Belgium....!!

Well, last weekend we finally made it to the continent. We "Eurostarred it" to Belgium on Friday night to stay with friends for the weekend, planning to do a little sightseeing and see the Christmas markets. The weekend, however, held much more.

We spent our first night in Belgium at Margo's parents house, a very old, stone country house in the south of Belgium. We were greeted with wine, cheese and chocolate on arrival, as the De Wulf family showed us their legendary hospitality. It was great for me to catch up with Margo and her parents again after so many years (7 to be exact), to meet her husband Gianni, and for them to all meet Nick.

On Saturday we headed up to Brussels after a walk in the Belgium countryside. Brussels is a really beautiful city, with many old buildings melding french and dutch influences. We immediately had a waffle, followed by a traditional Belgian lunch (quiche) complete with Belgian beer. This proved to be indicative of the entire weekend, which we spent sampling local delicacies. Margo and Gianni were adament that we had to try as many traditional Belgian foods as possible (including a white sausage called Boudin!). After visiting the Grand Place, we met up with Jocelyn, a friend of mine from Melbourne Uni who is working in Belgium for a few months, and headed off to another cafe for hot chocolate/beer and chocolates. This was followed by the Christmas markets, and yet more food and drink (including apple gin!), and then onto dinner at a traditional Belgian restaurant!

On Sunday, Margo, Gianni, Nick and I headed off to Bruge, a picturesque town further north of Brussels, made famous (and rich) by its linen trade sometime in the past (sorry, not up to date on the history here), resulting in wonderful buildings and architecture. It is known for its spanish-style buildings, the ones with the step-like fronts (see pictures). We wandered around Bruge, trying mussels and frites (fries), purchasing chocolates, beer and Christmas decorations, and generally taking in the sights. Margo and I lost the guys for a while (we thought they'd been locked in the bellfry - turned out they were in a bottle-shop!), and then we had some pancakes/waffles and coffee before heading home.

Needless to say, we had a wonderful weekend. It was great to spend time with Margo and Gianni, they made it a really fun, relaxing weekend! We'll definitely be back to Belgium soon!