Here we are, at the end of my latest series. I always end my travel series with a list of ten things I learned. It offers me a chance to reflect on the intangible blessings I take with me every time I travel. I may not buy a single souvenir, but I learn new things every time I venture out. These lists are also better read, because they’re much more concise than my exhaustive blow by blow accounts. So… here’s my list of things I learned on our trip to Brussels and Paris.
10. The Atomium is well worth a visit, even though getting there from downtown Brussels takes some time.
Our decision to visit the Atomium, a very cool looking structure that was built for the 1958 World’s Fair, was not something we planned. We decided to go there, kind of on a whim. I didn’t know what to expect when we got there, but I really enjoyed our visit. I got some great photos, and loved the music and light show.
Don’t miss the Atomium if you visit Brussels!
9. If you are approached by a “taxi driver” at an airport or a train station, don’t take the bait.
We were “taken for a ride” in Paris. Although no real harm was done, we spent a lot more euros than we needed to. Always take rides from licensed taxi drivers! French law requires all taxi drivers to accept credit cards and have working credit card machines in their vehicles.
8. Thalys has been taken over by Eurostar.
But if you take a Eurostar train, you will likely see Thalys branding. The current experience on Eurostar is pretty much the same as it always was with Thalys.
On the Eurostar train.
7. If you have an American credit card and want to buy metro tickets in Paris, you might want to pay cash.
I’m not 100 percent sure, but I don’t think the Paris ticket machines are compatible with US credit cards. Paying cash can also be problematic, because I noticed one of the machines we tried to use also wasn’t taking cash. To be honest, I’ve never had a smooth experience using the Paris metro, but that might just be me.
6. Visit the Friets Museum!
We had so much fun at the Friets Museum. I didn’t have high hopes for it, but it really is a fun place to spend some time, especially if you have kids. There are lots of interactive exhibits that are fun and educational. Sadly, I didn’t find the related Choco Story Brussels museum as good. Yes, Choco Story was worth visiting (especially for the samples), but the Friets was more fun for me.
5. If you like beer, definitely visit the Beer Museum in Brussels.
You can’t miss it, because it’s in a huge, grand building in downtown Brussels. The exhibits are fun and interactive, and it’s a good way to spend an hour or two.
4. The Eiffel Tower is well worth the trip, but next time, I might just visit the second floor.
This past visit to Paris was my third. The first two times, I skipped going up the Eiffel Tower. This time, we decided to do it right, and we went all the way to the top and drank champagne. If I do it again, I might skip going to the top. I don’t think the views are better, and it’s very crowded. But I am glad we went to the top this time, so I can say I’ve finally done it!
What a majestic sight!
3. There’s something to be said for exploring whatever neighborhood you’re in…
During this trip to Paris, we stayed in the Montmartre neighborhood. I knew nothing about this part of Paris before we visited, but it offered a very different view of the city than Montparnasse, which is where we stayed in 2009. I enjoyed exploring the area, especially since we went to the Salvador Dali museum.
Pull his finger!
2. Salvador Dali’s famous melting clock was inspired by melting Camembert cheese!
I learned a lot by visiting the Salvador Dali museum in Paris, including what inspired him to create his famous “melting clocks”.
And finally, 1. A visit to Paris and Brussels beats going to Napa Valley, California, especially if you live in Europe…
Well, I can’t say I “learned” this. I mean, it’s pretty obvious, especially nowadays. I’d much rather visit European capitals than go to California and deal with the chaos in the United States. I will mention, too, that in spite of what has been going on in the United States, I have not encountered any hostility in Europe because I’m from the United States. However, I do recommend that any Americans visiting Europe keep a low profile. I would recommend that for any visit to Europe, though, not just in these bizarre Trump times.
We did have an excellent trip to Brussels and Paris, in spite of experiencing a few mishaps. It was just so nice to get away from Germany for awhile, hear a different language, enjoy changes in scenery, and do it all by train, so we didn’t have to worry about a car. I wish I’d made more of an effort to look for some art, especially in Paris. I need something new to put on our walls. But I’ve heard that at the end of the month, actor Johnny Depp is exhibiting some of his art in Wiesbaden, so maybe we’ll attend the exhibition.
So that does it for my Brussels and Paris series! Thanks so much to everyone who followed along!
Saturday morning, we went down to breakfast at Hotel L’Eldorado. Our waiter was a very pleasant man, but I don’t think he had a very strong grasp of English. We first encountered him on Wednesday night, and he didn’t seem to understand us very well.
And then on Saturday, we ordered breakfast and I asked for poached eggs. He brought me boiled eggs. I would have accepted them, but I wondered if maybe I got someone else’s order. I also had hot chocolate again, and it was very different than what I had gotten on Thursday and Friday; this time, it was thick and rich, like I’ve encountered it in Spain! I actually really liked the hot chocolate prepared that way, but I wondered why it was done differently.
Bill had pancakes without blueberries and cream. The waiter eventually brought out my poached eggs, which were perfect. We tried to explain to the waiter that breakfast was supposed to be complimentary, because of the broken elevator. He didn’t understand, so Bill had it put on the room. When we checked out, they took the charge off our bill.
I didn’t order these…
Bill discovered that our hotel was near a Salvador Dali museum, so we decided to go there. We had been planning to visit the Louvre, but decided that maybe it would be better to just go to a smaller museum with fewer people. That turned out to be a good decision. The walk there involved hills, so we were able to burn off breakfast.
Antarctic?Windmill!
The Salvador Dali museum in Paris is based on a collection acquired by Beniamino Levi, an Italian man who met Dali and encouraged him to make sculptures. He would buy Dali’s pieces, as well as the intellectual rights to them.
I didn’t know anything about Salvador Dali before I visited the museum. I mean, I knew about the famous melting clock, but I didn’t know what had inspired it, nor did I know much beyond the famous surreal artwork he was known for before his death on January 23, 1989. By visiting the museum, I learned that Dali’s melting clock was inspired by watching Camembert melting in the sun. I also learned that he was fascinated by the children’s book, Alice in Wonderland.
The museum also had some very interesting and cool art pieces that showed different perspectives. The pieces were ridged, so that if you looked at them in one direction, they’d look very different if you looked at them in the other direction or straight on. Hopefully, the pictures will explain what I mean… Sorry this is a big photo dump! The museum isn’t super large, but it does have a lot of interesting pieces. There’s also a public restroom, which is always a plus!
After our visit to the museum, we walked around the charming village near the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. It was very crowded with tourists visiting the basilica. We walked around near the huge church, but didn’t go in, because there was a really long line. I still managed to get some good photos. Below are some photos near a small church we visited. Bill lit candles for our deceased fathers.
I wish I’d bought a painting.Palm Sunday
And below are some pictures closer to the basilica… It was getting close to lunchtime, but we resisted the urge to eat among the tourists, even though it had started raining. I do wish we’d bought some art, although we bought some candy for Bill’s grandchildren.
Candy shop! It was very expensive!My kind of place.I still need to find out about this…
As you can see in the last photo above, we passed Le Passe-Muraille Sculpture in Montmartre, Paris. It was somewhat close to where we had lunch. After ducking into a tiny French place that was full, we ended up at an equally tiny Italian place just across the street. The restaurant was called Tentazioni. Although it was tiny, it was also a chain, with several locations in Paris. Nevertheless, we enjoyed a very nice lunch there. Bill had linguini carbonara that was insanely good, and I had linguini with pesto and burrata. We started with focaccia, and ended with dessert… Below, you will notice a picture of a very sweet and friendly labrador, who was a service dog enjoying life outside.
This version of focaccia was also excellent, though different what we had on Thursday at Il Sorrentino.A moment off the job…I tried a digestive.
After lunch, we continued walking down the hill and ended up stopping at a wine shop. We bought a couple of bottles of wine to bring home to Germany– one Italian and one French. Below are photos of the Italian wine, which we had the other night. It was excellent. I confess that I chose it because of the label.
Below are a few more photos from the Montmartre area, including a shot of the bottle shop where we found our wines.
And, just to wrap things up, we stopped by Corcoran’s Irish Pub again and hung out for awhile… This was mainly because we were a bit tired of traveling and we were ready to go home. I was glad we stopped by the pub again, because I found some more music for my collection, and I shared a moment with a Brit who appeared to be my age. We were both enjoying hearing “Our House” by Madness, a song that took us back to childhood!
