Beer, chocolate, and mussels...oh my!

This past weekend, a couple of friends and I took advantage of the three day weekend and went to Brussels. Well, actually, we almost didn't go...we were standing at what we thought was the bus stop (It was an actual bus stop and listed our route number, but apparently the wrong stop) until about an hour after the bus was supposed to arrive before we finally found our way. Luckily, another coach bus passed by, we flagged it down, and he took us to the correct stop. So, we ended up making it to the terminal just in time. Once in Brussels, we had to walk to our hostel, with only a general sense of directions (the printer in the flats was broken), but eventually we found it. From there on, things were excellent!

First off, our hostel was amazing! I'm still amazed that we found it...listen to this. The hostel, which was someone's house, had only a 4-person and 2-person room, so it wasn't really crowded or hectic like hostels could be. Furthermore, we had our own bathroom, a little balcony, and a kitchenette complete with a fridge from which we could take one beer or glass of wine per person per night. We also had a welcome basket waiting for us with chocolates and mini Belgium waffles, which we promptly devoured on our balcony while overlooking this little square. Plus, we got breakfast every morning which consisted of fresh baked mini-baguettes, fresh squeezed OJ, coffee, jams, meats and cheeses, and cereal. Francois and Jean-Marie, who owned the house, were really nice and we got to get to know them a little bit every morning at breakfast. And all of this for only 57 Euro per person for two nights.

Our first venture into the city took us to Grand Place, which is this beautiful square in the middle of Brussels. The buildings surrounding the square all have such elegant, ornate architecture and it was such a sight to soak in. I hope some of the pictures I took can capture it. On the suggestion of this guide book I printed off, we went to a place called Chez Leon, which had mussels and french fries (I guess this is a common Belgian dish, because it was everywhere) for a good price. The restaurant was in the middle of this neat little section of streets, which were no wider than an alleyway, but packed wall to wall with restaurants, each with their own distinctive ambiance and selection of seafood. The mussels were very good, considering I've never tried them before, and so were the french fries. So this was a good start...

Next, we found this chocolate shop nearby and picked up a few bars as well as some individual chocolates. The ladies behind the counter kept giving me a piece and made me guess the flavor, which I was more than happy to do :-P. We then found this beer store with a pretty wide selection, picked up a few bottles each and decided to go back to our room to sit on the terrace and enjoy our purchases. I must say that both the beer and the chocolate were among the best, if not the best, I have ever tasted. I realized that you pretty much have to eat only one or two of those individual pieces of chocolate an hour, because otherwise the tastes blend together and you don't appreciate each as much. The beer was very smooth and had its own distinct flavor, which I wish I could describe...the fruit beers were especially tasty (we tried apple and cherry).

The next day, we went back out into the city and, starting from Grand Place, branched out to explore the rest of the city. The two major attractions of that day were the cathedral and the Royal Palace. I can't remember the name of the cathedral, but there's a picture of it on my Webshots. It was beautiful inside, but in a calm, not overwhelming way. I was happy to see a church for once that didn't have so much ornamentation and gold leaf that you had sensory overload. It was simple and elegant. On the other side of the spectrum was the Royal Palace. They were having an art exhibit there, but unfortunately we arrived in the last 30 minutes, so they were hurrying us through. While we didn't get to ponder most of the art, we did marvel at the rooms, both their size and decoration. One room, probably the ballroom, had these beautiful chandeliers and gold leaf everywhere. It really was beautiful, and I could picture an elegant ball occurring there (although I couldn't picture myself ever living in a house with rooms that big). Another room looked like it had emeralds adorning the ceiling, which was stunning. We found out that they were actually the shells of this certain beetle, and it took over 1 million shells to produce. I don't know how you get 1 million beetles, but it was impressive.

Along the way, while we traveled through the city, we kept stumbling upon these small parades. They had people dressed in costume, usually no more than 20, walking or dancing through the streets with a mini band in tow. I guess we were there for some sort of festival weekend, but I never figured out what. Also, every so often you'd find these comic book style murals along the sides of a building. Apparently, Brussels (or Belgium) is well-known for its comics, with such known creations as Tintin and The Smurfs. We also discovered this random street vendor selling silhouettes for 3 Euro. He made them in under a minute and it was incredible to watch his hands move with such speed and confidence. Both myself and a friend had one made of ourselves and they look pretty good.

I almost forgot two more important things: Belgian waffles and Mannekin Pis. I had a Belgian waffle with chocolate sauce on top...it was so good, it should've been sinful. The waffles have little crystals of sugar inside them that make them oh so much tastier. Mannekin Pis (on a completely different topic) is this well-known statue of a boy peeing. Honest to God, it's actually a pretty popular sight. Check out my pictures...it's amusing to see.

Unfortunately, I have to cut this short because I'm off to class, but I hope I was able to give you at least a glimpse of my weekend in Brussels. Let me know how you like the Blog so far, or send me any questions/concerns/expressions of outrage. Take care!