Bonjour, Bruxelles!

7:25am.  Goodbye, Paris.

8:47am.  Hello, Brussels!

Chrissy, Melanie, Dan, Kevin & I hopped off the train at Gare du Midi in Brussels, Belgium, somewhat weary but excited nonetheless.  As we walked towards the exit of the train station, we realized we didn’t quite have the slightest idea of where we were headed.  We asked a kind-looking lady which metro stops were closest to the city center, and we were taken aback when she responded with a smile and some excellent directions.  Reactions like this are unheard of in Paris, where you are scowled at for merely breathing the air of a Parisian, let alone invading their space by asking them a question.  But I digress.

We emerged from the metro station and were hit with a bone-chilling cold.  The city was still asleep, and was fairly quiet as we strolled (read: sped-walked) through the streets, searching for a little café to regroup.  We ended up finding a place called the Café Inn, where I ordered an omelet and a big mug of homemade hot chocolate, thus beginning my passionate affair with Belgian chocolate.

After we were sufficiently warmed up, we decided to head out into the cold once more to check out the famous Grand Place.  The Grand Place is a city square that is surrounded by big, beautiful buildings, including guildhalls, the city hall, and the King’s House.  Bars and chocolate shops line the streets leading up to the square, selling all sorts of delicious Belgian goods.  I have never seen so many chocolate stores in one area, and it was pretty overwhelming.  They all looked so delicious and were beautifully decorated for Valentine’s Day weekend.

After exploring the streets a bit more, we decided to head for our hostel since we were all exhausted.  We got there, checked in, and much to our surprise, realized that our hostel wasn’t, in fact, a hostel, but was actually a pretty nice hotel.  Melanie and I claimed the comfy twin beds in the main bedroom and banished Dan and Kevin to the bunk beds in the little closet-sized space next to the main room.  We had a nice bathroom, too.

After a much needed hour-long nap, we were refreshed and ready to roll.  We walked around the city a bit more, exploring the gardens, the Royal Palace, and some more of the area surrounding the Grand Place.  We stopped to warm up in a cute little café (which I think was called Café Rue de la Madeleine), where I had my first vin chaud (warm wine).  It was pretty good, spiced up with some sugar and cinnamon, and it definitely hit the spot on such a cold day.

We explored the city a bit more, grabbing hold of all of the free samples of chocolate our hands could carry.  We walked through a sort of antiques shop where Chrissy bartered with the owner (in French!) and bought a ring.  We tried our first Belgian waffles…YUM.  Mine was covered in chocolate, and was aboslutely delicious.  By dinnertime, we were all cold and hungry, and decided to stop at a place called “Gaufres du Bruxelles.”  We had sandwiches and tried the famous frites, or fries, which we weren’t too impressed with.

After dinner, we went to Delirium Café, which has an impressive selection of over 2,000 beers to choose from.  The décor and mood were both interesting, as an impressive assortment beer trays lined the walls and ceiling and some crazy-looking bartenders were eager to help you select the perfect beer.  I tried many different kinds of Belgian beer, including a blonde La Rulles beer, Delirium’s own dark Nocturnum, and, of course, Duvel (my mom’s favorite!).  Although they missed their beer missiles, the boys discovered the beauty of the boot, and drank their beer from ginormous, glass boots, which were similar to the ones used in the movie Beer Fest.

After several drinks, we were once again exhausted, and trekked back to our hotel for a long night’s sleep.