Day 6: Road trip - Brussels to Paris

Louis requested his birthday espresso machine at breakfast and I caved. 

10 am - Gwenael picked up the rental car

11 am - said good-byes to our lovely air bnb hosts, Caroline & Guido & our charming apartment at Lombardstraat 81. Here is Louis in the backyard.

The two lowest windows on the peach building were ours.

12 pm - We crossed the border into France, just like that! No border patrol, no fanfare, just a little sign. 

Two more hours to go til Abel & Lucette's! 

As we were saying goodbye to Caroline, I told her we took many of her restaurant recommendations, including Chez Francois.  She said they always go there for celebrations and special occasions.  I realized that Wedneday, the day we were was the anniversary of the day we met 11 years ago. We were celebrating and we didn't even know it. Happy anniversary to us! 

We got in to Abel & Lucette's around 5.  Louis was sleeping so we finally woke him at 6.  Lucette had prepared soup, fish, and potatoes for Marcelle. 

Lucette served port as an aperitif, a quiche with chives, grated carrot & tomato salade (I learned she uses a minionette so we need to try that), veal with a mushroom sauce and steamed potatoes and salad with a St. Emilion Bordeaux, a huge cheese plate (Roquefort, Morbier, a Sheep's Milk cheese and 1 new ones I didn't get the names of), finished with strawberries from Abel's garden.  Louis ate 3 or 4 plates of strawberries. Abel & Lucette couldn't believe how fast he inhaled them. Lucette is such a good cook.  Dinner was deeee-lish!

Day 5: Chez Charli, Brussels Park Playground, & the Jazz Marathon

At 6 am, I woke with L laying next to me in bed, wide awake, and holding his new airlplane.

Since we were up early, today would be the day for fresh croissants and bread for the bakery!  I went .5 mile to Chez Charli, for the best bread the city has to offer.  All of the breads are home-baked in the shop with all organic, natural ingredients.  I got 4 pain au chocolat (chocolate croissants), 4 croissants, and 2 sticks of the 5 cereal bread.  I showed up just after the doors open at 7:30. 

I have to say, the city may be just as creepy at 7:15 am as it is at 10 pm. I passed some seriously creepy people to get to this bakery.  The things you will do for bread!

Was it worth it? Were the pain au chocolat divine? Yes, yes they totally, totally were.

But, poor Marcelle! I'm afraid we've ruined her. Her first chocolate is from a fine chocolatier in Brussels (Neuhaus) and her first pain au chocolate is from the best bakery in the city.  I mean, when you start with the best, where do you go from there? No chocolate or croissant will ever live up to her standards. 

After that little adventure, I decided I needed a day of rest for the first time in 7 days. It was the first day the kids woke at decent time, but I let them stay in their pj's and make a huge mess with all the toys in the apartment. 

G got home at noon, much earlier than expected. 

We ate in and finally left the apartment after naps at 3:30 or 4 for Parque de  Brussels.  It was great! 

There is a playground in the upper Northwest corner close to the corner of Rue de la Loi and Rue Royale. 

The park had multiple swings for different ages, a giant sandbox, teeter totter, multiples slides and play structures. The kids had a ball, and Louis made friends with a 4-year-old little Koren boy who spoke English fluently from watching English TV! 

The park was full of beautiful statues everywhere.

On the 10 minute walk home, we saw lots of neat things....

The park is next to the palace.

All of the architecture here is stunning.  We passed the Musical Instrument Musuem which is a really cool building.

Pretty gardens...

Looking down over the Garden at Monte des Artes and across the city.

This (below) was our little cozy corner behind our apartment where we at at Le Cap, Novo, and the "Bio" (organic) grocery store.  I could spend many nights in this little nook drinking a beer at a table on one of these terraces.

The we went home, ate, and played chocolate shop.