In our younger days, I think Bill and I would have gone out to dinner or something. But it was a Saturday night, and as we’ve found out from many trips to France, you really need to make reservations if you want to go anywhere remotely special. So we stayed in again, and Bill picked up some very reasonably priced Korean fried chicken for dinner. He got it from a “hole in the wall” place near our hotel. There were quite a few places like that near where we stayed.
Not bad at all…
And… since we’re now at the end of our Paris trip, I’m going to go ahead and describe our chaotic journey home, so I can wrap up this series.
As it was on Friday night, it was very loud and busy outside of our hotel on Saturday night. I had forgotten all about the time change, so when I woke up to pee, I looked at the clock and it said 3:30 AM. I’m sure to the loud revellers, it actually felt more like 2:30 AM.
We had one more breakfast at the hotel. I had avocado toast with a poached egg, which was perfect! And more hot chocolate, again, done differently. This time, they brought it out rather thick, but included a side of steamed milk.
Hot chocolate done three ways at Hotel L’Eldorado… But I loved them all.
After breakfast, we decided to check out of the hotel and head to the Gare de L’est train station. That ride cost us a mere 22 euros. 😏 In retrospect, I wish we’d waited a little bit longer, because we ended up being an hour early. But that gave me the opportunity to listen to some talented people play the piano. Train stations in France often have pianos which people are encouraged to play!
This kid was especially good! I think he’s going places!French soldiers were in the station, fully armed.
We boarded our first class seats and enjoyed a very peaceful ride back to Germany. I was even impressed by the pizza we had for lunch, and were able to order directly from Bill’s phone. It was (seriously) among the best I’ve ever had in Europe. We had plans to change trains in Mannheim and get home by about 3:00 PM. Fate had different plans.
This pizza was surprisingly good!Crossing the Rhine!
Bill noticed that the train we were supposed to catch from Mannheim to Frankfurt Airport was delayed. As we got closer to Mannheim, the train was further delayed. Bill was getting more and more agitated, because he needed to pick up Noyzi and Charlie between 5:00 and 6:00 PM. A delay would put his ability to make that time more difficult. It was also pretty chilly outside, and Bill wasn’t adequately dressed.
He was a bit pissed… and I think it’s time to retire that jacket he’s wearing.
I needed to use the restroom, so I went into the station and encountered a VERY annoying public restroom. It cost 1,50 euros, and the turnstile wasn’t working properly. There was a line, and in spite of being attended, it wasn’t all that clean. But, I was able to relieve myself, and after about an hour delay, Deutsche Bahn let us take a different train. We were also lucky enough to score seats, which would not have been a given. Thankfully, it was just one stop, so our ride was only about 30 minutes.
Once we got to the Frankfurt Airport train station, we were able to find a great cabbie, who spirited us home. And Bill was able to get the dogs in time, and they were very happy to be home!
Overall, we had a really great time visiting Brussels and Paris, and we got to see a lot of places. It was fun visiting places we saw in 2008 and 2009, and discovering new places, like the Atomium and finally going up the Eiffel Tower. I especially enjoyed exploring the Montmartre area of Paris, which is a district I had never seen before. We did have a few glitches during our travel, but we learned from them. I will never again allow anyone to approach me at the train station offering a cab ride, for instance! I also got to learn about potatoes, chocolate, beer, and Salvador Dali!
More than once, I also said out loud that Brussels and Paris beat the hell out of Napa Valley… 😏 And, I also noticed that I left Paris liking it just a little bit more. The first time I went to Paris, I didn’t like it at all. But every time I return, I find myself more charmed and thinking I’ll someday return. I hope that turns out to be true. As for Brussels, it remains one of my favorite cities!
So that about does it for our trip to Brussels and Paris. I will be doing the usual “ten things I learned” post next! Stay tuned for that!
Friday, March 27th, Bill and I had thoughts of going back down to the touristy part of Paris. However, we did not want to walk there. Instead, we thought we’d take the famous Parisian Metro. But first, we had breakfast. One Friday morning, I had pancakes with blueberries and cream, and a side of bacon, and Bill had the continental breakfast I had enjoyed on Thursday, except he had scrambled eggs instead of poached eggs. Once again, I also had hot chocolate!
As for using the Paris Metro, I guess life had other plans, because first, we went to a Metro station that did not offer the ability to buy and load a Metro card. Then, we went to the other side of the metro station, and found the proper machines, but they would not take Bill’s credit card, probably because it’s not a European issued card. And the employees behind the desks were either unable to speak English, or their line wasn’t moving. I wasn’t even that surprised, because every time I’ve experienced trying to use the Paris Metro, I’ve been disappointed, confused, or both. I’m sure there’s a mysterious trick to using the Paris Metro that I just haven’t figured out yet.
Sigh… Not all of the machines were accepting euros, either.
So we gave up on the idea of using the Metro. Instead, we walked around the famed cabaret, the Moulin Rouge, which was close to our hotel. That area is also rife with artsy stuff.
The entrance to an art school.
The area is also loaded with sex shops. They were EVERYWHERE. And while we were sitting on a bench on the boulevard, we were joined by familiar folks… They casually set up their JW display near us. It was a sign to move on, I guess…
Guess we could have told ’em we were LDS…Dakota Johnson’s Calvin Klein ad.
During this time, we mostly just did some people watching and talked. When we take trips, we love to sit and watch the world, and just take in the local vibe. It wasn’t long before it was lunchtime, so we started looking for a place to eat. I noticed one place called Bouillon Pigalle. There was a long line of people waiting to get in there for lunch. I noticed they were mostly young folks, and when I looked up the restaurant, I noticed it got mixed reviews. We gave it a miss…
I love these little garden areas in the city…This is one of two locations of the Bouillon. chain The other is called Bouillon Republic and is located in another area of Paris.
We started to head back the way we came, but as we were passing some of the sex shops, I noticed this…
😳 WTF!Dayum! I do kind of like the dick mug, though.
Yeah… the mood was definitely different in this part of Paris, the 18th arrondissement! We spotted a rather authentic looking French restaurant, but again, it didn’t appeal… But then I noticed an Irish pub called Corcoran’s. God knows, we LOVE our Irish pubs. So that’s where we went for lunch.
As I’ve looked up Corcoran’s, I’ve noticed that it appears that it’s actually part of a chain, and there are several locations in Paris. The one we went to was in Place de Clichy. There was a friendly bartender who spoke perfect English and invited us to sit where we wanted and order at the bar. Bill had bangers and mash, and I had fish and chips. And, of course, we drank beer and listened to some really good music. I even discovered a 60s era singer I had never heard of before, the late Marva Whitney.
Looks vaguely pornographic! But the sausage was very good!A successful lunch stop in Paris!
The one thing I didn’t like about the pub was the restroom, which, like so many others we visited on this trip, really reeked of urine and was a bit damp, dirty, and chilly. But I’ve certainly encountered worse places to pee.
Some photos I took as we walked back to Hotel L’Eldorado.
I love the flower shops!
After lunch, we decided to head back to the hotel room so I could do some writing and have a rest. Unfortunately, when we walked back into the hotel, the receptionist informed us that the elevator was broken again. I must have looked pretty annoyed, having to climb five flights of stairs again.
I skipped the fries!It’s handy to bring a computer so you can watch 41 year old movies…
We never did make it out again, because the weather was not so great, and I needed some time away from the crowds. While we were in our room, we decided to watch National Lampoon’s European Vacation for the umpteenth time. 😁 And we had Five Guys for dinner, which Bill went out and picked up. The staff must have noticed I wasn’t with him, because they called the room and told me that, to make up for the broken elevator, they were going to offer me (not Bill, apparently), free breakfast. So, I guess, in a way, we got back some of the money we lost to the scammer taxi driver.
Friday night was a bit noisy. Lots of people were outside partying at a nearby wine bar. I was grateful for the many panes on the windows, and glad that it wasn’t super hot outside. Even with the panes, we could hear the people outside until well in the wee hours of the morning!
That brings me to the end of my Friday in Paris– 2026. Stay tuned for my next post, which took us to the Salvador Dali museum!
