All About The Beer And Chocolate | Day 31

The train left for Brussels at 10am. I had set my alarm a good bit early so I was able to hit the snooze button a few times. Well I guess I hit it a few more times than I thought. I looked at my phone and it was 9:15am. I jumped up in a panic, attempted to put stuff neatly in my bag, ordered the Uber, and raced downstairs. I ran to the curb and met the Uber. We arrived at the train station 10 minutes before the train left. I looked at the platform number, which luckily was right next to me, and raced toward it. By the time I got on there was 5 minutes to spare and the door closed behind me. Not the start to the morning I had hoped for, but we made it. Sweating, and in my seat, it was off to Brussels. I guess the start to the morning reflects the time in Amsterdam haha. This train hadn’t worked out as I had planned either. I had bought the rail pass and they charge a small fee for seat reservations. This train however is run by Eurostar, and they only have a select number of seats for pass holders. If they are sold out by the time you book then you have to pay a full price ticket. Was so infuriating to pay $80 when I should have paid $8. It wasn’t like there were any seats on a later train, or the next day for that matter, that were available for pass holders so I was stuck. The train ride itself was only 2 hours. We zoomed along and before I knew it we had reached Brussels.

The rain had followed me most of the way and Brussels seemed to be no different. It was dumping rain when I exited the station. I ordered an Uber and naturally the pickup location was down the side and on the opposite side of the street from where I was standing. I walked along side the station and attempted to find a dry spot to stand until he arrived. Once he had pulled up then I dashed across the street and got in as quick as possible. The driver was really nice and we had about a 15 minute ride to the Le Chatelain. When we arrived the door man opened the door and I reached the front desk. The lobby was quite nice and the staff was very friendly. The receptionist told me that check in wasn’t until 3pm and it was only 1. No problem at all I would find somewhere to eat before the tour. I left my two suitcases with him but I kept my backpack which was full of all of my gear. I asked if there was a good place to eat near us and he pointed me to a small square that was just down the street. I should have probably of bought a rain jacket by now but still nope. I walked off in to the drizzling rain toward the square. When I reached it I found that there wasn’t to many eating spots. There was a small produce market and then some shops but not a solid amount of eating options. About 3 blocks away and across the square was a artisan pizza place so I decided to head that way. I had no idea that Europeans LOVED pizza, nor did I think I would eat this much pizza. The place was called Marcella and it was packed. Not sure if everyone is out of school or if just people like to go out but I got one of the last 2 tables. I attempted to work on the computer as I had time to kill but the nice kid came up asking if I already knew what I wanted. He didn’t particularly speak English so I rode with it and ordered. I went with the Salami Picante and I inquired about mushrooms but they didn’t have any. I ordered a sparkling water and beer in while I waited for the food. Next to me was a mom and daughter, which she must have been 17 or so. They were on a mom and daughter date it appeared and seemed to be having a good time. The food came and like the one pizza back in Copenhagen it was a cut it yourself pizza. That still trips me out haha. I ate my pizza and got a little chuckle because the pizza was a decent size for a single and across from me was an elderly lady and just MOWED hers down haha. Not a crumb left. I was so proud of her and her glass of wine too. I ate my pizza and then typed on the computer for a little longer and then was time to make moves. The tour started at 3 and was a little bit of a bike ride away. Paid, and then started to walk back to the hotel through the drizzle. When I arrived I wanted to ask the front desk if they had an extra umbrella. The beer and chocolate tour was a walking one and if it was to keep raining then an umbrella would be choice. The man at the front desk said they were all out of complementary ones because some people don’t return them but if I promised he could lend me a personal one. I told him I was very trustworthy and would bring it back. With umbrella in hand I walked toward the Lime bikes.

The bike ride to the square was a bit longer, and wetter than I had anticipated. I rode down the main street for a while and then passed the ferris wheel that overlooks the city, down the cobbled streets, and finally to the main square. I found the section to park the bike and had just enough time to grab a Redbull. I waited next to the statue of a man and his dog like the tour had mentioned. It had just stopped raining and the square started to fill with people. After a few minutes a group arrived, and then another, and another so I deemed that these were the other folks on the tour. A moment or two later two ladies walked up carrying a case of water and they started inquiring who was here for the Beer and Chocolate Tour. Marie, our tour guide, and her assistant, Julia, introduced themselves and we went around saying where we were from when our names were called. When I saw Hawaii that always perks peoples ears up and they can’t believe someone from that far away and exotic is here. Marie was awesome! She had a great sense of humor and told us that we would start with the chocolate portion of the tour that way we didn’t get to drunk and zone out for the chocolate haha. Probably one of the best calls I have heard in a while. We started our walk and the first stop was the Grand Palace Plaza. The Plaza was huge and was surrounded by tall buildings with all different types of architecture. We learned that the Grand Palace was built at varying times so it is not symmetrical, and had different types of architecture. It is a really interesting building and not to be outdone by the ones next to it. They are darker in color and guilded with bronze. There were a bazillion people at the plaza all taking photos, and videos of each other. The tour rolled on and we went to Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert which was divided in to two sections. Our first chocolate shop was one that was owned by one of the most famous chocolate makers in Belgium, Pierre Marcolini. He has over 40 prizes to his name and his chocolate shop looks more like a jewelry store. All of the chocolate is behind glass and cases and is handled by the employees. We got to try a few different pieces each that had different types of filling. My favorite was the one that had a raspberry filling. We moved on from that shop and walked throughout the streets. We learned that some of the streets were name after the type of occupation that was there. One of the streets was Rue des Bouchers, or Street of Butchers. It is now filled with tons of restaurants of all kinds. We kept marching through the street and we wound up at a statue that was constructed to compliment Brussel’s most famous statue, Jeanneke Pis. The statue is of a little girl peeing in to a fountain which was built to revive the small alleyway but also to restore equality in men and women. Brussel’s most famous landmark, Mannekin Pis. As it sounds, the statue is of a little boy peeing in to a fountain. One legends says legend suggests that, in the 14th century, Brussels was under siege by a foreign power. The city had held its ground for some time, so the attackers conceived of a plan to place explosive charges at the city walls. A little boy named Julianske happened to be spying on them, as they were preparing. He urinated on the burning fuse and thus saved the city. No matter the origin it is a funny statue and of course there were a bazillion standing around it. Jeanneke Pis was built in June of 1987 and passersby would toss coins in to the well. The money raised would be donated to organizations to find treatment for AIDS. I have to say it is a pretty funny statue haha.

