6-June: Brussels

Today started out fantastic; sunny, nice, and warm! But that didn't last too long. About mid-afternoon it started to pour and became a bit cold. That didn't stop us from having a good time though! We began the morning (at 11am...yes we finally slept in!) with waffles and ice cream...the only way to begin a morning in Brussels! While we ate, we had a great view of the Manneken Pis and a Godiva shop where a large chocolate Manneken Pis and Mickey Mouse were displayed in the windows.

After our waffles, we went off exploring the town. We really did not have a destination in mind until it started raining....we headed towards the museums to find some place to escape the rainy weather. Once we put in some walking time, we stumbled across a tourist information center. Inside, they had a free exposition called "Experience Brussels", of which we took advantage. It was quite an interesting museum for it to be free. We stayed in there a while playing with the different contraptions, all which gave some type of information about Brussels and its culture, population, history, etc. The most interactive (and fun) part of the exposition included an area where we could choose a background and have our photo taken (as you can see).

When the rain let up, we decided to walk around and check out the area we were in. We heard some music nearby (Tres told me it was Kool and the Gang) and so we thought it would be fun to see what was going on at the stage, it was free anyways. Of course, to my disappointment, it was not Kool and the Gang, but we did get free Red Bull Colas and entertainment for a little bit =) Who loves free stuff? We do!  We figured out that the concert was called Belgavox (later that night, we turned on the TV for a bit, and found the concert.  Let's just say we didn't miss much).

When the disk jockeys were finished playing tunes and actual artists came on stage to perform, we decided it was time to leave because the music was not to our liking. Sooo, the next point of interest was a park that was right beside the event, Brussels Park. There was a large fountain which is larger than most that I have seen in Paris. It was a nice break from the busy cities to be in a peaceful park with not many people, especially children and tourists.

Once we left the park, we headed toward an old castle fortress/gate which housed a medieval museum. On the way, there were many pricey stores which we passed including Armani, Dulce & Gabana, Gucci, etc, as well as the Palace of Justice. The Palace of Justice and the area around it offered a spectacular view of the city. We took some pictures and looked around at all of the buildings (it's also nice to be in a much smaller city than Paris).

A few blocks from the Palace of Justice, we finally arrived at the Halle Gate...only to realize we did not stop by an ATM, aaaand we were out of cash (oh no!). So off to find an ATM...which was the most difficult task of the day. We stopped by two, neither of which worked/took our card, so we decided to head back towards the city center. Nevertheless, we have some lovely pictures of the Halle Gate for you to check out, so enjoy!

Back at the city center, we found a working ATM (ING...our bank, no less) and food! Amazing food, at that! Both Tres and I got steak and fries, which came with a small salad, and a glass of wine (for me) and beer (for Tres). I must say that I cannot get over the fact that Tres drank half a liter of beer, which was the large, but standard, size! After dinner, we got coffee and hot chocolate. I must say that the chocolate was spectacular (but don't worry, Mom, it's still not better than yours!).

After dinner, we walked around for a bit but decided to go back to the hotel and take a nap (I know, we're like old people) but it was a nice after dinner nap and I'm sure you older generations know what we're talking about! Mind you, we have also been walking around for a week straight so we have the right to take naps, don't you agree? When we woke up, and after doing some well needed washing of clothes, we headed back to the city center to find some coffee and dessert. It took us forever to find a place that we wanted (we were looking for Tiramisu), but we finally just sat down somewhere. Of course, we chose a really expensive place and they did not have a dessert menu, but the waiter said he could get the chefs to make us waffles. So we split a waffle with ice cream, whip cream, and chocolate syrup, and had a cappuccino.

As you can see, the food is much better here in Brussels than in Paris. Evidently, it can only get better as we continue on our trip (because lots of German food is in store for us next as well as some delicious Czech and Hungarian cuisine!). That's all for now, folks!