And finally, we dropped in for a bit of jaZ at the Grande Place. I really cannot think of a cooler venue to go hear music, surrounded by all these old beautiful buildings. If I had known about this jazz festival, we would NOT be leaving tomorrow. It goes on all weekend.  They have multiple outdoor venues and tons of indoor venues (like 70?), shuttles taking people all over the city, live music EVERYWHERE! This is like my dream - well, with a babysitter.  Saturday and Sunday, they have special events and performances for the kids. 

A pretty full day for resting and doing nothing. We are all packed up and headed to Paris tomorrow!

The Essential Essentials in your Daypack

I really have to laugh.  Before we left on our trip, I didn't want to overpack, so I made a list of the essential items that I need to go out with the kids for a day.  

I didn't realize it at the time, but my list was based on:

1) having a car

2) being a 30 minute drive from most places

I created a list on the Evernote app which could be duplicated and checked off every morning to make sure I didn't leave behind an essential item when I went out.

Here is my list copy and pasted from Evernote:

Check the morning before we go:

Diapers

wipes

potette bags

 Potette

water bottles

food for louis

food for marcelle

charge camera / battery 

cell phone

wallet

apply sunscreen

 Straws 

 Go potty before we leave 

Keep in the bag

spoon for M

utentils for Lou

Bib for M

Bib for Lou

Water bottle for M

water bottle for Lou

water bottle for me

wet wipes

camera

map / tour book

sunscreen

hats for all 3 of us

sunglasses for lou & me

cheerios or puffs

We arrived Monday. Tuesday morning, I whittled the list down to ONLY items that could be carried in the stroller (basket and parent organizer)/no purse.

Here is what I shortened it too:

Diaper - 1

wipes

water bottles for both kids

cell phone

wallet... Decided to go all tourist nerd and wear a money belt since I'd be a target with 2 kids in tourist areas loudly speaking English. Glad I did. 

 Go potty before we leave 

map 

- 1 small portion of "emergency" food for M 

- rain cover for stroller 

By Monday night, I was sick of the stroller. The list got shorter:

- baby carrier

- rain coats on our backs 

- waterproof zip pouch w 1 credit card and a small bit of cash, cell phone, map

You'll notice I was even crazy enough to leave the diaper and wipes at home. I knew we wouldn't be more than 10 or 15 minutes away. If we needed them, we'd just have to go back.

It was liberating to lose the "stuff."

Here's how I'm doing without: 

- I always travel with sippy cups but Louis can drink from a bottle. If he spills, it will dry. marcelle and drink from a cup or a pinched straw to slow the flow.  (I would still recommend sippy cups for the plane rides when hydration is so important as well as drinking is for little ears.)

- If we are hungry, we can find food. (I would still recommend squeeze pouch food for toddlers eating in flight to reduce choking hazards, and due to limited food access, schedules, and messes.) 

- I adore the potette. In fact, I used it myself last week. (Ha ha ha!) But it's really a luxury and not a "need" in a city where toilets are available.

- I'll save the DSLR for photos with Great Grandma, but carrying around that heavy bulky thing and trying to remove a lens cap every time my kids do something cute. Forget it! iPhone pics will have to do!

- the kids can make do with utensils available when we are out.

- hats go if they are on our head or not at all.  Same for sunglasses. 

- Huggies makes a ziplock container you refill yourself that my cousin gave me. I put a thin fill instead of the big bulky pack

Takeaways for the traveling mom:

Here is my master list of the essential essentials (for a 1 & 3 year old), which you can fit in the pocket of an ergo baby carrier:

- 1 credit card

- small light thin stash of wipes

1 waterproof zip pouch containing:

- a small bit of cash 

- cell phone 

- map

- 2 diapers 

- 1 small portion of "emergency" food like 1 squeeze pouch (may be omitted, depends what you're doing)

- if weather may chance, a Baggu is a light bag that folds up teeny tiny and opens pretty big to hold all your jackets, grocery stop on the way home, etc.

Leffe Royale

This beer is where it's at.

I've tried several here. G orders and I drink them. I don't know what any of them are called. But this one I needed to know:

Leffe Royale.

Can we buy this at home?

