Week 5 May 11 - May 17

On Monday, Molly headed with Jared to Brussels to drop him off for his conference.  He didn't have anything scheduled until the evening, so we decided to explore and see the famous landmarks of Brussels, including:
The Grote Markt: basically the town square where markets and trading took place many years ago.
Manneken Pis: "Little Man Pee" in Dutch.  It is a bronze statue of a little boy peeing and it has been in place since 1619.  He can often be found wearing costumes as well.  He is the perfect expression of the Belgium sense of humor and tradition.
Brussels Park: A large urban park surrounded by the Royal Palace.  (There are royals here, I'm not sure why they aren't a big deal like William and Kate)
Delirium Cafe:  A bar that serves Delirium, sometimes referred to as the best beer in the world... the jury is still out since we haven't had EVERY beer...YET!

Grote Markt

Town Hall

They don't want you to miss the sight even though there is construction!

So MANY waffles!

Manneken Pis! He's tiny

A true Belgian, he loves waffles

Delirium Tremens

 There was yet another holiday in Belgium (Ascension Day), so Tyler had Thursday and Friday off.  Ascension day is actually Thursday but since Friday would be a wasted work day anyway, the Belgians consider it a holiday too!  On Thursday, we headed to Brussels so Tyler could see the capital as well.   We did a 90 minute self guided walking tour (that turned out to be a 180 minute walking tour....street signs listed in two languages are just more confusing than helpful) to visit some historical sites and just generally explore.  Tyler wanted to visit Delirium Cafe too, so we headed there for drinks before dinner.  Jared was still in town finishing up his conference, so we met him for dinner.  We went to Aux Armes de Bruxelles.  It was recommended to Jared by a local Belgian, and it lived up to the billing.  We would especially recommend the Lobster Waterzooi (or really anything prepared Waterzooi which is a Belgian specialty sauce of creamy broth with veggies).

Cool Street band

Smurfs!  They are from Belgium

Remnants from the first city wall

On Thursday he had a costume on!

That's how you feel after frites!

This guy had the hugest beer ever! It was the size of his
 head and he got a round of applause for finishing it.

Lobster Waterzooi, he's happy

 Every weekend in Antwerp, it seems there are numerous events going on.  We had heard of a festival called Antwerp Proeft (Antwerp Taste).  It was a food festival with various food trucks and restaurants from around the city, so we couldn't stop ourselves from going.  We had sushi, shrimp, a kimchi pork bun, and Belgium's take on the chili dog (blood sausage on a poppy seed bun topped with re-fried beans, Sriracha, and cilantro).  It was all delicious, and we have some new restaurants we need to try out for a full dinner!  As we were leaving, we passed the national Gin festival (apparently those are a thing) AND a triathlon just so happened to be taking place through the city center.  We are still constantly amazed at the amount of life and activity you stumble across here.  It is a testament to the condensed city design and a true passion for any day with good weather and any day not at the office.

Chili dog

The Antwerp convention center is a multipurpose space, international
shipping by day, food festival by night and weekend!

Triathlon