The Junk Food Diaries: Waffles, French Fries and lots of Beer

I laugh because these past three days are probably the worst I have eaten all trip. How are you supposed to eat healthy when there are waffle stands, chocolatiers, frieteries and bars that have over 2,000 different beers in them? The answer: You don't.

The first thing I noticed when we arrived in Brussels was the genuine hospitality of the people. They take pride in their land and go out of their way to make you feel comfortable. I say this because we came from Paris and people who expect you to speak their language (or try) and don't cater to tourists as much. I can appreciate both ways since I live in a major city and I cater less to tourists than I probably should. It was a nice change to come to Belgium and experience a little slower pace of life.

We planned our trip to stay in Brussels the entire time and then take day trips to both Bruges and Ghent. I think for our group this worked out perfectly. The only hiccup was that we stayed in an AirBnB on a street that was basically like the "WEHO" of Brussels. It would have been fine other than the fact that everyone parties obnoxiously loud until 6am. I sound like some old grandma but when you sleep with your windows open and people leaving the clubs are yelling at the top of their lungs, you can't help but to wake up in a panic that something is wrong. Other than that, our apartment was great! It was a duplex with this view of The Grand Place!

As we wandered around the first day, we took in the majesty that was the Grand Place. In this large square you have some of the most beautiful buildings in the city, emcompasing you on all sides. I tried to take a panorama but it really doesn't do it justice.

After this we had to go see what all the fuss was about with the statue, Manequin Piss. This is their most famous monument in Brussels and it is of a baby peeing into a fountain. It is so tiny and is based on a bunch of different legends so if anyone knows the real story of how/why it became so famous, I would honestly love to know. We continued to just walk the streets and soak in the city for the rest of the afternoon. Jess and Tara fell IN LOVE with the waffles and were doomed for the rest of the trip. I held off until the second day but boy were they yummy!!

I peer pressured the girls into trying Moules Frites which is just a bucket of mussels and fries. It seemed to be a specialty there with just about every restaurant offering it on the menu. Jaz and I had tried it while in Reims and I always feel the need to make them try the local food. Most of the time they refuse (like escargot or foie gras) but for some reason they said yes. Well they didn't love it or really like it at all, but at least they tried it! (Small wins!) 

That night we said we would nap and head out to Dellerium (you will hear more about this later), but instead the naps grew longer into the night and at 11:30pm, Jaz and I got up and decided to wander. Keep in mind the sun goes down around 10:45pm so it had just gotten dark. We ended up at Delirium which is a bar that has over 2,000 beers. They are officially the bar with the most beer options in the world. Rumor has it, if you bring them a beer they don't have, you drink free for the rest of your life. I loved their Delirium Tremens beer on draft. Delirium has turned into such a thing that they have a whole alley called none other than, Delirium Alley. They have a bunch of bars, legitimately in an alley all specializing in a certain type of alcohol: vodka, rum, tequila, absinthe and then Delirium with the beer. Pretty cool experience if you ask me! 

The next morning we were up with the sun and headed out to Bruges. It would have been perfect except the fact that it was raining. This is the first time in 20 days that I have put on a jacket. It was the type of rain that just comes from all angles, not heavy but that annoying mist. I think this really impacted our day. We walked around for a little, took a canal tour and then ended up finding refuge in a bar and participated in some beer tasting. This sounded like a perfect way to stay out of the rain (it's how I justify it to myself to spend the day inside.)

That night we bummed it... Well what actually happened was we all became addicted to the show Suits so we all watched for a while, chilled, and then Jaz, Jess and I went adventuring to this Ramen restaurant called Umamido. I found it on a 10 best places to eat in Brussels list. It was good to mix up our food intake and to try some good Ramen.

Instead of rushing out the door the next morning, we took it easy because we found out that the city of Ghent was in the middle of this 10 day festival. The festival gets started around 1pm and lasts all night. We went out in the morning to do some necessity shopping and quickly found out that everything was closed because it was the Belgian National Holiday. (Oops! Guess we should have known!) 

We arrived in Ghent to find a lively festival that took over the whole city. Stages were set up, music was blasting, beers were being handed out and it looked like everyone from 5 years to 85 years old was waking around enjoying some fries or ice cream and the shows. We walked around for a little before finding the area most suited for our age. Good music, good drinks and even better views! There was also a whole section that was dedicated to all things: food trucks! Those that know me know how excited I was with this discovery. The craziest thing for me was that this festival has been occurring every year since 1843 and creates such a lively atmosphere in this medieval city!  It seemed like everyone brought their entire family and someone told us that within the 10 days, 2 million people visit the city.

Jess and Tara decided they wanted to go back sooner than Jaz and I so they headed back only to realize I still had the key in Ghent. So Jaz and I rushed back, met them for some beers and enjoyed our last night in Belgium! 

We just arrived in our next stop: Amsterdam! Stay tuned!