The land of chocolate, waffles, and chocolate-waffles!

So here's the scoop on Belgium--a couple weeks late, but better than never!

Belgium was never a country I imagined visiting during my time here in Europe, but somehow, it came up in conversation with friends over the course of this second semester.  Before I knew it, there I was with Hillary and Shannon, devouring waffles and exploring the streets of Brussels and Brugge!  It was just the kind of weekend I needed after our Northern Italy trip--no schedules, no specific sites to check off a list--just wandering around, getting lost, oh, and did I mention?--eating!!  It wasn't the healthiest of weekends, but really, how often are you in a city with a waffle cart or chocolate store on every corner? This was not an experience to be missed, my friends!

We spent two of our three-day weekend in Brussels, where we saw the Grand Place, Gallerie Royale, Palace of Justice, Royal Palace, and Belgian Parliament.  All the architecture is worlds different from anything I've seen in Italy.  It actually reminded me quite a bit of Paris, which makes sense since Paris is only a short train-ride away from Belgium.  We also saw the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudule, which looks pretty similar to Notre Dame in Paris--the inside was prettier than Notre Dame, in my opinion though!  

In front of the Royal Palace

Main square in Brussels, the Grote Market

Notre Dame look-alike

On Friday night we also made our way to the Atomium (the only sight we had to take public transportation to--everything else was within walking distance, which was fabulous!).  This somewhat odd monument resembling an atom was built in the 1950s for the World's Fair Exhibition, and although we didn't go up inside its metal spheres, we got some cool pictures of it lit up at night.  

A common theme throughout the weekend was this little peeing boy, known as the Mannekin Pis, a supposedly iconic figure for Brussels, whose statue is dressed up by different groups in the city every few days.  Not really sure the reason behind the fascination with a statue of a boy peeing, but in any case, we found it funny and took far too many pictures of the real statue as well as all its various duplicates in chocolate, waffle, and souvenir shops!  

Chocolate shop

Mannekin Pis corkscrews!

The real deal--Mannekin Pis

Outfit change on Sunday

My favorite part of the whole weekend, however, was our day trip on Saturday to Brugge.  Brugge is like Brussels on a smaller, cuter scale in that it has similar elements of Northern European architecture with large, open piazzas, but also has several canals that make it sort of Venice-like.  There's a general old-town feel, as you stroll through the cobblestone streets past horse drawn carriages and over little bridges, all the while taking in the sweet aroma of chocolate.  Mmmmmmm.  I miss it already!

Between hot-chocolate drinking, shopping, and wandering around, we also went on a boat tour through the canals which turned out to be an awesome way to experience the ambience of the town.  

Random side note: the waiter at the restaurant where we ate lunch was hilarious and was totally flirting with us, even asking if we believed he was 20 years old (he looked much older), and showing us his passport when we said no!  He kept on coming back to our table to talk to us and bring us free dessert, and then while we were walking out, he turned to me and said, "You are very beautiful."  We took a picture with our new friend (his name was Din lol) on Shannon's camera and later on when we were looking through our pictures for the day, we realized just how funny this one was.  Can you tell who he liked the best??! hahaha

All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better weekend!  I hope I get to return to Belgium someday!