Chocolate And Architecture

We "planned" to race into Brussels on the express train from the airport on our long layover on the way home from West Africa . Well, we learned from DAY ONE on our trip that if you want to make God laugh, make plans! The only thing we could plan on for our 10 days of adventure was the unexpected!

So, we embraced the opportunity to be flexible and went through each day with the expectation to be surprised!

SURPRISE! You're staying in Brussels for the night!

We spruced up a bit, used our lunch vouchers in the Sheraton restaurant and made sure our checked bags were secure for the night.

One of the really good choices we made was to pack our essentials in our carry-on so that in the case of a layover or lost luggage, we would have what we NEEDED and some of what we wanted.

We got on the express train and headed to the heart of Brussels. It was exciting. It was a BEAUTIFUL evening, and since it was Saturday there was much going on.

We wandered around with big eyes and took it all in. There was live music, dancing, and a street market going on. We watched the sunset behind the gorgeous detailed buildings. We smelled Belgian waffles and French fries. We didn't eat any though and I think we all regret it. We did sample and buy some Belgian chocolate. HEAVENLY. And some got some ice cream.

This is the Grand Place

When we returned to the hotel we found out they were having a buffet at 8pm for all of the guests that were there due to flight issues. We enjoyed the feast which included smoked salmon and (this is a glimpse into HOW MUCH Jesus loves me...) CHOCOLATE MOUSSE!!!

We slept great and got up at 4:00am to make our flight to Paris.

In Paris we were held on our plane to West Africa for 2 extra hours. There was a man who had an epileptic seizure and it took awhile to get that taken care of before we left.