April 13th Brussels

Woke up to sunshine and drowsiness. De facto I wasn't sure if I felt better or worse. I went with better for the sake of it. Better is more likable than worse.

Breakfast was a mixture of cereal and rice cakes. Sweet rice cakes and jam Batman! MareBear the girl wonder at your service. I was a relief to sit and enjoy a decent breakfast. No cooking and no stress about eating. I hadn't had breakfast food for over a week which totally sucked for yours truly. Again, that jam Batman.

After rice cakes and girl grooming procedures Ailsa, Kate, and I hit the town. We had a few hours to kill before meeting Cathleen (friend of Ailsa's) and decided to spend that time exploring.

In total Brussels is extraordinary. The city is a half n' half of old and new; one street will be decked in renaissance architecture yet a block down contains steel office buildings. Incredible.

Speaking of incredible, in Belgium there are two delicacies that require sampling. The first is chocolate. The second is beer.

Now I'm not a huge on chocolate but I can appreciate excellent quality when I find it. We ate some bits here and there from shops and all was scrumptious. Plus chocolates wrapped up in playing card paper are too adorable to resist. Total MareBear moment of weakness.

Beer. I'll admit it (have at least eight times on this blog before) I love drafts of beer. Darker ales of my preference but any rich brew will satisfy my taste buds. About midway through the day the three of us sat down at a pub to enjoy a cool half-pint in the sunshine. Since Trappiste is my favorite bar in Le Havre I decided to go with a classic choice; delirium.

Delirium dons a pink elephant as its logo and provides a strong flavor for a light beer. Audience if you didn't know (which is likely) Trappiste is a Belgium styled bar. Now you do know where you did or didn't before. Learning.

We all enjoyed our beers with chatter until it was time to meet Cathleen. Fret not, we made the rendez-vous on time. Three became four and we set off once more onto Brussels.

Walking is not fun while thirsty. Cathleen insisted that we go see the city from one of its highest points for the view and splendor. Walking, heph, was, breathe, not, cough cough, fun! Damn dry throat. I kept my negative attitude to myself and huffed along in silence. Good girl MareBear. I was rewarded in the end but not by the view of the city.

Meh you look pretty Brussels but you're prettier up close. See then we only see a sector and miss all your flaws. Uh never say that to anyone audience. Just to Brussels, no one else.

No, what I was rewarded with was the image of a beautiful clock face. I kept saying how I wanted it for myself. Brussels shouldn't mind if I steal it. Megabus might though, space issues.

Still want this clock

I was also bestowed with this beautiful image. It has to be my favorite from the trip. Ah friendship.

Koala Kate

Afterwards we hit central town for some noms. Forewarning for Brussels if you are a girl. Since we all are majestic creatures with beautiful everything we must be on guard.

Down Brussels restaurant alleyways you will practically be dragged into an eatery by the host. All of them showered us with compliments as we walked through. One guy even said that he loved me. Shiver. That doesn't scream desperation at all.

The odd part is that they all do this. Every single host belonging to a moderate alley restaurant is trained to "harass" people (namely women) into eating there. Man they must be whipped behind the scenes. If you don't make customer quote you receive ten lashes. Only theory that makes sense.

On the plus side of this behavior you can somewhat barter with the hosts; they all so hysterically want you to eat at "their place" that they will sweeten the deal for you. We had free champagne with our meal. Not too shabby.

Lunch complete it was time to drink beer again. Seriously that's how Brussels functions. Before we hit the bars I had us take a detour to the Beer Temple.

This had been added to my afterlife paradise plan. What an attractive array of alcohol added bottles! I was a college student in a beer store, the joy. Heh, I really was.

I purchased a few bottles and we were on our way to the Delirium Café. Lil background on this place, it has over 300 kinds of beer in it. Again, happy college student. There I had a glass of Satan. Suitable don't you think? It was the lighter brew (heavier drinks after sunset) but packed a punch of flavor. So so suitable.

Later on we returned to the hostel for some r and r before going out on the town. Socializing is awesome with a group of girls. So is the dancing and man can some of them dance. Ailsa and Ivana I challenge you to a stamina contest when I'm back to full health. Then I'll be able to keep up fully with you guys.

Tomorrow lends itself to a surprise. I won't say what today you'll just have to read about tomorrow audience. I know, bummer.