THE SWEET LIFE: First Big Trip

After three days of doing administrative stuff, we thought it time to do something fun. After sleeping in a bit on Saturday morning, we woke up and drove to the nearby Jurbise train station and bought two round-trip tickets to Brussels. It is really nice because in Belgium weekend train rides are cheaper than weekday rides. Reason being is many people commute into or even out of Brussels for work during the week, so a ticket during the week is more expensive than during the weekend. A bit counterintuitive to me because even though there are probably quite a few people traveling via train during the week for work, I would think there are even more traveling on the weekend for pleasure. Apparently not. And on top of regular tickets being cheaper, children under 12 are free, so that was great. For 17 Euro (about 20 USD) we went round-trip from Jurbise to Brussels on a direct train. It was a very easy 40 minute train ride to Brussels Central Station which is in the heart of the ancient city. We have been so busy and our tour books are packed away, so we just went with the intention of walking around all day and enjoying the weather. And so we did. We arrived at 1300 and walked through one place (pronounced pla-cis meaning plaza or square) which had a nice open air market. From there we found the Grand Place, which is absolutely amazing. After finding our bearings we walked around a bit on a mission of finding Belgian Waffles. Aidan and Colin had been having a hankering for them for weeks so we found a stand and ordered four different kinds. They were fantastic! With one mission accomplished, we just meandered around the city for the rest of the afternoon. We got a coffee later on and saw the parliament building, several museums, and a ton of beautiful old buildings. There are so many secondary places throughout this city that we could have spent hours sitting and eating and drinking in each one. But with two 7 year olds in towe, that was not in the cards. As the afternoon wore on, we sat down at a beautiful cafe in a 4 century old building on the Grand Place where we all ordered a late lunch/early dinner. I had a great Flemmish (Dutch) stew. Absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately, Jess and I are both finishing up an antibiotic for mild ear infections, so we were unable to sample any of the beers. It felt like a crime to not order one of the dozens of local Belgian brews while sitting at a cafe on the Grand Place on such a gorgeous day! After five hours of walking, we decided to catch the train home at 1845. It was a great first trip. The boys were very well behaved and patient (at least for them) and best of all, it really built up our confidence for taking the train to a different city. Thankfully there were no hickups; we didn't miss a train, take a wrong train, get lost, or get our wallet or purse picked. We'll be back in two weeks for the flower carpet festival in which the Grand Place is covered in tulips which form very intricate pictures depicting different periods in Belgian history.