I returned from Paris on Thursday night feeling extremely content and full of ideas, so I spent the majority of Friday morning writing, brainstorming and taking breaks to walk with Maddy around Saint Gilles. The walking didn't last too long though due to a heavy downpour of SNOW! Now it feels like home.
I've never been a major fan of anything winter, including snow. Unless I am spending my time in the mountains (which due to my busy schedule I usually am not) I never really see the point of snow. It's cold, it's wet and usually comes along with minus 30 temperatures. But here, in Brussels, it's beautiful. Seeing the fresh snow covering the old buildings, churches and cobblestones (careful! Slippery when wet) really is something else...like something out of an old fairy tale maybe?
Went to the cafe for a few glasses of wine and socialising on Friday night, then went with Cath and Kevin and their friends Ana and Etienne to an Italian restaurant for dinner near by. The food was unbelievable... I can honestly say that short of actually eating in Italy this was some of the best food I have ever had! I am pretty sure even most of my Italian friends back home would be impressed. The food was so good that we have actually eaten different things from that restaurant the last three nights in a row. Thank god for all the long walks with Maddy or I don't know if I would fit on the plane to come home in a few weeks!
 |
| Town Hall |
 |
| Maison Du Roi |
 |
| Flower Carpet |
 |
| Cath and I in the Square |
Spent Saturday exploring all over Brussels. Cath and I went to downtown Brussels and wandered around, then to Grand Place which is a famous square in Brussels. It is very touristy and is where the Town Hall and "Breadhouse" are located. The Breadhouse was formally known as Maison Du Roi (The Kings House, although no king has actually ever lived there). It was renamed the Breadhouse sometime at the beginning of the 13th century, when three indoor markets were built on
the northern edge of the Grand Place; a meat market, a bread market and
a cloth market and stayed that way until 1959, when it became more of a tourist attraction. Every two years in August, an enormous "flower carpet" is set up in the Grand Place for a few days. A million colourful begonias are set up in patterns, and the display covers a full 19,000 sq ft. The first flower carpet was made in 1971. In 2010 Grande Place was voted The most beautiful square in Europe. How's that mini-history lesson for you?
 |
| Freezing! |
We then continued on to Rue De Baillai, which is a famous shopping area in Brussels, and spent some of our hard earned Euros and then jumped on the tram to come home. Unfortunately after the massive snowfall we had a massive temperature drop which made it hard to explore too much without losing feeling in our fingers and toes (regardless of how many pairs of new boots we bought!)
Spent Sunday mostly relaxing, watching TV and reading thanks to my new friend The Cold that has taken over my throat and sinuses. I had planned on going to London for all this week but delayed it a day because I've been so sick. Spent today walking around and exploring more of Saint Gilles and decided I feel better(ish) enough to go to London tomorrow!
Still not ready to come home. Ever.
Love,
Kat
I've never been a major fan of anything winter, including snow. Unless I am spending my time in the mountains (which due to my busy schedule I usually am not) I never really see the point of snow. It's cold, it's wet and usually comes along with minus 30 temperatures. But here, in Brussels, it's beautiful. Seeing the fresh snow covering the old buildings, churches and cobblestones (careful! Slippery when wet) really is something else...like something out of an old fairy tale maybe?
No comments:
Post a Comment