Brussels and a memorable party - July 26

Friday was a big day - we jumped on the train and went to Brussels. We got to pass their red light district coming in ... the "ladies" were like some of those in Amsterdam. They were in their little get-ups, standing in windows so guys can see which one they want to um ... employ.

 

Interesting.

Anywhoo it seems there's some animosity toward Brussels in Belgium. Not everyone is a fan. And I gotta admit I see why. It's a big tourist destination - the capitol with the palace and all. But some of the folks who live there won't speak Dutch, only English and French. And you're like - why? Dutch is like THE national languages. Well that and French and German. It doesn't make sense. English isn't a national language though everyone speaks it.

 

Well everyone except the people at Starbucks in Brussels.

 

 

Josh told them his name and they came up with Jorge. We called him that for the rest of the trip. They spelled Ineke's name Inika. It was funny.

 

After the name fail - mine came out Lynsy, which is close - we were off to sightsee.  

 

In front of the palace

 

The Koninklijke Sint-Hubertusgalerijen - good luck pronouncing that.

 It's also called the  Royal Galeries of Saint-Hubert.

 

There are two galleries - the king's and queen's galleries. They are two colonnades separate but covered. Inside, there are all kinds of shops and cafes.

 

 

A waffle-chocolate store with a picture of the king and queen

 

And speaking of waffles, this is where we got our long awaited waffle. It was on the schedule Ineke prepared for us months ago. And she made great choice. It was scrumptious.

 

 

Yum

 

We washed our waffle down with a beer (a light beer that you can walk around with it) called Jupiler. More walking ... but with a drink. It's a really pretty place to but it's not my favorite place in Belgium. I think Antwerp wins.

 

 

Lots of beer.

 

 

Rubbing a replica of a statue that's supposed to bring good luck 

 

In the marketplace

 

We also saw the Manneken Pis statue. It was really small in comparison to how hard core Brussels markets him. It's just a little guy with his wee-wee and he's everywhere. It's like the Bird Girl in Savannah. You see the real one and are kinda befuddled - you wonder why it's such a big deal.

 

 

The statue is much smaller than this waffle advertisement.

 

We also saw the cathedral where King Phillipe's coronation was held the previous Sunday.

 

When we'd seen all we could we hopped back on the train ... along with a group of tanked young British guys who were going to the Tomorrowland Music Festival. They were playing a drinking game with some Italian girls. They tried to engage other passengers and get them to join in the fun. I just shook my head and the guy is like "She knows enough (English) to know that she doesn't want to play."

Haha. Fooled you, asshole. I've perfected the "I don't speak ___insert language___" look in Miami. I guess it works.

 

 

They also kept complimenting Tijl on his "lovely umbrella."
Which, I suppose, coming from a Brit is high praise indeed.

 

Back in Antwerp, we went to the store to prepare for the evening's party. They had invited their core group of friends to come meet us at their place. To kick things off, Tijl and Ineke treated us to Westflevern, ruled the best beer in the world. It's brewed by monks and you have to call like a month in advance to get some. And when you go, you have to be on time.

 

It was ... wait for it ... amazing.
You can buy it on Ebay for about $1,000.

 

The party started around 7 p.m. that night and went way late. It was a blast. I loved every single person I met. Ineke enlisted one of their friends to make me cupcakes ... with the Belgian flag on top. Wow. They sang happy birthday to me too. *sniffle* So. effin. sweet.

They were Belgian chocolate. I can't believe they were made for me!

 

The ladies also gave me a gift of with all sorts of awesome goodness.

 

Gossip magazines in Dutch that I'm going to start deciphering this week along with chocolate bars, beer and this peanut butter-like cookie spread.
 

Their friend, Tom (who is hilarious), even had his mom make us a ton of waffles. OMG they were the best, like cake. Ineke packed them up and we brought them home. I've been eating them ever since. Out-effing-standing.

So. much. fun.

By the end of the evening, a couple of them had me contemplating duel citizenship. Seriously.

 

We went to sleep really late and slept in the next day.