MAKING THE MOST OF BELGIUM
I had an amazing opportunity to spend two weeks in Brussels, Belgium. My beautiful cousin just had her baby girl in April, 2020, and as Amsterdam is not too far away, it was finally safe enough for me to go and visit her. I spent a couple days meeting the lovely little baby girl, and spending some quality time with my cousin. After a few days, my cousin went with her family to their apartment in the south of Spain. When they were away, I got to stay at their incredible home in Belgium, and take care of their little kitty, Dinah.
Although Brussels is the home of Belgium’s government… it is not the most entertaining or “beautiful” of all of Belgium’s cities. that being said, there are still some truly lovely areas peppered around for you to enjoy! A must-see is Brussel’s Grand Place. It is the main square of the downtown area, and although it is touristic, it is rightfully so. The square is lined with stunning architecture and gold trimmed buildings with old European charm. There are also tons of restaurants and shops in the area.
A restaurant I loved not only for the cuisine but for its ethical and sustainable mission, was Dream & Food. The way this restaurant works, is the incredible chefs pre-make the dishes and pack them in portion appropriate glass jars. The sizing helps to prevent any waste. You have the option to eat-in, and they will heat up the food for you, or you can take-away. There is a very slight added cost when taking-out your meal, representing the cost of the jar. This added cost, however, is more like a deposit, as you get the money back by returning the jar! It is all about reusing, reducing and recycling! Another great spot was Kaffabar, with many vegan and gluten-free options, and the café doc is a total draw! Finally I recommend dining on the national cuisine, being waffles, french fries and chocolate! You can find these three delicacies basically everywhere, and they do not disappoint.
When not in the busy shopping areas, I highly suggest visiting the museum quarter, it is a beautiful square with museums in all the surrounding buildings. The Magritte Museum was one of my favourites.
Europe is the best when it comes to day-trips, as in every country, the cities are rather close together. With such a compact landscape, the longest you’d ever really need to travel by train within on country would be about an hour, to get from city to city. Of course, I took advantage of this by going on a few day-trips during my stay. The first was to the adorable city of Ghent, Belgium. The city is easily walkable, and sits on somewhat of a hill. I thoroughly enjoyed wandering around, taking in the architecture and natural beauty of the city. I also had lunch at this great restaurant called O’YO, which was vegan/gluten-free packed. They even had the most delicious vegan chocolate croissant!! I finished the day with a visit to the local bookshop and picked up a good read for the rest of my stay.
My second day trip in Belgium was to the beautiful city of Brugge. My amazing friend Natalie had joined me in Belgium, and we took to the streets of Brugge to take in the charm and beauty that the city had on high offer. Known sometimes as “the Venice of the north” we loved walking by the canals. This day was particularly boiling in temperature, so we marvelled at the people who braved the canal city tours under the hot hot sun. W even came across a gated canal area where you could go swimming! We desperately wanted to hop in the water, but sadly the place was all booked up. We settled for having a glass of incredibly expensive water (8€), in a lovely open square with some shade. We also had a really delicious lunch at this cute café called De Brugsche Tafel. They had a vegan and gluten-free lunch, vegan ice cream and vegan croissants. All around, it was a really nice day!
The final stop in the tour around Belgium was the Knokke beach! We went on a one hour train ride from Brussels to this small retirement town (picture your grandparents as “snow-birds” in Florida vibes) on the hottest day of the year, 37 degrees celcius! It was a good choice on our parts because the beach had cool air and even cooler water to jump into! It was super refreshing, and really nice to lay out on the beach reading and relaxing.
I had also visit Lille, France during my trip, which I loved, however it was not in Belgium so I didn’t include it in this post.
Ella
Images: Ella
