It was my idea to go to Belgium. The main reason is it's so close. Two hours away from London with Eurail. We left on Thursday morning and got there around noon or so. It wasn't hard navigating the metro system. The most challenging this was just buying a train ticket since we can't use the machine since it only took coins. The hotel was really close to a Metro station. After a quick check-in, we walked around in the Christmas market. I did some research on where to eat. There was a local seafood place that was quite popular. Their specialty was fish soup, so that's what I got. It was quite pricey for a lot of tomato broth, chopped vegs and very little fish.
This is the town square called Grand Place.
We booked a beer tour a few days before we left London. Even though I don't really drink but I found this more interesting than a chocolate making tour. The tour had good reviews. One person said there was too much walking than drinking, which was perfect for us :) Belgian beer had really high alcohol content, 9-11%. The first bar that we walked to was dated from 1695. Really old bar. The guide explained how beer was processed. A third of the people in the tour were Americans. We had a few teachers that currently lived in Spain and France. One girl was from Missouri and she worked as a guide at the Bud plant. She pretty much could take over the guide, in case he drank too much on the job. Just kidding, he didn't drink at all.
Our choices at the first bar was blonde, amber or dark beer. I had a couple of sips.
This is where one of the draft beer was made. Organic brewery. No pesticide used in the building. They use a good ol' broom to clean the spider web and cats to eat the mice. Do you know it can take 3 years to make good draft beer? the taste for each batch can be different from another. Quality control is not a top priority in this business.
The next day we were off to Ghent and Bruges. We did a Viator day tour. Tons of Spanish were in town because this was a long weekend for them. Our tour guide spoke English and Spanish. He always alternated explaining everything in both languages, which was annoying after a while because it took twice longer.
Dark and cold in the morning but I can see the beauty of this picturesque town.
Just like in a fairy tale.
What's in Belgium besides beer? lots of Belgian waffles and chocolate.
Finally the sun decided to show up in Bruges.
Can't miss visiting the Maneken Piss in Brussels.
Another favorite comic character, Tintin. It's a mural in the city.
Grand Place at night.
Some crazy potato dish in the Christmas market. It's like gnocchi with cheese, white wine and stringy mushroom.
I didn't eat these but macaroons were in every bakery. They're expensive. One Euro for a small one. These are giant macaroons. Below is another bakery by the hotel. The smell was soooo good. One funny thing about the hotel. Our room was right besides the breakfast room. At 5 in the morning, we could smell warm bread baked in the oven. Even though Belgians eat all kinds of bad food and drink alcohol but I hardly see an overweight person. I think it's all about portion control at the end.
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