Brussels: Home of Waffles, Chocolates, and Statues of Peeing Boys

June 19th: Brussels, Belgium (It's hard to keep track of what number day it is)
Brussels is a land of juxtapositions and that pretty much describes how our days here have been so far. I'm currently sitting in our hotel room waiting to Skype home while writing this and thinking about everything we've done and seen the past 2 days.
We woke up early on Friday morning and dragged (LITERALLY) our bags down through the Tube to St. Pancras international where we boarded the Chunnel that would bring us through France and up to Belgium arriving in Brussels.

Although getting our bags to that point was pretty much torture it was totally worth it to get another stamp in my passport. The ride went by extremely quickly and I honestly didn't even realize we were underwater at all (minus the constant popping of our ears) The French country side was gorgeous and when I saw the bike riders on the open road I immediately thought of Gabs.

We knew we were in for some crummy weather when the rain started pounding against the windows of the train, and before we knew it we were in Brussels welcomed by gray skies, freezing temperatures (despite Jen and Glabe's warnings I did not pack a warm enough sweater), cars parked on the sidewalks middle of roads and anywhere they feel like it, and very little English.

After navigating our way through the train station we were lucky enough to find a cab that was willing to take all four of us and our insane amount of luggage to our hotel, located as you might have it right next to Brussels very own red light district (Don't worry Mom, its a couple of streets behind us)Our cab driver would have been hired in New York in a second with his skills behind the wheel and with a little off roading and some pretty close calls we arrived at the Best Western City Centre.

We were all relieved when we discovered that not only did the receptionist speak English but there was also an elevator to take us to our room on the 4th floor. We didn't get to explore too much the first day because of travel time and the weather but we found ourselves in the old center of the city and although determined to find a Belgian waffle for lunch we ended at a fried chicken restaurant(it is a HUGE deal in Europe and I totally don't get it)The boys all had chicken tenders and fries and I went with the rotisserie chicken, not a terrible choice.
That night we had plans with Kenley's parents friend Marc who owns the largest club in Brussels, the B-Club. VIP was the word of the night as we were picked up at our hotel by a limo, pulled off into an alley in order to be served chilled champagne, were treated to dinner at Chi-Chi's (a Tex-Mex restaurant complete with Corona, Margaritas and Mariachi band that could have passed as an Old-Towne San Diego hidden treasure if it weren't for the waiters speaking French)and were provided with reserved tables and compensations for everything for the rest of the night. The club is located near Waterloo and the drive over was quite a treat as well, as we got to see the expansive forests that exist in Belgium.



We also met up with Kenley's friend Julian who attends University in Brussels and lives with his parents here. A true gentleman, Julian speaks 4 languages has traveled the world and has manners for days, he definitely puts most American college students to shame. From dinner we headed downstairs for some bowling before the night club (apparently in Brussels Debbye is spelled Daby and Michael is Mikael) From bowling we headed over to a Karaoke and Mini Golf bar that Marc also owns and were entertained by some choice singers who performed in both French and English. Songs by Celine Dion and Enrique Englesias were a big hit and I have officially discovered where the Macarena has retired to. The energy at the Karaoke bar was great and I could totally see a concept like that being a huge hit in the U.S.
The final stop for the night was the B-Club, a youngle/army themed club that could give anything on the Las Vegas strip a run for its money. It was loud, smokey, and filled with Techno Music...totally not my scene but it was a great experience with the boys. Justin and I took a cab back into the city around 2am while Kenley and Mike stayed until 6. It was an epic night for all and one I'm sure I'll never forget.
I will post again soon about Day 2 in Brussels, its about 1:45 in the morning here and we have a train at 9 so I'm going to bed. Love you all and Happy Father's Day Daddy!