After spending the afternoon in Lyon, France, we drove to Brussels, Belgium, for the next part of our European trip.
I was happy to be out of France - the cost of all the paid tollways started to irritate me (compared to toll-free roads in the Netherlands or Germany). Thankfully, Belgium's roads were free, and we had a good time in Brussels.
We arrived late afternoon (around 5:00 p.m.) but struggled to navigate Brussels downtown. The roads were vast, with lots of lanes. It was challenging to find parking near our intended residence. We finally found Rue Washington 13, near Elft & Garrett's studio. We parked and took our suitcases to our Airbnb studio rental.
We were lucky that both Elft and Garrett were there to greet us. They prepared everything for us, including maps of Brussels, restaurants to visit, and tags for my car (to avoid parking violations).
Elft & Garrett had two dogs, Droopy and Mambo, and we got to play with them a bit. Both dogs were amiable, and petting them was delightful.
We had a lovely queen-sized bed to rest after a long day of sightseeing. We did not expect Brussels to be so vast and spread out. Even when using subways, distances are more substantial than I ever expected.
Here is Mambo resting nearby. He was really friendly and loved to be petted. Both Droopy and Mambo competed with each other for our attention.
Our room was pretty large, but we did not stay there too long, as we saw sites in Brussels and other nearby Belgian towns, including Ghent, Antwerp, and Bruges.
As I had to return the car to Avis, I drove back to the Brussels Airport and dropped it off. Returning back to downtown Brussels took multiple buses. I was glad to be rid of the Opel - as parking is challenging in Brussels, and the Opel did not drive well on the freeway (insufficient power).
We were tired and hungry, so we stopped for dinner at the local No. 7 Restaurant nearby. The restaurant was good, and we enjoyed some wine with our delicious dishes.
As we were tired from all the driving, we decided to get some needed sleep.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
We got up early in the morning on Saturday with a plan to see the best of Brussels. We walked the nearby Louise Avenue (like Champs Elysee in Paris) and stopped by a few coffee shops.
We decided to stop by Natural Cafe for some coffee and pastries. Natural Cafe has a very modern look and has good coffee and pastries.
We enjoyed our breakfast and walked further down Louise Avenue. At the far end of Louise Avenue is a Memorial to soldiers who perished in World War I.
We walked past the Palace of Justice, which was being restored, to the Notre Dame au Sablon Church.
The Church was beautiful but not especially large or imposing. We did not go inside as it was closed.
Across the Church is a little square courtyard - Square du Petit Sablon, where we rested and enjoyed the scenery.
A few monuments were dedicated to the gallant Belgian fighters who fought against the Spanish for independence.
From here, we walked to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, where we planned to see the beautiful artwork.
The museum has a lovely collection of past painters and a few sculptors.
From the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, we walked to the Magritte Museum. Magritte has a collection of artwork from the famous surrealist Rene Magritte.
From there, we walked past the Royal Place to the Museum of Musical Instruments.
The Museum of Musical Instruments is housed in a tall, uniquely decorated building with multiple floors.
Before enjoying the museum, we decided to have lunch on the roof at the museum's cafe. The lunch was quite good, but the service was relatively slow. I still couldn't get used to how slow the waiters and waitresses come around because they don't expect tips (Europeans tip 0-5%).
After lunch, we examined the many wondrous, ancient musical instruments. There were lots of antique harpsichords, pianos, organs, and unique instruments that no longer exist. Some are very, very old and look very delicate and fragile.
There were some ancient organs.
And some very unique instruments that I have never seen anywhere else.
After visiting the museum, we decided to explore the nearby Royal Park. There were a few entertainers there juggling balls.
We tried some local ice cream and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine.
From Royal Park, we walked to Albertine Place.
From here, we walked to the Grand Place - the central square in Brussels - which houses the city's town hall, merchant's guild halls, and the bread house. The square is always teeming with people -it has many street entertainers, restaurants, and chocolateries.
We liked to stop by here daily to people-watch and enjoy the street entertainers. It's a fun place to hang out.
There are some very tall spires in the city hall.
The Grand Place is always teeming with people.
Many different street entertainers perform for the crowds in the square.
We decided to take a break and get some refreshments. I tasted a delicious local Belgian beer - Affligem.
Afterward, we strolled the streets, stopping by at a shop selling famous Belgian waffles. Inna had to try to see if they were any good. Do these look delicious?
From here, we walked to the famous Jeanneke Pis statue. I don't understand the fascination with this, but it was a prominent tourist draw here.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
We had a nice dinner at our local Villa Thai restaurant, but it was nothing special. Thai food in the United States is better.
We headed home to get some needed sleep and prepare for the next day.
Monday, July 8, 2013
After our trip to Ghent, we returned to the Grand Place for dinner. We found a good quality/reasonably priced restaurant called Mokacafe and had a light dinner there.
Inna chose a healthy salad, and I tried some pasta.
The dishes were delicious, and we came back to Mokacafe a couple more times while we stayed in Brussels.
We arrived late afternoon (around 5:00 p.m.) but struggled to navigate Brussels downtown. The roads were vast, with lots of lanes. It was challenging to find parking near our intended residence. We finally found Rue Washington 13, near Elft & Garrett's studio. We parked and took our suitcases to our Airbnb studio rental.
We were lucky that both Elft and Garrett were there to greet us. They prepared everything for us, including maps of Brussels, restaurants to visit, and tags for my car (to avoid parking violations).
