THE PARIS LETTER: A Trip to Brussels

Why yes, that is a giant Brussels sprout

We were looking for an easy and cheap trip to take from Paris with the baby, and we settled on Brussels, just 90 minutes away by train. Brussels is a totally lovely city, and another nice thing about it is that the pressure is off - there are no can't-miss sights.

Normally, this wouldn't be a recommendation for a vacation; as my New York friend Liz put it - "I feel like you're advocating I take a vacation to Philly". But sometimes its just nice to be in a new place, and to make your own schedule. There's no Louvre or Eiffel Tower, just some pretty walks, good food, and even better beer. And French fries. And the European Parliament. You know, some typical weekend stuff.

We arrived at Brussels Midi station around 11:30, and were able to walk to our hotel in about 20 minutes. The impetus for the trip was really that I had a free hotel night from Hotels.com, so we stayed at the Vintage Hotel, a funny little boutique hotel where all the furniture is very Sixties.

On a side note, I'm working on making the photos better on this site. Really I am. I need to start by not taking them with my Blackberry. Or maybe I should just not even have a Blackberry. Seriously.

The hotel was right near the Louise metro, though we ended up never taking any public transit and just walking everywhere - its that kind of town, though with a few more hills than Paris. Matt and I enjoy exploring new cities on foot, and this often leads to some awesome discoveries and some long trudges through boring parts of town. Here are some highlights from our walks, after the jump:



The European Parliament

Here's Sophia in front of the EU Lady !  Though the European Parliament and EU area in Brussels isn't the most exciting part of town, its still worth seeing - if for no other reason than this may be one of your last chances!

We really felt like we should document this area for Sophia, since we're really not sure if the EU will continue to exist for much longer.

There's also lots of Ayn Rand like sculptures scattered around, promoting unity while looking scarily totalitarian. So that's also fun. 

Don't worry, we didn't actually give the baby any fries

Place Jourdan & Chez Antoine

The other nice thing about visiting the EU area is that you're right near the Place Jourdan, where you will find Chez Antoine, one of the best frite stands in town.

Now, when we went to Bruges last year at this time, when I was about eight months pregnant, I was sorely disappointed with the quality of the frites. I mean, when you've got a husband who's a hardcore beer tourist but you can't drink anything, what else do you have to live for but some French fries with amazing sauces? But sadly, the fries in Bruges were all of the pre-frozen, soggy and tasteless variety, and my pregnant self was left unsated.

This was rectified in Brussels at Chez Antoine, where I seriously thought about getting 2 large orders of fries just for myself. Matt and I ended up splitting one with three different sauces, of which our favorite was definitely PILI PILI, a spicy chili mayo.

A la Morte Subite -

If you go to only one beer bar in Brussels, go to this one. Or so my husband tells me - though I thought it was pretty cool as well. This bar near Brussels' Grand Place has been around since the early 1900s, and apparently got its name (Sudden Death) from a card game the bankers would play there on their lunch hour, just before they had to rush back to work. Gamble  at work, gamble on your lunch break - good gig, eh?

Today, the fourth generation of the founding Vossen family still run the bar, which has kept much of its original decor and I imagine its original charm. Matt had some delicious beers there, including a house made  Gueuze, which if you know what that is you DEFINITELY need to go since you are officially a beer enthusiast. For those of you living in ignorance: A gueuze is a naturally fermented belgium lambic beer that I think tastes like vomit. But what do I know? Matt was psyched.

And, the waiters were super sweet to Sophia - they let us bring the stroller inside, walked her around the place, and even gave her a cookie, making the place officially baby-friendly - though we were there on a Sunday afternoon, so that may have had something to do with it.

A LA MORTE SUBITE

rue Montagne-aux-Herbes Potagères 7
B-1000 Brussels
PHONE: +32-(0)2-513.13.18




Open every day, 11AM to 1AM
Sundays from 12PM to midnight

Parc Royale

This is a park on a hill behind the Royal Palais,  between the European Parliament and the Grand Place. Its very pretty to walk through, but what made it really noteworthy when we were there was the Brusselicious exhibit on display. Yes, I said Brusselicious. This is some kind of combo public art project and PR for the Belgian food lobby, because it involved local artists decorating 5 meter tall sculptures of classic Belgian foods. Here, I'll show you what I mean:

Beer, Fries, and Brussels Sprouts of course

Just part of the whimsy of Brussels, where no one takes themselves too seriously. I can't imagine these being exhibited in the Tuileries in Paris....

Here, I'll leave you with a couple more great ones. While you may not get to see these on your own trip to Brussels, you will certainly find something unexpected and whimsical that will surprise you -