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After our fumble in the breakfast area we proceeded to the bus station There we found some men still drunk from last night throwing bottles into the street We got on the bus and got growled at by the bus driver as we paid incorrectly oy
We got to the train station and had a lovely cow filled view as we made our way to Brussels When we got there we found our next mistake We had to walk through the red light district to get to our hostel So at noon we walked through the streets of Brussels with ladies in lingerie posed in the windows We got to our hostel and it was fine and off we went to the first waffle place we could find We were pretty happy though later we found out we had eaten tourist style Belgium waffles Ben did a shot of chocolate sauce that we had leftover from the waffles Then refreshed we went to find stephs much anticipated grand place on the way we perused chocolate shops and lace shops Finally we find the grand place and it is beautiful I don't know the names of the buildings there but it felt unreal As it happens that weekend was also the weekend of a jazz festival and one of the big outdoor concerts was in the grand place so all this splendor was accompanied by music After marveling at the area we decided to try and find a book shop we had read about in the guide book Ben navigates again as I am s*** at it and Steph is also not the best herself On the way tourist book recommend record shop and comic book shop are both explored Finally we make it to Pele Mele and mingle with the locals looking for our favorite books in other languages I got a tintin book in French Tintins creator Herge is from Brussels I also got a tintin keychain some chocolate in a Magritte themed box and two silly European records We made our way back to the Grand Place in search of something to eat We found a cafe far away enough from the music so that we could hear ourselves think The waiters at our cafe kept messing with Steph From looks that envolved lip curls and hand flourishes to laughter at her squeaking Ben ordered a local specialty style mussels and beer We then decided that Ben was a Viking We had problems getting the check again but we were more relaxed with our ineptitude After that we went back to the hostel to freshen up and out into the night again to see the grand place at night As we ate ice cream jazz played as the sky darkened and the buildings were lit up We then ran into other people from the may term and decided to go to a local cafe for a beer We relaxed and chat and then went our separate ways The next morning we got up and breakfasted at seven thirty the complimentary breakfast was meh but enough to sustain us until lunch We began to walk with the city still asleep down a route that passed many old buildings though I don't know what they were We passed through a park and made it to our destination a local bric a brac market It was filled with local people selling second hand goods and seemed to have an endless amount of stuff after spending our morning peering through the goods we went to a near by cafe and ate lunch Then on my insistence I admit I forced a reluctant Ben and Steph along we went to the Magritte exhibit at the royal Belgium museum it was beautifully lit the paintings were surrounded by darkness with only the individual paintings lit up Then we looked at the 17th and 18th century works After that we were exhausted and it was time to go home to the klouschter this time we took the bus back to avoid the red light district Our train ride seemed like it would be uneventful until a group of twenty children boarded the train The next hour was filled with screaming children running up and down the train It seems that annoyance is a great unifier as our multilingual train bonded over our shared feeling Then we got back to the hotel and went to bed What a wonderful journey it was I almost enjoyed the bad parts just as much as the good
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harvey kaplan Your trip sounds incredible. Proud of you and love you