The tour kept rolling and the next chocolate shop for the life of me I can’t remember the name of. There we sampled chocolates that had liquid fillings such as Whiskey. They were really good and we got to sample 2 of our choosing. I passed on the Gin and Tonic one but I did go with the Miso and Mango filling ones. They were delicious! We walked a little further and ended up at the last chocolate shop called, Elizabeth Chocolatier. Like the ones before we got to try a handful of pieces. The particular ones were short and skinny with different flavorings. I went with the Cayenne Pepper one which wasn’t spicy but you did get a pepper flavoring at the end. All of the chocolates we tried were very good and no wonder why Belgium is famous for their chocolate! As soon as we left Elizabeth’s one of the folks on the tour asked if we were going drinking now haha. We certainly were! The first bar wasn’t a bar exactly, instead it was a puppet theatre. The Royal Theatre Toone is the last remaining authentic puppet theatre in Brussels. The theatre was on the second floor but we went to a private room on the 1st. We got a cool history lesson of Belgian beer and our first beer was a Lambic beer. I had never heard of that type before but it is a beer brewed in an authentic was that is under European protection. The beer is brewed with wild yeast and then left outside so that bacteria may interact with it. This gives it a dry, vinous, cider flavor. It was red in color and was not particularly a fan favorite haha. It was more like a sour beer than anything else. It tasted just fine but not sure I could sit down and have a bunch of them. All the other beers after that were substantially better. The next beer we got to try was called Jambe De Bois. It is a blonde in color and a triple style beer. It went down a lot smoother and people enjoyed that one a lot more. When we were finished me moved to the next pub. La Brouette was our next stop and it was located back in the Grand Palace square. We got to try two different beers but my favorite was the Delta IPA. It is an IPA but is more on the citrus side and has flavors of lychee and passion fruit, which might be why I liked it. We also got a charcuterie board with sliced meat and cheese. Luckily enough the folks I was sitting next to didn’t go for the meat so I was all over that. I on the other hand don’t like cheese so I suppose it worked out. We all sat and chit chatted for a bit there before moving on to the final pub. Au Bon Vieux Temps claims to be the oldest bar in Brussels. It is hidden in a small alleyway and is small on the inside. It has about 10 tables and a bar that seats 8 or so. We tried a couple different Trappist beers which are produced by Trappist monks. 13 Trappist monasteries produce beer and all the money made goes back in to the monastery so they run at 0 profit. Each of them is numbered with the monastery that produces them. The tour wrapped up and some of us stuck around longer to enjoy more beer and chat. Au Bon Vieux Temps is the only bar in the world that you can find a beer that many claim to be “the best beer in the world.” We had to try it of course! The beer is produced by by the 12th monastery and is a 10.2% beer. It opens with a fruity flavor (raisins and plums primarily), with light notes of citrus, dried fruit, honey, spices, vanilla and licorice, finished with malty, caramel tones with hints of coffee and chocolate, followed by herbaceous and floral touches from hops. It was super delicious and even though it is a dark beer it doesn’t taste like it. It is incredibly rare to find and if you are ever in Belgium go to the pub and try one!

After enough beer it was time to head home. Some may say it isn’t wise to ride a bike across a new city after the bar, but I say, nay! Now might be the best time haha. I walked to the area where the bikes were and hopped on. I rode back a different route than how I got there which seemed to be a bit easier. Luckily enough there wasn’t much traffic and I zig zagged my way back to the hotel. I was almost there when I attempted to make a phone call and put my headphones in which resulted in me dropping them and watching them scatter across the road. I stopped the bike and looked back to see a car coming at the case. It barely missed the case and I quickly collected the headphones and the case. That was dumb haha. I made it back to the hotel and certainly it was bed time. Tomorrow was my last day in Brussels so wanted to just go out and wander the streets back at the the Grand Palace Square. Until tomorrow Brussels!