Day 1 20/8/11 - Belgium

London -> Brussels -> Leuven -> Brussels

Highlight

• Lots of people at Eurostar and no free seat
• Checked in our hotel, which has free chocolate tasting at reception
• Waited ages to buy tix at the train station, so it was quite late when we got to Leuven
• Slokky split his pants (again!), so we had to go shopping. He couldn’t fit into anything at the Specials surf shop, so ended up buying some expensive shorts .
• By the time we were done it was time for lunch. Browsed the Muntstraat, and had some nice mussels and chips (is it just always nice in Belgium?)
• Just made it to the Gortmarkt for the Stadhuis tour. Managed to see it for free as we were too late to get tickets. That was good because even though the tour of it had some interesting features, it wasn’t anything we hadn’t seen before and wasn’t worth the money.
• Listened to the band on the main square while we wondered around the roof level of the Stadhuis and toured the cellar.
• Had a wonder around St.Peter's Church – lots of paintings as well as an awe-inspiring interior.
• Stopped off for some excellent gelato before heading to the UNESCO site Beguinage. Very bumpy grounds and some nice big trees and old style buildings.
• Back to Brussels to check in the hotel before a nice seafood dinner.
• Had a brief walk around the Grand Place which was lit up with people and activity.

Food

• Mykene:
  • Rabbit with Prunes
  • Mussels with dill and Hoegarden
  • chips
• t’Galetje:
  • melon gelato
  • speculoos gelato
• La Belle Maraîchère:
  • King crab and skate terrine
  • Northern bouibaisse
  • eels with green sauce
• Valhona chocolate: peanut, earl grey, salted caramel