We're in...Belgium???

Let me explain. In order to travel Europe, we bought a ticket to Paris via the Eurostar (direct line from London). But in order to get to the rest of the countries we bought a Eurail pass that allows to travel to Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg). So Saturday Olivia, Deanna, and I showed up at the Paris train station like we are supposed to and asked for a ticket to Amsterdam. But here's the thing. Wednesday had been French Labor Day and this past weekend was a huge anniversary for the Grand Canal. So tickets available for the Eurail pass were booked until this coming Friday. If we wanted to go to Amsterdam, we needed to pay 130 euro each for a ticket. Not something we planned on doing. None of us freaked out, we just changed plans and decided to go to....Brussels, Belgium. I mean, the Benelux gave us some options!! So we managed to find a train that left 6 hours from that time and went to a cafe. Within an hour we had cancelled our hostel reservation, found an inexpensive hotel in Brussels, and started planning on trip. True backpacking status achieved!! We then hung out in that cafe for a while because wifi is a beautiful thing. We then spent the last 2 hours in the train station before finally getting on. So by 6:00 PM (we had planned on leaving Paris at 10:30AM originally) we finally arrived in Brussels!!

Greenhouse Contraption!

    That first night we just walked around a little and then found a restaurant. This was the first time a language barrier was a thing - we weren't sure if we were supposed to speak French or Dutch. And none of us even know how to say "hello" in Dutch!! The next morning was our one full day in Brussels - we were only there for probably around 36 hours! We have deducted that Brussels is the weirdest place ever and that we loved being there!! What we did not know is that there was some sort of festival going on. And it probably took us about 2 hours to figure out what the festival was. We think it was an Iris Festival and talking about sustainable living.  But there were mimes on stilts that bounced and singing clowns and girls dressed in tutus that sort of looked like flowers sitting on huge picture frames in the middle of gardens singing opera. There were crazy contraptions and we dressed in early 1900s costumes. Let me tell you, Brussels is weird. So we explored that for a while and then headed to the Grand Place, supposedly the most beautiful square in Europe. I would believe it - it was gorgeous!! We then headed to see a famous statue, the Mannekin Pis. This is literally a fountain with a young boy urinating. And the city loves it! The boy has a crazy number of costumes that they apparently decorate the statue with all the time!! So weird!! We laid outside a cathedral that looked like a Notre Dame knockoff. I originally wanted to go see where the European Parliament meets once a month, but as we started the walk realized that it was crazy far away and, according to reviews and such, not really a worthwhile walk. It was a crazy 36 hours in Belgium. I can honestly say I will probably never be to Belgium again but I loved my time there!! Who actually cares about Amsterdam, Brussels is where it is at. 

   Also they have waffles and chocolate and it is worth the trip just to consume these delicacies. 

Lace shop!