Brussels

Waking up fairly late for us, it wasn't probably until 11am that Sam and I set out to explore Brussels. Mark had given us a key so we were able to come and go as we please while he was at work. First up, breakast. We made our way to the Manneken Pis, the peeing boy statue where there were plenty of touristy waffle shops. Sam ordered a waffle with strawbeeries and chocolate while I settled for Nutella. They melt the Nutella, which comes in five kilogram tubs over a pot like fondue and are just as liberal when spreading it across your waffle. I love Nutella, but I couldn't finish mine and Sam ended up consuming his and the rest of mine.
After that it was time to find the red tourist bus that every European city seems to have. We didn't ride the one in London because it was so expensive but here in Brussels it was only 20 euro each. You can hop on and off the bus at 14 different stations around the city or just stay on the whole hour and a half trip and listen to the commentary.
Sam and I chose to do this to start as it was a beautiful sunny day and riding up the top of the double decker bus was lovely.
With our head phones in and our cameras ready we enjoyed a scenic tour or some of Brussels main attractions including the royal palace, the Atomium - a relic of the World Expo Brussels hosted in the 50s which is a huge 100m high structure supposed to be an atom made up of molecules that are metres wide. Escalators and a lift allow tourists to ascend to the Atomium dizzying heights but we passed and stayed on the bus.
Other things included parks, another palace, some old cathedrals and other things I have forgotten the name of.
Back to where we began, we hopped off the bus to find some lunch. Now, Sam and I are hopeless at deciding what to have for lunch as anyone in Tamworth can attest to, so choosing an eatery in a city like Brussels tested both our patience.
We finally settled on a small Itlian place on the Grand Place, the centre city square with buildings dating to the 17th century.
While all these eateries had lovely terraces, rain threatened so we chose to sit inside and within minutes it was pouring, catching hordes of Japanese tourists out in the centre of the square, forced to negotitate slippery wet cobblestones to shelter.
With another cherry beer with lunch (these things are awesome - kriek), some food in our tums and the sun shining again, we hopped back on the bus for a return to the royal palace.
We must have been one of the last people let through for the day, as it was probably close to 5pm. Inside we were taken back by the expensive simplicity of the sitting rooms, the ornateness of the ballroom and the most amazing chandeliers we have seen.
Another room had been converted into a hands-on activity area for the kids - some science type exhibition. It was a real shame because this room had the most amazing ceiling. In about four sections was a green/blue shimmery iridescent material that kind of looked like feathers or shells.
For the life of us we coul;dn't work out what it was and then as we were leaving the room, a sign told us. The ceiling was covered in the wings of 1.4 million thai beetles, hence the iridescence of the colours. It was mind boggling to think this ceiling was covered with the wings of an insect and the amount of time it must have taken to do.
Out of the palace and the gates virtually closed behind us, we set back towards Mark's house on foot, mostly downhill luckily.
Sam and my feet are becoming increasingly more hardy as time goes on but by later afternoon the pain begins to kick in and again and usually at least one of us has to ask the other to slow down.
Sam wanted to buy some Belgian beer to post home or at least carry with us home, so we entered a boutique beer shop that sold hundreds of different types of beer. Sam bought a Carolus, recommended to him by the staff there. It's 8.5%. A lot of beer here has a very high alcohol levels.
I was keen to buy some Belgian chocs, as they were being sold in the more touristy stores for only 10 euro for five boxes of shells or truffles or a combination. But the thought of more chocolate actually made me feel so ill, I couldn't bring myself to buy any, a fact I regret now as I write this in Amsterdam.
Back at Mark's, our host cooked us dinner, a pasta, chicken and vegetable satay dish.
After dinner we really had to work out how we were leaving in the morning for Amsterdam, a small detail we should have worked out earlier.
Days before we had looked at bus times and costs and were expecting only to have to pay less than 10 euro but when we went to book, it was sold out unless we wanted to leave at 9.30 that night and arrive in Amsterdam after 11pm.
So the train it was, but the Thalys, or super fast train was way too expensive at over 100 euros for the two of us so the slow every day train it was, with no reserved seating. You bought your ticket and hoped for a seat. It's not at all like the trains at home though. Plush seats, even in second class and a tray table you can pull down like on the planes.
It was a three-hour trip that would put us in Amsterdam about midday.
We also took th opportunity to book our tickets to Dusseldorf from Amsterdam, that would be the next leg of the journey. Mostly we can use e-tickets so a printer is usually necessary and Mark was kind enough to let us use his.
Close to midnight, we hit the hay and prepared for an early start to catch the train.
Alysia (July 28)