Brussels

Brussels was a pleasant surprise. We were in Brussels for 2 days, and I think that was just enough time. Unlike other cities, the focus of this stop was food: waffles, chocolate, beer, french fries (frites). Brussels is not known for huge tourist attractions, in fact their biggest attraction is a small statue of a boy peeing (Mannequin Pis). We made sure to stop by and visit him and his sister (Jeanneke Pis). This visit was a bit more casual and we spent most of our time exploring and eating, and loved every second of it. My mouth is watering as I type thinking of the delish food we were able to experience! We stayed in a hotel that was in a perfect location. The hotel was lovely and I would highly recommend staying there. 

Days in Brussels: 2

Transportation: Lots of walking! Rode a tram once, also used Uber.

Accommodations: Hotel - Thon Hotel Stephanie 

Things to Know: Make sure you come hungry! Lots of good food and drinking to be done

Our Stay

Day 1

Walking Tour of Brussels

Before we left, I had a bit of a difficult time finding things to do in Brussels. I stumbled upon this blog post of a walking tour of Brussels and I am so glad we did. It was a great walk and we enjoyed stopping to see things and breaking for food along the way. We started our walk at Parc de Bruxelles, where we encountered large groups of people playing Pokemon, not on our checklist :) Next we stopped by the Royal Palace (where we toured the following day). Next, we looped behind and visited the square behind the palace and headed towards the Mont des Artes clock. We toured the inspiring St. Michael's church with intricate details. We were getting hungry by this point and stopped for some Frites (potatoes fried in Ox fat- I know sounds gross but they are to die for!) at Fritland. We stopped at another fry stand that was supposed to be "rated" higher the following day, and I honestly enjoyed these fries more. We headed to The Grand Place which is one of the most historical landmarks in Brussels, it was beautiful! Of course no trip would be complete without a stop to see Mannequin Pis, which was immediately followed by waffles. Boy I wish I could figure out the secret to how their waffles are so dang good. Dustin had his plain and I had mine with fresh strawberries and belgium chocolate drizzled on top. I don't think you could go wrong with anything! We were going to head back to a waffle shop that had high ratings on Trip Advisor, but ended up stopping at a 1euro waffle shop that I think was just as good! We walked through a lovely shopping area called the Galeries Royales and window shopped the luxury boutiques. After a day of strolling we stopped for a drink (okay maybe a few) at Delirium Cafe. Delirium is brewer in Belgium, so it was their speciality. This was a recommendation to us and it was so awesome. They had tons of beers on tap at extremely reasonable prices! I also discovered a newfound love of Fanta pop, which I drank the entire rest of our trip. We ended our day with dinner at Den Talurelekker (recommendation). This lovely family owned restaurant is a hidden gem, and when I say hidden I mean it was tricky to find. But boy was I glad we found it. This was one of the best meals I had on our entire trip! I ordered Carbonnades Flamandes - YUM! We rode the tram back to the hotel and crashed after a busy but relaxed day.

Brussels Park

Royal Palace

The square behind the Palace

The clock featuring 12 historical figures from Belgium history

St. Michael's Cathedral 

Dustin using his prized little fork to eat the fries

YUM!

Fritland

The Grand Place for some people watching :)

YUM waffle!

Drooling

See that little guy peeing on Dustin's head? Thats Mannequin Pis :)

Mannequin Pis

Galeries Royales

Delirium Cafe

Delirium Cafe

Dustin enjoying his Beer!

My Fanta!

Mannequin Pis' sister Jeanneke Pis - legend is if you leave her a coin and make a wish it may come true!

Lovely dinner at Den Talurelekker

Carbonnades Flamandes - stew cooked in beer with Mashed Potatoes!

Day 2

Tour of Royal Palace

We started off with a free tour of the Royal Palace. Belgium does not have a royal family any longer, but the palace is now occupied by dignitaries. For a few weeks in the Summer they take holiday and the public is welcome to visit. It was a neat place to visit and luckily our trip coincided with the opening. 

This crazy chandelier was made from Beetle's wings. SO neat!

Parc du Cinquantenaire & Autoworld

After our stroll through the palace and a yummy breakfast of more waffles, we headed to the Parc. We explored the parc then headed up towards Autoworld. This museum had hundreds of cars from throughout history. It was neat to explore and learn more about cars, and something Dustin really enjoyed.

Frit Flagey

After the park, we ubered over to Frit Flagey for a frite treat. The frites were yummy, but if I had to pick I liked Fritland more (plus that location is a bit more central). We stopped by a belgium chocolate shop, checked out of our hotel and boarded the train - off to Amsterdam!

Bye Brussels! Hope to return soon for the yummy food!