We left on a Thursday afternoon and didn’t get into Brussels until about 3:30. Jim and his coworker, Ross, had to go to a meeting right away so Sabine and I got settled in the room.
We had reserved a baby cot so the hotel had a teddy bear for Sabine along with some tasty almond cookies for us. The hotel also provided a diaper changing pad and bottle warmer. I doubt that they get too many kids but they were quite prepared.
When I saw the hotel, I was glad that I had tagged along. The hotel was located on the large leafy Louisa Boulevard sandwiched between high end shops and restaurants. The room was really big by European standards and even had a nespresso machine so we could make espressos in the morning. That was definitely Jim’s favorite perk of the hotel.
In case you were wondering what 8 euro Pringles look like, see below.
After settling into the room and checking out the room’s amenities, I decided to seek out Le Pain Quotidian for a very late lunch. I figured that it would be a fairly child friendly place. Thankfully there was one just down the street.
It was the perfect time to be there as the restaurant was almost completely empty. They have great salads, soups and open faced sandwiches and wonderful bread of course since the restaurant’s origin was as a bakery.
After lunch, the sun was peeking through a little and I decided to take the opportunity to go down to Le Grand Place to get some photos with a bit of sunlight. We were in Belgium so I didn’t know if we’d see the sun again.
On the way to the Grand Place we stopped at a little park with a fountain which Sabine found very entertaining. We eventually got kicked out when they closed the park at 5:00.
There was some bribery with cookies to get her to leave. What? Did I say I’d never use food to bribe my child? I think that must have been someone else who said that.
The last time we were in Brussels, there was an event happening in the Grand Place and the lights and bleacher seating marred the photos. I was happy to get some pictures of the Grand Place with Sabine and sans bleachers.
We walked back up to the hotel and met up with Jim and Ross after their meeting to venture out for dinner. Jim and I walked around for about 30 minutes to get Sabine to sleep in her stroller and then we enjoyed a great meal at a small little restaurant tucked around the corner of the hotel while Sabine slept snug as a bug in her Bugaboo.
The next day, Jim ran out to get some croissants and baguettes from Paul which is a bakery chain throughout France and Belgium. We boycotted the obscene 38 euro hotel breakfast and enjoyed some pastries to go with our hotel room espressos.
The next day I decided to thoroughly enjoy the room rather than getting out right away. I’d realized the day before that I really saw all of the things to see in Brussels. Plus it isn’t often that while Sabine sleeps during her nap, I actually relax. So for the 90 minutes while Sabine slept instead of doing dishes, laundry or cleaning, I took a bath and read a book in bed. It felt amazingly decadent.
After Sabine woke up, we ventured out and went back to the park with the fountain before going to a different Pain Quotidian for lunch. Yes, I know it is boring to eat at the same restaurant two days in a row and a chain restaurant at that. However, eating out with a toddler isn’t relaxing so if I know the restaurant has a highchair and I won’t have to spend time looking at a menu, I’m all over it. Gone are the days when I do extensive research on the restaurant scene of a city. Now my main criteria are a highchair, room for the stroller and if I’m really lucky, a diaper changing table in the bathroom.
After another tasty lunch, we walked past the Palais Royal to the Parc de Bruxelles where Sabine chased pigeons and attempted to sample the local dirt, rocks and wood chips.
Jim and Ross closed their deal and we all went out for a beer to celebrate and to give Sabine a chance to fall asleep before we went out for dinner. I had spotted a street with a number of restaurants on the way down to the Grand Place the night before so we headed there. We ended up at a restaurant where I was the only woman and Sabine was the only child so we got a few stares when we walked in. The couple next to us kept picking in the stroller to see Sabine. It was almost as if they’d never seen a child before.
We headed home after another breakfast in the room the next day. Unfortunately, it was probably the nicest day Brussels had all year so we hated to leave.
