Belgium: Waffles, Fries, and Chocolate

My favorite part of the school week was pretty simple. It was a Tuesday (which are usually my long class days) and it was beautiful outside. A group of us decided to take an impromptu trip to the beach after class and soak in the sun. We were just lying on the some tapestries and hanging out. Becca and I also completed our goal of buying a mojito on the beach from the sketchy people who walk up and down selling them. We weren’t even at the beach for very long, but it really made me appreciate where I am and how much I love Barcelona. It also make me extra excited for the upcoming 2 months and many more beach trips as the weather continues to warm up.

Peeing boy advertising waffles

Then on Thursday I went straight from class to the airport to leave for Brussels with Mara and Becca! We had a fairly routine flight and arrived in Belgium late that night. Friday morning we woke up on a mission to find waffles—which was not difficult at all. We went to Mokcafe in the King's Galley and indulged in our first waffle. Luckily Becca and I also split an order of eggs because those eggs were my only source of protein for about 10 hours...gasp. We were pleased with breakfast and decided to walk around the Grand-Place, snap some pics, and then find the peeing boy (Manneken Pis). This little peeing boy sculpture is probably the most underwhelming and hysterical “landmark” ever. Basically, it's a fountain/sculpture of a small peeing boy. That's it. Believe it or not, this peeing boy sculpture has a peeing sister (Jeanneke Pis). Of course we had to go visit her as well, even though she was much less popular with the tourists. 

Fries with "sauce"

Next on the to-do list was to find French fries. We went to a recommended place and each got an order of fries with "sauce". I still do not know what this sauce was, but it was amazing. We walked around whilst eating our yummy fries (which also served as our lunch for the day) and enjoyed the city. 

After eating the fries we wanted to learn a little more about the city by going to the Brussels City Museum. Honestly, there wasn't a ton of fascinating Brussels history, but the best part of the museum was the entire section dedicated to the peeing boy. They had an area where the peeing boy was dressed in different outfits to represent each country. It was very weird and entertaining. The exhibit also explained the many legends of the peeing boy. My personal favorite was the legend of a little boy who saved Brussels by putting out a giant fire with his urine...I'm sure that happened. But really, no one knows the true reason behind this peeing statue. 

We finished with the museum and were ready for our chocolate tour. We booked a tour in advance and it was especially great because we were the only 3 in the group, so we had a private tour. The tour included a visit to 6 famous chocolate shops, and we were able to try a piece of chocolate from each shop. We went in order from good chocolate to very high end chocolate. The tour was also great because we did a lot of walking and saw parts of Brussels we probably would not have went to on our own. 

The incredible "Amazon Colour"

Our first stop was Leonidas where we tried a "Manon", which was a white chocolate praline with coffee (love). Then we went to Neuhas and tried a dark chocolate ganache truffle (mmm). Next was Mary's (a crowd favorite) where we tried a praline with Tonka. We ended up coming back to Mary’s later to buy more treats. Then we left the King’s Gallery and went to the very high-end chocolate spots. At Frederic Blondeel’s shop we tried a dark chocolate praline with a hint of basil. At this chocolate place they indicate exactly where all of their cocoa comes from, ensuring their cocoa did not come from places using child labor. Next, was Pierre Marcolini’s chocolate place where they have these cool/creepy chocolate dolls. We tried "quatre especies" which was a chocolate with caramel and 4 spices (cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and ginger) and it was delish. The last place we went was wild. It was Patrick Roger's chocolate shop, and this man is a chocolate ARIST. Here we tried the “Amazon Colour”, which was the piece of chocolate that won him the title “best craftsman of the chocolate profession” in 2000. This chocolate costs 600 euro per kilo and was aaaaamazing. The piece of chocolate even came in this really cute blue box and was it was the perfect finale to our chocolate tour.                           

Delirium Red

At this point, we were in extreme sugar comas and had to nap. We woke up in desperate need of REAL food. As much as I loved all of the sweets, I needed some nutrients. We went to a Belgian restaurant for dinner where I had some delicious salmon and started to feel like a human again. After dinner we went to Delirium Cafe, which is an awesome bar with over 200 types of beer. We loved the Delirium Red and its adorable bottle. We lucked out and got a table because the place was packed. We enjoyed our beers, the atmosphere, and the good music (well, I count "Who Let the Dogs Out" as good music).  

True life: We love the Belfort Tower

After a good night of sleep, we got on our train to Brugges Saturday morning. Brugges was so beautiful and unlike any other European city I have visited thus far. I loved the shapes of the roofs and the colors of the buildings--everything was so quaint and pretty. We decided to make out first destination the Belfort Tower because there was already a long line at 11am. It took over an hour to get our ticket because they could only allow 70 people in at a time. After losing our sanity (and all of the circulation in our toes) we were able to enter the tower and climb all 366 steps to the top. It did not help that people were trying to simultaneously go up and down the VERY thin spiral stair case. We were tired and cold, but still determined to enjoy the panoramic views from the top. What put us over the edge was the extreme wind along with VERY loud ringing bells that started to go off as soon as we reached the top. We couldn't help but laugh...a lot. The whole situation was ridiculous and not an ideal start to our day (although it was very comical).

Brugges

After going down all 366 steps, we needed somewhere warm to eat lunch. I was very happy with my Croque-Madame, which is a Croque-monseiur with 2 eggs on top, yum! We finally had more energy and were ready to sieze the day. Simply walking through the streets of Brugges and going inside the different chocolate shops was so delightful. 

The Markt was also cool, but we preferred walking along the small streets. 

The Chocolate Shop

The highlight of our trip to Brugges was definitely going to The Chocolate Shop. This little tearoom was so cute and served the best hot chocolate I've ever had. They brought out steaming cups of milk and a cup of chocolate chips. We were able to add as many chocolate chips to the milk as we wanted and got to stir it up with a small whisk. The point is for each person to create his or her ideal hot chocolate. Of course I used all of the chocolate chips, and it was amazing! We also had homemade waffles that were in the shape of little hearts (so cute) and little chocolates/cookies to munch on with our hot coco. I was in heaven, but was SO full and once again had way too much sugar. 

The final waffle

Brugges was a perfect day-trip, and it was such a nice place to walk around. We took the train back home, had dinner out in Brussels, saw the Grand-Place lit up at night, played some cards (lolz War) and drank a final Delirium Red. The next morning we also had to get a final waffle (mmm banana and nutella) and say farewell to Belgium. 

Belgium is known for waffles, chocolate, French fries, and the peeing boy. I can gladly say I did it all while in Belgium, with the added bonus of getting to see the beautiful city of Brugges. This was the perfect last weekend trip of my semester abroad; it was very relaxing and full of great (sugary) food. I'm now ready to take a break from traveling (4 weekends in a row is exhausting!) and stay in Barcelona until spring break. 

The Grand-Place lit up at night