This is going to be a very LONG post. Sorry about that!
Thursday, March 26th, was our biggest day in Paris. We had tickets to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, something neither of us had ever previously done. We decided to visit the iconic site at 7:00 PM and have champagne at the top. That decision cost us a lot of money, but I think it was worth it for that one time. I doubt we’ll bother going up to the top of the tower again, but I’m glad we did it that one time, especially since it was a beautiful evening.
But what did we do before we went to the tower? Well, we did lots of walking, taking pictures, and people watching. All told, we racked up about six miles on that day, which for me, is quite an accomplishment.
We started off Thursday with breakfast at the hotel. Bill had avocado toast with a cappuccino and orange juice. I had a continental breakfast, with bread, butter, jam, orange juice, poached eggs, and delicious hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was especially interesting, as I had it each of the four mornings we were at the hotel, and each time, it was served differently. Below is the cup that seemed the most conventional to me. It was very good. The guy who waited on us had to confirm that I could get poached eggs with a continental breakfast. I guess they require more work than scrambled, boiled, or fried eggs.
After we ate, we started our long walk into the city center. I paused somewhat frequently to take pictures and stretch my hips and back, which ache a lot these days. It was a crisp, sunny morning, and just slightly too cold for the v-neck wool sweater I was wearing under my bigger “coatigan”.
As we got closer to downtown, we came across Parc Monceau, a gorgeous spot that I read is a sort of mirror image of the Jardin du Luxembourg in northern Paris.” It’s interesting we went there, since our hotel was close to the Jardin du Luxembourg when we visited Paris in May 2009.
I wish we’d spent more time visiting the Parc Monceau. It was absolutely gorgeous. And a little girl drew our attention to it by blowing bubbles as she crossed the street. I wish I’d gotten a few more photos of this magical place… totally free to enjoy, and with lots of benches for weary backs. If anything, I wanted more photos of the beautiful flowers and landmarks. Parc Monceau is “unusual” in Paris, because it’s more of an informal English style garden, rather than the more formal French style. Just looking at these photos make me want to find a garden and explore it today.
You can’t see it that well, but there were bubbles all over the place when I took this photo.A school at the edge of the park. A bunch of children in navy blue uniforms were playing in the park as we passed it.
But the chilly weather insisted that we keep walking, because sitting down, even in the sun, was a bit too cold. Besides, there was a lot more to see. So we kept walking until, as we were about to pass through the gates of the park, Bill looked up and noticed a familiar arc…
Arc de Triomphe 2026From our visit in May 20092026
Lots of people were taking photos of the majestic Arc du Triomphe, which loomed imposingly across the street. We crossed over, soon finding ourselves on the Champs-Élysées, a very famous shopping boulevard in Paris… We cut down another street, where we passed the American Cathedral in Paris and The Crazy Horse, a legendary cabaret.
One of those guys who doesn’t move a muscle…The kid was intrigued.We couldn’t visit the American Cathedral in Paris because it was closed for renovations…The Crazy Horse
After we crossed a major road, I looked to my left and noticed we were passing the Bateaux Mouches dock. Even though we took a river cruise when we visited Paris in 2009, it seemed like a good thing to do before lunchtime. We could get out of the chill by sitting inside the boat, while taking in views of the major Parisian sites from the Seine. It was also especially handy, because there was a restroom at the dock, and on the vessel itself. It also happened to be a great spot for an Eiffel Tower pic.
So we bought a ticket for 17 euros… it was a strictly no frills cruise. And as we waited for our 11:30 AM departure, we were suddenly joined by about a hundred teenagers! They descended on the dock like the famous anchovies from the first episode of Spongebob Squarepants. I wrote more about this experience on the day after it happened. You can follow the link to my main blog to read what I wrote then.
For those who don’t want to click the link… I remember sitting there at the dock, as dozens of teens crowded in. I was sitting next to an automatic arm with a boxing glove on the end of it.
Everybody was looking at the boat that was nearest to where we were waiting. I figured that was the one we’d be boarding, and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to find a good spot that allowed views, while not forcing me to be out in the cold. I looked at all the teens who had congregated. Quite a few of the girls were dressed stylishly, but not for comfort or practicality, as they walked around Paris. Some had on short, tight mini skirts, lacy tights, and high heels. I was dressed more appropriately, but I’m old and cranky, and I don’t like to be chilled.
So I was feeling a bit doomed, but then I noticed an annoyed looking man standing near the boxing glove. He was obviously an official, and he was trying to get the teens’ attention. He saw me looking at him and invited me to board… and it was a different boat, beyond the boxing gloved automatic arm I’d been staring at as the teens descended on us.
I jumped up, and was the first to board the boat. We took an inside seat at the rear, near the bathrooms and a vending machine that sold candy, water, and soft drinks. We didn’t move from our spots. I didn’t have to worry, anyway. The boat was huge, so there was lots of room, and it was kind of fun to listen to the kids shrieking when we went under the many Parisian bridges.
The only unfortunate thing was that I wasn’t in the best spot for picture taking. At one point, two guys stood outside our window and smoked. One of them noticed me scowling at him when he dropped his butt on the floor. He stomped on it again and walked away, but left the smoldering trash on the boat, where I think it eventually rolled off into the river. 🤬
We used a different cruise company when we did our boat ride in 2009. It was very similar, and had the same “guide” that came on over a loudspeaker that we couldn’t really hear very well. But it was okay. We were just there to kill an hour and experience something different. I enjoyed the cruise, even if I wish it had been a bit warmer outside. There are MANY boat cruise companies in Paris, and they offer a variety of experiences, so this is an activity I would happily do again and again.
Maybe next time, we’ll do a champagne cruise. That might help us avoid huge groups of high school kids… although in fairness to them, they were mostly pretty well behaved. A lot of them were wearing jackets that indicated an affiliation with the International Rotary Club. My dad used to be a member of Rotary. I also enjoyed the kids who were singing and playing songs that were popular when I was 12! One guy was singing Wham’s “Careless Whisper” (and quite well, I might add). Another was playing “Down Under” by Men at Work.
After we got off the boat, it was time for lunch. We started walking on the Left Bank of the Seine. I was looking for a charming place, not too crowded, where we might have some lovely food. I was starting to get a little frustrated until we turned on a street with a wonderful view of the Eiffel Tower. As we got closer, I noticed a couple of places that looked like they might fit the bill nicely. I almost went into a French place, but decided I didn’t like the look of their tables and chairs. I thought they’d be uncomfortably small.
But then I turned down another street, where people were taking pictures. To my right, there was an Italian place. It wasn’t packed with people. And when we went inside, we were warmly greeted by a lady who invited us to sit down at a two top near a rather crotchety looking elderly French couple. They were finishing up their desserts. Il Sorrentino turned out to be an excellent lunch choice for us, side eyes notwithstanding…
We started out with focaccia, some of the best I’ve ever had. Bill ordered sparkling water and a lovely Brolio Chianti Classico from Italy. Then, for our main courses, I had spinach cannelloni gratinati, while Bill went for ravioli stuffed with chicken on pecorino cheese and black truffle. It was absolutely delicious!
Then, for dessert, I had lemon creme brulee, which was served in a half of a lemon. Bill had a strawberry dessert served in a cookie crust with pistachio sauce. We had a round of espresso and, as we were paying the bill, enjoyed a digestive of limoncello.
The whole time we were dining, I noticed a bunch of people who appeared to be v-loggers outside, talking into cameras. A trio of girls, who looked like they were about sixteen or seventeen years old, were taking turns posing for the camera. One of the girls seemed to be particularly engaging. She had long, red, curly hair, and I noticed she was wearing a very stylish jacket. I would not be surprised if the girls had dreams of being models. However, although they were very pretty, they seemed a bit too short. But what do I know? They did look like they were having fun.
We closed down Il Sorrentino, and were the last ones to leave before they enjoyed a pause after the lunch rush. We continued walking toward the Eiffel Tower, which we hadn’t seen since 2009. I remember on that trip, I had been able to just walk under the tower without having to go through security. Now, they’ve got the area fenced off, and if you want to go in, you have to be screened. It is free to walk around the Eiffel Tower, though, and they have public toilets that are free of charge to use. We didn’t go in there until it was time for our visit. Instead, we did some people watching in the park. I noticed more people getting photos with the Eiffel Tower in the background. One girl was a dancer doing jetes while another woman took photos.
