We are here! The drive to Miami on the 1st was manageable. Hotel worked perfectly. Dinner at Davino Ceviche fantastic (ceviche, octopus, fish soup that even I enjoyed!! and lomo saltado – pork loin in an incredibly rich brown sauce) – way too much food – but all good! And all very, very Peruvian. So much so that the automatic language spoken is Spanish – yeah – I didn’t brush up as well as I should have – but we made it through!
Flights went off fine – with the exception of the short overnight flight from Montreal to Brussels. Took off on time, but there was turbulence starting out, so even after it ended (in about 20 minutes) the cabin staff just sort of slacked off in the back of the plane. Took over 2 hours to get dinner out. By the time we were finished we had less than 3 hours to sleep! Not happy campers – but we caught what shut eye we could, then up for a really weak breakfast (icky cold banana bread) and finally onto Belgium soil!
Taxi to the hotel where Gaby, Sigis and Matthias greeted us in the lobby! So wonderful to see them all again! We’re missing Iris – home with little 2 month old Dominic! But we have plenty of pictures to tide us over!
Our room isn’t ready – no surprise, since it is not even 11 AM – we store our bags and head off into the town! Matthias is the tour guide (since he’s lived here for 4 months!) and we start of in the Grand Place – only a few blocks from the hotel.
Wow. We’ve read that this is on of the most beautiful medieval squares in all of Europe – and you know, we can’t argue. The buildings are, well, grand. There’s no other way to describe it. The Town Hall with its tall spire is the centerpiece, and the guild houses surrounding the place are stunning, even in the cloudy half light.
Next we head to the major tourist attraction of the city. Yes, the Manneken Pis. This is the world famous statue of the little boy peeing in the street. We’re prepared for the disappointment – it is teeny! Much smaller than you’d expect.
But he is there in all his exposed glory! And then, right across the street – the waffle vendor! Recommended by Matthias – and rightly so – 1 Euro buys you the freshest, best, sweetest waffle. Yes – this is what I came for!
After the sugar high, we head out of to the Sablon area, known for its restaurants, cafes, antiques stores and art galleries. It’s a lovely little area of town – and as it is after noon we decide to stop at an adorable little café just off of Place du Grand Sablon.
La Malcour is a traditional little Belgian café, complete with fire place, cozy tables and banquets as well as fabulous old fixtures. Beautiful.
We share two plates of chacuterie – both excellent – and good crusty fresh bread. Lunch solved.
We head off to the Palace of Justice, passing the Notre Dame cathedral.
Then onto the Palace of Justice, but end up not going in – just passing by. We head out through one of the shopping districts – you name the store – it is there – but we’ve been up for a very long time and Ed’s back is flaring up again (he was a good doobie helping put the pool furniture away at SSR and his back has been paying the price ever since). We part ways and head back to the hotel, while the Rageth’s head to the European Parliament building.
It’s a long walk, but it is all down hill, so that is very helpful. We walk through the shopping area, and into some lovely gardens.
Then find our way back through the Grand Place and to the hotel – which is located perfectly in the middle of the lower town sights – right across from the Bourse even! Great hotel and location.
Rested and relaxed – we are ready for our first evening in Brussels.
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