Waffles, Chocolate and Brussels

"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

St. Augustine

The first rule of travelling is "be prepared for the unexpected". Things will rarely go as smoothly as expected and knowing this makes a journey less stressful.

As this is my own invented rule I should have "been prepared" for Brussels. Our first introduction to Brussels was the train station. Signs were posted everywhere warning tourists to "beware" of pick pockets which made me uneasy.   I brought along a map of the area we would be staying in with some instructions on how to get to our hotel - which was easily within walking distance.

Step One: Find our exit. Finding an exit to the street was easy - there were many of them. Finding the right exit to the street we were looking for was a whole different story. So, scrap step one and move onto step two.

Step Two: "Wing it".

Outside the station, traffic is busy and the streets fan out in every direction - like a spider's web. The first street we are looking for is nowhere in sight. A local was kind enough to point us in the right direction and so we were off. As we maneuver ourselves through the maze of streets we get closer to our B&B - but the closer we get the more "sketchy" the area begins to look. It wasn't looking good. The streets are narrow and garbage is cluttered everywhere and the people we passed...I won't go there. We wind our way long the narrow cobblestone streets and finally our hotel comes into view.

Hotel Galia

O.M.G! I did refer to the reviews on our booking website before booking - they looked pretty good.

Step three: Don't panic. Things usually look worse then they are.

Step three proves to be good advice. While the hotel is not exactly "The Ritz" it is clean and the young man at the front desk is friendly, knowledgeable with good English. The elevator is small and slow as we ascend to the 3rd floor (it is only 45 seconds but it feels like we are ascending much higher - heaven possibly?). The room is small but serviceable and the bathroom is big enough to turn around in. Yes. We have arrived.

From our hotel to the main centre of the city is about a 15 minute walk - mostly downhill so the walk there is easy. There are many beautiful old buildings in Brussels - worthy of photographing. Most notably we visit the Grand Place in Brussels (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site). The streets in the this area of the city are lined with wonderful little shops and restaurants and tourists (and locals as well I assume) enjoy the excitement found there. I got my flag, a yummy Belgium waffle, a glass of wine and a box of amazing Belgium chocolates so I am satisfied - those were my objectives while in Belgium.



Guildhalls on the Grand Place



Town Hall in the Grand Place

Another building in Grand Place - not sure what this building is.

A street near the Grand Place and typical architecture
found in Brussels.

Belgium Waffles

My apologies to my co-workers who may be reading this. Terry and I have begun eating the chocolates ourselves. Really I thought about bringing them back for you guys but I am sure the chocolates will all be melted from the heat we are expecting to experience in Italy! But I must tell you - they are SO delicious!!!

Working our way through the box!

Next stop.  Amsterdam.