So I talked with my mom yesterday, and she asked me what I did in Belgium. My response was simple: I ate french fries and I drank beer; that is what you do there.
Belgium is known for four things (aside from technically being the capitol of Europe) 1.Beer, 2. Chocolate, 3.Fries, and 4.Waffles. So, inherently, my list of things I wanted to do while in Belgium consisted of eating French Fries, Chocolate, and Waffles and drinking Beer. I succeeded.
I got of the train and saw the smiling face of my friend greeting me at the train station. Directly from the train station he took me to see what he called “Brussels’ Mascot.” I really don’t know the significance, but it is a small statue of a boy peeing. Very exciting, I know.
After we saw the statue, and I snapped an obligatory picture, we headed to the bar. He took me to a bar called Delirium (which apparently is a bar that everyone has to go to when the go to Brussels). At Delirium they have over 2,400 different types of beer. I had 2 of them. So I guess that just means I have to go back..
The next day was a tourist day! Well, for me. Homeboy had class, so I had about 4 hours once he went to class to explore the city. I started at the Parliamentarium, which is an exhibition about the EU. It is actually really cool and really interactive. AND FREE! I learned a lot, but I managed to not lock my locker right, so my coat and scarf was stuck! I had to beg a worker to unlock my locker after explaining to her in detail what she would find in there.
After the Parliamentarium I walked around the city. I stopped at a chocolatier and bought some chocolate truffles and stopped at a souvenir shop and bought some post cards. I ended up stumbling upon the royal palace, and also a tour group who I listened into a bit and figured out the king actually doesn’t live in the palace. I left the tour, and continued walking. I made it to the Grand Place, where I decided I deserved a cappuccino for my walking. So I sat down at a cafe with a beautiful view of the Grand Place and drank my cappuccino, ate my chocolate, and wrote some postcards. I was supposed to wait for my friend there, but I got bored and cold. So I started walking around. Brussels is a tiny capitol city, but it is very charming and rather adorable.
After I was tired of walking I just sat on a wall and people watched in the square. A nice Moroccan man struck up a conversation with me (half in french and half in English) as I awaited my friend’s arrival. I had no wifi and my iPhone died. He was out of minutes to call on his plan and had no data. So I sat waiting there for 30 minutes while he went and recharged his phone. He finally found me, and I said good bye to my new Moroccan friend. Then we walked around some, until we realized we were both tired and wanted dinner.
this was just a picture of my feet and some flowers that I thought was nice.
We went back to the apartment and made enchiladas, and drank more beer. Then it was a night out on the town! Again, a lot of beer, a little karaoke, and a lot of dancing.
The next day again, was a day of sight seeing! We were supposed to walk through this really nice park close to his apartment, but we both wanted food and the waffle truck that apparently is usually there decided not to be there then.. So we turned around and headed towards a famous arch. It was a really nice walk through different areas of Brussels. And the best part, at the arch there was a waffle cart! So I got a beautiful waffle with Nutella smeared on top! YUM!!
What we figured out while walking is that everything closes by 4 on weekends. So it was impossible to find a place where we could get a coffee. So we kept walking. We made it back to the city center, Grand Place. Where we finally got a coffee and we also were ready for a drink. He is obsessed with Hard Rock Cafe for reasons I cannot explain, so we went there.. Then we were hungry, and there was a place with unlimited ribs. So of course that is where we ate.
After dinner we met some of his friends (who just happened to be Americans as well) for a night out. We went to all the cheap bars, then ended at the karaoke bar from the night before because it had a second level with a dance floor and decent music. Then it was back to sleep and a train the next day..
I finally got French Fries on my last day in Brussels! They were amazing. Like close to the best french fries I have ever eaten. And I am glad, because we waited about 30-45 minutes in line for them.
Then we grabbed a coffee and sat in a park because it happened to actually be super nice weather this day. Like 70 and sunny. Then it was off to the train station….
BYE BRUSSELS AND HELLO PARIS 🙂
Can We Go Please? 