped over every other place until he found just the right spot, which turned out to be Gaufre de Bruxelles. I, as you'll hear, was a little excited.
[waffles]
EVO: We realize we do not look like locals. With our accents and Sheila's ever-present camera, we're pretty recognizable as American tourists. We kinda stick out. And when you're used to driving on the other side of the road, you sickout even more. Luckily, I've mastered it well enough. Hello, England.
[driving]
SHE: Yeah, once you got that whole backward-not-forward thing figured out. But I have to give you credit, as you've driven here in Knutsford, England a couple times since we recorded that, and you haven't hit anything or anyone. These little cobblestone streets still have me freaked out, so I'm glad you're driving.
EVO: Other than getting used to driving, it's good to be in England. We can say things like "hello" and "good morning" as walk down the street and no one looks at us funny. Well... not too funny. Our sleepy little town just outside of Manchester turned out to be a lot less sleepy than we imagined. But more on that in the coming shows, as we have three weeks here. Spoiler alert: we're a little underdressed.
New episodes of the ShEvo Studios On Tour - The Audio Expedition are available every Sunday. Of course, Sunday can be a very different thing depending on where we are in the world. Cheers!
