Bruxelles, Belgique

Chels on the Brussels metro. Our first move from Paris to Brussels was definitely a trip to remember. The train trip took 1.5 hours. The next 2 hours it took to get to our hostel involved getting stuck inbetween the ticket barriers, repeatedly, ending up on the wrong platform and sweating.

1. St. Goedele/ St. Michiels cathedral.

2. The 'Veggie' hot sandwich from L'n'M Soul Food; grilled eggplant, sundried tomatoes, salad, fresh tomato, zucchini and homemade tartare for 4 euros. The highlight of my stay in Brussels.

1. 2. Behind the Congress Column. An abondoned area that was built for 14,000 government workers and is now... a good lookout.

3. Botanical Gardens.

If you travel through Belgium, use USE-IT.  There are now several maps for an increasing number of cities in Europe, but Belgium has the most. They provide tourist information for young people, and are made my young people. That's how we ended up at Parking 58 with a panoramic view of Brussels, for free! And don't forget to buy a couple of beers from the supermarket for less than 2 euros each. 

Long story short, we ended up getting kicked out of the carpark because I convinced Chelsea it would be a good idea to climb over a spiked fence to join some Belgians who were filming a music video. My parents will be proud.

1. Alcoholic Winnie the Pooh
2. 3. Grand Place. Even better after a couple of beers!

1. Voila the Manneken Pis.. a little underwhelming... probably not worth going to see it. Even to just take a photo. Find Delirium bar to see the Jeanneke Pis, actually no, skip the squatting pissing girl and have a couple of beers at Delirium.
2. Cartoon Murals; Tin Tin on the left there.
4. Pissing Dog - out of all the pissing landmarks in Brussels, this was the most impressive.

Waffles the Belgian way at Mokafé - with a knife and fork and powdered sugar on top. Surprisingly light and sooo good.

Being in Brussels, beer was a must. And most know that I am not a beer person. But beer is different here, there are beers that aren't beers. Beers made from cherries, peaches, apples, cactus, honey...
1. Kasteel Red.
2. Floris Cactus.
3. Pink Killer, Floris Pomme.
4. Bourgogne des Flandres, free unidentified beer.
5. Delirium bar. No. 1 destination for tourists with about 27 beers on tap.
When bartenders in Belgium pour beer it's an art, they sweep the excess head off the tops of glasses like they were born to do it.

Flea Markets at Place du jeu de Balle.

Honestly, Brussels was a little underwhelming. It probably didn't help that we didn't know anyone and didn't know where to go. As two young females, we felt unsafe a lot of the time, even in the main tourist area. And no we were not traipsing around scantily dressed welcoming the staring and leering men. It was a lot more comfortable when we ventured to the southern end of the city but I'm not sure I would return to Brussels in the future.

However, everyone experiences everything differently and a day or two in Brussels is plenty and probably worth going just to see it for yourself. So don't take what I say and paint an ugly picture of Brussels. Go and eat at L'n'M and have a couple of beers and eat fries and waffles for a couple of days and then let me know what you think.