So after I put my stuff down I immediately left. I just started to walk. The guy at the desk gave me suggestions where to go...but I knew the moment he told me Chez Leon (A CHAIN RESTAURANT!) for the best mussels, I had to seek out info else where (plus i ate at chez leon in paris..and they were so so). So I walked around the Grand Place (Pictured below...how beautiful!)
I also randomly went into this beautiful church. I saw it...so you can too in the pictures :)
I eventually wound up at a Novotel, which is very nice hotel and I spoke to them. They gave me GREAT info. So i went to this restaurant called Klenderke or something to that sort. I had mussels, even though they aren't in season. And I should have listened to them. They were horrible. I don't know if it was the restaurant or the mussels themselves...but they were bad! Oh well. Onto my next stop...DELERIUM! Oy! This bar has 2500 different kinds of beers and guarantees 2004 instock. I sat down and told the bartender to keep giving me beers til I say stop BUT I ONLY want belgium beers. So i started and these were the ones I had Rulles Triples, Saxo, Abbayede Rocs, Brugse Zot, and Serafijn Triple. All for 16.70E. Not bad! However...I have to let you know...the beers in Belgium have a higher alcohol content. Anyway, I met some nerd from Milwaukee named Colin. He insisted on walking me part way home which was fine. He was nice. And he wanted to meet up the next day...uh...not so much. He said he would text. So needless to say Sat morning I slept in a little later than I normally do :) After I got up, still feeling a little on the wishy washy side...I got some toast and went to Mannekin Pis...the little man peeing statue! Very cute!
I walked around a lot today aimlessly because it just felt nice to be outside. I swear it was 80 degrees! Anyway, I also went shopping and bought a pair of shoes for 15 euros. Then I went to the chocolate museum and ate a free piece of choclate. Then next I went to the Belgium comic strip museum. I guess comics are very popular out there. You know the smurfs were invented in Brussels! How cool!?!?!
Then I took the metro (yes the metro this time) to get fries at this place the hotel told me to go to. Antoine's. So I go up to the lady and asked her if she spoke english (in french of course) and she said no...with her mustache on her face! So I ordered a large fry with their special sauce (not knowing what it was) on the side. Well she brought it out and she put it on top. And I saw it was ketchup (dont like), mayo (hate), and onions (eh)...so I said no...on the side...I dont want it. And she looked at me, and was like take it...and I said no. So she threw it. I was thinking...i dont care...im never gonna see her again. So I got my fries with no sauce (even though they had about 20 sauces and I wanted to try one so badly). But the fries were outstanding! I couldnt take a picture cause I had to hold the fries!!!! After I ate the fries I came back to the center of town and walked around some more. I bought chocolate at Pierre Marcolini, supposedly the best chocolate shop around. Well as I was purchasing, I noticed their list of other stores and they DEFINATELY had one in paris. Oh well! Eventually I went to this restaurant called Cafe des Spores. It was a restaurant based only on mushroom dishes and thats why i picked the place! I had 3 dishes that were tapas size. The pictures below are what I had in order. First I had Palourdes au sake einokis. It was a dish with clams and a broth that you drank. It was made with sake and tasted like a mushroom broth. And the mushrooms looked like sprouts. It was so good! The second dish I had was Oeuf cocotte a la tartufaua. This was like a mushy bread pudding with eggs and the one on top was close to raw. There were mushrooms all throughout. I dipped the bread inside. This was my favorite I think. The last dish I was dissapointed by. It was the first thing I noticed on the menu and i really wanted it. It was Creme Brulee Foie Gras. It didn't have much mushroom taste and it was WAY too sweet. Very creamy and cold, which is not what I'm used to...but oh well. Anyway, I spoke to the chef because the kitchen was right in the middle of the dining room and was very tiny. He suggested these three dishes for me. Overall I had a great experience. They usually pair wine with dinner, but I only opted for one glass and I had a riesling which was very light. Also in the pics you can see the chef torching the brulee. I thought it was funny that he wore this HUGE head gear, so i took a picture! haha.
I went back to the hostel and met some of my roomies who were from Texas and Tennessese and were VERY nice. We chatted for a while then I went to bed.
Sunday morning I left the hostel at 8:30 am and checked out and had them watch my luggage (which they only do til 1!!!!) I walked aimlessly til 10 because NOTHING opens til then. SO...then I went to Cafe du Vaudeville which I was told had the best waffles! This restaurant is located in the Royal Galleries which is the first covered shopping aracade in Europe dating from 1846!
So I sit down, order a waffle...and the waitress says..."we don't serve them til 11" ARGH! SO i had a cup of coffee and read the magazine I bought then at 11 I ordered my waffle with ice cream. The waffle...HUGE...the ice cream...LESS than 1/4 cup. Hilarious! Anyway...it was worth the wait!!!!
Then I walked a little, but had to be back at my hostel to get my luggage. So i picked it up and walked around because my train didn't leave til 4:45! I went to the beer museum and had a free dark beer, then went to the costume museum. VERY pretty. Then went to this restaurant, waited 10 min and NO ONE helped me...so i left. Went to another one and ordered croquettes aux crevettes. They were good. They were cheaper there anyway...so i scored.
As I was walking to the train I saw this restauarant and laughed. If you are from the states, you SHOULD know what place I was comparing it to!
Then finally I got to the train station and waited for a while, but eventually got on the train! FINALLY i got home at 6:30...I showered and then at 8:30 when it was still light out, I passed out...SO EXHAUSTED! But it was a fun weekend. Oh...and I realized my heat had been on for the past few weeks and it's like 80 degrees here...so that's why I hadn't been sleeping well...so it's off now, and I should sleep like a baby! Hope you enjoyed my brussels trip as much as I am enjoying my chocolate right now ;)
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