á Belgique!

Last weekend we undertook our first international travel since we arrived in July. I am so happy to report that it went swimmingly from start to finish. The flights were easy, no COVID drama, and airports were straightforward to navigate. We picked Brussels, Belgium, merely because there was a short, direct flight and the price was right. This turned out to be a great choice - Brussels is gorgeous, easy to navigate, we had excellent weather, and it has a truly "old European" feel. Furthermore, David loved using his French since he's a language savant! We definitely ate our fill of frites, chocolate, and waffles, and drank plenty of Belgium's famed beer. If it weren't for all the walking, I think we would have felt those choices more heavily.

We spent the first and third days exploring Brussels and the middle day we took a train to Bruges. Brussels is a cool mix of old style buildings and statues and parks and the new EU buildings. Interestingly, Brussels has also been heavily infested by rental motor scooters, which are hazardous as they lie abandoned in the middle of all the sidewalks OR zip past.

Our very first stop after check-in was WAFFLES, of course, at the delicious Maison Dandoy, recommended by the concierge. Then we wandered about until it seemed reasonable to eat again...:) After lunch, a quick nap at the hotel and then back out for a Belgian chocolate-making course! This was so fun. Finally, to dinner at Brasserie Ommegang, which was charming on a small square. Generally we sat outside, both to enjoy the people-watching (amazing) and to avoid the COVID, but that did put us around plenty of cigarette smoke, so I suppose you have to choose your poison. The city was still impressively beautiful at dusk as we headed back to the hotel.

On Saturday we hopped the train to Bruges. While disappointingly Colin Farrell was nowhere to be found, nothing else about this adorable city was disappointing. Charming little streets and canals, beautiful buildings, sweet parks, delicious food. We walked around, ate, took a canal ride, and walked up many flights of stairs to the top of the Belfry. The bells went off while we were up there, which was very startling. Walking down the narrow staircase was a bit hairy, but totally worth it. We got back to Brussels in time for dinner and bed.

From the train we saw, wait for it, fields of sprouts and draft horses (Brussel's sprouts, Belgians), which totally made my day. However, I was fully alarmed by the morbid obesity of all the cattle I spotted. It was nuts!

Finally, on Sunday we checked out several more nearby parks/buildings and, you guessed it, ate and drank a lot. I love that they use kale as a decorative plant in their gardens. Our taxi ride was delayed back to the airport (we had plenty of time) because of a big climate protest occurring down town. In sharp contrast to how the US addresses these, public transport was free during the march so folks could get around. So sensible!