mschoen202 You may be wondering…why Belgium? What is there to do there other than eat waffles, taste chocolate, and drink beer?
First of all, that sounds like an ideal weekend so I don’t know why you’re even asking that question. Second, I’ll have you know we took a cooking class (to make waffles of course) and had a tasting session (for Belgian beer) and even went shopping! (exclusively at chocolate shops)…so there!
I can say from the bottom of my stomach that I truly got the full Belgian food and drink experience. While I was in gastrointestinal pain for the next three days, it was wonderful and I loved every second of it.
Plagception
In addition to the sustenance, however, Belgium was a really lovely weekend, an unexpected gem reminiscent of my Geneva experience a little while back (re: The Diva Who Didn’t Want to Go to Geneva). This trip once again reminded me to seize every opportunity because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely of places, and those who don’t believe in the magic will never find it.
If you just read that and thought, “wow Megan, that was really poetic, maybe you actually can write,” then I must confess something to you. While I wish I could take credit for that exquisite line, it was actually the wise words of the late great children’s author Roald Dahl. Furthermore, I’ve actually used it before in an earlier MMS post which was coincidentally also my Geneva post. If you’re doing the math that means I plagarized a quote from my own blog from another person. Plagception.
Not My Favorite Belgium Moments
So on that note, I decided this week, rather than giving you a play-by-play of the weekend, I will give you a list of my favorite moments in no particular order:
Well first, I didn’t even do a cast introduction yet! Look at me, getting sloppy. All right, on this week’s episode we have, drama please…..
Curd Thief!
Wayfish!
IrishJacqui!
Handyman!
And of course your favorite muffin baking, aggressively positive, really-terrible-at-lying host, yours truly!
Still Not My Favorite Belgium Moments
Side story, my friends actually made me practice lying this weekend because I am so embarrassingly bad at it. While that may seem like a positive trait, it becomes problematic when no one wants you on their team for Mafia/Avalon/Secret Hitler because you just start compulsively laughing every time you see your identity, which is supposed to be kept secret. This weekend I was described lovingly as “dead weight.” The worst part too was I couldn’t even argue differently. Not to mention certain people who you think are your friends look you straight in the eye and lie to your face, telling you they’re good when really they’re the ASSASIN (you know who you are). But anyways, back to Belgium.
Now This Is Just Starting to Get Annoying
through the mean streets of
Bruges
I should also mention before we start that despite it being my idea to go to Belgium, I did almost none of the actual planning of the trip. What that means is a) I owe IrishJacqui and Handyman the biggest thank you for putting the effort in to find these cool experiences and b) I was going in completely blind to what the plans were. As I said (sang) to my friends many times this weekend, “Where you lead, I will follow, anywhereeeeeeee that you tell me to!”
Okay for real this time, the list:
Finally! My Favorite Belgium Moments
1) Bruges, Belgium
The first thing on the list isn’t even a thing, it’s a whole darn city (town?). We were only staying in Brussels for two nights, but based on advice we had gotten from fellow traveler friends we decided to spend one of the days outside of the big city. Well, are we indebted to them.
A town straight out of a storybook, Bruges is quaint, it’s cute, it’s historic, it’s everything you would want in a little European town. There’s a river where you can take a boat tour or just wander along the waterside path and explore the markets. I highly recommend a visit if you are ever in the area as it was *chef’s kiss*.
Which leads me to my next list item…
2) The Waffles ‘n Beer Workshop
Big. Fan.
To be completely honest, I had no idea what exactly we were getting ourselves into (the theme of the weekend). Handyman had booked the workshop for us and I kind of just went along with it without doing any research whatsoever. Considering I had literally no expectations, I was completely blown away.
