i wasn't so sure i had made the right choice to go to brussels when i arrived at the airport and found myself to be
the only single asian woman in sight.  i tried to conceal the fact that i was a little disoriented when in reality i had no
euros and couldn't follow the signs in french/flemish. when i finally found my way to the train station, i was lectured
by the ticket guy when i tried to pay 3.6 euros with a credit card. and when i arrived in the city center and asked for
directions to my hotel, the ticket guy there sized me up with a look and said (in a bad french accent) i was better off
taking a cab   my hotel was supposed to be <200m from everything(!) and reachable by foot (brussels is a small city). 
i cursed under my breath for leaving london on a fine-weather day... and with it, the classy metrosexual office men and
their sexy british english accent... (joking!)

so what is in brussels that would make me go through the trauma of customs and immigration at heathrow all over
again to fly 1 hour into the capital of the european union, that can be described as an un-touristy tourist destination?

similar to other european cities, there were century-old architecture, tall gothic-style cathedrals, a market square in
the middle of town, compact cars and cobble-stoned streets, and my favorite one of all, the stay-a-while cafes
around the square, where i can people-watch over a fantastic cup of coffee.... that never gets old for me.

my train ticket from the brussels airport to the city center was only 3.60 euro r/t, and the ride was <20mins.
brussels is such a cheap and efficient city! (like singapore!)   i was also impressed by the fact that the belgians
are effectively trilingual (i mean, singaporeans are trilingual too ... if you count Singlish as a language, and my
mandarin and chinese dialect as passable...)  i tried to wield my rusty french during a stroll at a flea market but i
realized what a bad idea that was since i only knew how to ask "what is this?", but had no way of understanding
the replies i got back in french....

now the thing that i absolutely love love love about brussels -- brussels sets itself apart from the other european
cities for the unique array of food that its famous for.  those who know me well know how important good food is
to me especially when i'm traveling. this is when i'm most 'productive...

waffles..... frites..... (1000+ types of) beer.......

and CHOCOLATES!!!!  i don't know which is more shocking - that the belgians consume in average
100L of beer per person per year.. or that each belgian eat as much as 16kg of chocolate a year  (it's a wonder
that they aren't obese)  i think belgium is one of europe's greatest secret!

that's me about to dig into some escargots and mussels

i promise brussels's not all about food.  no, really.  remember the very talented jean-claude van damme?  smurfs
and tintin are belgian too.  my brother used to have many of those comics.  that's tintin and his doggie, milou!

i just threw in brussels sprouts here for fun. i didn't see any on my trip... come to think of it i didn't actually eat any
vegetables this weekend...

i miss sharing a bed