mellowI found a fantastic eatery in which to eat, drink and while away a cold and drizzly afternoon, called Arcadi in the Galerie du Roi/Koningsgalerij; and a cosy little coffee shop, Aroma on the Grand Place/Grote Markt, where they sell the most delicious coffee-and-cinnamon concoction you've ever tasted.
I went to Brussels in the company of my sister and her children. We stayed in this hotel where rather than letting the rooms go unoccupied they let us have them at 35 euros instead of the advertised 210 euros a night, and where the breakfast included in the price was superb.
Early in the morning, we took the train to Brussels Central from The Hague. When we arrived, we came upon the floral tribute to the poor 17-year old lad who had been stabbed to death at the station days earlier by a Polish youth out to rob him of his mp3-player.
We had Belgian waffels for brunch, dropped our luggage at the hotel, had a walkaround and found a playground where Romeo, helped by big sister Soraya, agreed to try out the swings
Later, there was some Belgian beer to sample
and taking a ride on an open top bus, we saw all the sights, including the newly renovated Atomium
after which we got off to find Manneken Pis, a big hit with all the tourists and especially, the Japanese -- all we had to do was follow them!
Unfortunately, when I got back I found that another of my immediate colleagues had left us. That brings the total up to 5 people since the beginning of March, and Fatima will leave to go back to Spain at the end of the month.
