Taking the pis.

photo by h.Lo on Flickr.

This morning, we walked around the 6th stopping at yummy shop after shop. We had a fast food style breakfast that consisted of a still tasty pain au chocolate with hot chocolate and coffee. In and out in under 5 Euros.

Next, we hit Piccadis for handmade marshmallows (orange, coffee, coconut, whatever you like). Chocolatiers came next: A La Mere de la Famille and XX. XX displayed chocolate sculptures in the shape of abs, small animals, babies, crocodiles, letters, numbers and so on. We dropped in on Poilane next to pick up four slices of French peasant bread for our lunch on the train. A final pop-in to Pierre Herme added four macarons to said lunch, including a mandarin-olive oil combination. Finally, we stopped into a fromagerie at the St. Germain market where we procured a large chunk of Brie de Mieux for less than $4.

Leaving Gare du Nord for Brussels on the fast Thalys train, we made up our simple lunch of bread with cheese...followed by macarons and chocolates. Mmm. The arrival into Brussels was a quick one, lasting just over an hour.

Our first stop on our whirlwind tour of Brussels was the Magritte Museum. We toured the museum for about an hour and a half, checking out his lesser known works. My personal favorite was "Black Magic", showing Magritte's wife, Georgette, fading into a blue color and disappearing into the sky. Shawn liked "The Traveler" which depicted a "ball of space junk" that included a lion, a couch and other miscellaneous objects.

Heading to the oldest part of town, we discovered waffle shop after chocolate shop after brewery after frite stand. Incredible. We are so excited to eat in Belgium.

We next toured the Grand Place, amazed at its gothic, highly detailed look. The whole sight was overwhelming, complete with adorable costumed locals in the square's center. A nice square usually has a standout building or two, but the Grand Place is an architectural marvel.

Just down the street a bit, we came across Brussels' famous Mannekin-Pis. Holy cow, what a sight. It's tiny and mimicked in every shop. There are copies peeing while holding waffles, versions made out of chocolate, and painted renditions used as eye catching displays. All for a little fella who is a mere two foot tall. I think the version at Seattle's Brouwer's Belgian beer bar is twice the size of the real thing.

Before jumping our train to Bruges, we stopped for our first taste of genuine Belgian frites. We opted for the magical combination of frites covered in mayonnaise, ketchup and onions. Filling and delicious.

An hour later on the same train ticket, we arrived in Bruges. It is so cute that it's almost a caricature of itself. The same adorable shops we just saw in Brussels and another gorgeous main square. Belgium is already very impressive and we are wondering if two nights will be enough.

We took a walking tour of Bruges after checking in to our hotel. There are a lot of cute sidewalk cafes here, something we both wish we had more of in Seattle. Seattle, by the way, is not a well-known place over here. Every time someone asks us where we are from, we get blank stares in response.

After getting oriented, we dropped in on a waffle maker. My stomach is kind of aching with all this junk food, but it's all so tasty, I can't quit it. Mine was covered in strawberries and cream, Shawn chose chocolate and bananas. We were also lucky enough to hear the bells ringing in the main square, so we sat for a bit and enjoyed it. We decided to end the evening for our first Belgian beer in Belgium. It turns out that it's hard to find a place that will only serve you a beer (and no food) on a Wednesday here. One place was closed, another was shut for holiday. We settled in to our hotel's adjoining bar (which is also adorable) for a Liefman's.

All this excitement in one day... our feet are killing us.