So how was Bruxelles then? To be honest it was a bit like this skyline... a bit dull as tourist destinations go. Don't get me wrong, I am sure it's a perfectly pleasant place to live in, with a huge choice of places to eat, bars with a large choice of beers (like pecheresse , that stuff is seriously nice) and the second bestest chips in the world (after my grandmother's which *are* the bestsest ever, no contest) if you are happy to stand in line for half an hour at one of the numerous "friteries" (my favourite was Frit' Flagey ). Still, once you have done the touristy stuff like hang out on the Grand Place, take a peek at the Manneken Pis in one of its fancy costumes and in the buff, eat waffles, mussles and chips and chocolates I found I had a bit of a "what do we do now feeling". The non plussed feeling wasn't helped by the fairly consistently bad service encountered. Special "OMG you are bad" mention goes to the staff at Le Pain Quotidien who makes Paris waiters look friendly and attentive. That place does nice bread and boils the perfect soft boiled egg and I could forgive the prices if service could be with a smile instead of a snarl, actually I'd settle for efficient service, where the waitress actually comes to take the order without having to be called three times after a 20 minute wait at the table and where the drinks are brought with breakfast rather than after it has been consumed, but there again I'm fussy like that. I wonder if the old lady sitting a few chairs away from us did get served eventually or if she eventually tired of waiting - she arrived a bit after us and was still waiting for somebody to come take her order after we had finished eating. Thankfully the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée didn't disappoint. Seriously, how could a building full of artifacts about childhood companions like Tintin , Gaston Lagaffe and Thorgal ever be a let down? I guess it could if BD isn't your thing but The Boy and I were quite happy to slouch on the cushions of the reading room and our biggest struggle was to pick which BD to read first. As for MFC lets just say he isn't as much of a fanboy as we are but he was happy enough to indulge us for a bit. I know the Grand Place is a Unesco World Heritage site but I found it a bit underwhelming, maybe because of the grey weather, maybe because of the scaffoldings a large number of the buildings are covered in. My advice for the person who only has time to see one thing in Bruxelles... I'd say skip the Grand Place and make that one thing the Atomium . It has that "nifty" factor and it is easy to see why people fell in love with it enough to make it a landmark when it was meant to be a temporary feature (following in the footsteps of the Eiffel Tower and joined by the London Eye... long live the ephemeral by design only).
C'était au temps où Bruxelles bruxellait
27.4.08 21:00
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Fimb / Website (1.5.08 16:09) We might have a weekend there later in the year (friends living there) so this was interesting read.. I'd go for the mussels alone right now!!! |
