Today “Let’s Fly Away” departs France and moves over to Belgium. I’m starting with Brussels, though this was the last destination of our trip. Honestly, Brussels was my least favorite of all the places we visited. Don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of fun, but it just did not live up to the other cities. To start with it was extremely touristy, crowded, and a bit dirty. The city itself was beautiful but when you walked around in the morning, there was trash thrown everywhere in the streets and even in the beautiful gardens. The touristy factor really turned me off the city. Despite this a good time was still had and I’m going to share it!
We were not exactly seeking out the Manneken Pis when we ventured over to this part of Brussels. Frankly, the commotion caused by the Duval advertisement depicting the Manneken Pis off a street near our hotel was enough for me…tourists were literally blocking the whole street trying to get pictures…hello it’s an ad, not even the real thing. Well, Poechenellekelder was a great destination because it was right near the square but we were out of the commotion. There was also some parade going on and the statue was dressed in a suit that day.
These were some of the entertainers from the parade. A few of the stilt walkers came in through our table window which was fun. I regret a bit for not trying out a walk on the stilt myself. They were trying to get me to climb out the window to try the stilts but I was a bit worried about smashing my head on the cobblestones, so I declined. This made for a very enjoyable/entertaining afternoon.
This was both a beer destination and a dinner spot. The food was a real surprise as I was not sure what to expect, but it was excellent. All of the dishes incorporated beer and it hit the spot. Great, unique selection of beer and a high level of attention to detail and care for the beer.
Statue Albert
Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula
Oh my husband and I would have so much fun trying all the different beers, and it looks like it was a memorable time! Thank you for linking up for Travel Tuesday!
Thank you for hosting the link-up Bonnie! I’m so glad we got we got to see Belgium for the first time together.
I visited Brussels a couple of years ago and I understand your feelings about the city. It didn’t really capture my heart as well! It’s nice enough to spend a day there, but I don’t think that it’s a must on a Europe trip – especially in comparison with so many other European capitals! I just felt like there wasn’t so much to see/do. But Belgian chocolate and fries do make up for it a bit! 🙂
The fries and chocolate were certainly a treat 🙂 We fell in love with Ghent, and Brussels just didn’t seem to live up.
The architecture looks absolutely gorgeous! I know what you mean about overly toyrusty cities! They nearly always fail to live up to the hype! But it looks beautiful nonetheless and I definitely want to visit Belgium one day!
Oops I meant touristy! My phone did something weird – sorry about that!
No problem…I understand all too well the dreaded auto-correct mistypes 🙂
It was quite lovely, I just enjoyed our other two cities in Belgium so much more (Antwerp and Ghent). I would choose those over Brussels for a return visit. Thanks for stopping by!
I haven’t been to Brussels, but it looks so much like other European cities. I have driven through the countryside though… absolutely gorgeous!!!
Oh, we did not make it outside of the cities…I bet it is really gorgeous. We only saw a bit of the countryside by train. Brussels certainly has its share of beautiful architecture.
Those stilts are something else!! I probably wouldn’t have tried it either though LOL
Yeah, it was a bit far down…I think if I tried it it would have been on one of the shorter ones but still cobblestones…too scary It would have been an awesome story/picture though 🙂
i have always wanted to go! there’s so much of europe that i want to visit.
and whenever i hear “brussels”, i think of van damme – the muscles from brussels LOL
LOL Kathy!! I pretty much would be happy to travel anywhere in Europe!
We went to Brussels in 2012 and really loved the city but we also went in January so the tourism factor was very low.
We did go at the height of tourist season in August. I guess I just enjoyed our other two Belgium cities so much more. The other funny thing is that Brussels felt more French than Ghent or Antwerp.