Bring on the Chocolate and Belgian Waffles!!

The next stop on our journey takes us to Brussels, Belgium. We took a Thalys Train out of Paris and enjoyed the scenery through the French countryside. Upon arriving in Brussels, we soon learned that not only did Belgians speak French, but some also spoke Dutch, so instead of trying to figure out just one language, we now had to try and figure out two!!! We figured out the necessary subway lines needed to get us to our hotel, and after a couple wrong turns, finally arrived at around 2:00 in the afternoon. Our hotel was located near the Grande Place, a bustling old town center. There were all kinds of little bistros and shops on cobblestone-lined streets. A string quartet was playing beautiful music out on the street. Taking the advice of our son Ben, who had all ready stopped in Brussels a few weeks earlier, we bought a genuine, bonafide, guaranteed, warranteed Belgian Waffle. It was topped with strawberries, real dark Belgium chocolate shavings, and whipped cream. Can you say scrumptious? The other Belgian delicacy (and don't laugh) we had to try was frites. They are basically a fancy type of french fries. What makes them soooo good is the topping. It is a sauce made from mayo, ketchup, and sauteed onions. I know, sounds ridiculous, but believe me, they were delicious.

We strolled through the streets of Brussels and camp upon a lovely section of the Grand Place that was the town center. It had lovely, old,
indescribably beautiful buildings surrounding it. I just wanted to stand and stare in awe. We came across numerous chocolate shops, and Jerry had to twist my arm to make me stop to sample. We visited a couple of gorgeous cathedrals, some fancy old parliament buildings, a palace, an outdoor market, and the "Atomium", or as Jerry called it the "Atom Thingie". The "Atomium" was built for the 1958 World's Fair which was held in Brussels. It is a giant replica of a metal atom, only 196 million times enlarged. We went to the top of it and watched some brave people riding a zip-line from the top of the display down to the bottom......and it was a LONG way down.

Before our two day stay was over, we'd eaten two more Belgian Waffles and were glad we weren't staying in Brussels much longer or we wouldn't have been able to fit into our clothes!