This leg of our trip has included 2 days in Brussels, and it has a very different feel from Amsterdam.. The streets aren't as narrow, so it seems more bright and open, and it feels different for the fact that not everyone's here for a party. Also, where we are currently staying is right off Avenue Louise, which is apparently a very famous shopping district in Brussels. I saw a lady walking around in a fur coat and hat earlier.. I should have known when I saw the Tiffany and Louis Vuitton stores that we had landed ourselves in a very pricey part of town. Little did I know when I was booking our hotel on Hotwire.com that we would be hiiiiigh society ;) We did get a very, very good deal though.
We have spent our days walking (per usual) around the city and looking at all the cool and intricate architecture that dates back centuries. I mean you look up and around and it's hard to believe that at one point in history, all of these buildings and their facades were built by hand. It's incredible. I haven't been able to get on wifi hardly at all here, which was surprising to me, but once I can get all my photos from my camera on here you will see what I mean. Old European cities are so cool to me... they look nothing like what we have back home.
We did try a Belgian waffle today, and I did have mussels with my dinner tonight...in a salad we picked up from the local supermarche'. Unfortunately Brussels, being a European capital, has made it difficult to indulge in all the cool things we would have liked to, such as fancy chocolates and 22 euro per person dinners.. It's almost been two months (yes, it has flown by) and still so early in our trip..we have a long time to budget ahead of us. That being said, we have thoroughly enjoyed living simply and utilizing the grocery stores for our meals. I don't mind not living up the nightlife and going to expensive dinners now, so we are able do things during the day. This allows us to make the most of the daylight hours in places we stay and will be good for when we get to places that are super cheap, like India and SE Asia.
The Belgian waffle was soooo good. We went to the Grand Place, where there are tons of shops and restaurants. You could even get escargot from a street vendor guy. I opted for the waffle with strawberries and powdered sugar, and Paul was nice enough to share it with me. You could get it with bananas, chocolate, whipped cream, glaze, and ice cream on top, but for those of you that know me well, I would probably go into a sugar induced coma had I ordered that. Strawberries seemed like the best option. It was yum... warm and crunchy-yet-soft in the middle, a treat that you should eat slowly. I feel that with the amount of walking we are doing plus my yoga and running that I've been able to continue on a regular basis, I can eat basically whatever I want! Everything in moderation :) As nice as it would be to have a car to get around to places public transport won't take you, using my feet as the main mode of getting around has enabled me to see things I would have otherwise not seen and basically burn off everything we eat! It's a win-win.
One thing I learned about Brussels is that it has a huge comic book subculture. Paul loved Tin-Tin as a kid, and we happened to walk past this store that had all kinds of comic books, comic book anthologies and memorabilia, and lots of Tin-Tin stuff. This was one of many shops we walked past that had comic book stuff.. I had no idea Brussels was known for that..
We also saw the famous statue "Mannekin Pis", which is a statue of, well, a little guy relieving himself. We went into the Brussels museum and saw replicas of the little guy with all the different costumes they put on him for different occastions. Some of the costumes include a cowboy, traditional Peruvian clothes, a Samauri outfit, and even an Elvis costume. When we saw him, he had no costume on and was naked... I'm wondering if they dress him up in the Santa costume during Christmastime? What made me laugh was the size of the crowd around this peeing statue! It was huge! Craziness....
Our next stop is Bruges, which is located about an hour east of Brussels and is known the "Venice of the North". Bruges just happens to have a store devoted to Tin-Tin. Apparently I used to watch this cartoon as a kid (which I don't recall) and Paul obviously grew up on it and saw the movie, so he is thrilled. :) We have opted to use airbnb.com again here so we can get some local insight on Bruges, as I really have no background knowledge of anything Belgium related, to be honest. This was kind of a random pin in our overall map, or the ? section between Amsterdam and Verona. I don't really have any complaints though, as I sit here in our huge hotel room on a comfy bed. Onwards to Bruges via train tomorrow!
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