Later in the afternoon, we decided to look for a bar to enjoy a drink before we finally took our turn going up the tower. I couldn’t find exactly what we were looking for, but we did find a very busy restaurant called Brasserie de la Tour Eiffel, that served authentic French food– frogs legs, escargot, charcuterie, etcetera.
Of course we didn’t want to eat, but we were down for a couple of beers… I got a kick out of our very professional waiter, Philippe, who immediately gave us tokens for the toilet! This is not a spot where I’d want to have dinner, as it was very chaotic and touristy. However, it served fine as a place to enjoy drinks and people watch. And we lucked into having a great waiter, who wasn’t stereotypically rude or arrogant. It was fun watching people eat very stereotypically French cuisine, and I appreciated their selection of draft beers.
Below, outside the barrier to the tower… more people were dancing for cameras, and there were lots of Africans selling Eiffel Tower souvenirs. Or… I assume they were Africans. They looked the part.
Finally, it was time to head over to the Eiffel Tower and experience it for the first time. Since we already had tickets, we were able to get in a somewhat shorter line than those who still had to buy them. I believe it’s possible to go to the first floor of the tower, using the steps, without buying a ticket. We didn’t even visit the first floor, which is too bad. Below are a few 2009 era photos… Again, we didn’t go up the tower during that visit, because of the lines. But at that time, there wasn’t a barrier around the tower.
We crammed into an elevator, which took us to the second floor. I was immediately reminded of National Lampoon’s European Vacation and glad I wasn’t wearing a beret. I took many pictures of the magnificent evening views…
Then we found our way to the elevator to the top, crammed in, and up we went… Bill had neglected to print the last page of the tickets he bought, which was where the scanner code for the champagne was. Fortunately, he had it on his phone. Below are some photos at the top of the tower. I think the second floor may be better for photography, since you aren’t going to be behind a plastic barrier. But it was fun to be up there and get a view of Paris as evening set upon the city.
Our journey back to the second floor was uneventful. But then we got on the elevator to the ground floor, and that’s when things got especially entertaining.
A young woman with long brown hair and a beautifully made up face was running the elevator. She commanded that we all crowd in to the elevator together, and seemed a bit absent minded as she made an announcement that came out staticky. She apologized, and then said she’d be stopping on the first floor, for those who wanted to visit there.
Maybe one or two people got off, and she let one couple get on…. I’m not sure why, because she had told those waiting, that there was no room on the elevator for any more people, and they needed to go up a level. Even though she had clearly made that statement, one gentleman and his wife still tried to board.
The elevator operator then said, “I told you there is no room! Why do you not listen to me?! Go up a level, and my colleagues will take care of you!”
Everyone on the elevator was dying laughing at this lady, who was reprimanding the guy trying to board her elevator. She was so completely unabashed, telling off those folks who hadn’t paid her any mind. I happened to be standing next to her, and saw a peculiar mixture of amusement and befuddlement on her pretty face, and she fearlessly addressed the tourists. It was absolutely hilarious, and really capped off the experience for us!
Once we were finished with the tower, we decided it was time to go back to the hotel. But instead of walking, we took a taxi… Thank God for that! I accidentally connected the seatbelt to the wrong buckle, though, so the alarm was going off… and the taxi driver gently scolded me. Luckily, Bill was able to help me find the right buckle in the dark.
One last look at the majestic Eiffel Tower! I definitely recommend going at nighttime, if the weather permits.
So, now, this finally brings me to the next installment, which I will probably post tomorrow. Have a good Easter! We will be going out to lunch at Villa im Tal!
Below are some more Paris photos from 2009… We missed most of these spots on this trip. Paris is a VAST city. You could spend a week there and not see it all.
Tuesday, March 24th, was to be our last full day in Brussels. We decided to visit the Atomium on that day, a place we missed during our 2008 visit. I knew nothing about the Atomium, but I had seen pictures of it and thought it was really cool looking. So we did very basic research, and after breakfast, decided to make our way to the structure, which was initially built for the 1958 World’s Far in Brussels.
While we were having breakfast, I noticed the bees carved on the door to the restaurant. And when Bill wasn’t looking, I decided I didn’t want a piece of bacon and slipped it on his place. I told him the “Speck Fairy” (Speck is the German word for bacon) had visited him. 🤭
“When in doubt, pinky out…“Pretty cool… I think it’s a bee.Bill noticing the mysterious bacon on his plate.
We decided to use Brussels’ metro system to get to the Atomium. It took some time to get there that way, and it required changing trains. This is where things got a little annoying. We spent some time waiting on the wrong track at the station where we changed trains. Getting to the right track involved going up and down stairs, which isn’t as easy for me as it used to be. Nevertheless, we did finally make it on the correct metro line, and got to the Atomium in the mid morning. Below are a few photos from downtown Brussels, in the area where we picked up the metro.
The complex where the Atomium is located is a huge exhibition venue. There are several things to do there, like visit a planetarium and see Mini-Europe, a unique theme park near the structure. The Atomium is easily seen from the metro as it pulls into the Heizel stop. But once you get off the train, you have a ten to fifteen minute walk to the exhibit. And if you haven’t booked tickets online, you’ll need to get them from the ticket counter, which is in a separate building.
Once you get your tickets, you go into the Atomium and wait for the elevator to the top, where you can observe Brussels. It was a little hazy on the day of our visit, but I still managed to get some photos. The elevator operator, who spoke French and English, told us that when the elevator was installed in 1958, it was the fastest in Europe. It’s no longer the fastest, but it was still an impressive, if pretty crowded, ride to the top of this very cool looking iconic structure, which stands 335 feet (102 meters) tall, and is currently one of Belgium’s tallest structures. There’s also a restaurant at the top of the Atomium. We weren’t tempted to eat there, although maybe it would have been fun.
Mini Europe from the top of the Atomium.Another Mini-Europe view.Lots of people were getting their picture taken here. I even took a photo for one lady.
When you finish gazing at Brussels, you go back to the bottom of the Atomium, and take an escalator to the next level, where there’s more information about the structure’s history. There are a lot of interesting exhibits in this part of the Atomium, which explain the history of the structure. It served as the main pavilion of the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair (Expo 58). The Atomium was designed by André Waterkeyn and the architects André and Jean Polak. Meant as a tribute to scientific progress, it also symbolized Belgian engineering skills in the 1950s.
The Atomium depicts an iron unit cell. It was only supposed to last through the 1958 World’s Fair, but was so popular that it was left standing. It was fully refurbished from 2004-06, after it had been closed because it had fallen into disrepair. The nine orbs were once covered in aluminium, but were replaced with stainless steel, which doesn’t lose its shine.
Once you finish on the museum level, it’s time to see the exhibition, which I thought was very, very cool. It involves lights, music, and watching in awe as the creativity of artists, engineers, and musicians come to fruition and put on a great show for the senses. I recorded a few minutes of the show– up and down the escalators, and a fragment of the actual light shows that were designed for the current exhibition. This is really just a tiny taste of how very cool the Atomium actually is…
This was a surprisingly fascinating place.
I hadn’t known what to expect when we planned to go to the Atomium. I just thought it looked like an interesting place to visit. I had no idea that there would be a light and music show. I really enjoyed that part of the experience. All it required was sitting back and relaxing, enjoying the incredible vision brought together by very creative geniuses. It blew me away! Below are some still photos from the light show, which was done in three of the spheres. The others appeared to be used for booking business meetings and other revenue generating purposes.
Once we were finished visiting the Atomium, we had to go through the gift shop to leave, so we picked up a few more presents for the grandchildren. We had opted not to have our picture taken when we entered the Atomium, so we didn’t have to deal with that horror. I hate it when I visit a place, and they immediately ambush me and want to take my picture, which I’m then supposed to purchase. I don’t like having my photo taken, especially by people who don’t know me and manage to catch all my chins and muffin top. Bill also hates it when random people want to take his photo.
