An English Girl in Brussels

Mention the word Brussels to anyone and I'm sure the same images come to mind: chocolate, mussels, beer and Tintin.

Last year, after making it my new year's resolution to visit as many European cities as possible; I took a weekend trip to Brussels with my best friend Leona. I have to admit that before I went there I had little if any knowledge about Belgium's capital city, other than they spoke French and had a few beer factories nearby.  I left the city still only knowing that they spoke French and a had a beer factories nearby, but also completely full up on tasty mussels,chips and chocolate...it may have been a stereotypical perception, but it still was a great one.

Now living in Paris, and only a few hours away, Leona and I decided it was time to re-visit, this time  alongwith the boyfriend and my best guy mate Ian.

I could lie and pretend that this was a cuturally inspired trip, but in reality I still am as clueless to the cities cutural history as I was before my first visit. Really for me, this was just an excuse to eat as much sea food and chocolate as possible, oh and sneek in a few cheeky beers whilst I was there.

A great location for anyone looking for a tasty sea food lunch/snack/champagne stop should try Mer du Nord, a lovely little outdoor fish cafe/restaurant/which serves fresh fish served right in front of you - from old classics like scampi, calamari to scallops served with mushroom sauce - and all of it was between 4 and 6 euros! Even in the cold and rain, this was still a highlight of the trip.

Calamari and champagne, perfect lunch time treat

My favourite destination of the night however, had to be Delirium Cafe, a bar that's famous for having the biggest beer selection in the world....with stats like that who needs cultural history?! There was everything from Mongozo fruit beers (my personal faves) to Springfield's very own Duff. Between the four of us we tried a good selection of their finest bevvies.

The drinks menu - the size of a small encyclopedia

One tiny bit of 'culture' that I stumbled upon was the Manneken Pis (literally little man pee in Dutch). A famous statue located in the heart of Brussels.





...and even comes in Chocolate

Mer Du Nord
Rue Sainte-Catherine 1
1000 Bruxelles, Belgique



Delerium Café
Impasse de la Fidélité, 4A
1000 Bruxelles