Brussels, Belgium

Spending just one day in Brugges to explore its charm and beauty is definitely not enough. Brugges was a last-minute plan (if you can call it a "plan" at all!), and how I wish I had spent a few more days there to really take in all it had to offer. But as a traveller, I know there's always a "next trip", God willing.


Downtown Brussels...

From Brugges, we took the train back into Brussels, and checked straight into the Novotel Tour Noire, which was right in the city centre. That was to be our "home" for the next two nights in Brussels...

... which gave us two full days to explore bustling, "blistering barnacles" Brussels (that's how Haddock would've put it anyway! LOL!). Calling Brussels "awesome" is an understatement: its people were very friendly, there was niceties in the air, and have I told you they are famous for Belgian waffle? It's something to die for!

Yummylicious Liege Waffle! How did they make something so simple, yet tasting so delicious?

I was never a big fan of waffles, since those that I have had were either too soft, or tasted more like pancakes... until, of course, I tried the authentic Belgian waffles in Brugges and Brussels. Native waffles here are softer in the inside with crystallized beet sugar, and a crunchy, crispy exterior structure.They have two types of waffles, I have tried both of them with different toppings: fruits, cream, chocolate ganache, peanut butter, etc. but the plain ones, like the one above, were my favorite!

So far, I love Lowy's waffles the most, over other street shops'...


And this greeted me the second I entered Lowy... Ohh, love the smell of fresh breads!




Toppings you wish you had all the time in the world for...



Lucikly, the shop was just a few meters from our hotel.



I love the spacious room, and most importantly, the view out the bathroom window...




As usual I took lots of pictures. Let's see some of them...



Halal roasted pheasant and crispy fries, that's so yummy! And the staff at this restaurant were so kind, too... One of them warned us not to leave our cameras on the table while enjoying our meal. In Brussles, you will simply get robbed of whatever you leave on the table!



The Manneken Piss! We were lucky because our hotel was just a few blocks away, which allowed us to be there very early, before the tourist crowd. We practically had the whole place to ourselves!



Just love the morning rays...



The Grand Place

Probably the most stunning sight in Brussels is the Atomium... Best to see it at night when they lit it up with small dotty lights, making it look like a futuristic Christmas tree...

As if themed to the grand monument itself, everything around it seemed round in shape...






These are two of the earliest Godiva boutiques in the Grand Place area. Open since 1926...



Brussels being Brussels, the whole city smells of chocolate!




And what's the best way to sum up Brussels as a Belgian chocolate city? A Manneken Pis chocolate "fountain"!

United Colors of Benetton?





Pedal power... No wonder the city's air is still breatheable... *tengok apa tu bro? LOL




Where there are pastries and sweet-little-somethings, there's bound to be... macarons!



Paul Macaron? I only enjoy Paul in Paris, but Pierre Ledent's macarons are a must when in Brussels, just like Pierre Herme if you happen to be in Paris...




McDs in Belgium serve Segafredo coffee and Douwe Egberts espresso... I am impressed!



And their McD's interior is the classiest of all McD's I've visited.




Hey, that's Tintin!

On the way back to Paris, we had Greek mezze platter for lunch in the train. We bought them from a grocery shop in Brussels, and the fresh pink salad tasted exactly like what we had in Mykonos!

Some chocolates from Brugges and Brussels, too while we enjoy the scenery from Brussels to Paris.




Looking at the vast Belgian plains, my mind wandered off to the many more things we were going to do in Paris...