Saying hi to Brussels

Arriving in Brussels barely a few hours ago, I couldn't resist a quick nip out to Grote Market after checking in, just to say hi to the city. So far this is what Ive seen.

• The Grote Market square was filled with groups of friends sitting in circles, enjoying a drink and a chat.
• Up one side of the square all the Greek restaurants were doing a roaring trade with lots of people sitting outside, having a bite,  a puff on an argeela or talking.
• One guy flew past me with a police officer racing after him, and two more police racing after them!
• Another guy in a fancy suit looked like he was in a brawl was being hauled off under arrest by two police officers near the theatre.

Talk about excitement!

I'm off to bed so I can get ready for tomorrow and what surely will become a day of eating my way through Brussels ;)

Good night & have a great weekend.

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A weekend in Belgium (Brussels and Brugge)

I didn't intend for my first European trip since arriving in the UK to be somewhere I'd already been but it worked out well this weekend. Not to mention that i did see something new (Brugge), got to relive old memories from my flight attendant days and met a lovely girl who recently got in touch with me via my blog (it was lovely meeting you Laura!).

So what did i get up to? Well, there was chocolate, waffles, mussels, frites, more chocolate, waffles, pancakes, chocolate and chocolate...and of course some sight seeing too :)

Mmm...waffles...

Bruge, Brugge, Bruges or however you spell it is a lovely little town, and, as it wasn't peak season, it wasn't crammed full of tourists. I think its the place to go with that person you want to spend time away with but not get lost in sight seeing that you forget to enjoy each others company.
The afternoon i arrived, i took a walk behind the hotel along the canals. Climbing vines were changing colour and at sunset it was a beautiful sight - sadly none of my photos do it justice. The town is charming, squares pretty, and at night with it all lit up...romantic.

Brugge canal

Teeny chocolate shop

Brugge City Hall

Brugge Belfort and Square

The hotel i stayed at was Oud Huis de Peellaert and it was a lovely place to stay. Elegant and charming, yet simple. They piped in some quiet classical music on the room floors, had a lovely lounge area for relaxing and the breakfast room (and breakfast) was generous and very lovely. The oddest thing about the place was the number of armoires (wardrobes), cabinets and chests they had everywhere, reception, in hallways etc...i almost felt that if i could just get one armoire open, i could go through it to Narnia. They did provide recommendations for dinner but i ended up stopping at Dell' Arte. Great food, friendly and fast service and a nice vibe.

View from the room

Staircase with stained glass ceiling

Part of the breakfast room

Dell' Arte

Time in Brussels for me was surreal. I did fly there a number of times during my flight attendant days and it was such a blast of nostalgia. The highlight was meeting a lovely girl who has been reading my blog and having a chat over crepes and coffee. Laura, thank you so much for making the trip to Brussels, it was a pleasure meeting you. I hope your brother had a lovely birthday.

I stayed at the Marriott in Brussels (i booked through booking.com as it was a quarter of the walk-in rate) as the location was fantastic. It was minutes walk from Grote Markt/Grand Place and the people at reception were very nice and accommodating. One of them recommended a street for dinner that resulted in finding a cute little family run restaurant about 10 minutes walk from the hotel. The owner of Le Vistro was charming and chatted away talking about the family recipes used, the areas history (it used to be a fish market and the port reached just outside his doorstep), the Chimay beer and how the recipe was sold by the monks that used to make it but the cheese by the same name was still made by them (the cheese by the way has a very smooth and subtle flavour and is currently sitting in my fridge waiting to be eaten). And as you would expect...the food served was to die for. Very delicious.

Sunset in Brussels

Family run Le Vistro

Brussels Atomium

Next week I'm off to Rome! It'll be my first time in Italy and i cant wait!

Till then, happy travels!
Vanishing Point

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Amsterdam, Brussels, Toronto Photo update.

Hearing: Arabic music and kids shouts of triumph over some networked game.

Hi all, I'm back to post photos of Amsterdam, Brussels and Toronto as promised in my "brr" entry. I'm set up at an internet cafe near my apartment so I can take advantage of the faster connection to upload all the photos. Enjoy!

First up is Amsterdam. Most of my photos turned out blurry but i'll still post a few. As mentioned our CM knew the place so he took us around. This photo is of some of the crew, CP and FO on our way to Amsterdam.














Amsterdams red light district...

The view from one of the bridges our group blocked...



...And our group actually blocking the bridge..teehee














Christmas markets were everywhere, there were hot waffles, handicrafts, souvenirs and misc. gifts for sale, an out door ice rink and merry-go-round.



Brussels - I had to look up some info on the places I visited here and one very useful site is here, very good if you want to know the legends behind the Mannikin-Pis, or the names of the houses in Grote Markt (Grand Place).

Grote Markt has to be one of the most popular attractions in Brussels, these giant baubles were just littered throughout the square some as you can see with little Christmas trees in them.

The Mannikin-Pis appropriately dress in a fireman's costume according to one of the legends concerning him. This little guy has over 400 costumes!



Nearby Grote Markt there is a bunch of alleyways that are filled with seafood restaurants - their specialty being muscles - and often are captured by local artists in their paintings or drawings.



The thing about Brussels is that you can be walking along a road in what you think to be a very modern part of the city and look right and see something like this.



Being in the Christmas spirit some places really went all out, this restaurant definitely caught my eye. If you cant see it properly it looks like it has a bunch of Santa's with presents climbing the walls.



The Royal Palace. It overlooks a large park and is home to the office of the King, residence of the Crown Prince and a museum.



Saint Michael and Saint Gudula Cathedral, about 10 mins walk from Grote Markt.



Some pics from around Toronto, you can see some snow/frost on the ground and a pic of CN tower which isn't good but the only one I have.

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