I did laugh at the cashier in the gift shop, who yelled in French at some kids who were horse playing on the escalator on the way up to the exhibits. He really got his point across, especially with the expression on his face, and the sternness of his French. I’m not even sure if the teens were from Belgium, but they sure got the message!
There are public restrooms in the Atomium, but Bill neglected to visit one before we left. Fortunately, there was a public toilet outside of the Atomium– one of those gross ones available all through Europe. I’ve learned the Belgian public toilets, especially on the side of the road, can be particularly horrifying. Nevertheless, Bill decided to brave it, and swung wide of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who had set up their display next to the potty. We ran into a number of JWs during this visit to Belgium and France!
Below are a few more Atomium photos, mostly taken with the artsy setting on my fancy Canon digital camera…
We decided to head back to downtown Brussels for lunch. There are a few places where one might find food near the Atomium, including the restaurant at the top, and a snack bar on the grounds. But we were in the mood for something a bit more satisfying. What we ended up finding turned out to be that and much more… Our journey back to the city involved changing trains, and once again, Bill got us on the wrong track. 🤨 Consequently, I was a little annoyed when we arrived at our destination.
Walking through the Nord Passage…
When we got off the metro in the familiar surroundings of downtown Brussels, we started looking around for a place to have lunch. Nothing seemed to really jump out at us as an ideal place. We crossed the street, and Bill spotted a brasserie called La Lunette. The place actually gets pretty terrible reviews on TripAdvisor, so I’m glad I didn’t look at them before we visited. Otherwise, I would have missed out on meeting our waiter, who happened to be from… YEREVAN, ARMENIA!
When we entered La Lunette, he immediately greeted us, and sat us at a table right by the window, which gave us a nice view of the patio. They were running a special. If you chose one of the daily menu items, they’d throw in dessert. Since we hadn’t had any dessert in Brussels, and we weren’t in a hurry, I decided to order the cheeseburger, which was one of the daily “plat du jour” items. Bill opted for pasta, which wasn’t one of the specials, but the waiter, who spoke excellent, unaccented English, said he’d throw in the dessert for him, anyway.
While we were waiting for lunch, the waiter mentioned that he was Armenian. I perked up and told him about how I’d lived in Yerevan from 1995-97, while teaching English as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He was shocked, because that time in Armenia was very difficult. It was during an energy crisis, so there was a shortage of electricity and running water. It was also just after the Soviet Union fell apart.
The waiter probably wasn’t born during the time I lived in his homeland, but he knew all about it… and he was absolutely delighted when I spoke in his mother tongue to him! He said it made his day! I’m sure he doesn’t get a lot of guests who can speak a word of Armenian, especially blonde ones. At first, he thought we were Germans, because we said we lived there. I guess I can take that as a compliment. I’m no longer an obvious American, I guess.
I can’t say I loved the cheeseburger, mainly because they had mixed in greens with the meat. I shouldn’t have been surprised, since that’s a common thing in Armenia, and the waiter said the owner of the restaurant is also Armenian. However, the desserts were absolutely delicious! I had carrot cake, and Bill had a different cake– He just brought them out; we didn’t choose them. I probably wouldn’t have ordered carrot cake on my own, but I really enjoyed the piece I had at La Lunette! I wouldn’t be surprised if the waiter knew my former student Stepan’s daughter, Susi, who has been studying in Belgium.
The patio… I think this is a place where a lot of people stop for a quick drink.
After lunch, we walked the two blocks back to the hotel for a rest. Then later, we went out for one last visit to a bar… A La Mort Subite. This historic place is another bar we visited for the first time in 2008, just after seeing Zane Lamprey highlight it on Three Sheets. It was pretty quiet when we went there in 2008, but it was busy on the evening of March 24th. It turned out to be the perfect place to enjoy our last night in Brussels.
A 2008 photo of A La Mort Subite
We chose a battered table on the right side of the bar room. It gave me a good view of the locals, enjoying after work libations and light food. I decided to have Quiche Lorraine, while Bill went with a sandwich. We enjoyed a couple of the bar’s own brews, while taking in the historic, yet cozy beauty of this classic bar that dates from 1910.
It was just around the corner from our hotel!Yikes… my chins showed up for this one!
I enjoyed our waiter, who was one of the younger servers, but appeared to be approaching middle age. He was unflappable and slightly sullen as he brought beers and food to the people who had stopped by. I finally saw him crack a smile when Bill gave him a tip.
We left A La Mort Subite at a reasonable hour, as we had to rise on Wednesday morning and prepare for our onward journey to Paris! I’ll write about that journey in the next post.
Featured photo is probably my favorite thing about the Choco-Story chocolate museum in Brussels…
Monday morning, we woke up in our grand Brussels suite at Le Fleur de Ville, and headed down to breakfast. I thought we would be having it in the lounge again, but a kitchen worker overheard me tell Bill he’d hit the wrong button on the elevator and said that breakfast was back in the restaurant. I was glad for that, because not only was the restaurant logistically a better location for eating breakfast than the lounge was, it was also a very beautiful setting for our morning repast.
Much nicer breakfast locale…
The same couple who had given us the side eye in the lounge on Sunday morning were there on Monday. I was enjoying the music that was playing, which was better than the dance music in the lobby. Below are some beautiful pastries from what appeared to be a very special bakery in Brussels. People were lining up around the corner for these freshly baked buns and meringues.
After breakfast, we headed into the narrow streets of Brussels and headed close to the beer museum. I thought maybe we’d visit the church there. Fate had different plans, as when we went to the door, we saw a sign that said visits were not allowed because of a “celebration”. I stepped to the side, and suddenly, the door to the church opened. I peeked inside, and saw pallbearers bringing a coffin down the center aisle. The pastor, in his purple robe, was leading the way. The mourners were clapping, which was something I had never seen at a funeral. Then Bill noticed the van parked in front of the church, and realized it was the hearse.
I didn’t know a single thing about the deceased, but as I stood there watching, tears sprang to my eyes. I realized that many of the people who were mourning were young. I was moved by their sadness, even as a drunk stood nearby and shouted at everyone. I wrote more about this surreal scene on my main blog, just after it happened. It was that special of an event that I wanted to make sure I didn’t forget anything about what I saw on that Monday morning.
As I wiped away tears for a person I never even knew, it occurred to me that I happened to be there to see them being sent off by friends and family. It seemed very poignant to me.
A cool looking building near the church.The funeral we stumbled upon…The mourners moved me…As I was walking away, I wiped tears…The sight of these Mannekin Pis replicas reminded me to lighten up.
We decided we needed to chill out after taking in the funeral scene, so we walked to the famous Mannekin Pis sculpture. Bill and I had seen it before, back in 2008…
Mannekin Pis was naked when we visited in 2008…
In 2026, Mannekin Pis was wearing a cute little outfit… I got a few shots from different angles.
Looking at Mannekin Pis doesn’t take much time at all, so we followed up our visit to see the famous peeing boy statue with a trip to the Friet Museum. I didn’t have especially high expectations for this potato focused museum, which is just across the street from the chocolate museum, Choco-Story Brussels. The Friet Museum and the Choco-Story Museum are affiliated, so we bought combination tickets for both attractions. Had we visited the previous day, we could have combined our tickets with the Belgian Beer Experience, too.
Let me just state upfront– the Friet Museum didn’t disappoint! It is a very cute museum, and the best part was at the end. There, once you turn in your audio guide, you get to try a sample of delicious Belgian fried potatoes, cooked in either beef tallow or vegetable oil. You also get to try the many different exotic sauces, all of which made ketchup and mayo seem positively boring in comparison. You do need the audio guide, by the way. It gives you information in 11 languages, but it also allows you to try the interactive exhibits. You only get one “go”, too, which was sad for me, because I wanted to try the pinball machine again. I guess that makes it fair when the museum is very crowded. Otherwise, people would play pinball all day and no one else would get a chance to play!
The Friet Museum has a great gift shop, and we were able to load up on lots of presents for Bill’s grandchildren. I also enjoyed the many games and interactive exhibits this museum offers. It’s wonderful and educational for kids, but it’s also a lot of fun for adults who are big kids, like I am. I learned everything from the origin of potatoes, diseases that affect them, legends about potatoes, and how “French Fries” got their name, to all about fry sauces, cooking methods, and consumption habits. It was a very entertaining attraction for me! I love potatoes! I did, however, feel a little like I was on the set of the old Nickelodeon kids’ game show, Double Dare.
