Trina: Day 2: Paris France and then train to Brussels, Belgium

We woke up this morning having the intention of waking up by 5:30am but instead we crawled out of bed at 9:30am. We were out of the hotel room by 10:30am and then headed out to experience backpacking Europe. We walked until we reached this little café called La Belle Ferroniere where we both enjoyed Café Au Lait (I think…) and Croissants with some strawberry jam. We sat there and talked over what we were going to do for the rest of the day.

After we left the café, we took a taxi to Gare Du Nore where we hopped on the train headed to Brussels. We sat beside this nice gentleman who was from Turkey. Erin had to translate for me…lol!

As we were pulling into Brussels, I watched out the train window in amazement. I couldn’t believe that (1) we were in a different country and (2) how different it was from anything in Canada and Paris. I found that in Paris it wasn’t much of a culture shock since it looks like Old Montreal and they speak a language so common in Canada. But when we arrived in Brussels, it was hard to understand signs and the language is so different than anything I have ever heard.

When we came out of the train station that was underground, we walked across the road to our hotel. When we got up to our hotel room and saw the view, it was breathtaking. I still can’t find any words to describe the view from the room. The buildings are architecturally beautiful and historic.

Erin and I ventured out in search of Grand Place and Palais Royal. Our hotel, which was Avenue Du Boulevard, was actually only a 15 minute wak to the Grand Place. Grand Place is the geographical, historical and commercial heart of the city. We walked down Rue Neuve basically all the way down until we reached it. When we entered the courtyard, Erin and I both stopped and looked all the way around us. It was unbelievable. I know I have been saying it a lot on this trip but it was by far on the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I stepped into a piece of Brussels history. Erin, being the emotional one, teared up as we walked through it all. We were in awe. We walked around it for about half hour or so and then ventured out in search of Palais Royal.

We walked through the Gallarie De Reine which had some cafes and shops in it. It was the closest thing to a mall that I have seen so far.

As we were walking to the Palais Royal, it was raining pretty hard so we decided to stop at this little convenience store that sold umbrellas for 5 Euros. We were walking in the rain and wind when Erin’s umbrella turned inside out and ended up breaking… but still usable. I laughed at her as she tried to fix it since mine was still in good shape. Mine ended up breaking even more so than hers (see photo below) and I ended up getting soaked.

When we arrived at the Palais Royal, all of the rain and soaked feet seemed to just go away. It was the first Royal anything I have ever seen so it was amazing. It was exactly like the picture in our Europe travel guide. It is the official home of the Belgium monarchy. The construction started in the 1820s on the site of the old Coudenberg Palace. I was just taking it all in and then when the pictures were taken, we started walking back to our hotel room.