SOCIAL MEDIA

Monday, March 18, 2019

Paris and Belgium Part 2

If you missed Part 1, you can read about my first days in Paris and Gibraltar, here.

We left off the night before our last day in Paris (Monday). We headed into Tuesday having another day of meetings. Once our meetings were over, we headed out to the Musee d'orsay. This was another item that I was told was a must see. This museum houses Monet, Van Gogh, Seurat and so many others. From the moment you walk in, you are captivated by the building itself.
Musee d'orsay

We made our way around each floor, taking in all of the sculptures, paintings and art. It was beyond beautiful. Plus I got to see Starry Night by Van Gogh, so that made my day. I even got a book for the girls about the Starry Night.
Monet's L'hotel des Roches Noires
 Monet's L'hotel des Roches Noires

Monet's Magpie
 Monet's Magpie

Van Gogh's Terrace of a Cafe on Montmartre
Van Gogh's Terrace of a Cafe on Montmartre

Van Gogh's The Restaurant de la Sirene at Asnieres
 Van Gogh's The Restaurant de la Sirene at Asnieres

Van Gogh's Starry Night
 Van Gogh's Starry Night

Van Gogh's Fritillaries in a Copper Vase
 Van Gogh's Fritillaries in a Copper Vase

Van Gogh's Self Portrait
 Van Gogh's Self Portrait

Musee d'orsay

Musee d'orsay

Musee d'orsay

stained glass at Musee d'orsay

Musee d'orsay

I had read about a mall that housed a beautiful stained glass dome and I had to see it. I shopped around a bit, but mostly just walked around. The glass dome was definitely the thing to see there.
Galeries Lafayette Paris
Galeries Lafayette Paris

I headed back to my hotel to meet my coworker and try out that French bistro that was recommended to us. It is called Chez Janou and I highly recommend it. It was the first restaurant (other than the steakhouse) that was reasonably priced. We each had a salad, then I had risotto with sea scallops and then we shared the largest pot of chocolate mousse. If you are in Paris, you must get the chocolate mousse. We couldn't finish the bowl because it is massive and heavenly. It isn't heavy at all, but sooooo good.
Chez Janou Chocolate Mousse
Chez Janou Chocolate Mousse

Wednesday took the train to Brussels, Belgium, but it was delayed two hours due to snow in Belgium. Once we got in, we had to take our luggage to our meeting with us since we didn't have time to drop it off. After our meeting, we went to our hotel, got settled in and then grabbed a late lunch. We went to Tonton Garby which was a little sandiwich shop behind our hotel. It was amazing. You tell him what cheeses you like, what you don't, he gives you suggestions and then you have the most amazing sandwich for about 6 euro.
Tonton Garby sandwich
My sandwich had an amazing soft cheese with some shaved chorizo, tomatoes, spicy mustard and soft yet crunchy bread.

After a late lunch, we walked around the city. We went to the Grand Palace, walked around the shops and to Delirium (beer).
Grand Palace Brussels
 Grand Palace Brussels

 This peeing boy statue is everywhere in Brussels.

Belgium Waffles
 We did try a Belgium waffle because when in Belgium, you must try one. They were good, but had soooo many toppings that it was overly sweet.

Pissing Boy Statue
 Peeing Boy Statue (we walked by this twice and didn't even notice it because it was so small).

graffiti artwork in Brussels

Delirium beer
Delirium beer (this was the cherry sour)

We grabbed dinner and then headed back to the hotel.

Thursday morning, we had a meeting that lasted all day. At the end of the meeting, they walked us around the area and then drove us out to Atomium.
Brussels, Belgium
Overlooking the city

Brussels clock

Atomium

Then we headed back to our hotel. I worked out since I ate soooo much food at our work lunch. Then we headed out again to grab some souvenirs, pick up some chocolate from one of the chocolate shops and get some Schwarma. We wanted something small, but amazing and this place nailed it. We paid 4 euros for a Schwarma wrap.
smurfs statue in brussels
 We kept seeing Smurf's everywhere, so we asked why. Smurf's was created in Belgium and they were celebrating their 60th anniversary!

Grand Palace at night
Grand Palace at night

We left the next day to head home. Our flight was at 7 am, so we had to be up bright and early. And I didn't sleep more than an hour on the flights home. But I did watch Bohemian Rapsody and it was amazing.

Have you ever been to Gibraltar, France or Belgium?

13 comments :

  1. The art, architecture and desserts, so Flippin amazing! Have the best day!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The mall in Paris was incredible - the little shops that they had inside were so fun! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree. it was hard to explain what it was like, but it is a bunch of small shops in one big mall and they don't really have walls in between them.

      Delete
  3. Oh wow! I wish I had a job like yours so that I could travel like that. I know it's tiring but you get to see and experience so much.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, so cool. I love Van Gogh so I would love to see those paintings and the museum looks amazing. Belgium looks really interesting too. I wonder if you tried schwarma in Israel and which was better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do too. To see it all in person was pretty incredible. I love that I was able to go on this trip. I wish I tried it in Israel. I only got to eat one dinner there due to flight delays and no luggage. Ugh.

      Delete
  5. OK... seeing your post is giving me major flashbacks... I could swear we had a peeing boy statue in our yard growing up - haha!!!!!
    How amazing to see all those Van Gogh paintings in person. It has to be so surreal to know these are just original pieces of art

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha that is amazing. They were everywhere in Brussels. I loved seeing them in person and knowing how incredible and highly coveted they are. It was amazing!

      Delete
  6. Those waffles!!! Holy cow!!! I can only imagine how sweet they are.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Way too sweet. Luckily I only shared a bit of it. Ha.

      Delete
  7. Your pictures are beautiful! What a trip! I could just grab that cherry sour and jump right into the sweets picture!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh gosh, take me back!!! I've been to France and cannot wait to return. The bread, croissants the butterI love your photos!

    ReplyDelete