A
surprise trip for my birthday couldn’t have started off worse.
We arrived at Heathrow airport on Friday night to spend two hours
waiting to be checked in due to an accident, which meant that
tankers couldn’t get to the planes to refuel. In the end
the whole airport was closed. We came home and rebooked for Saturday
lunchtime. At this stage I knew we were going to Brussels but
I was not sure where this was and believed it was Germany until
we arrived in the country.
Saturday
morning we returned to Heathrow and were told the flight was
overbooked and we might not get seats. We were lucky and even
upgraded to business class. We boarded then were delayed for
an hour due to passengers checking in luggage then not boarding.
All bags were taken off and re checked then loaded on again.
What a nightmare.
We arrived
and took a train to Brussels central. We were a bit lost looking
for our hotel then a man came over and helped us. He actually
took us the whole way, about a 15 minute walk. We think he wanted
money. Surely nobody is that nice. After unloading ourselves
at the hotel, which was right in the centre of the old town,
we went out exploring. The Grand Place was very close to us.
It was so cool. Standing in the square looking at the most amazing
buildings is the way I’ll remember my first taste of Europe.
We brought
a guide and took a walk to look at the Mannequin Pis, a little
statue of a boy pissing. The story of the Mannequin Pis is that
he put out the enemies match, that was about to be used to blow
up the city, in his own unique way. It’s certainly the
oldest resident of Brussels today.
We wandered
back to the Grand Place where street pubs were the go and I
enjoyed my first taste of Belgium beer. There was a jazz marathon
taking place there so the atmosphere was great. On one of the
buildings was a gold statue of a women and everyone was going
past and touching it. I was curious and used French to ask some
girls about it. And I got the story; it was for good luck for
babies and other things depending on where you touched. I felt
very proud of my self. We ate in one of the street cafes. Luckily
most people we came across spoke English.
We awoke
to another scorching day and decided to take a city tour to
see the sights. We saw many beautiful buildings, including some
modern architecture, such as the European Economic Centre and
older buildings such as the Courts. The first photo shows the
modern business district. No we’re not in China again,
although this is the Chinese Pavilion. It was relocated from
an exhibition in Paris, in 1900.
Our tour
continued and we learnt how lace was made. It looks really neat,
but very tricky. I loved all the lace shops. We returned to
the hotel and I had a nap while Gavin watched the Grand Prix.
We were both so tired from the heat. I had to visit the chocolate
and cocoa museum but it turned out to be a bit of a rip off.
There were a few boards that explained the process and a few
moulds on display. We were allowed to taste some that was poured
onto a biscuit. I guess that made up for it. A late lunch meant
that I experienced one of the best taste sensations ever. Waffles
with ice cream and chocolate. Yum Yum. We later enjoyed another
beer in the Grand Place and heard more jazz. Unfortunately it
started raining and so we picked an indoor restaurant for dinner.
The menu was in French and I was doing my best to interpret
it (about 15 mins) when the waiter offered us a menu in English.
I decided my French wasn’t that good after all?
Monday morning
was much cooler thank goodness. We took the subway out to Hazel
to the Mini-Europe theme park. Which is as it sounds, a collection
of Europe sights in minature.
Next stop
the amazing Atomium. It was built for the world fair in 1957.
A really fast lift takes you to the top. The weather wasn't
that nice yet we could still see for miles from the top ball.
In the tubes are escalators and we went down this way. After
our brief glimpse yesterday we had to go up it. It was absolutely
amazing as you can see. Tram was our return transport and it
gave us another chance to look at the city. I couldn't go without
another waffle so we collected our bags and stopped off for
one before we left for the airport. I of course couldn't leave
without eating some Belgian chocolate so I got a beautiful strawberry
bar at the airport Needless to say it didn't last long. So after
a rocky start it was an awesome birthday gift.
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