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After a great night's sleep in our cool, comfortable room, Alex and I got up at 0900 and went to breakfast at hotel's Cafe OO! (The exclamation point is part of the name.) We had eggs, bacon, pastries and fruit, but the real star of the show were real Belgian waffles served from the old VW van parked in the dining room! They were really great, and Bloom! certainly knows how to make breakfast fun!
After breakfast, we came back to the room to relax a bit before starting our day. We ended up falling asleep til almost noon. Part of it was the cloudy, rainy morning, but the fatigue of travel and constantly going is really starting to hit us.
The rain stopped although it stayed cloudy, muggy, and a little too warm. A 20 minute walk got us to the Grand Place, the old Brussels town square. It is magnificent! Buildings that housed the brewing and textile guilds dating from the 1500s are still in their full glory. Of course, we stopped at the Mannekin Pis for a photo. It's such a part of Brussels that you can't turn around without seeing a picture or replica of
a little boy peeing.
We also stopped for quite a while at St. Michael's cathedral. Last time here it was being renovated and could see only a little of it, so we took our time looking at the tombs of bishops from 1600s onward, the stained glass, and the ornate woodwork. Incredibly beautiful. Alex lit a candle for her grandmother, as she does at every church we visit.
During the walk to the Grand Place, we stopped for some time at the memorial to soldiers killed in WW I and II. It was really beautiful, but I was bothered by the number of people sitting on it eating lunch. Felt disrespectful to me.
We wandered the streets around the square, looking at shops loaded with the chocolate and lace that Belgium is known for. Though not terribly hungry, we couldn't resist another Belgian waffle - Alex's covered in Nutella, mine in dark chocolate. Yum!
Outside of the shops of the Grand Place area, there's not a lot to see here. To be honest, neither of us really like Brussels that much. It's dirty and kind of grim, and the people all seem irritable. In fact, one
man (about my age) walked up to me on the street and started gesturing wildly and yelling at me in French, then stormed off. Maybe he thought I was someone he knew or maybe I did something (no idea what) but it was a bit jarring. Other people we've run into are semi-shouting and grumbling too, and most every non-tourist is scowling.
Tonight, Alex and I had a wonderful dinner of salad, croquettes, beef stew, frites, and chocolate mousse. The best part was just sitting and talking about everything under the sun. It was the perfect way to wrap up our trip!
All that's left is packing and getting ready for the very long flight home. We leave the hotel at 0330 for our 7 am flight from Brussels Airport. From there it's Heathrow, DFW, and finally home at 2130. That will make a full 20+ hours of travel. Ugh. But, of course, the trip makes it worthwhile, and we are both ready to be home.
Will drop a note from Heathrow during our layover...if I'm awake!
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