The Road Trip Part Three

The last stop on our road trip was Brussels, the Capital of Europe. It was a nightmare to just drive into the city. Once again we had issues with the GPS system, which Theresa kept calling the GPA, to my amusement. We were driving around the circular freeway that goes around the city when we lost the signal for the GPS. We chose a random exit, which turned out to be almost correct. Finding the hostel was not really the hard part; it was finding a place to park the car. Theresa was a driving champ, but I was worried that the stress of it all would leave a sour note on the end of our trip. It was the kind of situation where if we were related to each other, we would have probably gotten into a major yelling match. Luckily, we are old friends who know when to grit their teeth and keep driving, and when to pay 15 Euros per night to park the car in a garage. We were so hungry after the parking incident that we almost ate a Pizza Hut. When the waiters at Pizza Hut ignore your request for a table in the center of Brussels, you have reached a low point. We found an Indian place on the La Bourse. Meh.

The following day we set out to conquer the sightseeing hotspots of Brussels. We strolled through the Grote Markt, which had a fabulous blue Christmas tree and flashing lights on the side of the City Hall. Just like Theresa said it would be, we walked around a corner and found Manneken Pis, which is a statue of a little boy peeing. This is the biggest tourist attraction of Brussels. The day was cloudy and cold, and before long we were ready to give up the fight. Theresa and I were walking down a stepped brick lane when she mentioned that she wanted some tea. As soon as she said this, I noticed a little shop called “The Tea Room.” This charming little place had comfortable chairs and sweet individual teapots. I liked the teat that Theresa had, black tea with mango and rose petals that I bought 100 grams to take with me to Ireland.

That night we followed our Brussels map/guide to a cozy little bar serving all the best Belgian Trappist beers. I started with the famous Belgian Gueze, a beer with special bacteria from the Zenne River that Brussels is built over. It was very sour and try as I might, I didn’t like it. We switched over to Chimay and Kriek, and had a lovely evening talking about every subject under the sun. It was an understated night, but one of my favorite nights of the trip. The next day we went for a Liege Waffle at Belgaufra, a chain of waffle-makers that I heard about from Orangette. It was so delicious that one second into my first bite, I was thinking of buying a second one. After a short ride on a Ferris wheel and a bit of a snow flurry, I was on my way to the airport.