From Paris we took the train to Brussels, Belgium for one day and night. The official language there is french and dutch, but many speak English as well. We lucked out again with our accommodations, and stayed at the Hotel Queen Elizabeth which is near the center of town.
We wandered around the area with hungry bellies and found a pub that looked enticing. We decided to eat like the locals and ordered an appetizer of frog legs. Neither of us had ever had them and they were actually quite tasty! Very tender and deliciously marinated.
Then Tom's main course of fish came and it was a full on fish!
I had never seen a whole fish on a plate before so I was fascinated by the undertaking Tom had in de-boning it. He was very careful and meticulous in separating the meat from the bones and pulled the entire skeleton off in one piece! I couldn't help but applaud.
After dinner we walked around and took in the city. Eventually we made our way up a cobblestone path decked out with tourist shops and chocolate shops as far as the eye could see. It reminded us a lot of Times Square in the sense that even though it was pretty late everything was still open and bustling with sales. Now, I am not a very big fan of chocolate. I like chocolate with something, like on a Snickers bar or Butterfinger, but I wouldn't eat a Hershey bar or order chocolate ice cream. However, Belgium will reform anyone's anti-taste buds after the tiniest nibble. Their chocolate is the most delicious thing I've ever had! I don't know what came over me, but it only took one sample and I had to grab all the chocolate in sight and bring it home with me. I might have looked like a homeless rag-a-muffin in the process, but darn it I needed that chocolate!
I ate it at every meal, often as my meal. It's kinda hard not to when everywhere you turn there are fountains of it flowing, plates of it beckoning, fruit stands full of dipping, and waffles with it drizzling over the top. OH. MY. GOSH. There's NOTHING like a real Belguim Waffle. NOTHING.
(Breakfast the next day)
(Yes I had a Belgium waffle with chocolate & a Godiva chocolate frappucino type thing to wash it down. It's like Willy Wonka up in there!)
As we moved up the brick path toward the center square of the Grand Place, all the lights suddenly went out and from the pitch dark music started playing, followed by a stunning thirty minute light show against the Town Hall. The most beautiful Town Hall I've ever seen. It all felt so majestic! We were one week too early for the annual Flower Carpet (such an amazing event!) that happens in the square, but it was fun to see the flower markets during the day in preparation and I have a great reason to plan another trip there!
The next day we wandered the entire City before having to catch our next train that evening. Tom really likes seeing old gothic Cathedrals so we plotted our course based off those locations and saw every single one in the area! It's a bonus coming from a walking City and being used to covering a lot of ground on foot, and knowing how to tell North/South/East/West. The awesome thing about sight seeing this way was that we also got to see all the different neighborhoods and shops along the way. We were often the only ones at the churches, many of them small and hidden, and there weren't any rules about photography or walking around inside--probably because they don't get much tourist action off the beaten path. It was great! St. Michaels Cathedral was the biggest, and is probably the best known in that area. It is so big and tall I couldn't get a good shot; the ones online are much better! We also saw St. Mary's Church, and Notre Dame de la Chapel, Notre Dame du Sablon (pictured below) among many others.
Of course what's a trip to Brussels without saying hello to the Manequin Pis!? "Little man pee" is the pride and joy of the dutch. I actually had no idea he was famous, or why, so if you are as clueless as I was, definitely read the history and legends about him. He even has his own floor in the City Museum with a permanent exhibit of many of his hundreds of outfits! Obviously we had to check that out! The detail, design and creativity used in to represent each holiday or country or special occasion in one outfit was adorable and beautiful! Sadly that's the one place we were told no pictures allowed but again, you can find pictures online from times he wore them. When we saw him he was buck naked. It was the middle of the summer after all, and I'm sure being bronze doesn't help with the heat! This was the only time we saw tourists. And even then, only about thirty. They were all congregated around this little guy.
We didn't know it then, but Belgium ended up being our favorite part of the whole trip. The people, the food, the shopping, the sights. It was bliss.
We wandered around the area with hungry bellies and found a pub that looked enticing. We decided to eat like the locals and ordered an appetizer of frog legs. Neither of us had ever had them and they were actually quite tasty! Very tender and deliciously marinated.
Then Tom's main course of fish came and it was a full on fish!
I had never seen a whole fish on a plate before so I was fascinated by the undertaking Tom had in de-boning it. He was very careful and meticulous in separating the meat from the bones and pulled the entire skeleton off in one piece! I couldn't help but applaud.
I ate it at every meal, often as my meal. It's kinda hard not to when everywhere you turn there are fountains of it flowing, plates of it beckoning, fruit stands full of dipping, and waffles with it drizzling over the top. OH. MY. GOSH. There's NOTHING like a real Belguim Waffle. NOTHING.(Our night of wandering quickly became a night of sampling and binging)
(Breakfast the next day)
(Yes I had a Belgium waffle with chocolate & a Godiva chocolate frappucino type thing to wash it down. It's like Willy Wonka up in there!)
The next day we wandered the entire City before having to catch our next train that evening. Tom really likes seeing old gothic Cathedrals so we plotted our course based off those locations and saw every single one in the area! It's a bonus coming from a walking City and being used to covering a lot of ground on foot, and knowing how to tell North/South/East/West. The awesome thing about sight seeing this way was that we also got to see all the different neighborhoods and shops along the way. We were often the only ones at the churches, many of them small and hidden, and there weren't any rules about photography or walking around inside--probably because they don't get much tourist action off the beaten path. It was great! St. Michaels Cathedral was the biggest, and is probably the best known in that area. It is so big and tall I couldn't get a good shot; the ones online are much better! We also saw St. Mary's Church, and Notre Dame de la Chapel, Notre Dame du Sablon (pictured below) among many others.
Of course what's a trip to Brussels without saying hello to the Manequin Pis!? "Little man pee" is the pride and joy of the dutch. I actually had no idea he was famous, or why, so if you are as clueless as I was, definitely read the history and legends about him. He even has his own floor in the City Museum with a permanent exhibit of many of his hundreds of outfits! Obviously we had to check that out! The detail, design and creativity used in to represent each holiday or country or special occasion in one outfit was adorable and beautiful! Sadly that's the one place we were told no pictures allowed but again, you can find pictures online from times he wore them. When we saw him he was buck naked. It was the middle of the summer after all, and I'm sure being bronze doesn't help with the heat! This was the only time we saw tourists. And even then, only about thirty. They were all congregated around this little guy.
We didn't know it then, but Belgium ended up being our favorite part of the whole trip. The people, the food, the shopping, the sights. It was bliss.
2 comments:
Oh wow - this made me miss Brussels so much! I'm so glad you went - most people skip it and don't know what they're missing.
We loved Brussels, too! Your trip sounds awesome.
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