The second week of the Stage de Français, we got tired of Compiègne. A couple of us got together and decided to take advantage of the fact that we had no work whatsoever and take a weekend trip. Mme Dubray had casually mentioned that you could drive from Compiègne to Belgium as a reasonable day-trip. We looked into it and decided to make it an overnight and hit Brussels and Bruges. We got a group together: me, Fernanda, Kristina, Ximena, Andrea, Alan, and our chauffeur, Atalo. After two failed Airbnb reservations, we booked rooms in a budget hotel in downtown Brussels for the night, got a rental car, and were ready to head out.

Saturday morning we met at the train station to get the rental car. We all piled into a car that was never meant to hold seven fully-grown people, and headed north on the A1 with the samplings of DJ Atalo playing in the background. After about two and a half hours, we made it to Brussels. Thanks to Brussels's traffic (probably with a bit of help from Atalo's driving and my navigating) it took us another half hour to make it to the hotel, where we unpacked the car and settled in. We headed out to the Atomium, a weird atomic crystalline structure left over from Brussels's world's fair (somewhere between the Sunsphere and the Eiffel Tower, both in terms of fame and aesthetics). We waited in line to take the elevator up to the top, which we were told was Europe's fastest, climbing "nonante-deux mètres" in just "quelques secondes." Oh Belgium, you and your logical numbering system... There was an amazing view from nonante-deux meters up. Then we took these trippy escalators down into some of the other atoms making up the structure and looked at exhibits on the world's fair, the history and design of the Atomium, and a defunct airline.

We headed back to the hotel and crossed the street for a kebab. Kristina figured the kebabs in Belgium would be more like those in Germany, so we gave them a try. They had the right kind of bread, which was a nice change from France. Then we drove around to see the European Parliament buildings. We had forgotten that the main buildings were in Strasbourg, and we got there around five, so the visitors' center was already closing. We walked around a bit, but were generally disappointed with what looked like a collection of office buildings with the EU flag on their sides. We drove back and passed the Parc de Bruxelles and the Palais de Bruxelles, so we decided to get out and take a walk. We crossed the park to the Chambre des Represantants, took some more pictures, and strolled back. Even though it was winter, without leaves on the trees or water in the fountains, the park was lovely and lots of fun. We drove back to the hotel, and headed into the city center as the sun was starting to go down to see the Grand-Place. In an otherwise relatively modern city, the Grand-Place was a beautiful baroque square that contrasted with the neighborhoods around it. We marveled, took some pictures, and kept walking, to go see Brussels's mascot, the Manneken Pis, a little statue of a peeing boy. The statue itself was funny, but not too impressive. There were souvenir replicas that were larger. We grabbed some waffles and walked over to Delirium. The place was huge, but it was also packed, so after walking around looking for tables and getting split up at least twice, we regrouped outside and went to the Six Nations Pub a couple doors down, where we chatted and drank Belgian beers. After a fun evening, we headed back to the hotel on the earlier side so we could get up early the next morning.

We got up around nine to head to Bruges. After about an hour on the road, we made it to Bruges. When we opened the car doors, we were met with the smell of chocolate and waffles, which was a welcome sign. We parked by the main square and walked up to admire the architecture, which was, of course, stunning. Bruges really did feel like a curated open-air museum. The one downside with our timing was that they were setting up a beer festival, so the tents in the center of the square were a bit out of character. We walked back past the car along to the canals to the 2be in brugge souvenir shop, which was honestly interesting enough to be an attraction in and of itself. It had a fairly complete selection of Belgian food, mostly confections and beer. After we all perused the shop, we decided to go get waffles, but...Fernanda was missing. We split into two groups and spent about half an hour looking for her, but no luck. So we sent her messages on her phone and went for waffles. We went to Oyya, which the Let's Go guidebook had recommended. It was amazing, and I've recommended it to everyone who's been to Bruges since. I chatted with the guy making the waffles, and he said that they're Liège style, which means there are bits of sugar mixed in with the batter that caramelize when it's put in the waffle iron, giving it an amazing crust. I had one with speculoos, but the waffle itself was so good, that after a bit of deliberation, I got another plain one. That ended up being my lunch, and those two waffles were the best 5€ I spent in Bruges.

While we were eating, Fernanda finally got in touch with us again to let us know that she had wanted some time alone, and was in a restaurant. Her phone had died, but she was recharging it. We headed over to meet her, but she was nowhere to be found, so again, we just kept walking. We went to the Stadhuis and the courthouse, both with chambers preserving the medieval decor, and finally met her on the square in front of the Stadhuis. Everyone went to the Basilica of the Holy Blood together, which was a relatively small, but still impressive Gothic church. We decided to walk down to the Begijnhof and the Minnewater, which was a beautiful walk through the less-traveled parts of the city. We passed Onze Lieve Vrouw church and walked down, half of us getting fries for the walk. The Begijnhof itself wasn't very interesting or impressive, but the Minnewaterpark was pretty and the walk itself was great. We headed back, witht he other half of us stopping for fries. This time we headed on a slightly different route past the St Salvador Cathedral, and back to the main square. We finished the day by climbing the Belfry. The Belfry was more spiral staircase steps than I ever hope to see again, but it was broken up with small exhibits on a couple of levels. We got up to the top, where you could see the inner workings of the bell tower. Looking out from the tower, you could see the ocean on one side and the market square on the other side. The views were absolutely magnificent. We got up to the top around 4:55, so while we were all marveling over the view, the clock started to chime 5:00. We headed down the 366 steps to the bottom, where we mingled around in the beer festival for a bit, before all piling back into the car and driving the three hours home to Compiègne.

Written 11 June 2017 in Compiègne