Being a teacher definitely has its perks, one being spring break; and when my students go on vaca, this teacher isn’t going to leave hers behind either! Thanks to the website Scott’s Cheap Flights, I was able to score tickets to Belgium’s capital city Brussels for about half the price that they typically are, and from there the train tickets, hostel stays, and daily planning spun out of control! ;)
I traveled the week post Easter beginning on Good Friday, March 30 and home again on Sunday, April 8...10 glorious days exploring Belgium & France at my own leisurely pace!
Day 1: Brussels
Landed in Brussels airport EARLY Saturday morning and hung around a bit to catch up with my friend Justin and his dad and sister who were stopping in Belgium for a mere 40ish hours. Once we found each other we grabbed a train and headed downtown. They opted for nap time, but I wanted to start getting aquatinted with the city {and by aquainted I mean I needed to find some waffles}. I had booked us a free walking tour for early afternoon but it still left me with about 3 hours to walk around, check out some sights, and get my first waffle!
In 3 hours I managed to check out on foot the Grand Place, St Nicholas & St. Michales churches, GIRL PEE, the galleries of St. Hubert, and of course some taste testing! After their nap I met up with Justin & family for our free Sandeman's Walking Tour {highly recommended throughout Europe} in the Grand Place. Our nearly 3 hour walking tour checked out some of the same areas I had already seen along with the Town Hall, Manneken Pis, The Stock Exchange, The Royal Square, and the comic art scene, and explained exactly what all we were seeing as well as giving us time to sample our 1st Belgian beer....day 1 was shaping up to be pretty great!
Afterwards we grabbed dinner at a tavern our guide had recommended sampling Carbonade, a typical Belgian beef & beer stew. We finished our night off with several more beer tastings, including a trip to Delirium tavern (an overpopulated popular but must-see bar in Brussels) and a night visit to the Grand Place. Goodnight Belgium, I can’t wait to see what other adventures we have in store for each other!
Day 2: Brussels
Happy Easter!
2016 I spent Easter in Taiwan, 2017 I was in Brazil, 2018 I had to make great, so Belgium it was!
Before even leaving the US I had picked out St. Michaels Cathedral in downtown Brussels for Easter mass at 11am. I got there around 10:40 and was a little worried to see a previous mass going on with low attendance and only a few people waiting around for the 11am mass. I figured it just must not be an important part of Easter for the locals to go to mass. 11am hit though and instantly the Church was PACKED with standing room only (and I snagged a spot up front!) The mass was said in French, and in conjunction with the trumpet and organist, the mass was absolutely beautiful!
After mass I ventured on the metro to go check out a couple of sights outside of the downtown area {truly most of this was doable in one day} including the Porte de Halle (remains of a city wall), Church of Notre-Dame Du Finistere, and the famous Atomium structure. Next up was Parc Elizabeth (this park is a good half a mile long!) along with the beautiful Koekelberg church in the park as well talking my time and walking leisurely soaking in all the sights and sounds Belgium had to offer me!
Around dinner time Justin, his family and I met back up, and with recommendations from a flight attendant, we headed to a local upscale restaurant where I sampled the Carbonade once more and excellent food was had by all!
After dinner we walked around enjoying the lights of the Grand Place with waffles in hand with a good, && very well deserved, night’s sleep just ahead :)
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