The Waffles ‘n Beer workshop consisted of a Belgian beer tasting of three local brews before embarking on our own Belgian waffle making adventure. Was it touristy? Of course. Did I have the time of my life? Absolutely. We quickly befriended our host (Hi Gilles!) and had a magical time cooking, laughing, spilling egg whites on our head (@Handyman) and most importantly, eating said waffles. Copious amounts of whipped cream and chocolate sauce were involved in the process and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. 10/10
3) Michelangelo’s Madonna
a. Post- magical-waffle-eating-experience, the team found ourselves in the most beautiful church, Church of Our Lady Bruges. For what it’s worth, I would have been content with just soaking in the stunning architecture and grandiose decorations of my surroundings.
What I didn’t know was that I was about to be blown away by the most unexpected treat. Within the church was the Madonna, sculpted by Mr. Michelangelo himself. The Madonna was the only of his sculptures to leave Italy during Mikey’s lifetime. It was a really special moment to just stand in an awed silence at the beauty and simplicity of the little piece of mastery in front of us.
4) Manneken Pis
Any travel blogger worth their salt must include this little guy on their Belgium post. And little he was. A famous statue in the heart of Brussels, Manny was honestly a little underwhelming but left us with plenty of joke material for the rest of the weekend, so ultimately worth it.
That’s all the detail I’m going to go into here. If you want to know more, you can Google the statue for yourself.
5) Maison Renardy Coffee Shop, Brussels
The cutest coffee shop in Brussels that, according to my friends, had the best tasting chocolate croissants they’ve ever had in their lives. I wouldn’t know because I decided to eat my homemade protein bar for breakfast instead (I know I hate me too).
I can, however, attest to their BOMB hot chocolate. You get to choose the percent chocolate you would like in the cocoa. Me, clearly a chocolate connoisseur, accidentally ordered the lowest percent which the barista kindly informed me was just straight sugar. After rectifying my mistake, I was in 73% chocolate heaven.
6) Fin de Siècle Restaurant, Brussels
On the subject of food (basically the point of this entire trip) was the most delicious traditional Belgian food extravaganza. The menu may have been in French and we may have had no idea what we were ordering and my stomach may have hated me afterwards, but man was it good.
7) This Picture of IrishJacqui and Me On the Train
I look like I want to fight someone, she just looks confused. I consider it a personal victory, though, because at least my eyes are fully closed this time.
8) My Super Cool Friends!
While not Belgium specific, I need to once again give a shoutout to these heroic humans for constantly making me laugh and for being my home away from home. These are the people who don’t get mad when I jump in front of all their artsy pictures, who don’t complain when I have to stop at the store because I forgot my toothbrush (typical), who listen to hours of rap music when I decide to expand my musical horizons on a whim, who put up with my incessant Pillars of the Earth plugs every time we walk into a church (and there’s a LOT of churches in Europe) (but seriously if you haven’t read it, you’re missing out), and who have made this such a fulfilling living abroad experience. Okay, that’s enough sap for tonight, I’m not a maple tree.
And on that horribly cringy metaphor, I think it’s time for me to go to sleep.
Happy Terrific Tuesday to those who observe, and thank you for continuing to go on this journey with me! I will now end with an actual list of songs I have added to my “Liked Songs” list on Spotify in the week and a half since I decided I needed to break out of my indie/singer-songwriter chokehold:
Songs I Have Liked In the Past Week That Are Not By Noah Kahan
1) Sunrise, Childish Gambino
2) Hotel Key, Old Diminion
3) Veggie Tales (Remix), Shama Mrema
4) Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, Billy Joel
5) Live Like You Were Dying, Tim McGraw
6) Child of God, Chance the Rapper
7) Meet The Moonlight, Jack Johnson
8) Mamacita, Smooky MarGielaa, A$AP Rocky
9) As It Was, Milky Chance
10) The Spins, Mac Miller
Let’s just say my Spotify algorithm is very confused right now. If anyone has any song recommendations that are not by Noah Kahan, Bon Iver, John Mayer, or Hippo Campus, please feel free to leave a comment. We can all go on Megan’s Musical Education Journey together.
Have a wonderful week and I’ll see you here next week, hopefully the same time, definitely the same place.
