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Most of the travel went smoothly -- the only annoying part was waiting in line for a bit over an hour for passport control here in Brussels.
So, I got to the hotel around 10:30am, only to find out I couldn't check in & get my room until 3pm. (Well, they might have it available early, but they might not.) So, I left my stuff in my car, got a map of the local area and wandered out. Luckily the hotel is in the centre of old-Brussels, right down town, so lots of walkable stuff.
Before wandering, though, I had a cafe-au-lait and a waffle in the hotel cafe. The waffle was good... but wasn't the sort of waffle I was looking for. Sometime later in the day, though, I found a proper waffle... just the way I did the first time. I smelled the waffle on the breeze... followed the wind... and bought a sweet hot sticky yummy waffle from a street-side vendor.
They also take their chocolate seriously here. I wandered through several quite nice chocolate shops. (I should be able to find my way back to a couple of them. ) I fear that I may be bringing too much chocolate home! Many of the chocolatiers were fairly nice... lots of selection... nice presentation. Then I wandered into one of them, and felt like I'd just walked into one of those stores where, if you need to ask the price, you can't afford to shop there. Large amounts of negative space in their presenations, on their walls. Gorgeous presentation. There were prices though, and they were steeper than some of the others -- but not WAY out there. I didn't buy any today, as I encountered the chocolate shops on the way out on my walk-about, so didn't want to carry it around with me.
I also got to visit the Belgian royal palace -- apparently they have free access for a few months around now. (I don't know if this is a special event, or an annual thing, or what.) I couldn't take my cell in, so didn't get any pictures, but it was nice to walk around. There was a huge ballroom that made me want to waltz just seeing it. Also, lots and lots of huge gaudy chandaliers -- but also, in a smaller room, one incredibly beautiful chandalier. Most of them were normal swoopy lines (like the one im my hotel, which I should have a picutre of) but multiplied in size and number and length of dangly bits. But this one, the lines were all curving in various directions, and the crystal on the lines was far more molded and carved, expanding and shrinking and just gorgeous. Damn, but I wish I could have gotten a picture.
Actually, I kind of wish I'd brought my camera with me. Mostly I don't wander around taking pictures -- but I was thoroughly being a tourist today. Oh well, we'll see how the few snaps I took with the cell phone turn out. (I'll upload them when I get home, I've got the free wifi at the hotel, but it has limited upload/download totals.)
I do hope that the day of walking around in the sun has helped to reset my clock to local time, and will reduce the jetlag issues. I think being out in the sun is supposed to help with that.
Also, my room in the hotel is amazingly spacious. I'm used to European hotels having fairly small rooms -- but this room is as spacious as I'm used to getting.
So, I got to the hotel around 10:30am, only to find out I couldn't check in & get my room until 3pm. (Well, they might have it available early, but they might not.) So, I left my stuff in my car, got a map of the local area and wandered out. Luckily the hotel is in the centre of old-Brussels, right down town, so lots of walkable stuff.
Before wandering, though, I had a cafe-au-lait and a waffle in the hotel cafe. The waffle was good... but wasn't the sort of waffle I was looking for. Sometime later in the day, though, I found a proper waffle... just the way I did the first time. I smelled the waffle on the breeze... followed the wind... and bought a sweet hot sticky yummy waffle from a street-side vendor.
They also take their chocolate seriously here. I wandered through several quite nice chocolate shops. (I should be able to find my way back to a couple of them. ) I fear that I may be bringing too much chocolate home! Many of the chocolatiers were fairly nice... lots of selection... nice presentation. Then I wandered into one of them, and felt like I'd just walked into one of those stores where, if you need to ask the price, you can't afford to shop there. Large amounts of negative space in their presenations, on their walls. Gorgeous presentation. There were prices though, and they were steeper than some of the others -- but not WAY out there. I didn't buy any today, as I encountered the chocolate shops on the way out on my walk-about, so didn't want to carry it around with me.
I also got to visit the Belgian royal palace -- apparently they have free access for a few months around now. (I don't know if this is a special event, or an annual thing, or what.) I couldn't take my cell in, so didn't get any pictures, but it was nice to walk around. There was a huge ballroom that made me want to waltz just seeing it. Also, lots and lots of huge gaudy chandaliers -- but also, in a smaller room, one incredibly beautiful chandalier. Most of them were normal swoopy lines (like the one im my hotel, which I should have a picutre of) but multiplied in size and number and length of dangly bits. But this one, the lines were all curving in various directions, and the crystal on the lines was far more molded and carved, expanding and shrinking and just gorgeous. Damn, but I wish I could have gotten a picture.
Actually, I kind of wish I'd brought my camera with me. Mostly I don't wander around taking pictures -- but I was thoroughly being a tourist today. Oh well, we'll see how the few snaps I took with the cell phone turn out. (I'll upload them when I get home, I've got the free wifi at the hotel, but it has limited upload/download totals.)
I do hope that the day of walking around in the sun has helped to reset my clock to local time, and will reduce the jetlag issues. I think being out in the sun is supposed to help with that.
Also, my room in the hotel is amazingly spacious. I'm used to European hotels having fairly small rooms -- but this room is as spacious as I'm used to getting.
