On Wednesday both Mom and Dad arrived and when I got out of work we went straight to... the market of course! From there we had to do a little bit of taste testing, my favorite of the night was a fresh Crepe with Nutella, absolutely to die for! We then went to our favorite wine bar around the corner to try to a few French wines and a cheese and charcuterie plate, yum! By that point we were all exhausted and ready to rest up for the rest of the week...
I luckily had Thursday and Friday off for the Belgian holiday (but of course will be very jealous this week of most of you with the Thanksgiving holiday!!!) ... first day we decided to stay in Brussels and show my parents our new stomping ground. And this was the start of 5 days of almost straight rain. Thursday was the worst of it, we took the tram towards Royal Palace and were going to do a tour of that section of town... it was raining so hard that we decided to get on one of those hop on hop off buses. As much as I was hesitant to do so, it was such a great decision! We were able to see so much, even parts of the city that Jay and I haven't been able to get to yet, and we stayed warm and dry! After the tour it was time for some chocolate and beer! We started by touring Chocolopis and then having some frites and beer at a local pub. From there we needed to show my Dad, Dillirum, it was a must! I think my dad fell in love and we definitely all enjoyed a few of the local selections!!! I've never seen another bar like Delirium, it is a MUST for beer lovers - which no, I'm not one yet, but I've found my favorites when its a beer kinda night.
After that we went to a really nice dinner in the Sablon neighborhood and ordered their tasting menu and a bottle of wine that Jay had really been looking forward to try! So much food and drinks, it was time to get some shuteye before we headed to Bruge the next day.
I think what we are appreciating the most out of living in Brussels is just how easy it is to get other places. We took a train to Brugge in less than an hour. We had a little bit of trouble finding our way into town b/c the nice lady at the train station pointed out the very wrong way to get to our first stop, the boats to take a tour through the canals. After a good amount of time we finally found the boats! We also got lucky with a 1/2 day of sun, so we were able to fully enjoy the view and the beautiful canals of Brugge. We then headed to the local Brewery, Brouwerijz de Halve Maan and they tried some of the local brews.
The rest of the day was spent wandering through the town, doing a little bit of shopping and trying to stay warm and dry! We finally were able to catch a buggy ride that my Mom had really wanted to do, Dixie took us on a very nice ride through the city and we caught some great shots on our journey.
From there, Jay had booked an amazing restaurant for us to try based on a recommendation that my father had gotten. It was first class all the way, a Belgian restaurant, that focused on food cooked with Belgian beer, with either a beer pairing or wine paring with your meal. My mom and I opted for the wine and weren't disapointed and the men went with the beer of course! The dinner was not the best that I had so far in Belgium but the experience was not to be missed! Complete with us calling a taxi to get us to the train station in time to make the late train home... only to be outdone by being kicked out of first class by the conductor (we had no idea it was first class, and noone was on the train anyways). It would have been fine if Jay and my Dad hadn't already been cut off by the beer vending machine!
The next day we decided to spend in Brussels again. We made our way leisurely down to the Sablon district so that my Mom can try all the of the amazing chocolate shops. The surprise highlight was being served free champagne in a furniture store! We also did some wine tasting and some beer tasting at Delices Caprices. I highly recommend visiting if you go to Brussels. The guy that runs the shop is very knowledgable and friendly and it is off the beaten path.
http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp?PlaceID=4665
The last day of their trip we took the 30 min trainride out to Ghent. By far our favorite city so far in Belgium! We first went and toured the Belfry and the numerous cathedrals downtown. From there we went to .. guess what, another beer bar for Jay and my Dad to try more beer! We walked around the city and took in the views, Ghent also has many canals and wonderful views to take in.
It was sad to see my parents leave but we will see them again over the holidays when we head back to CT/NH to see the fam and friends.
This past weekend we spent in Paris and had a jam packed weekend... I will save that for my next post, stay tuned and HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone!
