Brussels - Day 1

We booked a quick weekend trip to Brussels and were very excited to try the EuroStar. Our train was the 6:06AM from Waterloo, so we planned on getting to sleep early. Of course, as usual, reality did not go as planned and we ended up joining Rachel and Dave to dinner with his parents at Wodka (a great eastern european restaurant). We got home at 11:30pm, and after packing it was 12:30am. With our 4:10am wake up looming, I must have been very nervous to sleep through the alarm because at 2:30am I shot out of bed and turned on the shower. Good thing I looked at my cell phone before I hopped in!

Checking in for the Eurostar was a breeze – we picked up our e-tickets and getting through security and passport control was quick and painless. Makes you wonder what the airports are missing! Of course, because we are so used to the hassles of air travel, we had oodles of time to spare… eventually they opened up the entrance and we made our way to our seats. It was very nice, with big seats. Nevertheless, we managed to get seated behind the only group of peope alert at this time of day and let’s just say they were not particularly quiet or considerate. Happily, the staff was able to move us to another car and the rest of our journey is a blur (familiar theme in our early morning travels).

When we got to Brussels Gare Midi, we found our way to the metro and ultimately to the hotel. We stayed at the Rocco Forte Hotel Amigo and when we walked into our room we both let our a sigh of relief. We definitely need something higher end after our experience in Florence and this fit the bill. We were so excited to see that a copy of Jon’s favourite painting, The Son of Man by René Magritte (see entries from Paris), was hanging in our room. As it turns out, Magritte is Belgian and the painting below is also by him.

The hotel is just off the Grand-Place, which is a beautiful square in the center of Brussels. The square is surrounded by impressive buildings constructed as early as the 15th century. On the picture on the left, I am touching the the bronze deathbed sculpture of Everard 't Serclaes, which people seem to think is good luck, which I'm happy to try for!

The rest of the day, we explored the city. One Belgian claim to fame: the inventors of the indoor mall.

A few common themes: a) chocolate b) waffles c) baked goods. And of course, we found a wonderful old-fashioned bakery off the Grand-Place before we even got to lunch!

Of course, another Belgian specialty are Moule Frite, so Jon did his research and has lunch at the best place in town, called Chez Leon.

After a hearty lunch, we were off, but truth be told, I was struggling - I was tired, thirsty, hot, cold. LOL - here are some pics of me powering through it like the athlete that I am ;)

In the afternoon, we went to the Musical Instruments Museum which was really neat. They give you headphones and as you walk past all different types of instruments, you hear music played by that instrument.

Here's Jon getting very grossed out by the idea of having the earphones touch his virgin ears:

But he got over it:

On our trek back to the hotel (and I was so tired that it really felt like a trek), we found the choclatier to the royal family, Choclatier Marie - and perhaps we tried one of two. We walked past one of the most famous catherdrals in Brussels and at the point we were without a doubt due for a nap. We walked by Cathedral de St Michael, which is one of the most beautiful in Brussels and a great example of the Gothic style.

But in usual form, we kept treking for a bit more and stopped off at Manneken-Pis, a statue of a little boy peeing, which people call the city's oldest citizen (dates ~1619). Legend has it that he was able to save the city from a fire with his pee. I'm skeptical.

We picked up a yummy belgian waffle, which did not come with a fork or knife, so as you see we had to improvise a bit.

For dinner, we made a booking at La Manufacture, which was (as usual) a bit off the beaten path. It was within walking distance of the hotel which was a nice treat; decor and food were both great. I got the ostrich for my main, which I haven't ordered since our honeymoon. And speaking of our honeymoon, I truly don't think we've eaten quite like this since then!