And for the final leg of our incredible journey: Brussels! This city has been on my list for a few years now, just for its simplicity and beauty, and it did not fail to disappoint. It is one of those cities where you just want to get a tall cup of hot tea/coffee/whatever and amble along the streets without intent or direction. This is exactly what we did for the most part and it was wonderful. The apartment we stayed in here was central located to almost everything, so it was perfect, as we were able to walk everywhere...our favorite mode of transportation!
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| Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule |
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| Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule |
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| Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule |
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| Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule |
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| Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule |
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| I watched them for a solid 20 minutes, restoring the artwork |
So I have to say, as random as it was that we can across these ladies delicately restoring the paintings gracing the walls, I was absolutely mesmerized and captivated by them and their work. These women were working with the microscope eye pieces that you see jewelers use to examine diamond and TINY little brushes to first clean out the paintings and then restore the art. Their movements were so slight and precise, I found myself holding my breath watching them. Where they were at, you could appreciate what a difference their work made by what was already restored, yet how much more there was to be done. I am grateful that there are people that do this, as it literally brings history to life. It is awesome and amazing!
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| Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule |
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| Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule |
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| Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule |
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| Place du Petit Sablon |
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| Part of the Royal Palace |
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| Oh yes, we could live here for a bit |
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| Best little expresso place yet! |
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| Brussels Love |
Oh how I love my town/city squares...and Grand Place in Brussels did not fail to capture my affections. It is a beautiful square with old and beautiful buildings, artists all over the place trying to capture the beauty on their canvases, street artists performing their craft, tourists from every corner of the globe, and the perfect place to people watch. Oh it is wonderful! We spent a long time here; walking slowly around the square appreciating the exquisite architecture, looking over the shoulder and appreciating the talent of the artists, and just enjoying the beautiful day that it was. It was perfect. That being said, I could not wait to come back at night and see it all lit up!
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| Grand Place |
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| Grand Place |
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| Grand Place |
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| Grand Place |
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| Grand Place |
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| Grand Place |
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| Grand Place |
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| Grand Place |
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| Grand Place |
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| Grand Place |
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| Galeries St. Hubert |
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| Galeries St. Hubert |
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| I almost lost him again... |
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| And then we encountered this place...YES PLEASE! |
I told you we would be back at night and it was completely worth it. We arrived as the sun was setting and just sat and watched at the day turned to dusk turned to dark. I highly recommend that you to this, as the changing light on the buildings is fantastic!
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| Grand Place |
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| Grand Place: As night overcomes |
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| Grand Place: As night overcomes |
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| Grand Place: As night overcomes |
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| Grand Place: As night overcomes |
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| Grand Place: As night overcomes |
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| Grand Place: As night overcomes |
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| Grand Place: As night overcomes |
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| Grand Place: As night overcomes |
One of the places in the city that our host told us that we "ABSOLUTELY COULD NOT MISS!!!!" was the Cantillon Brewery. He boasted that it was the best thing the city had to offer, and after loving everything else, we knew that we had to check it out. Prior to arriving, we ventured around one of the local outdoor markets that Brussels seems to be known for, which is the equivalent of a flea market in the US. If you happen to hear about them and are curious as to what they are. They are just a lot of random people coming together in a random square trying to selling off their unwanted wares. It is interesting and just fun to spend a few moments walking around waiting for everything else to open. You know that we are not "stuff" people, so there is nothing that we would pick up, but it is fun to see what people had once treasured. Ok, now, let's focus: CANTILLON IS AMAZING!
Our host was COMPLETELY right. Do NOT come to Brussels and not come here. It is not a beer brewery, it is a lambic brewery, which is the same process of making beer but fruit is used instead of hops. Hello...this place had my name ALL over it. For the price of the entry fee you get an introduction by one of the brewers, are sent on a self-guided tour, and then get two samples at the end. Was this enough? NOPE. We sat around and purchased the rest of the options to sample and away went 3-4 hours of our mid-day enjoying the libations, talking with the awesome brewer, meeting a group of American college students traipsing around on a beer tour, and finally meeting a couple from PA/MD. It was such a nice way to spend the day! This brewery has a nice and comfortable tasting room that encourages interacting.
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| Cantillon Brewery |
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| Cantillon Brewery |
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| Cantillon Brewery |
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| Cantillon Brewery |
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| Cantillon Brewery |
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| Cantillon Brewery |
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| Cantillon Brewery |
Notice the open copper container in the picture above? That is because Cantillon does open air fermentation. When usually making beer, you add yeast into the product. This place exposes it to the air for wild yeast contamination. It may sound gross, but it makes for some INCREDIBLE beverage. We enjoyed this so much that we even went so far to get the name SINGLE distributor for this product in the United States with full intention of making the connect when we are back stateside.
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| Cantillon Brewery |
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| Cantillon Brewery |
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| Cantillon Brewery |
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| Cantillon Brewery |
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| Cantillon Brewery |
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| Cantillon Brewery |
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| Cantillon Brewery: So excited |
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| Cantillon Brewery: SOOOOO TASTY! |
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| Cantillon Brewery |
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| Cantillon Brewery: Love us some Lambic |
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| Escargot for lunch = AMAZING and DELICIOUS! |
Brussels is a wonderful and classic European city. We loved it. We stayed for 3 nights and had 3 full days there, I think that this is definitely enough time to fully enjoy this city, and would highly recommend it as a stop for any beer lover who wants to experience all of the beer wonder of Belgium but doesn't have the time to fully tour the country.
