Mussels in Brussels

So maybe not the most original title for a blog but it certainly covers their national dish (mussels and chips), which we managed to have at 3 times during our weekend there. So, anyway a quick run down of the weekends highlights:

Fri 04/11/2005 (7pm)
So we leave Waterloo London via the Eurostar. It was Lisa and my first time, and as far as getting you somewhere, I was pretty content. Unlike airports, train stations are pretty much in the central part of town, which was the case for Brussels with only a short 5 min taxi ride to our hotel.

The train ride was 2.5 hours which meant we got in at around 10pm - we were feeling peckish, so headed straight to the grand place to check it out. Certainly looked very impressive when all lit up, and then headed to one of the many numerous restaurants littered around the place.

Finally, the night finished off with a bit more walking around and getting our bearings, and sampling some of Brussels many beers on offer.


Sat 05/11/2005
With breakfast out of the way at the hotel, we headed back off to the Grand Place to get some more photos, this time with daylight to help us out. It was then off to the large shopping galleries, which is home of NeuHaus, one of the oldest chocolate shops (1857) in Belgium.

Next came the Cathedral Des St Michel and then the Belgian Centre for Comic Strip Art. There were some cool things here, but i'm sure we could have appreciated it a bit more if our french/flemish was a bit better.

It was then time for lunch, we tried to avoid the expensively priced 'tourist' restaurants near the grand place, but i don't think we made it far enough, or maybe arrived at a slow time of day, as the service was incredibly slow.



So next, we decided it was time to check out the Musee Bruxellois de la Gueze, which is a traditional working brewery. This was certainly one of my highlights for the weekend, getting a good feel and flavour for a beer brewery. There was a definitive smell as soon as you walked in, and the whole place had a bit of character to it. They actually do brew beer there, and it is done between November to April (the cooler months).


Sun 06/11/2005
Sunday, was filled with a visit to the markets, followed by Belgium waffles. A short tram (it was weird to see trams underground) and a train ride, and we arrived at the EU headquarters and the Parc Du Cinquantenaire.

After lunch (which was more Mussels for Lisa and me), we embarked on the street comic tour. It took just over an hour, and although we seemed to be going through fairly deserted streets, the actual art that we found splattered around the streets was definitely worth checking out (check the next posting which will have some of the sample photos).