Below are some photos:
I only got one play on this. It was fun!A jukebox with potato related songs on it.Those Friets were so delicious and FRESH!
After we visited the Friet Museum, we decided to cross the street and visit Choco-Story Brussels. This museum was much like the Friet Museum in many ways, although it was more crowded. I didn’t enjoy the chocolate museum as much, as it didn’t offer as many fun activities, humorous exhibits, or interactive displays. We were also there with a big group of Spanish high school students who weren’t the most considerate. The silver lining is that, again, there were samples given, and they had a good gift shop. I liked the sculpture of the kid peeing in the restroom, too. See the featured photo.
Below are photos from Choco-Story Brussels:
After we visited the museums, we decided to go have lunch. On the way there, I took a few more photos…
I kept noticing this big eatery called Drug Opera (and no, I don’t know why it’s called that– I would assume maybe it’s located in a former pharmacy). I was curious about it, so that’s where we had our lunch. It reminded me of themed US based restaurants in the 80s. The atmosphere was fun, and the place was huge. However, I didn’t really love my lunch much… I had cordon bleu, which wasn’t really prepared in the way I expected. Luckily, there was plenty of good beer and fun 70s era music. They were playing a lot of Bee Gees!
This was drenched in cheesy sauce, which isn’t my preference.
After a very leisurely and filling lunch, we went back to the hotel for a rest. My ankle was bothering me from my fall the previous day, and I wanted to blog about that funeral experience we had in the morning.
When it came time for dinner, we decided to head over the the Delirium Tremens “Village”. Delirium Tremens is a famous and delicious Belgian beer which, strangely enough, we didn’t drink any of on this visit to Brussels. When we visited Brussels in 2008, they just had the Delirium Cafe, which was a rather small place that boasted a huge selection of beers. It was showcased on Three Sheets, the US cable drinking show starring Zane Lamprey, that we used to watch on iTunes when we lived in Germany the first time… We even sat at the same seats where Zane Lamprey sat, when he was showcasing the Delirium Cafe bar.
Below are photos from our 2008 visit.
Since 2008, the Delirium “Village” has really expanded. They now have multiple bars and other venues featuring all sorts of different libations. We ended up at the huge Taproom, which offered a large selection of excellent beers on draft. They played good music, too. The only thing I didn’t enjoy about our visit was the restroom I visited, which was not very clean or well stocked, and it didn’t smell pleasant. It wasn’t until we were about done for the evening that I noticed there was one closer to where we were sitting. But at least I got a few pictures of Jeanneke Pis– a female version of the more famous male statue, located in the Delirium Village. And this time, she wasn’t “behind bars.”
I think we skipped eating dinner on that night, although we got plenty of calories from beer… and I got a few more photos before we turned in for the evening.
I would have liked to have tried this place.Beer was catching up with me on this photo…
We decided to turn in, after a full day of visiting Brussels. The next day, which was Tuesday, our last full day in Brussels, we visited the famous Atomium. I’ll write about that experience in the next post!
The featured photo was taken in September 2008… It’s too cool not to share.
I don’t know what I was expecting when we arrived in Brussels on a Saturday night. The weather was pleasant. The sun was out, and the temperature wasn’t too chilly. Naturally, lots of people were out and about, including plenty of people who observe the Islamic faith. Ramadan just ended, so they were enjoying life! Bill and I walked around The Grand Place (or Grote Markt), which was teeming with people… tourists, families, children chasing huge bubbles… there were probably some scammers out there, too.
Below are a few photos from near our hotel.
A most impressive beer museum!
And a few photos from the amazing Grand Place, which is just as gilded as I remembered it… I got a little carried away getting photos of the kids and the bubbles. The mood was very festive!
Wow!It’s a fucking fantasy!
Naturally, with all of these folks out and about, finding a place to eat was a bit of a challenge. I don’t like eating in really crowded restaurants, and it seemed like everywhere we looked, there were crowds. Bill and I walked around a bit more, including through Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, which we remembered from our first visit in 2008. It was packed with people! We also walked past La Mort Subite, a bar we first became aware of by watching Three Sheets, a cable show about drinking hosted by Zane Lamprey. We visited there in 2008, too.
One of Brussels’ famous shopping galleries…Les Galeries RoyalesMort Subite… was packed!
Fortunately, I’m pretty good at finding hidden gems. We turned left from Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, and I spotted what looked like a cute restaurant. We went closer and Bill poked his head in. The proprietor asked if we had reservations. We didn’t, but luckily, he had a spot for us in a cozy alcove at the back of his little restaurant, which apparently has two names– O Bifanas (Chez Sebastiao). The menus say Chez Sebastio, but the Web site and door outside say O Bifanas.
Now… the proprietor at this little Portuguese restaurant is one I’ll never forget. Why? Because the man has TWO moustaches. He’s got one in the usual place, and another on his chin. I had never seen anything like that before– it was hard not to stare at it. The edges of the moustaches were curled in a very distinctive and obvious way. It brought a smile to my face. I like people who aren’t afraid to be a little eccentric in their appearances. If you Google “double moustache”, you’ll see exactly what I mean… I guess it’s a Portuguese thing. On the other hand, Google says that double moustaches are the “latest trend.” Now that I’ve seen one once, I’ll probably see them everywhere. Below is one random example I found…
Sebastiao managed to pull off his double moustache look better than this guy does…
I took a seat facing toward the front door, while Bill faced me. Pretty soon, the tiny dining room was full of a mostly local crowd. Sebastiao brought out some bread, butter, and olives, and we ordered wine. I decided on shrimp croquettes and salmon filet for dinner. Bill had shrimp as a starter, and a rice and shellfish stew for his entree. Both entrees were so huge that we had leftovers.
The pace of dinner was very… leisurely. We arrived at the restaurant at about 7:00 or so, and we were still there at 10:00… and we didn’t have dessert. Still, it was an enjoyable evening. The double moustache alone was worth the trip. I particularly enjoyed seeing Bill in his “bib”, which was really necessary, since he had so many shellfish to crack. I noticed a few more tables in the upstairs, where the toilets were. I don’t know how often they are open, since it looked like Sebastiao was working alone.
It was a tight squeeze!Bill put “baby” in the corner…Shrimp… or prawns, if you prefer.CroquettesI should carry one of those bibs wherever I go. They are more effective than napkins on the lap.Yes, that was a portion just for Bill…Fish tank
I don’t remember how much we paid for this super lengthy Portuguese feast, but we must have pleased Sebastiao, because he was smiling broadly and gave us big hugs as we were leaving. I’ve seen mixed reviews for his restaurant. One person even claimed he was “very rude”. I suppose anyone can have a bad day, but he was very nice to us, even if he was a little slow. On the other hand, there’s something to be said for a man who sets the pace of his restaurant. I enjoyed eating there. We didn’t have anywhere else to go, anyway. The food was good, and we weren’t hungry when we waited for it. However… I think we ended up ordering more wine, because it took so long to get our main courses that we ran out of it. 🤭
We walked back to the hotel and found that the turndown fairies had visited. They put down the shade on the one window in the room and left us a little treat on the nightstand. I also noticed the welcome cookies. That made a nice dessert.
After a quick shower in the generously sized shower, with the loose temperature knob, Bill and I turned in for the night. We were warned that the restaurant in the Fleur de Ville was under renovations, so we would be having breakfast in the lounge. More on that in the next post…
Below are a few “artsy” photos from my fancy camera… I carried it, so I might as well share a few shots!
And a few more shots I took back in September 2008… Seems like the gold is more polished in 2026. Or maybe I just have a nicer camera.
Well, hello out there in Internetland. Long time, no read. It’s been over two whole weeks since my last travel post. We didn’t even do anything special for St. Patrick’s Day this year… although since that’s the day we lost our sweet beagle, Arran (in 2023), March 17th is now sort of a “day of infamy”.
The good news is, Bill and I just got back from our latest trip, so this blog is about to “spring” back to life. Well, it’s good news if you like reading about other people’s vacations, I guess. For me, it gives me something to remember when I can’t do this kind of stuff anymore. As our world gets more complicated, that day could come sooner, rather than later.
