First off, I apologize my dear loyal blog readers as this blog post is well over due. There was just so much that we did that I wrote a little, then would write more, and then ended up forgetting to finish. But that is no excuse, I need to finish this post so that you can read all about our fabulous time in Brussels and Brugge!
Our weekend of travel was a cold, windy, rainy one, but thank goodness Belgium has lots of pubs! After getting checked into our flat, we set out to explore. There was a local map left in our room and I suggested that we follow the “pink” line on the map, as it stated this was a walking tour of some Art Nouveau, let’s just say it wasn’t very clear which places were actually Art Nouveau, I think some of them were stretches, but nonetheless, we enjoyed a walk through the park and enjoyed seeing a residential district. We then made our way to centre city, I found a short suggested intro itinerary to Brussels on my TripAdvisor app.
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| TripAdvisor Itinerary |
This tour started at the
Manneken Pis, it’s amazing that this small little guy gets so much attention, he’s the most photographed attraction in Brussels. I was thrilled though that we went to see him as I had the most amazing waffle on the street, and some of the most amazing Belgian beer in a
pub nearby (again suggested by TripAdvisor).
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| Manneken Pis |
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| One happy girl |
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| Belgian waffles with strawberries, bananas, chocolate, and whipped cream |
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| Nick enjoys the waffle too – next time we got our own! |
I have no idea what they put in these waffles, but they are ah-mazing (Liz- Nick says no one says this anymore – lol).
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| Great Beer at Poechenellekelder |
It was so cool how the beers in Belgium were served and presented, it was like we were drinking a really expensive bottle of wine at a classy restaurant (no restaurant I would every be able to afford).
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| We sat with Santa |
The pub was a great find as we spent the next two hours sitting there, admiring its collection of marionettes and drinking! We even grabbed the table where Santa was seated, which was really creepy when his right arm would move – that waitress got me several times! After filling up on beer and a light sandwich at the pub, but mostly beer, we headed off to our next stop – the Grand Place! This is an iconic landmark of Brussels and a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it did not disappoint. The only thing that I regretted was that we weren’t visiting in August when they have their rare, beautiful gardens filling the square.
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| Grand Place |
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| Brussels art |
After the Grand Place we made our way to St. Michael & St. Gudula Cathedral, it was both beautiful on the inside and out. I of course lit a candle inside in memory of Nick and I’s family members that we have lost.
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| St. Michael & St. Gudula Cathedral |
With some school work to do and lots of walking back to the flat still ahead of us we called it a day. We enjoyed a dinner right around the corner from where we were staying in an Irish Pub, it was so nice to have a good beer and some non-Italian food. While I love Italy and it’s food, Italian food is not my favorite, and often times I need a recharge with something else. Nachos?!?!? Of Course!
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| Dinner at an Irish Pub – The Old Oak |
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| Yummy nachos made with Doritos |
On our second day we ventured out to try to hit up some museums and ended up stumbling upon Brussels Music Museum, and I will have to say it was pretty cool. To see instruments that were old and new, and ones from all around the world was really interesting. They even gave us a headset that would allow you to listen to different music that they instruments you were looking at played. Afterwards we sought out a restaurant that Nick had read about online, while small they did not have a seat for us when we arrived, so I guessed if we came back in 30 minutes if that would be okay, and I am glad that I did – the food was true Belgian cuisine and it was delicious. I had a dish that had some cooked veggies, potatoes and a couple types of meat in it – it was so good.
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| Delicious lunch |
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| Yep this lunch destination gets a thumbs up! |
We walked around some more and then that evening met some of the students at
Delirium Cafe for drinks – it just so happened that some of them also traveled to Brussels for the weekend. We had a really good time, and I had my first and unfortunately last taste of Belgian fries while we were there. I really think that Belgium is where I should live!
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| Delirium – Das boot |
On our last full day in Belgium we were a little slow to rise, I guess those beers might have done more damage than I anticipated. Brugge was on my list of places that I wanted to visit while over here, and knowing that it was only a short hour train ride from Brussels, I couldn’t pass it up. We arrived at the train station with ten minutes to spare before the next train departed, we quickly bought our tickets, I grabbed us some Cokes and waffles and we were off! Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate for our visit and it rained all day long and was cold and windy, but that was okay as I was in a gorgeous town. I kept saying the whole time we were there, I bet that it would be beautiful here in the Spring. I could just imagine the trees blooming and the canals filled with boats, it has to be just magical. While we didn’t do too much in Brugge, beside shop, eat and drink – we had an awesome time and I would love to be able to go back there someday.
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| Beer sampler at 2 be |
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| Nick’s heaven? |
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| Goodnight Brussels |
das boot – Did Nick enter a competition?