Belgium Mini Break

(Note the top photo is my attempt at being arty...yeah, didn't really get there)

Just spent a lovely, relaxing, four day weekend in Brussels, Belgium. Stayed in the style of hotel which would have George shaking his head in disappointment. I'm sorry George, but it was a deal on lastminute.com, and you just can't argue with those kind of prices! I swear a pension or hostel would not have cost much less.
The Eurostar dropped us off smack bang in the middle of Brussels, I love the convenience of that thing, and recommend it to everyone. I then proceeded to guide us quickly and efficiently to our hotel, due to fantastic navigational skills which were not evident in Paris, but are now moving to the top of my CV.

That first day was a bit odd, as we wandered around the area of our hotel for hours...disappointed, as it was the business district (more interesting than most, as had NATO and EU centre...but still kind of crap as was mostly offices), but we kept looking, as I could always sense a 'hub' just outside of our view... navigational skills had not at that point been honed to their current high levels.

Big suprise that the first thing I ate in Brussels was a Croque Monsieur. It was so excessively lame compared to the ones I had in Paris, yet this didn't stop me from ordering it again the next day in a different restaurant 'just in cases'...lame. Don't eat croque monsieur in Brussels. Eat it as much as possible in Paris though.

The best thing I ate in Brussels were the waffles...not as good as Tina's woddles, but close. They sell them everywhere in Brussels, especially in little stalls on the streets. However, I didn't eat one until I found a cafe to sit down and eat it in. Did not think I had the skills to walk along and eat waffles balancing icecream on top, etc. etc.

We also had a nice meal in a Lygon-street style area in the downtown centre. We had our hearts set on eating in a restaurant with a roaring fire (plenty on offer), but crumbled to stupid overly enthusiastic spruikers out the front of this other restaurant. Got a good deal though, three courses for 18 euro, plus some wierd vodka thing that I didn't drink.

The thing that I was most excited about in going to Brussels was the Christmas Markets. They sound picturesque, romantic, rarara,...however, they turned out to be refugee-packed-sinking-boat-style overcrowded stalls selling the same kind of crap sold in all markets everywhere, but with fairy lights strung around...does that sound bitter? I always get fooled by 'markets', I always imagine myself strolling leisurely through stalls selling funky, original, but super cheap items, being run into by a hugh grant lookalike who spills their drink on me and takes me back to their house to help me clean up, and then...anyway...that it is never the case. (Although, I will say that the Portobello markets in london have excellent stuff, they are just a severe rip off...and also packed to uncomfortable levels.)

We went on a ferris wheel ride which gave us a fantastic view of Brussels, and was quite festive, as it was playing cheesy christmas carols. Poor Aidan had to listen to my singing along with Mariah Careys' 'All I want for Christmas'...why does she have to sing so bloody high? We were going to go skating at the open air ice skating rink as well, but by the time we got round to it, it was drizzly and horrible weather, so I will have to do that in London.

Good Times.