Day 4: Hop on/off bus tour & Atomium

Today, I thought I gamed the system. 

First  off, we are setting world records -- we got out the door at 11 am! Beat yesterday's time!

I had it all figured out: We would take the hop on hop off bus to see all the sites. It's a 1.5 hour loop that goes everywhere. We don't have to walk OR take public transportation. Plus, I get to listen to the history that I'm missing out on.  And L would be thrilled to death just to have his first bus ride.

We went to the Grande Place to find the ticket counter. We didn't see it so we went to the visitors office. They said that it only starts at Central Station and I have to buy tickets there, but no problem, only a 5 minute walk.

I took a guess and turned right heading out of the station. We had to circle the whole thing, then go in the Hilton, to find out I should have turned left. By the time we got there, poor little Louis was saying his legs hurt. And by the time we sat down on the bus it was noon. A five minute walk turned into a 1 hour ordeal.

I knew the kids would be hungry.

I had read there was a decent restraurant at the Atomium and Caroline said it was a "must visit" for kids, so we'd go straight there, eat, and check it out. It was 30 minutes away. 

When we reached to the Atomium, I realized the thing about the hop on off buses:  They drop you off "there" but you still have a long walk. We could see the Atomium but by the time we got to it, mr. Energy was complaining that his legs hurt again, and I was motivating him up the hill. "I see it, we're almost there. When we get there, we're going to take and elevator way up high inside." 

When I tried walking in, it was the security line to go up. (Wrong door.) they asked for my tickets. When I said I didn't have any yet, they said maybe I don't want to buy them because the elevator is not working.  The guy said to me, "Maybe you want to come back tomorrow."

I didn't know if I should laugh in his face or cry or both at the same time. I'd spent I.5 hours getting here with my ONE and almost THREE year old, and he was telling me to do it all again tomorrow.  Sure. 

So we grabbed a crappy lunch under the Atomium at the other cafe outside.

By the time we got back to the bus stop, it was 2. The kids needed naps.  Mini Europe was no where obvious in site (even though it's listed as being located "at the base of the Atomium) so we headed back.

I convinced L to ride on the top deck of the double decker bus, and once I had, I wished I hadn't! It was a little scary up there with 2 little kids.

We moved back downstairs. In the end, the hop on bus wasn't so great. I didn't the history lesson I imagined because you have to plug earphones in the wall and turn the dial to your language.

That wasn't happening while tending to 2 kids. Also, it takes a long time to get through the loop, and L got tired from the drop off point to the destination.  I bought a 2 day pass for tomorrow to try for the Natural History Museum to see Dino bones, Autoworld for cars, or Brussels Park by the Palace by we will just have to see. 

We stopped in a nice toy store I on the way home, and I let L pick out a 3rd bday gift. He chose a wooden pod-style espresso machine. (Of course!). He also got a die cast cargo plane, which flew all the way to dinner tonight.

It was our best dinner: just around the corner at Place St. Jean at a place called

Novo, a casual bar that seemed more popular for drinks than food. We had beer and gourmet burgers. It was relaxed (which is so great with kids) and delicious, and the sun was shining.  More dinners like this, please! 

The highlight today was finding our initials on the Welcome sign at the Atomium.

Gimme an M.

Gimme an L.

Gimme a C. 

Can I get a LC? 

Takeaway for the Traveling Mom:

- Casual neighborhood dinners are a winner. Put the guidebook and recommendation list down!

- Same goes for city exploring when your kids are 3 & 1:  Chasing pigeons, serenading patrons at the Royal Galleries cafes, and playing at the toy table at Exk were more fun than the hours and extra energy spent trying to see something and not really seeing anything today.  Loose goals are good, but set lofty goals and you might disappointed.

Set the bar low.

Day 3: Exki and Chez Francois

We are still dealing with jet lag.  Louis woke at 6:30 am. I woke at 8:30 am. Marcelle woke at 10 am. So we are still all over the board.

We made it out of the house by 11:30 am today! Score! I think we beat yesterday by 30 minutes to an hour.

