Belgium Trip: Brussels & Waterloo

Continuing our Epic Valentine's Day Weekend Getaway, Hubs and I traveled through The Netherlands into Belgium. Our first (main) stop was Brussels. It was a gorgeous, vibrant city and we enjoyed our time there.

Traffic was no problem during our drive through Belgium. Parking was plentiful. We didn't encounter any toll roads, and there was no vingette required to drive through the country.

I just thought this was a cool tunnel. 

This translates to "less acid behind the wheel" 

Grand Place. The main square in Brussels. So pretty. So old. The dates on the buildings were in the 1600s.

We like to eat the local famous food. When in Belgium...

Mine was topped with Speculoos. 

What's that? You say you don't know what Speculoos is? In Europe, your coffee is usually served with small, tasty cookies. Speculoos is what happens when you turn those cookies into a spread. It is heavenly. You can buy your own here. 

Ahhh....Manneken Pis, the famous Belgian fountain we'd heard stories about. It's this relic that no one knows the origins of. No one knows when it was ...ahem...erected. No one knows who built it. No one knows why. All they know is that there is a peeing statue. And it attracts huge crowds.

Yes. I am a child. Potty humor still makes me giggle. 

They even make Manneken Pis milk chocolate. 

Spotted in front of a shopping mall. 

One last photo as we make our way back to the parking garage.

And now, we head to Waterloo, to the site of the famous battle where Napoleon was defeated.

There's a large monument (a monumental monument?) on a large hill with hundreds of steps to climb.

Once you reach the top without dying, you catch your breath, admire your hard work, and then look around.

Pretty great view of the Belgian countryside.

And this handy map made it easy to picture where the battle took place. We actually parked very near where Napoleon sat on his horse. Very cool.

The monument seen from the top of the hill. 

We shopped the gift shop and hoofed it back to the car, where we plotted our next move. It was supposed to be Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, but we changed our minds at the last minute. I'll tell you more about that adventure tomorrow.