A city with a reputation

We spent a few days on an extended layover in Brussels. For the first time in our travels we utilised the passenger loved hack of skip lagging and bailed on our final lag back to France. Being the rule abiding person I mostly tend to be I was hesitant to partake in this option but the alternative of two extra flight legs (Brussels to France and then basically back to Brussels) was most unappealing, especially when juxtaposed with the prospect of a few days in Brussels. Still, I made an effort to not skirt the rules and had some phone calls with the airline about potentially cancelling my final leg (this would have incurred a hefty fee). I felt uneasy about the whole thing as we left our first flight. I envisioned our plane being delayed and announcements being made for the lone woman with five children who they were expecting. Some last minute internet research revealed that it is possible to uncheck out of a second leg of a flight as a way of making it clear they should not expect you. Useful information to know! 

Our few days in Brussels were loaded with food oriented expectations. Belgium has a reputation for certain unhealthy but highly appealing foods - chocolate, waffles, and chips. I told the girls that we could sample all three as part of the cultural experience. Our first day in Brussels was spent enjoyably wandering the old town visiting various peeing statues, going to a great city museum, and of course visiting chocolate shops. My chocolate expectations were actually fairly low and I was pleased at how great the fancy truffles and filled chocolates were. We didn’t eat a ton of chocolate but it was much more than we were used to so by the end of our chocolate tour we all had zero desire to eat chips and waffles. No worries because we still had two more days. On our second day we took the train to Ghent for some more old town wandering. Again none of us felt drawn to a lunch of waffles and chips so we opted for grocery store sandwiches. A couple of hours of a castle visit and still each time I offered to buy chips I got lots of horrified looks. No worries, there was still a third day. On our final day in Brussels I suggested we go for a breakfast of waffles in the old town. Nobody cheered. A lunch of chips? No votes. Instead we went to a more local cafe outside the tourist throngs and had some tasty sandwiches. I was kind of fascinated by my repeated offers to buy waffles and chips with no takers. Oh well, there is always a future visit. 

Brussels was a city that was loaded to the max with tourists. We had heard some mixed reviews of the city but we all really enjoyed our visit. The fact that everyone spoke French made it an easy destination to get by in. There seemed to be lots of events happening in various parts of the city. Beer and comics were of great importance. Belgium is a relatively small country that is easy to get around. And the chocolate really was great. 

Tova in Brussels

Home of Tin tin

Belgium really outdid the Netherlands hagelslag with this move. We bought it and can attest to the fact that it is thin pieces of chocolate to be eaten on bread for breakfast.

Manneken Pis has been dressing up for over 400 years. During our stay he was cheering on the Belgian world cup team. 

                      

This incredibly hot and crowded train to Ghent was wonderful because I got to watch these two woman have a full and proper tea with crockery and pastries and then watch them knit

Ghent

Levana listened to the entire one hour audio guide of the castle with enthusiasm!