[Beth]: Okay, now the bulk of the blogging begins. As I mentioned in the previous post, we were gone for 10 days. Our current plan is one post per travel day! We took an overnight flight and arrived in Belgium at 8am their time. Despite sleeping for only a few hours on the plane (and Jared, really, slept none), we determined to push through the day and stay awake until after dinnertime.
Thankfully, we were able to check into our hotel as soon as we arrived. It was located right in the heart of the old city, just steps from the Grand Place and the central train station. Brussels is a major European city thanks to the E.U. headquarters and NATO, but it is a remarkable compact city. It is also divided by elevation: the Lower Town, built around the river (now paved over) with narrow cobblestone streets and old buildings, and the Upper Town, quite literally up a steep hill with wide boulevards and palaces.
In order to get the lay of the city quickly, we went on two of Rick Steves’ walking tours. In between we had lunch in a quaint, medieval cellar restaurant right on the Grand Place.
We quickly covered many of the dishes Belgium is famous for: mussels, beer, and fries. Mussels are cooked a handful of ways and are surprisingly fun and delicious! We shall talk more of the beer soon (it might even get its own post by Jared). The fries are spectacular! Belgian-style fries are deep-fried twice – once to cook them and a second time to brown them. I think that makes all the difference. That and the fact that Belgians eat them with mayo. Yummy!
Not far from the Grand Place is the Mannekin Pis, a quite famous little fellow. I wasn’t really familiar with the statue before our trip, but I read about him and the folklore stories about his creation. The guidebook made a point that most people are underwhelmed when they first see him because he is smaller than they think. I knew this –and still thought he was smaller than I expected! He is very entertaining, as is watching the tourists gathering around and taking pictures.
After sufficiently honoring the little man (he just keeps going and going and going….), we decided to indulge in another Belgian tradition: waffles. We discovered that one cannot walk a block in Brussels without passing a waffle shop or chocolate shop (MUCH more on those later!). The waffles are thick and sweet and served hot, either plain or covered with fruit, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. Although Brussels had many great sights, the eating was the best! We made a conscious effort to not pass up opportunities to eat all these goodies, and we still wish we had eaten more waffles!
By the time 5pm rolled around, the rain and clouds and Sunday evening had made the city very quiet and deserted. All the museums had closed, so we had to kill a few hours before dinner. But what a struggle! We ended up on a couch in our hotel, reading to each other and occasionally swatting one another with a magazine to keep ourselves awake. It may have only been funny to us in the punch-drunkness of sleep deprivation and long travel. But, oh, was it hilarious at the time.
We had dinner at a local bistro: salad, sandwich, and of course, more beer! Then thankfully, it was time for rest. The next morning, Jared had to be alert for his conference and me for sight-seeing!
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