Beer, Chocolate and Waffles

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Beer....chocolate...waffles...does life really get any better than this? This is the only question one must ask when strolling the lovely cobbled streets of Bruges or the most beautiful square of Brussells. Throw into the mix the gustatory sensation of Belgian mussels and pomme frites, and the quaint, pictureque architecture and one wonders if they could ever bear to leave such a magical place?

I confess, I have never fancied myself much of a beer drinker. But after a few days spent in Belgium, one totally redefines one's notion of 'beer' and develops a whole new appreciation for this wonderful blend of cider and yeast. We arrived in Belgium straight after the new year celebrations with our intent simply to herald in the first week of January with complete indulgence. This was the perfect choice of locations when one wishes to simply indulge in culinary delights.

We'd heard nothing but good things about Belgium so our expectations were pretty high before arriving. But it definitely more than lived up to expectation. Arriving in Brussels we sadly weren't met with any snow, but none-the-less the city was filled with that cool, crisp, fresh wintery air that smells completely amazing. So we rugged ourselves up and headed out to stroll the streets to simply breathe it in. Brussles is very much like any other European city, and like many others, it boasts possession of the 'most beautiful square in the world'. I must say though that 'Grand Place', the city's 15th Centuary market square, certainly lives up to its rather fancy-pants title. It was indeed very beautiful, especially as the enormous Christmas tree and Nativity Scenes were all still on display. It was quite lovely walking around. Beyond some great restaurants and bars, the only other real highlight of Brussels was our visit to the very Art-Nouveau themed Musee des Instruments de Musique. This museuam has the world's biggest display of instruments which was quite cool actually, and far better to see than the apparently famous 'Manneken Pis', a statue of a small boy peeing which even has a museum dedicated to its glory...hmm.

Our time in Brussels was very brief all-in-all, as we were keen to travel on to Bruges. This city is one of the world's best-preserved medieval cities and you certainly have the feeling of stepping back in time as you stroll beside its numerous canals, glancing into shop windows selling yards of lace and traditional wooden toys. I can't really describe in words how beautiful Bruges is-it just has to be seen to be believed. We spent hour upon hour getting lost on its cobbled streets, breaking up our endless strolling with visits to local pubs, pouring over menus containing upwards of 300-500 types of beer. The beer itself was fantastic-and if even I, as a typically non-beer drinking girl can say this, you get the tiniest inkling of just how tops Adam thought the lagers and ales were. Every night of our stay, I found myself guiding a very drunk boy back to our bed and breakfast after he'd he'd spent the evening testing his stamina against the 11% and 12% Trapest beers he was rather fond of.

There were no real cultural forays whilst here-we did visit the chocolate museum but that was really it. Instead, our time was very much focused on eating as much waffle as often as we could and drinking as much beer as one can reasonably consume in a 3-day period. We loved every minute of our time in this little hidey-hole away from the world. We were sad to leave when it came time-but thoughts of the 1kg box of chocolates we left with kept me in reasonably good cheer as we boarded our plane home!

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Photos

Makkenken Pis
Totally overrated