If you follow my main blog, you might remember that we had a really hard time deciding where to go for this trip. In fact, I even “lost” a family member over planning this vacation. That’s a really stupid story– how I got publicly “disowned” by my cousin over our decision to go to Belgium and France– so I’ll spare you the details here. If you really want to read about it, follow the link. My main blog needs the love.
I think I wrote at least three posts about the ridiculous fight I had with my alcoholic cousin over planning our spring vacation. 🙄 Yes, I know it’s “personal business”, but sometimes people enjoy reading about that kind of shit. If you don’t, though, no worries. I’ll understand completely!
Anyway, on with my story about Brussels and Paris, 2026!
This trip to Brussels and Paris was decided by a “champagne bucket drawing”. Regular followers of my blog might know that many times, Bill and I decide on where to go for our vacations by drawing slips of paper from our champagne bucket.
For this trip, we had initially drawn Croatia, which would have been amazing! But I didn’t think we had enough time to do what I really want to do in Croatia. So, we drew again, and picked Belgium. I was cool with Belgium, because I always have a good time there. I remembered how much fun we had in Brussels, when we went there in 2008. I wanted to go back there for more beer, frites, and chocolate. We added Paris, because we also enjoyed that city, last time we went there in 2009.
Although we often drive when we take our European trips, for this one, we decided to go by train. The main reason we opted for trains this time is because driving in European capital cities can be a huge, expensive, pain in the ass. The trains in Europe are usually very efficient and comfortable, especially in first class. However, using trains can also be problematic, our personal story of which I’ll get to in the course of writing this series.
In any case, on the morning of Saturday, March 21st, Bill took our dogs, Noyzi and Charlie, to their favorite Hundepension. Then, that afternoon, we took a taxi to the Frankfurt Airport train station to catch a mid afternoon high speed Inter-City Express Train (ICE) to Brussels. The taxi driver remembered Bill from a previous booking. I think he’s a local guy! He wanted us to book him for a ride back to our house yesterday… and kept talking about how he could drive us to Brussels. After what happened yesterday, maybe we should have considered doing that. But again, I’ll get to that part of the story later.
The taxi driver dropped us at the Frankfurt Airport train station and, as usual, we were pretty early. So we stopped for a coffee break… something I very rarely do.
I had a caramel macchiato… first time for me, I think!Bill’s cappuccino. It looked like a well spanked ass.What, me worry?
The first time we went to Brussels, back in September 2008, Bill and I took an ICE train from Stuttgart to Cologne (Köln), then quickly caught a French/Belgian Thalys train from Cologne to Brussels. Thalys, as a brand, is now defunct; it’s since been merged with Eurostar, the folks responsible for the English Channel Tunnel (Chunnel).
Because we used Deutsche Bahn’s ICE train, we were able to take a train directly from the Frankfurt Airport station to the Brussels Nord station. Our convenient jaunt ran for just under three hours and included stops in Cologne, Aachen, and Liege before arriving at the Brussels Nord station at about 5:00 PM. Bill booked us first class seats at a four top table, with seats facing each other. He did that so that I would be assured of not having to ride backwards. My husband is remarkably considerate. 🤭
First class seat…First class husband…
Below are some photos from the ride. It was a little bit rainy, and I was on the wrong side of the train for the best photos… I took these at the Cologne stop, which is where we were joined by a very tall man who was apparently a hacker. He kept looking at what I was doing on my iPad. I don’t know why the guy sat next to us. The car had plenty of empty seats, as well as a totally unclaimed “four top” at the front of the car. But he sat next to me and typed away while we made our way to Brussels.
I wish we’d gotten one of these “two tops”… He was too slow on the draw.A European river cruise ship I am going to investigate.Locks of loveAlways a provider!
We have been to Cologne ourselves a couple of times. It’s a great city! I wouldn’t mind going back there someday, if the fates allow. It’s not a long trip from the Frankfurt Airport station, but it has a different feel… plus, I enjoy their local beer.
As we passed the Aachen station, I was feeling a little wistful. I’d actually considered booking a hotel in Aachen, because we’ve never been there, and I have heard it’s an interesting city. But it had been so long since we last left Germany for any reason, and I was eager to go somewhere that felt different. Although our last trip to Belgium was in the fall of 2024, our last trip to France was in March 2022! We were way overdue for a visit!
I didn’t take pictures of the Aachen or Liege stations, because I didn’t see anything worth photographing from the train. However, both cities are places I hope to visit someday.
We arrived in Brussels right on time, and made our way out of the Nord station to find a taxi to our hotel, Le Fleur de Ville. This hotel happened to be a block away from The Dominican, the hotel we stayed in when we visited Brussels in 2008. I remember really liking The Dominican, which is a former abbey turned into a “design hotel”. I also remember watching Barack Obama and John McCain debating on the television in our suite… Wow… those were the days!
We stayed here for Labor Day weekend in 2008.
I decided not to book The Dominican again, though, because I wanted to try a different place. Hotel Le Fleur fit the bill nicely, although we didn’t get the greatest first impression. The hotel itself is in a very beautiful building: according to it’s official Web site– it was once the “Caisse Générale d’Epargne et de Retraite, an 1850s national savings bank.” But when we arrived in the late afternoon of March 21st, we found the front desk completely unmanned. We waited several minutes before two swarthy men in suits arrived to check us in. Unfortunately, one of them also really needed a breath mint. Sorry… I know that’s kind of a rude observation, but it did make an impression.
I booked us in a room they called The Beyaert Suite, which was on the fourth floor. It was a very large and well appointed room. Below are some photos from the hotel lobby and our suite, which offered everything but a great view. The window was too high up to see out of, but that was okay. We weren’t in a particularly scenic area, anyway.
Bill was excited by these books.
We were very happy with the room, although it wasn’t cheap. I think for four nights, we paid roughly 2,000 euros, which I’ll admit is a lot of money. But that’s still not as much as what we paid in Paris. I’ll get to that part later. 😬
I know some people would be shocked by the price of the hotel lodging. We certainly didn’t need such a grand room. But when I go on vacation, especially now that I’m well into my 50s, I like to spoil myself a bit. We’ve spent many years staying in inexpensive places, so I figure we deserve a splurge now and then. We also really needed a proper vacation, since our most recent travels were for specific things like visiting our dentist, getting Bill into the Jung Institute, and traveling places for Bill’s work. Our last pleasure trip was in June 2025… which I know is more recent than a lot of people’s most recent pleasure trip has been.
Anyway, enough disclaimers and explanations from me. I do want to state for the record, though, that there are cheaper rooms at this property. And it is a very lovely hotel, convenient to Brussel’s most popular tourist sites.
After we got settled in our extravagant room at the hotel, we went for a walk around The Grand Place, and got some dinner. That story is going to be a lengthy one, so I’ll put that in part two.
Featured photo is Bill when we were younger and cuter… trying a flight of beers in Brussels, back in September 2008.
So… after a VERY dramatic weekend (detailed on my main blog), Bill and I finally figured out where we will be going on our next vacation. Although it’s not usually difficult for us to decide where to travel, this time it was really hard to make our choices. A lot has to do with what’s going on in the world right now. We wanted to avoid risk and hassles, yet still have fun.
For this vacation, which starts on March 21st, we considered Croatia, Albania, Poland, The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Italy, and Austria. I didn’t really want to go to Italy, because we went there a year ago. I love Italy, but I wanted to go somewhere different. However, I had it in mind that I wanted to go to a nice spa, and a lot of the best ones are in South Tyrol, which is in Italy.
My mind started changing about the appeal of the spa hotels when I realized that a lot of them are resorts. Sometimes I enjoy the resorts, which usually come with half board. But they do have a drawback, because sometimes having included food means that we don’t try as many restaurants or get off the resort’s property as much as we should. Sometimes resorts can be noisy and crowded.
Also, some resorts kind of have a cruise ship feel, which I didn’t think I’d enjoy right now. We went to a resort hotel in the South Tyrol back in 2020– during the height of the pandemic– and we got the side eye from so many people because we were Americans in Europe at a time when Americans weren’t supposed to be in Europe. Now, our dumbass POTUS has taken us to war with Iran. The last thing I want to deal with is people blaming me personally for what Trump does, especially when I am on vacation.
