We started the day scrambling to get to Gare du Nord station in Paris for our train to Brussels. Unfortunately, this was pretty hard because I seem to have come down with a cold, and Sahna doesn't feel too well either. We slept in so that we could actually function today, which meant that the the rush to the station was a little frantic. Fortunately, we got all of our stuff packed, checked out, and reached the station in time to catch the train to Brussels.

We took the Thalys train, which was very nice even in 2nd class. We even had WiFi (although we had to pay for it). We planned our stay in Brussels, Sahna updated the blog, and I caught up on some much needed sleep to try and get over my slight cold (it helped a little...). The view from the wonderfully large window was awesome, especially the part I was awake for. 

Once we got to Brussels, we felt a bit lost, but eventually figured out the Metro system and got to our hostel, checked in, and then headed out to the Brussels Beer Tasting Tour. There were a total of 3 people on the tour - the two of us and an ER doctor from Philly. It was a nice, personal experience, and we tried 8 different beers from some iconic bars in Brussels - including the oldest bar in the city, which opened in 1695.

Sahna hates beer. After this tour, she doesn't anymore. The beers here are nothing like the ones at home. True, we don't drink fine beers, but you can't find many Belgian beers in Texas. I wish we did cause these beers were absolutely delicious. The highlights were a blueberry beer from Burgundy (Bourgogne de Flandres), Malheur Blonde (literally - "bad luck blonde" haha), the Trappistes Rochefort, and the Tripel Karmeliet. I couldn't quite drink all the beers cause I was feeling the buzz pretty hard after the 4th or 5th out of 8, so I just tasted the rest, all of which were delicious. The only one I didn't like was the  Chimay Triple - a VERY bitter beer with a very high alcohol content (although not the highest of the day - most of them had over 8% alcohol). 

At the Grand Place

After the tour, we walked around the Grand Place for a bit. The Grand Place is the most famous part of Brussels, with some amazing architecture, and a very lively spirit. There are a ton of restaurants, shops, and chocolatiers selling the "best" Belgian chocolate. We sampled some scrumptious Belgian chocolate, and explored the city square for a bit, taking in the atmosphere and the architecture.

Once it started to drizzle, we headed back to the hostel and got our room, which is very spacious for a dorm in Europe. I am very exhausted cause of my cold and the intensity of the past few days, so I anticipate an early bedtime tonight. We're leaving pretty early tomorrow for our train to Milan to kick off our Italy and Greece visit!