Brussels | Day 3
Monday morning. We woke up to drills, saws, and jackhammers. Is there really construction occurring right outside our hotel window? Not even just a minor renovation, but the actual erection of a building. Just swell!
Monday morning alarm clock.
We did a very thorough job of exploring the city outside of our comfort zone today. We found Cathédrale des Saints Michel et Gudule (St. Michael’s Cathedral), Palais Royal, and Parc de Bruxelles. You will finally see pictures of Michael since it was the first day I had the strength for the camera. We walked our feet off, capturing every moment. Michael has officially decided he loves the Leffe Blonde & Bruin beer. We had a quaint lunch in the Sablon district and are planning a day trip tomorrow to Antwerp.
Cathédrale des Saints Michel et Gudule.
St. Michael, Patron Saint of the City.
Graffiti is as popular as Manneken-Pis.
However, it seems to have more style and class.
Classic street art.
Parc de Bruxelles Warande.
Palais Royal Koninklijk Paleis.
Michael made the blog.
Belgium Streets: pavement vs. cobblestone.
Manneken dressed for graduation.
The Grand Place: Maison du Roi
Before heading in we did some shopping. Michael got a new pair of kicks. I’m very envious. My new goal is finding a fun pair for myself as well.
Despite the noise, we must give the construction guys kudos. They literally worked at least 12 hours and have already completed a whole floor, ceiling included. Michael is mesmerized when he watches and of course took before and after pictures to remember this aspect of our Belgium trip.
There’s nothing like fresh, smooth cement.
We had an extremely hard time finding a place for dinner once again. The fun little cafes are limited. After passing through the lion’s den of tourist restaurants, you know the row of eateries that look exactly the same where they offer you a meal for 12 euro including everything from the cow to a free drink, the place we ended on had red velvet seats and a lighted hearth. Unfortunately, this eatery turned quickly into a false positive. Michael ordered some steak and I got a tomato stuffed with shrimp. All I can say is yuck to the smallest, coldest shrimp I’ve ever seen and tasted. I munched on some fries, but even they left much to be desired. They were definitely not fried twice. I’m not sure if they were even fried once considering the inside was raw and cold. I quickly covered my plate with Michael’s so it looked like I ate, but the waiter would not be deceived. I think he may have poked fun at me and told Michael he threw his money away because I didn’t like it. Ha! Luckily, there are waffles in Belgium. We wound up getting our second waffle with strawberries and chocolate, and walked to Lombards for a drink. Obviously, you know by now we are drinking Leffe and Framboise. Lombards has proved to be our favorite brasserie. We will definitely be more selective with dinner tomorrow.
Ps. We had a praline cone too!
Did I really attempt to eat this?
