Brussels

Is my favourite European city, I have decided.


We arrived in Burssels two days ago, after an extraordinarily long train ride involving a fantastically cranky woman. (we took a train from Brixen to Verona, then a night train to Paris, switched stations, then took a train to Lille, switched stations , then took a train to Brussels- roughly a 24 hour trip.)
Earlier in the trip, we had decided to spoil ourselves in Brussels, so we booked an actual hotel (We have our own shower!!! The pillows don't smell like feet!!!!) and took a cab from the station top our hotel- no wandering around lost for us! Once we had arrived, we both took baths- our first since before we left- and then set out for dinner. We ended up near the Grand Place, with Heather getting a sandwich and fries and me getting some sort of Belgian meatballs and fries. We then walked around for a bit, and so to bed. The next morning we got up, walked around and then it started raining, so we ducked into a little cafe and had chocolate chaud until we broke down and bought an umbrella. we then went back up to our hotel to change into warmer clothes, then headed back down for waffles at 'Les Gaufres aux Bruxelles' (we were told they were the best in Brussels). We then went back AGAIN to the hotel for a quick siesta (We started the siesta method of travel in Paris and found it works very well for us), then found a little pub down by our hotel and had croque monsieurs. Heather ended up shooting some of her sandwich off of her plate, causing the barman to yell "STRIKE" and me to giggle. To finish off the meal, we went back to Les Gaufres and Heather had crepes and the waiter made fun of us, then gave me a free waffle. They also had exceptional banana milkshakes. We then walked around, trying to find Mannekin Piss, at which point heather almost got hit by a car because apparently Belgians actually follow traffic signs and walking lights- the first place we've been that actually does so. We discovered that little man about 20 metres away from the cafe that we'd spent the previous morning at.... oops. After that we headed back for a good nights sleep.
After waking up this morning and abusing the continental breakfast (the waitress' face she she saw how much we intended to eat was PRICELESS) we walked around and looked at some cool buildings we'd seen, then wandered around the botanical gardens for a while- which is apparently the place where all the teenage gangstas hang out- it was kind of strange... Which brings us to now- at an internet cafe!
Anyways, we are off to Amsterdam tomorrow, then York the next day. I also apologize for the lack of snark and humor in this post- I am concentrating far too hard on typing the correct letters to actually make coherent jokes. (Seriously, google Belgian keyboards- they're trippy)
Hope everyone at home is good, but I must go attempt to solidify my arteries a bit more by stuffing as many fries and waffles in my stomach as possible.
(home in 15 days!!)