Bruxelles et Bruges dans un week-end

This has the potential to be a long post, but I will try to keep it short. I decided last Tuesday to take a trip to Belgium for the weekend. I met a couple fantastic girls at a Thanksgiving dinner and took them up on the offer to come visit before they finished their semester of study.

On Friday night I took off of work a bit early and rode the metro to Gare du Nord to catch my train. I was quite excited because I bought a first-class ticket. I didn't have much of a choice; it was all that was left. I boarded and was thrilled to sit in a large, reclining seat. I started watching The Three Musketeers on my iPod. It was written by Alexandre Dumas and took place in Paris. The city inspires me to read the literature greats! The women came by to "offer" me dinner. When they said "offer", I didn't know if that meant I had to pay or if they were "giving" it to me. Well I declined and later found out that it came with first-class privileges. I have a lot to learn. Later I asked for wine and I got it. Oh the luxury! They brought chocolate too. I didn't get to finish the movie, but I finally arrived in Brussels at 10:30 or so.

Laura was there to pick me up and we soon headed off to the Christmas Markets. Most of them were closed, but it was absolutely fantastic. The Europeans really do know how to decorate for Christmas. There were carrousels, an ice skating rink, markets, lights, music, smells, all of it!
A Christmas market that sold saucisson (sausages). They carried every kind you could think of, even blueberry.
The Palace of Justice
Le Grande Place
The next morning, I slept in. The bed I died in was the most comfortable bed ever. Especially after sleeping on the hard French beds for six months. We walked around Brussels for a bit and I managed to eat my first authentic Belgian Waffle. If I could only express the amazingness of this waffle, I would. We don't have the proper words in English to do so.
Museum of Music - Art Nouveau style
Waffles are EVERYWHERE!
A Chocolaterie that had a "helper" who assisted me in picking out my chocolates.
A club in Brussels. Apparently, this decoration was intentional.
He is what one would imagine when the 80s rockers grow old. He was seriously rockin' it out. He was banging his foot and screaming some lyrics...great American tunes. As you can see, the little children were confused to see this Santa Clause look-alike singing with such passion.
This caught my eye as I walked by, so I had to grab a picture.
Europeans are the masters of advertising. They take their window displays very seriously. Yes, the cow is real. Not alive, but real.
After walking for a really long time, we met up with some other gals and went to a very famous marionette show. We walked through this quaint alleyway to this bar with mortal puppets who saw their day of fame, but now hang above beer and wine drinkers. The theatre was upstairs, so the bar was the holding room till the show commenced.

It was probably one of the coolest things I have done since I've been in Europe. I can't explain why. The show was The Three Musketeers in French. I laughed so much. It was all male voices, even for the female characters. They, of course, were so overly dramatic.
After-show strolling
The Grande Place at night. This light show was in sync with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.
I now fully understand what window shopping means. The stores are always so fantastic.
After it was over we walked around the Christmas markets again, and this time we FROZE. It was wet and cold and did I mention it was cold? We all fell in love with these little painted dolls from Holland. I don't know what they were, but they were demanding our attention. I didn't buy much because I was out of cash. If you don't have cash in Belgium, you don't buy anything. If you find a place that accepts a debit or credit card, take a picture because it's the only place. We decided it was time to bail. We couldn't take it any longer. But instead of going home, we went to find the Manneken-Pis. This is a tiny statue of a little boy peeing. I don't know why it is so famous. I really don't. You can't go into a store without something of the Manneken-Pis.
We finally made it back to the house. The next morning I planned to have a relaxing bath since I haven't had one in six months. Only showers for six months is enough to
make a girl a little sad. So we had another lazy morning. Laura's friend, Crystal, had changed her flight, so she didn't arrive till Sunday morning. Once she arrived, we left for Brugge. It was only a one hour train ride.
It is another magical city. We had a great lunch with a celebrity-like waiter. We felt as though we were in a movie. I thought he was a Russell Crowe clone, and the girls though he was a young Shawn Connery. He did have the 007 vibe. The weather became a beast and the winds kicked into high gear and the rain began. We still got out and walked around and tasted some chocolates.
Lace Shop
The Nutcracker at a classic Christmas shop
One of the stores at the Christmas market.
After walking around the Christmas markets, we decided to take a carriage ride to show us around the city before we had to leave for Brussels. Our horse's name was Sarah and she was very temperamental. In that weather, I would have been too. The sound of horseshoes on cobblestones is one of my new favorite sounds. We passed by all the famous medieval landmarks. The oldest hospital in Europe is in Brugge and it dates back to the 13th century. It is now a museum for a Belgian artist. After our ride was over, we hitched it back to the train station. An hour back, then I hopped on my next train back to Paris. The weekend was great. It's definitely possible to visit different cities in a few days. I can't wait for my next adventure.