A Weekend in Brussels

Hi All,
This past weekend we went to Brussels, Belgium; the capital of the European Union.
On Friday around noon, we rode our bikes to the train station (about 3.5 km away from our apartment) with our travel backpacks on and locked them up safe.  We rode the train to Brussels (1 1/2 hrs) and checked into our basic room at Thon Hotel (sidenote: not sure why you would name a hotel that, when translated from French to English, means "tuna"...but whatever!)  It was nice to stay in a hotel room that was private rather than a hostel dorm room with bunk beds.  Hostelling is really only economical if you're travelling alone; if you're travelling in a pair like Ron and I, you can get a decent and clean hotel room for about $10-15 Canadian more per night which is totally worth it to us.
Ron had a nap on Friday afternoon while I went out exploring (I know...my how the tables have turned!) and got a few necessities for our minibar so we didn't have to pay 4 Euros (~$6 Canadian) for a can of pop.  When I came back to the hotel, it was time for happy hour, so Ron and I had a beer in the hotel lobby and then went out for dinner at "Brussels Grill" next door to the hotel.  We went back to the hotel and had a drink while playing cards in our pyjamas before calling it an early night.
Saturday (late) morning, we made our way to Grand Place which is the main square in Brussels.  Along the way we saw 5 or 6 vendors selling waffles for take out, but I was determined to have true Belgian waffles at a cafe.  We found a cute little bistro in the Grand Place and got our waffles and caffeine fix.  It was the most decadent waffle I've ever had complete with fresh strawberries, real whipped cream, and melted chocolate.  After that, we went to a chocolate museum where we learned about the life of a cocoa bean and saw a demonstration by a chocolatier.
We then headed to the Musical Instrument Museum, which was completely different than we expected but equally interesting.  We both expected it to be more like a Rock 'N Roll hall of fame sort of things with guitars Jeff Beck or Jimmi Hendrix had played, but instead it was a tour of musical instruments through the centuries.  Every exhibit (about 100 in total) had a display of instruments from a geographic region and time period and when we stood on a marked spot, you'd hear these instruments being played through headphones we were outfitted with.  Like I said, it was completely different than we were expecting, but quite fascinating to hear music through the ages and associate it with the visual of what those instruments look like.
Next we headed back to the hotel where I had a nap and Ron skyped a few friends and family back home.  We hit up happy hour again and played cards and then went out for a romantic dinner at a French restaurant.  Ron had a "mixed grill of meat" feast and I had "moulles au vin blanc et frites" (mussels in white wine and fries).  I have never had such a large portion of mussels!  The waiter came to the table with the whole pot of mussels!  We picked the location of the restaurant based on where our next planned stop was: Delirium Cafe.  This pub boasts having 2000+ beers available at any given time.  It proved to be a hot spot for both locals and tourists.  Ron was able to check something off his bucket list by consuming a "boot" (2L) of beer while I chose a sampler trio of different flavoured beers.  We checked out all three floors of the pub and tasted beers ranging from dark and blonde to strawberry and apple flavours!  My favourite of the evening was the cactus flavoured beer!
We headed back to the hotel after Delirium and Ron stopped to get us a late night snack at McDonald's.  Ron had a little run-in with a someone trying to pickpocket him, but the young guy ended up with Ron's cell phone rather than his wallet.  Perhaps the young man was new to pickpocketing because Ron felt him do it and swiftly confronted the guy to get his phone back.  (Dad, we continue to be savvy travellers and I wear my purse on my front so as to not be "bait" for pickpocketers.)
We slept in this morning and since we were able to see all the touristy sites we had on our list (Grand Place, Manneken Pis, museums, historic architecture, more cobblestone streets and shopping areas) and consumed all the Belgian foods we were interested in (mostly, waffles and chocolate), we hopped on the train back to Maastricht today around noon and were back in our apartment by 2:15pm.  I even made it up the hill on my bike with my travelling backpack on!
All in all, it was a great weekend and totally memorable to celebrate our 6 month wedding anniversary in Brussels!  We LOVE getting comments on our blog as it makes us feel more at home, so please please please keep them coming!
Love,
Robin and Ron

 Riding my bike to the train station (Yes...I'm bringing back the headband as a fashion statement)

 Our bed (aka trampoline!) in the small Thon Hotel room

 Shopping street

 Mmmmmm, Belgian chocolates

 Standing in Grand Place

 Finding a waffle cafe

 Robin - happy to have waffles!

Ron - still waking up...

 Waffle with chocolate and coffee

 Waffle with strawberries, chocolate and whipped cream and tea

 At the chocolate museum with the professional chocolatier

 Belgium is quite proud of their wide array of national brews

 Ron with "Manneken Pis" (Little Boy Peeing) statue

 Ron listening to tribal music at the Musical Instrument Museum

 Robin listening to accordions at the Musical Instrument Museum

 French Restaurant to celebrate 6 months of wedded bliss

 Outside the restaurant

 At Delirium Cafe: Ron with his boot of beer and Robin with a sampler

Another floor of Delirium Cafe