Easter in Brussels

We decided to spend Easter weekend in Brussels this year - it was on our list of cities to visit while living in Europe and the special Easter chocolates were enough to make it our Easter destination.

We arrived in Brussels Thursday late afternoon - the flight was nice. We easily figured out the train to the city center and took a cab to our hotel. We stayed at the Marriott right near the Grand Place, which was a nice hotel. By the time we arrived, the evening drinks and snacks in the Executive Lounge were over so we went out for pizza and a short walk before going back to to the hotel for a good night's sleep. I had been very sick in the days leading up to our trip and had been prescribed 3 medications and 1 supplement so I knew I still needed my rest before exploring!

On Friday, we enjoyed breakfast at the hotel and then took the subway to the Atomium and Mini-Europe. The Atomium is quite a cool structure with interesting architecture exhibits and good views from the inside.

Mini Europe houses miniatures of many of the major sites in the EU. S really enjoyed the visit and especially enjoyed pushing the various buttons that either set things into motion or started the country songs.

After a stop back at the hotel for nap and exercise, we headed to the Grand Place and WOW - it is beautiful! The buildings and architecture are simply amazing and the storefronts are filled with many chocolate shops. You could easily pick out the local ones vs. the overly tourist ones. We stopped in a few (Leonida's, Neuhaus, Godiva :)) and picked out some eggs and other chocolate treats to enjoy.

We walked to the Mannekin Pis, which is a somewhat strange tourist attraction as it is a statue/fountain of a little boy peeing. I have read that his clothes change from time to time but he was naked when we were there. We found a pub for dinner and went back to the hotel afterwards.

On Saturday, we decided to go to the Toy Museum. The intent behind this museum is great- lots of old antique toys to look at with some interactive areas for kids to play. It unfortunately is not kept up well. S enjoyed it for a few hours though. After leaving we took a nice walk through the city, past the main park (more to come on that), and into the Sablon Place. This square is known as THE chocolate square because it houses all of the best chocolates. We went to Pierre Marcolini and the chocolate are simply devine. I was happy to learn he has an outlet in Paris for when we go back.

On the walk back to our hotel, we stopped and enjoyed waffles for a treat- they were fresh waffles with dark chocolate - yum!

After our nap break at the hotel, we walked the main shopping streets in Brussels and then decided to enjoy dinner in the room while we watched Cars 2.

On Easter Sunday, we had breakfast at the hotel and then headed to the main Park for an Easter Egg Hunt. The park was packed but there were eggs everywhere and the event was well organized. S waited patiently and got 20 eggs in the 30 seconds of madness!














We then headed to the airport and enjoyed lunch there before coming back to Geneva. S slept the entire plane ride and was excited to see her gifts from the Easter Bunny upon returning home.



All in all a great weekend away! Country 7 for S, Country 18 for M!

Off to Munich in a few weeks!