Elft & Garrett had two dogs, Droopy and Mambo, and we got to play with them a bit. Both dogs were amiable, and petting them was delightful.
We had a lovely queen-sized bed to rest after a long day of sightseeing. We did not expect Brussels to be so vast and spread out. Even when using subways, distances are more substantial than I ever expected.
Here is Mambo resting nearby. He was really friendly and loved to be petted. Both Droopy and Mambo competed with each other for our attention.
Our room was pretty large, but we did not stay there too long, as we saw sites in Brussels and other nearby Belgian towns, including Ghent, Antwerp, and Bruges.
As I had to return the car to Avis, I drove back to the Brussels Airport and dropped it off. Returning back to downtown Brussels took multiple buses. I was glad to be rid of the Opel - as parking is challenging in Brussels, and the Opel did not drive well on the freeway (insufficient power).
We were tired and hungry, so we stopped for dinner at the local No. 7 Restaurant nearby. The restaurant was good, and we enjoyed some wine with our delicious dishes.
As we were tired from all the driving, we decided to get some needed sleep.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
We got up early in the morning on Saturday with a plan to see the best of Brussels. We walked the nearby Louise Avenue (like Champs Elysee in Paris) and stopped by a few coffee shops.
We decided to stop by Natural Cafe for some coffee and pastries. Natural Cafe has a very modern look and has good coffee and pastries.
We enjoyed our breakfast and walked further down Louise Avenue. At the far end of Louise Avenue is a Memorial to soldiers who perished in World War I.
We walked past the Palace of Justice, which was being restored, to the Notre Dame au Sablon Church.
The Church was beautiful but not especially large or imposing. We did not go inside as it was closed.
Across the Church is a little square courtyard - Square du Petit Sablon, where we rested and enjoyed the scenery.
A few monuments were dedicated to the gallant Belgian fighters who fought against the Spanish for independence.
From here, we walked to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, where we planned to see the beautiful artwork.
The museum has a lovely collection of past painters and a few sculptors.
From the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, we walked to the Magritte Museum. Magritte has a collection of artwork from the famous surrealist Rene Magritte.
From there, we walked past the Royal Place to the Museum of Musical Instruments.
The Museum of Musical Instruments is housed in a tall, uniquely decorated building with multiple floors.
Before enjoying the museum, we decided to have lunch on the roof at the museum's cafe. The lunch was quite good, but the service was relatively slow. I still couldn't get used to how slow the waiters and waitresses come around because they don't expect tips (Europeans tip 0-5%).
After lunch, we examined the many wondrous, ancient musical instruments. There were lots of antique harpsichords, pianos, organs, and unique instruments that no longer exist. Some are very, very old and look very delicate and fragile.
There were some ancient organs.
And some very unique instruments that I have never seen anywhere else.
After visiting the museum, we decided to explore the nearby Royal Park. There were a few entertainers there juggling balls.
We tried some local ice cream and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine.
From Royal Park, we walked to Albertine Place.
From here, we walked to the Grand Place - the central square in Brussels - which houses the city's town hall, merchant's guild halls, and the bread house. The square is always teeming with people -it has many street entertainers, restaurants, and chocolateries.
We liked to stop by here daily to people-watch and enjoy the street entertainers. It's a fun place to hang out.
There are some very tall spires in the city hall.
The Grand Place is always teeming with people.
Many different street entertainers perform for the crowds in the square.
We decided to take a break and get some refreshments. I tasted a delicious local Belgian beer - Affligem.
Afterward, we strolled the streets, stopping by at a shop selling famous Belgian waffles. Inna had to try to see if they were any good. Do these look delicious?
From here, we walked to the famous Jeanneke Pis statue. I don't understand the fascination with this, but it was a prominent tourist draw here.
We had a nice dinner at our local Villa Thai restaurant, but it was nothing special. Thai food in the United States is better.
After dinner, we took the subway to the Grand Place Square, where we strolled around, enjoying the scenery. A pleasant indoor mall near Grand Place has many chocolate shops and fine clothes boutiques.
We walked nearby and saw some fascinating chocolate fountains.
The Grand Place was crowded with people, as usual.
We decided to have a couple of drinks and people-watch. I had the usual delicious local Belgian beer.
We sat down at "La Rose Blanche" - The White Rose- for no reason.
Inna tried some fruity drinks.
We spent an enjoyable evening there until it got dark.
Nighttime at the Grand Place is quite extraordinary. The square teems with life any hour of the day.
We headed home to get some needed sleep and prepare for the next day.
Monday, July 8, 2013
After our trip to Ghent, we returned to the Grand Place for dinner. We found a good quality/reasonably priced restaurant called Mokacafe and had a light dinner there.
Inna chose a healthy salad, and I tried some pasta.
The dishes were delicious, and we came back to Mokacafe a couple more times while we stayed in Brussels.
We walked around the Grand Place square and eventually sat down for another drink at one of the many restaurants with tables.
Inna ordered a Latte, and I had another Affligem Belgian beer. We enjoyed sipping our drinks and watching all the people in the square.
We decided to try a nice, healthy dessert. It was berry-delicious!
Brussels has many narrow streets, and we explored many intriguing places.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Before going to Antwerp, we had our usual breakfast at the Natural Cafe.
After returning from Antwerp, we finally returned to the Grand Place for dinner.
We had a great time tasting various chocolates and really liked Neuhaus.
Overall, we had a great time in Brussels.
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