The Adventures of Molly and Tyler: Week 71 August 22-28

To close out our summer adventures, we had three awesome guests come to visit: Amy, Brendan and Amy's dad, Glenn. They had started their adventure in London before taking the train to Brussels. Molly met them in Brussels on Thursday afternoon for a peek around the capital. We started at the Delirium Cafe so that everyone could have their first taste of Belgian brews before exploring the city park and getting free entry into the Palace. After wandering around the city a bit, we decided to head back to Antwerp so we could meet up with Tyler for dinner. To experience authentic Belgian Mussels and Frites, we took our guests to the Elfde Gebod for dinner. We have posted about this strange gastropub before with its large collection of religious icons, and we have taken several guests there for a drink. But this was our first time trying the food. Its hard to say if they live up to their claim of "Best Mussels in Town," but we were all pretty pleased with our meals. To finish the evening, we enjoyed a night cap on the Grote Markt to take in the beauty of Antwerp after dark. On Friday, we started our day the Belgian way with waffles and coffee. Then we began our typical Antwerp tour with a stop at the grocery to buy beer and chocolate as souvenirs. In the afternoon, we all headed to the De Koninck city brewery to take the tour and sip on samples in the tasting room. De Koninck is the local Antwerp brewery that has been around for nearly 200 years, but just recently renovated and opened for tours. It was a engaging self-guided tour, and we were able to sample three of their beers at the end. We closed out their time in Belgium with dinner at a typical Belgian brasserie (Mampoco - probably our favorite spot in Antwerp) and a drink on a terrace.

The brewery

The tasting room

Beer samples from De Koninck

Early Saturday morning, we all piled in the car for our drive to Disneyland Paris! We arrived at our hotel around lunch and after checking in and eating, we went to the station to take the train to Paris for the rest of the day. At this point Glenn took over as tour guide, and he showed us around like a pro (5/5 on Trip Advisor). We popped out of the metro station right at the Arc de Triomphe. We are sure that this comment gets made quite frequently, but the size of this monument took us off guard. Seeing it on TV just doesn't prepare you for the scale. After staring in awe for a while, we decided to mosey down the Champs-Élysées. We popped in a few shops and ate some ice cream as we strolled the famous, crowded street. The weather was the warmest it had been all summer, so the heat was starting to wear us down. We weren't sure what we were looking for, but The Petit Palaise called to us. It turns out that with a free entry you can see the entire art collection there and enjoy the lovely air conditioning. After about an hour of appreciating the art, we were ready to go back out into the heat. We strolled along the Seine just enjoying being in the city. Eventually, our stroll started to take purpose, and we directed ourselves towards the Eiffel Tower. Seeing as it was late afternoon, we also thought it would be a good idea to get a snack. All the bars along the river seemed truly over-priced, so we opted for stopping at a grocery on the way to the Tower. We picked up the essentials (baguettes, cheese, wine) and sat happily in the shade of the Tower to relax and replenish. After our snack break, we approached the Tower. The long lines and prices deterred us from making the ascent, but we had fun taking pictures and appreciating the monument. From there, a quick metro ride took us to The Louvre. We did not go in, but enjoyed the sites in the waning hours of sunlight. By this point, we all had sore feet and were hungry for dinner. After days of Belgian and French cuisine, we decided to go ethnic with a nice Thai spot in the Latin Quarter. It had been a long day, but we made our walk to the train station just a few blocks longer in order to catch a glimpse of the Notre Dame Cathedral at night.

Arc de Triomphe

Molly, Amy, Brendan and Glenn

Selfie photo bomb

Getting artsy

Sunday was another early start so we could get to Disneyland as soon as the doors opened. It was fun to enjoy the magic of the park and interesting to see the differences between the version we know from the States. We hit the highlights of both parks and too soon it was time for us to start the drive back. Amy, Brendan, and Glenn still had another day in Paris, so it was also time to say goodbye. They were a wonderful group of visitors. We were grateful to show off Antwerp to them and to get to experience a new European destination together. We had a great time and were sad to see them go. Until next time!