Catching up on 2010: Brussels

Now that we were ready for Christmas, it was time to leave for our journey that would take us to celebrate Christmas in the Alsatian region with Q's family. On our way down South (!), we had a stop in Brussels, Belgium, and another one in Paris.

In Brussels we were welcomed by David, Léa, and their two sons Nathan (5 yr old) and Jonas (2 yr old). Q is actually one of Nathan's godfathers, so this was an opportunity for some bonding time. Much needed after Q's absence in the US for all these years... Q's sister Sigo also moved to

Brussels in the Fall, so we caught up with her as well, together with Anysia (Q's other sister), her partner Mathieu and our adorable niece Mila. As we g

ot closer to Christmas, we enjoyed having so many wonderful opportunities to get together with family and friends. The spirit of Christmas was still soaring!

We actually flew to Brussels via Copenhagen, and that was a few days before the various blockages caused by snow weather and shortage of de-icing fluids that various airports experienced. After that first flight we had planned to do the rest of our trip by train, as fast trains conveniently run between all these major cities, and a night train runs weekly from Switzerland back to Denmark, with a stop not far from Strasbourg across the border with Germany.

There was snow in Brussels, which is quite unusual. For us it did not really make a difference! We had decided we were just going to travel with the same type of clothing that we wear here...

If you don't know much about Belgium, that's a good intro...

We kept it pretty low key throughout our weekend in the Belgian capital, sleeping in one of the 7 or 8 bedrooms our friends have in their home, playing with Q's godson and his brother by the Christmas tree, hanging out with our friends and our family, celebrating Sigo's 21st b-day, shopping for chocolate (our favorite was Wittamer), dining well at our friend's place, Sigo's place, or at this very nice restaurant newly open in Brussels, called La Buvette. This place is actually owned by one of Anysia's good friends, a young chef named Nicolas Scheidt. Nico also owns the restaurant L'Office in Paris. Two addresses that we strongly recommend if you are in the area! Top quality 3 to 7 course meals for 35-45 euros...

Speaking of Paris...