And the saga continues. We got to Brussels around 6pm. What a difference 3 and a half hours south makes.
Driving into Brussels we drove through a beautiful park filled with colorful trees. It was so exciting getting to enjoy some Autumn color since I wasn't able to be in New England (or the Northeast) this year. The drive in was beautiful after stops in Utrecht and Antwerp. After navigating through the metro we got off on Avenue Louise to walk to our hotel. Avenue Louise is essentially the 5th Avenue of Brussels and a neighborhood that's popular with expatriates. This time we were staying at a budget hotel for the three of us meaning we had real beds and a real bathroom! It was pretty awesome for the price. We decided that after the long bus ride we wanted to get a really nice dinner. We ended up in the Grand Place, which is the main square of Brussels. The architecture was awe-inspiring although drastically different than Amsterdam. Everything had a very grand, French style to it. Yet again, I fell in love.
The next morning we went down to the central part of the city and found a cute shop to get waffles. Let me just say, these were some of the best waffles I've ever had. Our plan was to do the "European walk" which leads you through the European district and by all of the important EU buildings. Across the street from where we ate waffles was a macaroon shop. We bought a small box of macaroons and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate tasted like heaven in a cup, especially against the cold weather of Brussels. As we began our walk we saw lots of things such as the Grand Palace of Brussels and the Park across the street. The city is entirely bilingual (Dutch & French) so all the signs are in both languages, although French was more prevalent.
The walk took us through a really unique area of the city; we saw the European Parliament and the European Commission. There were even more parks on this walk; I felt like Brussels was a city of parks (with beautifully colored trees!). At the end of the walk was the Belgian military museum. At the top was an arch and you could see a panorama of the city, so of course we went. On our way back towards the hotel we looked up some NY Times reviews of Brussels to find a good restaurant for dinner. We found a place called Au Vieux Bruxelles, which was recommended for their mussels. We got them in a curry sauce, and they were to die for. We also had a pork dish with (something) pickled on top and a creamy sauce. The final dish was called waterzooi. Since the menu was in French we had no idea what anything was, and we guessed. The waterzooi was my choice, and we were baffled by what it was. When I finally googled what it was after dinner, we found that it was basically just a stew with chicken in it (although in the past it was fish). After much speculation about the type of meat in it, we agreed it must have been chicken. I was a big fan. For dessert we had a crepe and some chocolate ice cream.
Brussels was yet another beautiful city, in a very different way. I'm glad I was able to see two cities on my long weekend. They both were such opposite ends of the spectrum, but it made the weekend that much more enjoyable. This morning Sydney and I parted Mia at the train station (since her airport was south of the city). It was a great weekend, but London is in three days, and I'm so excited to see Boyko and London!
No comments:
Post a Comment