One Day While in Brussels...

When I first considered Brussels as one of our stops during our European vacation I didn’t think much about it. Brussels is known for its beer and mussels, two items in which I do not indulge. Since time was limited, I decided to give Brussels just one day. We arrived by train from Brugge. And, by 1:00PM we had checked into our hotel (The Dominican) and was out exploring the city.

Since we didn’t have much time (we were flying out the next morning), we didn’t have a plan. We decided to just meander around and check out whatever came along our path.

One of the first things to come across our path were waffles. Not just any waffles but fresh from the grill waffles, topped with fresh strawberries, whip cream, and melted chocolate. There you go, waffles and chocolate, the other two things Belgium is known for. After much temptation (watching other people eating them) I decided to give it a try. Ohmigod! It was so so good. I hated that I enjoyed it so much. This thing had to be packed with at least 100o calories. Good thing I planned on doing a lot of walking.

In the course of our walking we wandered around the Grand Place, checked out the Manniken Pis (a small bronze fountain sculpture depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain’s basin designed by Jerome Duquesnoy and put in place in 1618 or 1619),

The Royal Palace, Cathedral of St. Michael, and Parc De Bruxelles. On four or five occasions we had to go down what appeared to be “the tourist restaurant row”. Walking Bouchers Korte Beenhouwers Straat was like going through a gauntlet of food touts. Any seasoned traveler knows to avoid these places like the plaque. Even though every time we passed through we said no thank you, to each and every one of them, it did not stop the various vendors from asking us to “eat here” every single time.

It was a pleasant surprise to discover that I liked this town. It still had that old-timey European small village feel even though it’s a major city. We actually wished we had stayed a few days longer, but Stockholm was waiting and we were itching to get there. So, maybe…next time.