Brussels, Belgium: The first thing to report is it stopped raining this morning and started snowing. Plus, hail. This was the first time for Lucile to see snow falling, so she was quite excited. I went to book the next flight to Tahiti, but it seemed to turn into the next train to Brussels…
Yes, the next stop on our whirl-wind Spring Break trip is Brussels, and we will be damned if the weather is going to stop us from having fun. We checked out of our Amsterdam hotel and took a taxi to Centraal Station, where we boarded the Eurostar to Bruxelles Midi Station. Less than two hours. Nothing exciting happened, but we did see a lot of old-school windmills in the Dutch countryside.
Lucy and I stitched. She forged on, but I had to stop due to a too-many-color-change situation I did not want to attempt in such a short time. Arriving in Brussels, we took a 10 minute taxi ride to our hotel. Again, we have a “family room” situation with two connecting rooms. We have a king bed; the kids have twins. The hotel usually provides small stuffed animals for children, but when asked their ages, left the kids with a TinTin book and big jars of gummy worms. TinTin and Smurfs are some of the most famous and beloved Belgian comic characters.
After warming-up a bit and unpacking, we hit the streets around our hotel to show the grandchildren “our” Brussels. We stayed in Brussels for several days in 2023 and wanted the kids experience this fascinating city. Of course we first took them to see the Little Pisser (Manneken Pis) who today was wearing some-sort of Mad Scientist costume. Did not stay long. Will come back. Couldn’t even see the statue due to his mad-scientist wig. (So, no photo until tomorrow… but I bet you all know what a toddler boy looks like while pissing?)
Second stop (on the same block as the Manneken Pis) is this gigantic snake posed to squeeze his victim. Lenny just HATES snakes, so on our previous visit, DT posed inside the squirmer. This time, we gave the snake an easier meal to swallow.
We also took the kids to one of the best foods one can find in Brussels in the land where fries were created - never mind they are called French Fries. Next was their first view of the Grand Place - the most beautiful plaza in Europe:
Notice the blue skies? This was a freaky afternoon for weather. Though it was 50 degrees, the wind made it feel 33! Less than twenty minutes later, the sky became dark and it hailed for ten minutes. I was so cold. Not only do I have a new beanie from Amsterdam, I now own a pair of thick pink gloves with pink “fur” trim. DT now owns a black beanie and blue gloves (no fur). Lucile is the only member of this expedition to be clever enough to bring gloves and a warm hat.
Belgium is famed for fries, waffles and chocolate. Some of the most famous chocolatiers in the world are based here. Leo wants to try them all, but we are only here a few days, so I suggested a few to try. Lucile wants to buy chocolate to give as gifts so will “take one for the team” to sample as many as possible. Neuhaus was our first test. They past my test, but apparently further research is required.
By now it was completely dark (at 5p) and it was pouring rain! Back to the hotel for a warm-up and to dress as nicely for dinner as we could in Arctic conditions.
We had reservations at a place we loved on our last visit - Aux Armes de Bruxelles - because I just loved their Watterzooi soup. Wouldn’t you know it? They only had the fish-version of the soup on the menu tonight, and it contained (I’m allergic) shellfish. Dave had it though and the rest of us all had vol-au-vent - like a fancy puff-pastry encrusted chicken pot pie. Oysters were shared for the appetizer, while I had cheese croquettes.
I could not stay awake to write this journal last evening, so I present it late. More activities planned tomorrow (lots of walking in frigid temperatures), but the wind and rain are supposed to stop by mid-morning. The kids were up long after we slept - they were watching Smurfs on television!
PEDOMETER: Just over 8000 steps. Pretty good for a travel day.
Until my next update, I remain, your Brussels correspondent.
LINKS:
Aux Armes de Bruxelles