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  • Day 62

    Brussels

    June 4, 2017 in Belgium ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    So I had a very weird morning. I had a dream that I was doing the things I was meant to be doing i.e. Getting out of bed and having a shower onIy I wasn't, I was sleeping..
    Bizarre.
    It took me ages to realize I hadn't actually gotten out of bed.
    Our washing had dried so I stuffed it all back into the washing machine just so it looked a little neater just in case the cleaning lady came through - didn't want our crap spread all over the house.
    And then so began our 7.2km walk to The mini Europe theme park.
    About a kilometer in we stopped for kebabs - they put corn in it which changes the flavor completely. It's very powerful for something so small.
    They too put chips in the kebab like every other European city so far.
    The walk was long and tiring - as we walked you could see the change in the social and economic standings. I wouldn't say we entered the slums but it was definitely a lower class. We came across a pretty church and then finally saw the top ball of the Atomium statue which helped lead us in the right direction.
    We walked through a nice park that had a purple leaved tree and then what seemed like 3 hours later, made it to the Atomium and mini Euro. We got some photos of the Atomium- supposedly it's the symbol of Brussels and is very near where the Heysel stadium stood (the stadium that collapsed in 1985 killing 39 people and injuring 600) we chose not to go to the top because of the price then we walked over to mini Europe.
    The line took ages but we finally got there - Will is so impatient. We got given these AWSOME booklets upon entry which outlines what countries are in the E.U, provided a lot of basic facts about them such as population and language etc but then also gives novelty facts such as Belgium consumes more fries than anyone else.
    It then had the pictures of all the displays with information about each structure underneath which was helpful.
    To my great disappointment and yet not to my surprise, Will got bored after the 2nd or 3rd structure. So unfortunately I felt very pressured to move quickly and didn't have the opportunity to read about each place there - I'll have to do it at home.
    I feel like I missed out to be honest but oh well - can't win them all. I told him I was going to be the cooler parent and take our kids to theme parks. He has agreed that it will be my duty not his.
    If my kids don't like roller coasters I'll be devastated haha.
    Maybe I'll bring my own kids back to mini Europe one day :)
    I honestly loved the park and thought it was fantastic to see the 94 odd most significant buildings/monuments in Europe all in the one place.
    It also had buttons to engage children such as moving the boats in the harbor or ringing a bell in a church.
    When you pressed the Mount Vesuvius button the floor shook and smoke came out which I though was great :)
    A few of the places we saw I hadn't heard of but they will be added to the itinerary for sure.
    Indian tourists are so annoying. They are so slow and I nearly fell over at the lack of respect for where they were. One lady went and sat on a structure for a photo. She want the skinniest either.. i wasn't feeling too confident.
    Luckily the building was fine.
    But honestly, they were like the Chinese and got a photo with every damn structure which held everyone else up 😾
    One thing that really bothered Will was that there was a replica of Flanders field and Australia was not mentioned. At first I thought maybe they were only mentioning EU countries but Canada got a memorial.. ?
    Afterwards our legs were so saw so we attempted to use the trains. We got on at Heysel station.
    We couldn't figure out the difference between the train and tram lines on the big map so we decided to just get a train to central Grand Place.
    We decided, while in Belgium, we needed to visit the delirium beer cafe which in 2004 (not sure if still does but locals give the impression it might..) held the record for the most beers available. I am told it has over 3000 options.
    Now, I hate beer. With all my heart I hate it. I wish I didn't but i just do.
    I thought to myself if I was ever going to find a beer I liked, this would be the place.
    We went inside - it had a great vibe. It was pretty crowded but we found a nice little spot sitting at a barrel downstairs that was just perfect. The music and lighting was just right 👌🏻
    I went to the bar and said I hate beer so what do you recommend - I ended up with some sour raspberry thing.
    I felt like such an adult. On the 4.6.17 I bought my first beer 😎😎😎😎
    Will loved his.
    Mine, as expected, was disgusting BUT I persevered through the pain and not only bought my first beer - but finish it! Woohooo!!
    Will had 5 in the time I managed to down my one - I had a sip of all of his too.
    All rubbish.
    We then went to Mary's.
    We learnt about Mary's on our tour. It's a Belgium chocolate shop that opened in 1919. She was the first and only chocolate maker at that time.
    Because she was a woman it became a novelty to buy from her which helped keep her in business (not only that but the product was great) and we were recommended because the recipes haven't changed, they are all still handmade and unique because the shop stayed small and doesn't mass produce.
    We walked down the line of chocolate and picked out lots of yummy pralines. It cost 16€ for hardly anything but hey, today's all about trying the local cuisine - speaking of which we had chips afterwards :)
    Belgium is also known for there mussels which I haven't worked up the courage to try yet..
    NOBODY DOES GRAVY WITH CHIPS AND ITS KILLING ME.
    Mayonnaise is for sandwiches not chips 😫😫😫
    We walked home and tried to find a Chinese place but must have missed it.
    We ended up with Pizza.
    I feel very comfortable around French. I know a lot more than Will so I feel smart.
    I just feel happy knowing I already know the very basic words. I've felt so rude the last few countries not being able to even say thank you because I can't read the Cyrillic to sound it out.
    However I'm best at Bulgarian
    Our vocabulary stand at:
    Sdrusty = Hello
    Da = Yes
    Nacedraven = cheers
    Ciao ciao = bye
    Mercy = thanks

    That was all obviously not the correct spelling.

    We also were introduced to Banitzas and Lutenitza :D
    We are now home and it's magical- I went to pack before but then the best thing happened... WE HAVE ANOTHER DAY HERE!
    I'll need to sort out a day plan :)
    The pizza we had was delicious.
    We are going to watch the South Park movie shortly :)

    Also, I think I forgot to mention yesterday..
    we had to play a game of Simon says on our tour and Will didn't know how to play.
    WHO THE HELL DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO PLAY SIMON SAYS?!? I was blown away.

    I have a very bad memory so I can't remember if I've already noted this but on the off change I haven't -
    This city has so many pedestrian crossings it's silly. The whole city is striped - ever single street crossing - both with lights and without has a zebra crossing marked out and then every 20 meters there is another one. I would go bonkers as a driver.
    Also, a lot of the city is under construction.
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