I tried to walk is to Galerie de la Reine by Gina on the plane's recommendation. 

Louis was like a stubborn mule. We were holding hands but he kept stopping in his tracks and panting and saying he was scared. I was trying to coax him up the street, which I had to agree was seedy looking, when I just decided we'd go with Plan B (which I made since lightning and rain were forecast): There was a little bookshop around the corner from our place called Le wolf. Caroline the owner suggested it in her book. So we started wondering back. 

Le Wolf was cute: first of all, I liked it because it's a little haven for kids and moms. You don't find many of those. It has a cozy little back room down some steps with books for reading. The front sells books. You can drink tea and maybe a little cake on the weekdays or have lunch on the weekends. 

I would recommend a visit to Le Wolf for a mom who is traveling alone with her kids and looking to get out without going out, who is staying very close by. It's not worth seeking out, but it is a wonderful little neighborhood place to some of you're in the neighborhood. 

As soon as we walked in, Louis asked for lunch. We ended up leaving with every intention to return, but never made it back. Maybe tomorrow...

So off we set in search of food.  I found several good sandwich shops which served eat in or takeaway just outside the Royal Galleries. I popped into one called Exki.  I spotted a little table with in the back with toys on it. That was all I needed to stay!

The food was great! I had a really nice salad, L chose a ham sandwich with soft good-for-kids bread, and I got pasta for M.

The girl at the counter was sweet and carried my tray the table, which she didn't have to do. After lunch, the kids had fun at the toy table, and L played there while M ate for an eternity... (Keeping a hungry one-year-old fed is its own adventure). All the food was pre made and you just pick it off the shelf. Instant gratification is always great with hungry impatient kids. They also have free WiFi. 

After lunch, I let Louis chase the pigeons to burn of steam. Marcelle laughs and talks watching him. 

The we wondered into the Royal Galleries. (This is what I was trying to find in the morning when Louis turned into a mule. I just have been reading the map wrong. Good thing I ditched that plan.) Royal Galleries are a glass covered mall with nice chocolate shops, etc. Going here was part of my rain plan.  (Did I mention it never rained?) 

Anyway, L was hilarious. He marched next to me and sang a staccato song in his loudest voice, "Pop. Pop. Pop. Poppity poppity pop." I think he liked the way his voice echoed. Everyone in the cafes was watching and laughing. I was holding his hand and walking next to him laughing too. I was just along for the ride as he paraded through.  The song morphed into "The wheels on the bus." He was singing, "The. Wheels. On. The. Bus. Go. Round. And. Round." He sang all the way up and down the Galleries. 

Everyone was tired so we headed home. But L wanted ice cream, so we popped in and he chose a bowl of pistachio.

Home for naps from 3 to 5. Gwenael was home and we went to dinner.

Caroline recommended a seafood restaurant called Chez Francois in an area I hadn't seen yet called St. Catherine. We thought we'd try it to see a new area and since we love seafood. We made a booking and headed over.

I cringed when we walked in. This was a *nice* place. All of the tables were tightly seated as they are in cities and Europe, and already set with multiple knives and glassware. Very posh. I would have loved a place like this pre-kids! 

Our servers were surprisingly very kind to us and sweet with the kids. But we got dirty looks from the other diners. 

For us, we'd rather go casual and just be able to relax and eat, then feel uncomfortable for the sake of having a really nice meal. 

Takeaway for Traveling Moms in Brussels:

- Exki is awesome! Highly recommend. They are a chain and all over the city. Kid friendly. Free wifi. My location had a toy table. 

- Chez Francois = very nice seafood, but not kid-friendly

- Royal Galleries - not crowded, close to grand place, just a good place to stroll or let the kids play and it's fresh air but covered. A few cafes and places to eat too. There are shops but none interested me except the Longchamp. 

Takeaway for Traveling Mom:

- Read tripadvisor reviews on dinner restaurants before you go, so you don't end up somewhere fancy and paying for an expensive meal that you didn't really get to enjoy because you were trying to control your kids.