Brussels: Beginning

Posted by Lauren

WOW. We did a LOT in Brussels. We leave tomorrow for Bruges and I already can’t stop checking Trip Advisor for suggestions. Brussels was brand new to both Kyle and me, and TA came in handy from the moment we got here! But before I go on, here are the previous posts from our Eurotrip! #roadtoLondon

- Amsterdam: Beginnings
- Amsterdam: Continuation
- Amsterdam: Extended

Let’s get to it, family and friends!

We hopped off the bus from Amsterdam (it made about 3 stops along the way and I saw 3 windmills – good 1:1 ratio!) and walked a few blocks to our airbnb spot. The place is amazing, with fantastic views of northeast Brussels from our bedroom window. There are two other rooms rented out and one is occupied by a nice, electronic-music-lovin New Yorker.

We set out for the most famous landmark in Brussels, the Grand Place/Grote Markt, but got a little side-tracked in what we assumed must be Brussels’ red light district. Windows. Ladies. Peep Show signs. Lovely neighborhood, really. Oh, and it’s one block from our airbnb.

We reoriented ourselves, realized east is not south, and headed the right direction.

360* of gorgeous buildings!!!!

#instamoment, if I do say so myself.

We walked around the square, ducked in a few shops, and then met in front of the tourism office at 3 pm for a Waffle Workshop. Someone linked to the waffle experience on Trip Advisor and I was immediately won over by the concept. (No surprises there, right?) I told Kyle about it on the bus and he agreed to join me. Yes!

Our waffle guide, Titch!

He began his story with a few questions to gauge our waffle knowledge (thanks Waffle Window of Portland for the Liege know-how).

There were three other super friendly ladies on the tour with us – 2 from the UK and 1 a Canadian expat.

Titch took us over to Häagen Dazs and asked us to spot three things wrong with their shop. I won’t give it all away, but basically all the waffles you find in Brussels are not the Brussels-style. They are actually horrible representations of waffles from Liege. “Belgian waffles” we love in the US? Those are butchered versions of the Brussels-style (which you can’t even find in Brussles!) Kinda confusing, right?

We walked two blocks to a fancy underground restaurant that I think is below a building that promotes tourism in southern Belgium. (Saw the pamphlets, fancyyy SoBel). Titch had everything set up for us and walked us through the recipe.

Unless you have access to sugar made in Belgium, you probably can’t make a perfect replica of this recipe. But when I get home, I’m going to try my best!

While the first “test” batch cooked, Titch explained more about the waffle. This was a 2-hour history lesson, cooking class, and modern tourist advice session all rolled into one 20€ workshop. Totally worth it. We sampled the first batch and then continued to make waffles out of the remainder of our batter…. 20 waffles total! Although powdered sugar is the traditional topping, Titch gave us the “ok” to add whipped cream, chocolate sauce, bananas, and honey.

My first creation:

Oh yeah, hairnets were mandatory!

The. Best. Waffles. …and now I know whyyyy they are the best.

We all had 2 waffles, joked around, gave Titch social media suggestions, wrapped up the leftovers (I left them in a bar later that night), and said “see you later” to each other.

Totally normal to walk around with 4 waffles in Belgium. My kinda place!

Explore > walk > explore > walk > get drinks!

We had Delirium Cafe on our must-see list, and so did the waffle ladies! We ordered beers and shared with each other, which I loved. Sharing is caring!

Pics from the evening:

I mean you really can’t go wrong with Delirium…. (except then I think of this post from Jordan and sometimes you can go wrong with Delirium)

Personal favorite beer of the night…

And favorite moment of the night… a soggy-waffle-eating dare turned greasy.

We said our goodbyes to the hilarious girls and set off for a late dinner. At this point my abused phone was 1% from death, so the majority of photos only made it to my real camera. But, we ate here:

La Villette (Another TA recommendation; I’ll revisit this later with pictures! Spoiler alert: delicious, mussels with escargot sauce, and rabbit!)

Ok, time to sleep! I’ll recap our loooong day of sightseeing sometime soon!

-Lauren