When we were finally ready to make a choice, I put my hand in the champagne bucket and pulled out a slip of paper that read… CROATIA! Yea! I love Croatia, and there are a lot of places I want to see there, especially after our visit in 2021. But then I started looking into the logistics of doing what I really wanted to do, and I realized that it would work better as a road trip. We don’t have enough time for a proper road trip for this vacation.
However, March is a good time to go see places like Split and Dubrovnik, because there aren’t so many tourists at this time of year. It’s also not hot right now. Maybe next year, or in the fall, we can do that… if we haven’t been kicked out of Europe.
So, I drew again, and pulled out a slip of paper that read… BELGIUM! Great! It’s funny, because before I started getting totally overwhelmed with choices, I had thought to myself that I wanted to go to Belgium again. We’ve been a few times since we moved back to Germany in 2014, but we have not ventured back to the capital city– Brussels. Bill and I visited Brussels in 2008, when we were a lot younger and poorer. We had an absolute BLAST!
I remember just before we went for Labor Day weekend, Bill was working really hard and putting in a lot of overtime. He sent me a funny email that read, “I want to go to Brussels and see Mannekin Pis.” It was mainly because he was really pissed off! We spent the weekend eating frites, waffles, chocolate, and croissants. We also drank a shitload of excellent beer! And we also took a day trip to Bruges. I don’t think we’ll go to Bruges again this time, since we’ve been back there since our 2008 trip. But I do know of some bars I want to visit again. I have also booked us a very nice looking and rather posh hotel!
Check out these old photos from September 2008!
We last went to the city of Paris in May 2009, for Memorial Day weekend. It was right after Bill learned that we were going to have to leave Europe a year sooner than we planned. I was PISSED. This was something that had been orchestrated by Bill’s narcissistic war boss, who was later very publicly fired. Going back to the US a year early ended up working out for us, in the long run. Still, I was not happy about being yanked a year early, especially when it turned out that the job Bill had been “handpicked for” was just a bullshit billet so that Bill’s ex boss could move a different guy to a more prestigious job. But, as you can see, we got that year back and then some… many times over.
Below are some photos from our 2009 trip to Paris. I went there once before, back in September 1997, right after Princess Diana died. Unfortunately, that trip was with my sister, who was driving me crazy…
We had a great time in Paris. I remember at one point, we went to this very unassuming little brasserie and had the most wonderful lunch. Bill discovered a new favorite wine that we actually found a couple of bottles of in the States. I actually considered going to the the winery that produces that wine, down in Narbonne. I decided not to because, again, the logistics were a bit difficult for the amount of time we have.
We decided to go to Paris after considering going to the Champagne region. I actually wanted to go to Champagne, but realized that it would be a logistical hassle getting back to Frankfurt because we are doing this trip by train, instead of driving. Going to Brussels by train is a snap from Frankfurt. In fact, we went by the now defunct Thalys train in 2008. And going to Paris from Brussels is also easy; I think we’ll be using the Eurostar train, which is what replaced Thalys. Last time we went to Paris, we flew Air France, which was a mistake, mainly because it took FOREVER to get to the city from the airport.
We can still visit Champagne if we want to, as it’s only a 39 minute train ride from Paris. But I have a feeling we’ll just drink bubbly in the City of Lights!
I have found us a lovely hotel in Paris, too… in a different area of the city than where we stayed last time we visited. In 2009, we went to Montparnasse, and stayed in a hotel near the Luxembourg Gardens and a bar where Ernest Hemingway used to frequent. This time, we’ll be in the heart of the city, near the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. Maybe this time, we’ll even go up the Eiffel Tower, which I haven’t done on either of my previous visits. We’re also finally going to visit the Louvre.
Anyway… this adventure starts in twelve days, and will last until March 29th. Hopefully, all will go well, and nothing horrific will happen between now and then. Knock on wood!
Those of you who regularly read my travel blog might already know that whenever I take a trip somewhere, especially when I go somewhere new, I like to sum things up with a “ten things I learned” post. Vilnius, Lithuania was a new place for Bill and me, so I definitely need to write one of my famous “ten things I learned” posts for that trip. Here goes!
10. Vilnius is a city with MANY churches. One thing I noticed in Vilnius is that there are a whole lot of churches in the city, and even in today’s worldlier times, people who live or visit there seem to be very committed to their faiths.
One of many religious landmarks in Vilnius.
9. On the whole, Lithuanians did NOT want to be part of the Soviet Union. As I’ve mentioned before, growing up in the United States during the 70s and 80s, I had a limited appreciation for and personal experience with other countries and cultures. Yes, I lived in England as a small child, but I never really went to other places. So, when I was growing up, I thought of the former Soviet Union like I might think of the USA– a big country on its own, rather than a huge conglomeration of republics with different cultures, languages, religions, and mores. Lithuania, like Estonia and Latvia, was a Soviet country, but it was made one under duress. The country was occupied by Russia, and forced to accept the Soviet regime. On March 11, 1990, Lithuanians declared independence from the Soviet Union, and it’s quite clear in 2025, that they have no desire to be aligned with Russia again.
They wanted to stay independent.
8. The Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights is a must see for adults and teens. A week ago, Bill and I visited this incredible museum in what was once a KGB headquarters building. Although it was about how Lithuania became a Soviet republic, it really taught me a lot about the United States today. So many things that happened, techniques used to gain power, and attitudes among the people were disturbingly familiar. And yet, that museum, as frightening and stark as it was, also offered hope. Because Lithuania is no longer a Soviet country. It’s independent and progressive. And the United States can and will one day be back on the path to progressiveness. Hopefully, I’ll be around to see that day.
We weren’t the only ones impressed by the museum.
7. I love the smell of linden trees. I noticed the fresh scent of linden trees when we went to Latvia in 2023. I enjoyed them again in Lithuania. I wish I had one of those trees in my backyard.
I can practically smell these.
6. Pink Soup is beautiful, refreshing, and tasty. I didn’t think I’d like Pink Soup, so I asked Bill to order it and taste it. He was kind enough to do that, and for under five euros a bowl, it was a bargain. We both discovered that it’s a very refreshing soup and doesn’t taste like beets (which is why I was hesitant to order it).
Pink Soup!
5. People travel to Vilnius for religious pilgrimages. The Church Heritage Museum in Vilnius has a fascinating exhibit about people who traveled to Vilnius as part of a pilgrimage to religious sites. We saw and heard a number of people who had come to the city to fulfill their own spiritual quests.
Bill learns about the pilgrimages.
4. The Cathedral Crypt tour is well worth doing, even if it’s raining and you’re very sore. One of the most interesting things we did on our trip was visit the crypts under the cathedral. A very interesting anthropologist who had worked at the cathedral for nine years told us all about the history of the cathedral and how the Soviets had turned it into a concert hall and art gallery. She also showed us the tombs of Queen Elizabeth and Queen Barbara, and told us the fascinating story about their husband, Sigismund II Augustus.
One of the tombs on the tour…
3. If you want a good view and don’t want to be sore, consider visiting the bell tower at Vilnius University. Bill and I climbed the Cathedral Bell Tower because it was very close to our hotel. We were both hurting afterwards, because we’re not so young anymore. I don’t regret climbing the tower, but I wish we’d done the bell tower at Vilnius University. you can climb the steps if you want to, but they also have an elevator! The Bell Tower doesn’t have a lift, and the steps are narrow and rickety. Consequently, you might get sore just from trying not to fall!
Vilnius University Bell Tower.Cathedral Bell Tower
2. Vilnius has really excellent food! I was actually a little worried about visiting Vilnius, because I kept reading about how much they love mushrooms. Fortunately, they had all kinds of excellent food there. I was particularly impressed by the excellent produce– lots of really nice salads and soups, as well as barbecue, and craft beers!
They’ve got plenty of stuff for vegans and vegetarians, too…
And 1. Putin is very publicly warned in Vilnius…
’nuff said…
So are many other people in the world… isn’t it time he faced justice?
So that about wraps up our trip to Vilnius. I hope some of you enjoyed this series. Now, I have to pack a bag, because today we’re headed for Switzerland, where we’ll be until next Sunday. That should be fun!
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