Day 1: Are you ready to join us on a new adventure? We arrived into Brussels, Belgium from Chicago early this morning on a nonstop red eye flight and were greeted by an old and dear college friend who now lives with his family in Brussels.

He and his wife made the best tour guides as we explored Brussels together on foot, catching up on the many years that had passed! Brussels is beautiful, but the time there was so much more special, getting to spend it with our friends. First up…the beautiful architecture.

Our first goal was to explore a Brussels cafe, where we could find great coffee and a little breakfast. We all headed to the main square in Brussels and stumbled upon this fantastic cafe. It sits right in the main square.

That Cappuccino was outstanding! Just what we needed after a long sleepless red eye flight.

And the breakfast options offered were fantastic.

Our next order of business, sampling some of Belgium’s finest treats…Belgian Chocolates. Did I forget to mention that Mikayla joined us from Lithuania? That was the sweetest treat.

And of course, you cannot go to Belgium without sampling some of the best Belgian Waffles! There are so many ways to enjoy this special treat. We chose the cream and caramel sauce! It was out of this world. And we learned something new. There are several different kinds of Waffles. One is the typical Belgian Waffle, which we are all familiar with. But then…there is the Liege Waffle. It is made much differently and in my opinion, is far superior! It is thick and soft yet light. Large sugar “pearls” are mixed into the batter, creating a sweeter, somewhat slightly crunchy, carmelized waffle with irregular edges. It is quite honestly one of the best treats I’ve ever encountered.

A little more walking with excellent and knowledgeable tour guides (thank you, Dave and Emily!!).

They shared so many fun and interesting details with us, helping make Brussels really come alive.

For instance, did you know the creator of the Smurfs, Pierre “Peyo” Culliford, was born in Belgium and the first Smurf comics were actually printed in French! See below a mural painted in downtown Brussels.

A few more photos snapped to capture our time together in Brussels. Photo credit to Mikayla for this shot!

And photo credit to Emily for this shot!

And then we had to say good-bye to Dave and Emily! We boarded our train from Brussels to Bruges with the hopes that we would one day get to see our friends and Brussels again! What a beautiful day!! And what a beautiful city. Here are a few last shots.

For more information on our itineraries, feel free to email us at dtgainor@gmail.com or visit Global Getaways to learn more about who we are and how we work.