On Tuesday night, we headed to Brussels. When we arrived at the airport, we had no idea how to find our hotel, which was outside of the city. There was a bus, but we weren't sure if it would take us to the hotel. Finally, we decided to take a cab. The price turned out to be 2.80 euro per mile. Our hotel was 60 kilometers away. In the end, we paid 180 euro (about $270) for the ride. And that is the story of the most expensive taxi ride of my life.
On Wednesday, we went into the city of Brussels. We walked through a park near our hotel to get to the metro.
Some of the murals in the metro stations were pretty interesting...
One of the first places we went was Chocopolis! My favorite part was the elephant in front of the store :) Our city maps mistakingly claimed that sampling was free. Instead, entrance was free.
So much chocolate!
We saw the Grand Place (Grote Markt), which is located in central Brussels. I wish I could've been there during the "flower carpet," which is set up every two years in August. The area is filled with begonias arranged in beautiful patterns covering the entire square. I saw so many postcards with pictures of the event. It looks so pretty!
We spent an hour or so in a park after having lunch. More interesting graffiti!
We also wandered around a few book stores.
And came across some intriguing titles...
We visited the famous Mannekin-pis fountain. Apparently, the statue is frequently dressed for different occasions and has a wardrobe which includes several hundred costumes. Some of the outfits were shown on postcards around Brussels. One of the stories behind the statue is that it replicates a baby that urinated on warring troops in Belgium. Another explanation claims that the boy peed on a fire to save the city. Hmm...
Since we were in Belgium, we obviously had to try Belgian waffles. For about 2 euros, I got the waffle shown below. And no, it did not disappoint! :)
We walked around some local stores for the remainder of the day. I was yelled at for taking the picture below, but couldn't help but be proud of the American pride expressed in these lovely underpants!
On Wednesday evening, we headed to a local bar to try out Belgian beer. For six euros, we could sample three beers. I chose a cactus flavor and two pale ales. My favorite was Delirium Tremens, a Belgian pale ale, which is supposedly "The best beer in the world." The elephant on the label was a nice touch! :)
Don't worry, everyone is legal! However, not everyone was a fan of their beer selections...
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