we do as the Brusselians?

Seeing that I spend almost all my time on ryanair, I found a cheap flight for Brussels, Belgium. We left February 13th, yes Friday the 13th and all experienced Ryanair for the first time. Let's just say that all wish we were rich so that we didn't have to use this airline. Not only do they weigh your bag before getting aboard, but you also have to make sure your small carry on fits in a crate or else you have to pay to check it. Oh and checking in at the airport cost $. Basically they charge you for everything. We joked the entire weekend what else ryanair could charge us for? however, the airplane and flight were fine and we were in Brussels in no time. We stayed at a nice hotel, and split two rooms, one for the girls and one for the boys. The hotel was heaven except for the fact that the section of town was strictly business and when we tried to find a convenience/liquor store we couldn't. The boys walked forever to find one and took the metro back to realize that they were 4 stops away from the hotel. OH the things we do for alcohol.

Anyways the first day we just toured the city and went in some beautiful cathedrals, saw the Grand Place, and a market. At night we went to as many chocolate shops as possible to try samples of amazing chocolate. I might have had too many bc my stomach hurt after. Whatever. That night we went to the most famous bar in Brussels called Delirium. It only had 2004 beers to choose from. It was awesome and the people there were very laid back. I had fruity apple and mango beers. Also it is interesting to note that their traditional belgian beers ( as well as other popular German beers) have a much higher alcohol content than beers we are used to. Some were even 12% alcohol. NEedless to say it was a great night and we went back the next one.

Valentine's Day was romantic. We woke up and walked to the Arc de Triompe that we could see in the distance from our hotel. It was wonderful and this is where we all fell in love- with Belgian waffles that is. They are fresh and you can literally smell them from down the street. They are coated with some kind of indescribable yet yummy sugar. So not only were we in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe (because of the wonderful architecture) but Steph, Lauren, and I also had a lovely date at a tea shop. It was quaint and had endless amounts of tea to choose from. Then that night we all had our favorite, falafel and shwarma. After dinner we went to Floris, an absynthe bar. This is a night we will always remember because Dan, in his drunken state, lit himself and the bar on fire. I kid you not. The bartender lights the absinthe shot on fire and somehow Dan couldn't control it. And of course I tried to take the shot while it was on fire and therefore burned my lip. Yes it looks like I may have herpes on the side of my mouth but I'm over it. And it's almost gone FYI. Next we went to a club on the same street as all the Greek restaurants and had a great end to our day.

On Sunday we of course had more chocolate and waffles. We went back to the same chocolate shop we went to on the first day because the boys fell in love with the woman who worked there. Yes she was gorgeous but self-tanner was definitely all over her body. But not only did I get some chocolate for gifts but she gave us free chocolates and nutella that they of course made us throw out at the airport. IT was awesome. That day we also went to an awesome architectural museum. AT night we had a lovely seafood dinner where we all happily enjoyed garlic mussels. Then we stayed up till oh 3am to catch a ryanair bus back to the ryanair airport. We didnt pay for a hotel room that night and luckily our hotel didn't kick us out. IF it was me I would have left our hotel at 4 to catch our 4:30 am bus back to the airport. Thank god people are smarter than me and we left really early. Low and behold people were fighting to get on this bus and it was serious mayhem. OF course I pushed back and we made our 6:30 a.m. flight with plenty of time. All in all, Brussels is beautiful and has just a couple staples:
1.beer
2.chocolate
3.waffles