What would you do if you had one day in Brussels, Belgium?
During my summer trip, my small group tour stayed for one night in Brussels. We didn’t do much but I’ll always remember the beer tasting and how stylish Moxy hotel were.
We arrived in Brussels on the third day of the tour. Once we reached the destination, Aaron, my tour leader, went to get some tickets for us.
I wasted no time to get myself a Belgium waffle while waiting for him 😍
It tasted good! I always like Belgium waffles because the dough is chewy. I wish they used fresh cherries, though.
We checked into our hotels and had some time to freshen up a bit before the walking tour. It was a very hot day in Brussels. Luckily, the hotel where we were staying, Moxy, looked like an Instagram haven.
Plus, the room that I shared with my roommate, Michelle, was very comfortable. I was happy knowing that I would have a good sleep tonight after a long walk under the sun.
Michelle: “Why do they put it here???” (the half-naked man don’t disturb sign)
Me: “Why? It’s cool, haha…” 😄
Michelle: “Can you put it away? Don’t hang it there.”
Me: “Oh, okay. I can put ‘him’ on my bed.” 😸😉
Michelle be like:
Above is exactly the expression that she showed me, ahahahaha…😝😝 Well, maybe it was too much for a 50-ish Californian retiree.
I’ll show you more photos of the hotel’s swanky interior design later. Now, let’s go for a short walking tour around Brussels — and beer tasting!
Brussels Walking Tour: NATO Headquarters, Waffles, and the Pis Siblings
Our first stop was the NATO headquarters. I didn’t know that it was the HQ until Gareth told me!
He said when Ursula von der Leyen, the current President of the European Commission, came to Ireland a few years ago, she interviewed his dad (something about nature or farming). 👀
Next, we went to a famous waffle shop. Yes, two Belgian waffles in a day is legit when you have only one night in Brussels! And this time, it was an included snack in the tour package. Yaaay! 😋
What you see above is a replica, while the original Manneken Pis statue is kept somewhere. This cute statue is a symbol of the rebellious spirit of Brussels. And no, he’s not always naked.
During big events, he will wear nice costumes. It’s said that this cheeky boy is dressed in different costume at least 4 times in a year! I can imagine how big his wardrobe is, haha…
Oh, did you know that he has a sister?
One day, Denis-Adrien Debouvrie, a restaurateur who owned many restaurants in a small alley in Brussels, had an idea to create another cheeky statue to attract visitors to visit the alley.
The city already had a little pee-pee boy named Manneken Pis, then let’s create a pee-pee girl! #genderequality
When I saw them cheeky statues, suddenly I remembered a statue of an adult woman peeing that I saw in an art gallery in Cuba. At that moment, I told myself that this must be the Manneken Pis’ mother 😂
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Beer Tasting and Sober Dancing at Delirium Cafe, Brussels
After we met Jeanneken, we were free to explore the city. Since I was in Belgium, I told Aaron that I wanted to go for a beer tasting. So, he took me to a famous bar in Brussels, the Delirium Cafe.
I had no idea why it was called a cafe, it looked like a bar to me!
By the way, Delirium Tremens aka Delirium is a name of a beer that was nominated as “The Best Beer in the World” in 1997. In addition, it also received a gold medal at the World Beer Championship in Chicago.
There are many Delirium bars scattered in Brussels, you can check them out here.
Aaron was so nice to buy the beer for me! He chose the Beer Meter, where we would get 10 small glasses of different kinds of beer.
Actually, I’m not a beer person. I just wanted to have a taste, so I had only a sip of each glass. But the peach beer was sweet and nice, so I drank the whole glass, hehe…
Alright, what’s next after beer tasting?
I picked out my to-do list and asked if Aaron knew the way to a Neuhaus shop. In Malaysia, I could find Godiva shops everywhere, but Neuhaus?
That’s why I really wanted to try this ‘atas’, luxury Belgian chocolatier.
I knew this chocolate brand from an article that I read on hmm… either on Cosmopolitan or Elle. The article said that Neuhaus was the chocolate brand for Capricorns. So be it 😁
Fyi, the first praline aka filled chocolate was invented by the grandson, Jean Neuhaus Jr.
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Admiring the Classy, Sassy, Moxy Brussels
I LOVE this hotel! 😍😍😍 If you’re wondering why Moxy hotel is so classy and sassy, well I guess because it’s part of the Marriott Group.
First, let’s check out the bar and breakfast area!
From its interior design, you can tell that Moxy Brussels has its own charm. It attracts young executive, the jet-setters and wanderlusts. People who are playful and love arts, especially interior design.
Or maybe all of them, plus those who want to have cool photos for their ‘gram (like me). Nevertheless, Moxy falls under the affordable hotel category of the Marriott Group.
That’s why people from different age groups came here. As you can see from my photos, there were young and old folks in this hotel.
Right beside the bar and breakfast area is an open area where you can sit back and relax with your friends. Lon sofas, cozy chairs, cool statues, Tintin comics… you get the picture.
No, let me show you the pictures 😉
Alright, let’s go to another bar and dining area, just beside the open area. This space gives a different vibe: more quiet and relaxing. I feel it’s good for business meetings, family dinners, and dating.
Thank you Brussels, we met just for a day but I had a great time. Thank you too for reading my blog, have a great week ahead 😊
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