Belgium: Hot Chocolate, Fries and Waffels. Oh and Beer. mmmmmmmmm

Our final day in Paris consisted of a day trip to the suburb of Versailles a few kilometers south west of Paris proper. Before leaving however, we had to sort out our hostels for Brussels, Brugge and Amsterdam. This was more difficult than it should have been because we had unwittingly let the weekend sneek up on us, and many of the places we wanted to stay in were full. nevertheless, we managed to figure it out and finally left for our trip. The reason for our visit was to check out the illustrious Chateau de Versailles, Frances grandest and most famous Chateau. It was the political centre of France from 1682 to 1789 when the French Revolution resulted in the dissolution of the monarchy. It is really big, 580m long with hundreds of wings, rooms and halls. We visited the incredibly ostentatious King's and Queen's apartments which just blew away everything i have seen so far with the sheer size of the wealth flaunted. A highlight was definitly the 'Hall of Mirrors'. Perhaps even more impressive than the palace itself is its acres upon acres of landscaped gardens. These stretch faaar into the distance, and you can go on multiple walks that take up many hours. We didnt have the luxury of having that much time, as we wanted to head back to Paris in order to try get into the catacombes again and to visit the famous Musee D' Orsay that evening.

Unfortunately we were too late for the Catacombes once again, so we just headed straight to the museum. The Musee D'Orsay contains Frances national collection of painting and sculptures produced between 1840 and 1914 from the Impressionists, post-impressionists and Art Nouveau movements. We saw works from many artists including Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Manet, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Seurat and Matisse. Rishis favourites included most works from Monet whereas I enjoyed Van Gogh a little more but also liked Monet. The entire Academic Painting school really impressed me as well. Afterwards we decided to call it a day and head to the hostel to pack. In the morning we would bid farewell to Paris and head to Belgium and Brussels.

We arrived late in the afternoon, and most of the sites in Brussels were shut. However, we decided to head out anyway and have a bit of a walk around. We figured we had at least enough time to check out the Belgian Brewery museum or the Belgian Chocolate Museum. We made our way to Brussels' central square called the 'Grand Place' and had a real 'turn the corner moment' (the ones where you are just stopped dead in your tracks). The Grand Place is utterly astounding, and has been made a World Heritage Site. The buildings are amazingly grand and surround the square on all four sides. The spires tower over you and the gold gilted facades and the graceful gothic pillars on the buildings really give you a sense of being transported back in time. It really did take our breath away. Once we had recovered from our bemused states, we decided to knuckle down and get down to the REAL reason we were in Belgium. The Beer. The Brewers MUseum was quite interesting, but a little small. It gave us a good introduction on just how deep in we were, as Belgium has thousands off different beers brewed all over the country. Afterwards we walked around the city a little longer and managed to stumble upon the famous 'Mannekin Pis' fountain. Apparently its a national symbol, but Im not sure. I mean it IS just a little boy taking a leak into a fountain. Apparently his costume changes fairly regularly, and there was one time where he didnt 'go' for the entire day and everyone was told to be extra careful of prostate cancer. Weird Belgians. We randomly found some statue that everyone was touching, so we figured that it would probably be a good idea to do the same just in case. So I nudged Rishi forward to take a photo. Some random guy was sniggering, and we eventually figured that the whole thing was for good luck in getting pregnant. WATCH OUT LADHA FAMILY! YOU MIGHT HAVE A LITTLE ONE ON THE WAY!

After that little experience, we decided we needed to stop messing around and get to some Belgium Beer. We made our way towards this place called ' Le Bier Circus'. The only thing we knew about it was it was a 'place for serious beer buffs'. SOLD! I cant remember exactly what Rishi had, but I got myself into something called a 'Kwak', which came in this awesome glass that was tapered towards the bottom and which had a massilve bulb on the end. The Beer itself was quite strange, but I didnt mind it. Very complicated flavours. My second glass was something that was called 'Bush'. I couldnt resist it. My English friends will be interested to know that this beer is the strongest Belgian Beer available, standing at 12%. TWELVE PERCENT!!! Thats like drinking two and a half beers back in Auz. Crazy stuff. Needless to say, that was the end of the night!

