Au Revoir Bruxelles
We returned to Buddy Buddy for brunch. This time we knew better—deux pains au chocolat s‘il vous plaît.
We then took the metro to the very northern part of Brussels to see the Atomium. Zoom in to see the guy hanging off the very left particle.
Each of the particles within the giant stainless steel atom are connected by escalators. I’m sure it was all quite interesting, but paying $55 for us both to visit Atomium and the neighboring Mini-Europe exhibit just didn’t seem worth the cost. We settled for the external views and being able to say “we’ve been there.”
I love funny signs.
These are two related favorites.
Back in central Brussels.
It was our final day in Belgium—the official birthplace of French fries—so we made one last pilgrimage to Frites Atelier for their magnificent, triple-cooked, extra-crispy frites.
I wondered why there is an apple on their napkin. Pomme means apple in French, so is it “apple fries”? Turns out many languages use the word “apple” to refer to the potato as an “apple from the ground,” and “apple” is often used generically to refer to a fruit. So, the Garden of Eden’s “apple” may not necessarily be an apple as we Americans think of it today.
From fries to chocolates. Mary Delluc first opened a shop on this location on rue Royale in 1919.
Today, Mary Chocolatier is considered one of the most refined artisanal chocolate makers in the world. Can’t wait to savor our selections!
We also added a few chocolates from Neuhaus, chocolatiers since 1857.
I’d like to say these will make it home to share, but it’s unlikely. 😔
We just learned on this trip that The Smurfs were created by Belgian comics artist Peyo. Learn something new every day!
As we were next door to Manneken Pis, we peeked around the corner to see if he had a costume change…and he did. Today he was a chef.
If you go online you’ll see that his entire wardrobe for the month is picked out for him. Today was the 10th, so his wardrobe is listed as “cook.”
We tried to soak in the ambiance during one final walk through the Grand-Place.
One last waffle!
And we know the perfect place to enjoy it!
Yummy! We finish off our stay with a Belgian Beer Tasting Experience from 7:45 to 9. Our host was a student here from Texas and our fellow tasters were from San Ramon, CA; Ireland; and Russia. We finally learned that lambic beers don’t add yeast but allow natural, wild yeast present in the air to enter the wort, producing a “spontaneous fermentation” process. We tried Oude Gauze Boon and a Kriek—very interesting! It’s off to Amsterdam tomorrow morning. Until then…
