meeting up with friends in bruxelles

Last weekend Marco and I met up with some friends in Brussels.  Both Zach and Rosalin live in Germany. Zach is a former colleague of ours from when we worked in the Washington, DC area.  Rosalin and I go back to kindergarten days, we grew up down the street from each other.

Marco and I took the Eurostar (the chunnel) from London St. Pancras >>> Gare de Midi Bruxelles Central. We putzed around the Saint-Gilles neighborhood until check-in time at our Airbnb apartment.

Rosalin met us at the apartment.  We took some time to relax and enjoyed a few beers, catching up in what was another great Airbnb find.  We are on our fifth or sixth Airbnb experience and all have been great. It is the combination of spending less than a hotel room, staying in a slower paced / non-touristy neighborhood, and getting an entire apartment to relax in - it's the best.

We set out Friday afternoon to explore the Saint-Gilles neighborhood and pop into a few bars that Marco had researched.  We started at the art deco restaurant La Porteuse D'Eau and then made our way to Brasserie Verschueren.  

Zach arrived that evening and then we headed to Moeder Lambic.  The tiny corner bar had a chalkboard menu, old wooden tables with mix and match bentwood chairs, and was lined with racks and racks of old comic books.  (Who knew that Brussels is a comic book arts mecca? Tintin and The Smurfs are by Belgium artists and there are comic murals are all over the city.)  We scanned the packed room and saw no tables available.  Two guys motioned us over and started speaking to us in French  I translated for my group, "Guys, they said they are leaving soon and we can have their table."  Marco jumped in, "No they didn't.  They said they are going out for a smoke but we can squeeze in and join them."  Both guys laughed and spoke back in perfect English that Marco was correct. They were from São Paulo, Brazil and were studying at an English university in Brussels.  We talked the night away, trying beer after beer.  It was so much fun to exchange life + travel stories with our new friends while I could casually order a 2007 De Dolle off the beer menu.

Saturday morning was a slow start (see above).  Up and at 'em Marco hit up a corner bakery and brought back some much needed pastries to get Rosalin and I moving.

We walked to a flea market that came recommended from the owner of our apartment.  Then we walked towards the Grand Place through the design and furniture district.  We browsed store after store - many of them specializing in mid-century furniture, lighting, and art.  Everything was catching our eye.  We couldn't resist some white gloved high end chocolate shops along the way as well.

We arrived at the Grand Place, the center square of Brussels and joined the rest of the tourists in tilting our heads and cameras high, spinning around to admire the towering gilded Gothic buildings.

After the Grand Place came more chocolate shops and Rosalin showing us the Delirium Cafe (she has been to Brussels several times for work trips) which is affiliated with the beer but it's not the brewery.  For lunch we found a quaint brasserie for some mussels and frites.

After lunch we headed over to Cantillion Brewery.  The place was packed.  We relaxed in the bar area, had a few gueuze beers and I picked up some bottles to bring home with me.

That night we headed back to the popular Delirium Cafe along with everyone else visiting Brussels.  A three story Belgium beer mecca.  We started in the rowdy basement and realized the floors got progressively quieter as they went up.  We ended the night on the top floor, where we could sit down at a table and hear each other speak.

Sunday we roamed some parks, ate Belgium waffles piled high with Nutella and bananas (AMAZING!) visited the Manneken Pis (like celebrities and the Mona Lisa - smaller in real life and a bit disappointing) and stocked up on more chocolate to take home.

We ended the day waiting in line at the highly recommended frites shop Maison Antoine. The 30 minute wait was well worth it.  Similar to the original Shake Shack in New York, it is a stand alone building in the middle of a square. Tourists and locals wait in lines wrapping around the park to order from the extensive menu and list long of sauces - frites with tartare maison, andalouse, and curry sauces being the most popular.

Brussels architecture as a whole was less ornate and more modern day than I expected, but the cliche things that make it famous: frites, chocolate, waffles, and the beer culture make it worth a visit.

Not one day goes by where I don't appreciate the travel opportunities we are experiencing, but weekends where we can meet up with friends make it even more special.  It was great seeing you Rosalin and Zach!