Our next day involved us achieving some very important goals. For breakfast, we managed to find a really nice waffle place that served traditional Belgian Waffles. These things are amazing. You can have almost anything on them, and we opted for whipped cream and bananas. Very filling and they tasted amazing. A good start. Next, we went hunting for some good Belgian Hot Chocolate. We found this place where they use real chocolate that is attached to the stirrer. You place the stirrer in a cup of hot milk and let the chocolate melt into the cup while you stir. Hot chocolate the way it was meant to be! TICK IT OFF! We then made our way to the Beligan Chocolate Museum, where we were educated as to the process of creating all the amazing Belgian Pralines and other chocolates. Our going there had nothing to do with the free sample we got at all. Honest! Our final stop in Brussels was the large Cathedral to Saint Michael we had passed by the night before. Confusingly, it wasnt in any of our guide books but me and Rishi are becoming accustomed to going off the beaten track and having a look anyway. This church was definitly one of my personal favourites so far. Its predominent colour was white, which made the whole space feel very open, light and airy. It wasnt an oppressive cathedral at all and was quite graceful. It was a nice way to finish off a bit of a whirlwind tour through Brussels.

That afternoon we left early for the quaint but touristy town of Bruges (Brugge). It is a medieval town that is one of the most popular destinations in Belgium. The town was mostly abandoned in the 14th century, leaving it suspended in time. The whole thing is a World Heritage Site, even if its reputation as a 'preserved city' is partially fabricated as the place was slightly rebuilt in the 20th century to reflect medieval times. Once again we arrived a little late to do much of anything, so we decided to just have a bit of a walk around to explore the town. We made our way towards the centre of the city and the famous 'Markt'. Just like the grand place, this central square was spectacular all lit up with some impressive buildings and medieval houses surrounding the centre, which had been turned into an ice skating rink. Horse Carriages randomly wandered up and down the streets, and it was quite a challenge having to dodge them at every turn. Rishi almost got run over by a particularly eagre horse and Eurotrip was almost at its conclusion right there, but luckily he was quick enough to dodge out the way. Good times. We didnt have much else to keep us busy, so we had some dinner and turned in a little early to recharge the batteries.

We were woken up to the sound of lots of church bells, as it was a Sunday. Obviously this had dire consequences as the Cathedrals and Churches had arrogantly closed their doors for the morning to the innocent and curious tourists. How inconsiderate. Nevertheless we made our way once again for the 'Markt' and some of Brugge's more secular buildings. We climbed to the top of the famous Belfry, pretty much a clock tower that overlooks the city. We squeezed up the 366 steps which were incredibly narrow, especially near the top. The view was worth it though as the whole of Brugge was set before us. Afterwards, we went to the small Groeningemuseum which had some interesting artworks by the Flemish Primitive school. We also went to Belgiums oldest 'stadhuis' (city hall), which featured a guilded Gothic Hall, which was very well done. Unfortunately pictures werent allowed. By this time, the churches were reopening their doors to tourists, so we went to the very small 'Heilig-Bloedbasiliek' (Basilica of the Holy Blood) where we managed to see, as you may have guessed, a small guilded vial that true Catholics believe contains the blood of Christ. Apparently it was brought to the church by a local knight who recovered it on a crusade. There was a small service which I attended, and I was able to go up to the relic, touch it, and say a quick prayer. It was quite a moving experience. The question of whether the relic is real or not is irrelevent to me. For the Catholics, it is an act of faith and a form of worship. Meeting back up with Rishi, we made our way towards our final stop for the day, the 'Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk' (The Church of Our Lady). This church contains one amazing treasure: Michelangelo's 'Madonna and Child'. This small statue was the only work of art by Michelangelo to leave Italy during his lifetime. The detail is fantastic. The expressions and natural poses of the figures are incredible. You don't feel like you are staring at stiff pieces of marble at all, but almost living characters. They look so soft and natural. It really is a beautiful piece of sculpture by the master. The rest of the church was very dark and hazy and there wasnt much else of note. As you can probably tell, I didnt enjoy the rest of the church very much, but it definitly was a great way of finishing off our time in Belgium. That evening we were heading on a 3 hour trip to Amsterdam and a new country with new culture and a new language (although interestingly enough, Dutch was everywhere in Belgium as you can probably tell in some of the names of places). A new experience was just around the corner.