Last Saturday we left Paris and a brief, one-hour train ride brought us to Brussels, Belgium. At the station we were greeted by our friends, Alex and Anouk, who we played with at World’s in Australia.

Since then, Whit has put together the video for our time in Paris.

Our first afternoon in Brussels was really relaxing. We all ate lunch at Alex and Anouk’s new apartment in the Uccle area of Brussels. They just moved in about two weeks ago (from Washington DC), but it is still an amazingly comfortable place. After lunch we went to do some grocery shopping with them, and then came home and rested. In the evening they took us on our first tram ride to the central area of Brussels. After the busy, over-crowded sights of London and Paris, wandering around Brussels was a nice change. Its a big city, but not too much so. We walked from the Palais de Justice to the Grand Place, which is the city’s central square. On the way we went by the Mannekin Pis, a well-known statue of Brussels. Of course, that meant there was a huge crowd in front of it, so we didn’t stick around too long.

The Grand Place is incredible - the guildhalls that line the square are beautiful, and because there’s no motor traffic coming through the square it feels more intimate than other well-known sights. From the Grand Place we walked up the Rue des Bouchers - narrow pedestrian street filled with restaurants and aggressive maitre d’s trying to get you to eat at their place. Chez Leon is one of the more well known on the street, and we all stopped there for dinner. We walked about the streets a bit more, window-shopping and drooling at the chocolateries before stopping at a Belgian Brewery for a beer sampler. It was a nice, big, open-air building and we sat there for a while. On the way back to the tram we stopped at a Belgian Waffle stand for a midnight snack - how can one resist?

Anouk had heard about a large flea market in Waterloo, so the next day we drove out to Waterloo to check it out. It was a beautiful day out, and after struggling to find it, we eventually made it to the flea market. The smell of sausages filled the air (and I’ll admit, it smelled good, even though I’m veggie these days), as we wandered through the market. There was some really interesting stuff for sale - antique furniture, clothes, tiles, records, old postcards and photographs. Alex and Anouk were on a mission to find fireplace ware and were successful (and thrifty!) in that mission. We stayed at the market until it closed down, and headed to the site of the infamous Battle of Waterloo. Although it’s an important, historical site, there isn’t a lot to see besides the Butte de Lion, where the expanse of the battlefields can be seen from 20m up. Our stomachs were demanding most of our attention, so we went to a restaurant across the road first for lunch. It was in an old country house, and the smell of the fireplace fire added to the ambiance of the men dressed in 1815 war attire - drinking beers between battle reenactments. Per Alex’s recommendation, Whit tried a Kwak - which is a Belgian beer that comes in vial-type glass in a funny, wooden cradle that you use to drink it. Whit liked it a lot, quite the experience for drinking a beer. That evening, Whit and I cooked dinner for our hosts and enjoyed a relaxing Sunday night.

On Monday we had an opportunity to go to Antwerp, since Anouk had to drop off something at her parent’s house there. After the hour-long drive, she dropped us at the Steen-plein on the river. Anouk grew up right outside Antwerp until she was thirteen, so she’s been great at giving us travel tips and bits of local history. Another beautiful day allowed for aimless wandering through the narrow pedestrian streets. We made a stop at the Grote Markt, which is the central square - there’s a huge statue there depicting the story of how Antwerp got its name. After frites at the Groenplaats square, we walked and window-shopped our way back to the train station. Two hours later we were back at the apartment, with just enough time to eat, change, and wait for Alex to get home so we could go to ultimate with him. His team had a practice in the Ixelles neighborhood; and we were happy to have the chance to play.

Tuesday was a resting day. Whit and I ran some errands around the neighborhood, read, checked emails, and then had a nice dinner with our hosts to top off the day.

A couple people had recommended the small town of Bruges to us, so on Wednesday we decided to take the train there for a day trip. It had been described to us as the “Venice of the North,” and while there were similarities, it had it’s own unique charm. The main similarity is that there are canals flowing throughout the town, just as there are in Venice. It’s always fun to being walking down a street and suddenly find yourself on a bridge overlooking water. We ate our lunch and checked out the main square, which is dominated by the tall Belfort (bell-tower). We walked around for a bit longer and then decided to take a boat tour of the canals. They managed to cram 20+ people on the boat, but it didn’t affect the tour. It was a great way to see the town, and the tour-guide gave some interesting facts along the way. After the tour we were tired and a bit cold, so we found a Belgian pub to warm up. The place must have had upwards of fifty different Belgian beers, and our waiter was extremely helpful in guiding our tastes. It wasn’t long after we arrived that we found the tables near us were occupied by Americans; from San Francisco/New York and Seattle. We wound up spending the rest of the afternoon there, chatting it up with our fellow Americans and trying several Belgian beers (my favorite is the Boon Kriek, a delicious cherry beer). We took the train home in the dark, ate our dinner, and told Alex and Anouk about our day out.

Today we’ve been relaxing at the apartment, starting to pack for our next journey. Early tomorrow we’ll be on our way to Amsterdam to visit Whit’s good friend Mike OT, who is currently working at the improv club, Boom Chicago. We’ll be there for a week, but hopefully it won’t take that long to post again!

Until then…

LOVE

clairenwhit