Brussels - Paradise for fans of chocolate and other simple pleasures

This past weekend I went on my first trip outside of England- to Brussels! Before leaving the US, I knew maybe three things about the city (thanks to my dad and J.Moe):
1. It has delicious chocolate
2. It has delicious beer
3.It has delicious waffles
4. There is an entire street dedicated to a statue of a baby boy peeing
With my little knowledge, my friend Jackie and I decided to take the train there for our first long weekend. We literally had three goals we wanted to accomplish before leaving:
1.Drink some interesting beer
2.Eat a Belgian waffle
3.Have some chocolate... who would have known that we were going to accomplish these with in our first 10hours in the country :P

Jackie with her waffle... nom nom nom

My first Belgian beer at the brewery museum

Let me start from the very beginning....

The journey officially began at 4:25am. After getting approximately 3 hours of sleep, we trekked towards London St.Pankras station. Even though it was only 5:15am when we got there, I had a strong urge to place my backpack on a trolley and run through a wall like Harry Potter. For all the HP aficionados out there, the station looked very similar to Kings Cross station in the movie (ironically enough, the actual Kings Cross station was right next door AND our train was on, yes you guessed it, platform 9 and 3/4 ... well maybe not, but it was on platform 9). The only thing stopping me from carrying out my potter moment was my exhaustion.

I wish I could tell you about the train ride there, but my exhaustion took over that one too. Jackie and I successfully managed to stay asleep the entire ride from London to Belgium. We both probably would have slept through our stop as well if it weren't for some random passenger bumping my head and waking me up. (Thank you, random person for the wake up and the bump on my head!)

After exiting the train platform, we proceeded through the train station in hopes that we would find a map in English. Bad news-there were no English maps. Good news- there were plenty of German maps. Lucky for us,Jackie and I both have more German knowledge than other languages! ( I picked up small bits and pieces of German from my German friends and host sister Nina while in New Zealand and Jackie took a class at Clark and also has a German host sister that taught her some words.) When we finally asked a man for directions to get to our hotel, he said that a German map was of no use to us. Little did he know... haha.
With the help of our german map, we finally were oriented in the direction we needed to go and proceeded outside. The first thing I noticed wthe the buildings. The churches, shops, synagogues, and restraunts all had their own beautiful french charm. At that moment, it hit me that I was actually in Europe, having the opportunity to explore a city I knew nothing about. :)

One of many beautiful churches in Brussels

We ended up exploring quite a bit (and accomplishing one of our goals-eating a waffle!) before we made it to our HOTEL (yes,a hotel. Not a hostel!!) Kudos to Jackie for finding The Hotel Agenda Louise. It was cleen, comfortable, in good walking distance from the city center, and served free breakfast! Once we go to our room, we both passed out and took much needed naps.

From the time we got up to the time we left Brussles, we pretty much did the same thing: Explore the Grand Place. From there, it was easy to find something to do. There were plenty of great museums (The Coco and Chocolate Museum and The Belgian Brewery Museus were the two we went to), pubs (one thst was an old puppett theatre), and CHOCOLATE SHOPS.

 ---> One thing you should all know about me before I continue is that I love to be healthy. I love snacking on fruits and veggies (or what many people call 'rabbit food'), exercising, and in general living a very healthy and happy life style. One thing few know about me is that I LOVE LOVE LOVE chocolate...probably more than a LOT of things. I promise, it is a healthy relationship 90% of the time <--

Me with a giant chocolate elephant- Two of my favorite things!!

 Anyways, I tried so many different types of chocolate. To name a few: Dark, Milk,chocolate with green tea, roses, and even curry. I was definitely in a chocolate paradise. *Note to my Dad- I DID NOT get the chocolate that decided to make my mouth, for lack of better description, explode. haha*

Overall, planning the trip to Brussels was definitely a fantastic idea.

I got to visit a different country and appreciate what it had to offer.

I got to spend quality time with  a fellow Clarkie that I did not know as well coming into the trip... and can now call one of my good friends! :)

I got to eat some delicious food and drink some good beer.

I got a flavor of what traveling around europe is going to be like

Brussels was amazing. Next up: Dublin.  LET THE EURO TRIP COMMENCE!

Until next time, stay classy


PS. For more pictures of Brussels and the rest of London adventure, check my facebook page!

A part of the Grand Palace