Back to the Auld Sod: If it's Thursday, this must be Belgium

We were up and out "early" on Thursday, the day we left Ireland for Belgium. This 4 1/2 hour drive had been hanging over me for a long, long time, and it was finally underway. We built in an extra 1 1/2 - 2 hours for stops, which was good because we did stop for me get a cup of coffee to stay alert and it turned about to be almost all of our built-in time. First, I almost hit a parked car while I was parking — that's the second time I almost did that, the first being on the first day. Then I went for the coffee and got Fred a scone too, only to learn AFTER all of this preparation they only take cash. I had 5 euro and it was 6.18.... so she kindly told me where to find the nearest ATM, as I stared at a HUGE tip jar full of euros.... Well, the ATM I walked to — about a five-minute walk, just like she said — was out of order. Inside the bank was a huge line (people bank in person in Europe) but also about seven ATMs. I tired every single credit and debit card I have and none worked. Next I asked some girls at the bakery next door for another ATM and they said they think there's one in the Centra (grocery store) across the street. Thankfully there was, so I got the minimum... 20... forgetting we can use the same money in Belgium... I was thinking it was a pounds vs euros issue. I walked back, paid, got another scone for me, and used the bathroom.

The view out our front door. I wish I could bring the smell of peat home.
We do, in fact, burn peat once in a while, but you don't smell it unless you go outside.

Everything else was pretty smooth. I did forget to leave the rental filled with gas, which REALLY pissed me off... Bush league mistake. We shuttled then from the rental drop-off to the airport, where we had two hours to kill. I sat in a café and blogged while Fred read at our gate. When we landed in Brussels it was late (9ish) so we had booked an AirBNB rather than make our way down to Bruges at night. We cabbed to it, unloaded, and headed out for food. Brussels was teaming with people quite near our place, so it was easy to find a restaurant. We usually painstakingly try to find a treasure, something tourists don't know about, but it was too late for that. Fred had croques monsieur, I had fries, and we split a flight of four different beers. I'm a wine person but am drinking mostly beers during my travels this summer.

The view from our AirBNB.

We slept very well that night. I got up first and got milk down the street for our coffee and tea, and then we checked out and brought our bags to a little souvenir shop near the train station (a 20-minute brutal walk) where we left them from 10:30 till 3:00! It was with an app called NannyBag. It's a way for small businesses to make a few extra bucks if they have space to stow bags. The only hitch was this guy's space was up a flight of stairs and our bags are super heavy — especially since we jammed our carry-on bags inside the big ones!

We snapped lots of pics along the way — dragging our bags going clackety clack all along the cobblestones, a sound we are all too familiar with from all those summers in Italy.

I posted this to FB and Instagram and proposed a caption contest. ONLY the FB friends participated —with some very clever submissions! But my Instagram friends are a more prudish lot, apparently.

The architecture is beautiful and varied.

Behind these flags is a secret closet.

And inside is where they keep bags.

All throughout the city in the souvenir shops are these ridiculous statues (made into corkscrews and whatever else you can do with a penis).

Fred and I were puzzled. Then I turned a corner, and found a crowd looking at this statue:

It's the peeing boy... and here's the legend (or two):

Manneken Pis
The legend of Manneken Pis

The most famous legend claims that the statuette depicts a young boy who saved Brussels from disaster. The enemy was at the gates ready to bring down the city walls with gunpowder. Fortunately, a little boy who happened to be around desperately needed to relieve himself and in doing so he extinguished the fuse.

An alternative legend has it that a little boy emptied his bladder against a witch’s door. The furious hag made to cast an instant hex, damning the kid to stay in that compromising stance till the end of time. A brave bystander who had witnessed the whole scene quickly replaced the boy with a statue to foil the evil crone. The statue has continued what the little boy started ever since.

Little as he is – less than 22 inches – Manneken Pis has been transformed from a fountain statuette to the symbol of the city, famous around the globe. An embodiment of the calm temperament and spirit of resistance of the people of Brussels.

So.. .back to the bags and our afternoon. The point of dropping the bags was so we could see as much of Brussels as possible, and catch a 4:00 one-hour train to Bruges later that day. Fred went to the main art museum, while I did quick spin through the Magritte Museum. He was super prolific and had several different periods with what I think are very different styles.

This famous one was tucked in a corner that could so easily have been missed!

And this was almost up at the ceiling!

This is Magritte's passport photo with his wife Georgette. I just love their relationship.
Or I think I do. I should read up.

After all kinds of traipsing around I found a café to refuel and blog from. First from the outside with a latté, and then from the inside where I could charge my phone, which is draining quickly these days.

Best I've ever had.

I would never think to have a hunk of cheese with mustard and celery seed for lunch.

But there's a first time for everything, and it was perfection with that glass of sauvignon blanc.

And what made it even more perfect was the soundtrack. Brazilian music. My fave because it puts me in the best mood. It was Antonio Carlos Jobim and then Astrud Gilberto.

This is a great and informative read:

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/astrud-gilberto-girl-from-ipanema-b2006879.html

I had known João Gilberto and Astrud were related but did not know that the former worked/performed with Jobim.

This guy was great talking angrily to someone saying, "This is not going to work out....you don't return his calls...", etc. Not romantic, business.

Sadly, Fred missed this big square, but he saw a lot of art hanging on walls. This is the main square in Brussels. Click the link below for the 360° video.

Click to see video.

Getting to the right train was super stressful but we managed to get on the train — and on one that left 40 minutes earlier, to boot! It was a long hot ride.. and noisy, but we were in Bruges in an hour. Our host said we could walk to his place in about 15 minutes, but our map app told us otherwise. It told us 30 minutes. So we did his other idea: took the #1 bus which would drop us "just around the corner" from his place. It was more like 8 blocks, but who's counting. We were in awe at the fairy-tale beauty all around us. The host is a young man who owns the place, but has since moved in with his girlfriend. There are some things missing that a young man wouldn't miss.... apparently. Like a washing machine and dryer. (Dryer was listed as an amenity but there isn't one.) A tea kettle. Bath-sized towels. Full-length mirror, or any mirror besides the one over the sink in the bathroom. But it's all good and he'll get nothing less than 5 stars from me! It's super clean and he carried my bag all the way up the two flights. As is often typical, we are given only one set of keys, but no lock box this time, so we have to constantly find each other to get in and out. I suppose some couples spend their days together and this is not an issue. 🤣🤣🤣 He left us with two cold beers, which is a sweet touch. Fred did a hand wash and I unpacked. Then I went shopping for the basics, and he unpacked and showered. Then I showered. And then we had cheese and crackers and the second of the two beers.

The window situation is great. Big and wide and breezy. Flies are there but not too many.
The balcony is cute but in back and hot and Fred's washed items were hanging all over the place.

The host recommended some favorites for dinner and we had seen one already and liked the look, so we went to it — Lion Bruges — just down the street. Really perfect because we were blind tired by now.

Scenes along the way.

My salad with North Sea shrimp. Teeny tiny! Very French in the cooking here — heavy sauces and lots of mustard and mayonnaise. And fries with everything.