Brussels in 4 hours

How to see Brussels in 4 hours:

• Grote Market (Grand Place)
• Belgian waffles
• Manneken Pis
• Belgian beer
• Tintin shop

OK, so I'm sure there is much more to Brussels than this, but as we were making our way home from Venice via Brussels, we only had a few hours.  It was significantly cheaper (we're talking almost 1000 euros cheaper) to fly from Venice to Brussels, and then catch the train from Brussels back to Amsterdam, compared to flying straight to Amsterdam.

Our day started with a 6am ferry trip to the Venice bus station, a bus from Venice to the airport, a flight to Brussels, an hour bus ride from the the airport to the city (the Ryan Air flight only goes to Charleroi which is on the outskirts of Brussels), a metro from the airport to the city. a quick stopover in Brussels for lunch, 3 hours on the train back to Amsterdam (2.5 was spent standing up because the train was full!) and a tram back to our house.  A very full day!

So, back to Brussels. The heritage listed main square was surrounded by some really nice old buildings, including the town hall and gold plated guildhalls with intricate, curly facades.  It was overcast when we arrived but we were lucky enough to get a few minutes of blue sky later in the afternoon.

Town Hall in the Grote Markt (Grand Place)

Belgian waffles for lunch

For some reason, the Manneken Pis statue is insanely popular.  This foot-tall statue of a little boy taking a leak seems to be nothing special, but there was a massive crowd of people around it- so of course we joined the line to take a photo. Just nearby was a busy little pub called Poechenellekelderserving.  It was full of Manneken Pis paraphernalia, but most importantly served many types of Belgian beer.  Finally it was a quick visit to the Tintin shop, due to Belgium being the home country of the comic book writer Herge.  A tiring but excellent day to finish a tiring but excellent trip to Italy (and Belgium).

Belgian beer at Poechenellekelder

Grote Markt in the sunlight

Tintin shop

Italy- Venice

We had no specific plans for Venice- just to walk around getting lost in the maze of narrow, winding alleyways.  It was a beautiful city of canals and bridges, although not a terribly practical city.  It's water-damaged, rundown buildings give it a real charm unlike any other city but you have to wonder how much longer it can continue given the lack of upkeep (partly due to its protected state) and also the fact that hardly anyone actually lives there any more- it is almost like a big theme park that exists solely for tourists.

Bridge of Sighs

Piazza San Marco

Marble pillars of St Mark's basilica

After a day of wandering, we found a popular little outdoor bar where we stopped for an aperitif and a sandwich to nibble.  The drink of choice was a spritz- a dry. sparkling prosecco wine with some aperol spirits which gives it a distinctive orange colour.

Spritz at the bar Al Merca

Then it was off to dinner where we had the best meal of our entire trip- fresh pasta, fresh seafood and a nice espresso.

Balsamic orecchiette with ham

Balsamic shrimp

Mussels and pasta

Liver and onions with toasted potato bread

The next day started with a visit to the food market which was full of fresh fruit and of course, seafood.  We went past the square which we had stopped for a drink the previous night to find it mostly underwater.  

We wandered some more, walked over the Rialto Bridge and did a bit of souvenir shopping.  Unfortunately it was quite overcast and rainy, and the wind was chilling, but it was still really nice to walk around.  We also took a ride along the Grand Canal on the vaporetto- not just a poor man's version of a gondolier ride, but also warmer, drier and sheltered from the wind.  We also had an MP3 audio guide on my iPhone so we could listen to a description of the buildings and galleries that we sailed past.

Always time for more coffee

Rialto Bridge

Pizza for dinner

Italy- Florence

Our first morning in Florence started with coffee and a visit to the food market.  We were out early enough to see the leather stores setting up and managed to experience the alleyways and side streets before they were full of other tourists.  The food hall was full of dried fruits, freshly baked cookies and breads and local wines and limoncello.

Coffee from News Cafe was very good

Street vendors setting up in the morning

Food hall

After heading back to our hotel to drop off our spoils and eat some breakfast, it was off to see the main attraction in town- the Duomo. The red tiled domepoking out above the surrounding buildings is the first part of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore we saw as we approached, but it is the green and white towers and arches which really make this cathedral stand out compared to many others churches I have seen throughout Europe.

The winding, claustrophobic walk up to the top of the dome was rewarded by a close up view of the beautifully decorated dome ceiling, and an even better view of the surrounding cityscape from the outside viewing platform.

In the afternoon we went to the Galleria dell'Accademia where Michelangelo's famous depiction of bublical David stands, followed of course by some gelato (unfortunately no photos were allowed inside the gallery, but they were allowed at the gelato shop).

The next day we started with a visit to the leather markets and did some wandering through the many street vendors which were selling scarves, gloves, bags, belts etc. Hidden in a side alley not too far from the Duomo, we found this hole-in-the-wall sandwich shop called I Fratellini which made cheap and delicious sandwiches that we had with a nice glass of wine. It was a relaxing break from walking and from the sun, and sitting on the sidewalk with all the other people added to the experience. At the nearby statue-lined Piazza della Signoria, we visited the Museo di Palazzo Vecchio.

Neptune fountain on the Piazza

Fake David in front of Museo di Palazzo Vecchio

View of Florence from the terrace in the museum

Espresso pitstop

With the statues at Piazza della Signoria

In the afternoon we made the 30 minute trek across the Ponte Vecchio and up the hill to the Piazzale Michelangelo which had a beautiful view over the city.  A little further up the hill was the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte, a simple and serene cathedral with a nice garden where we stopped for a sunset picnic and a glass of chianti while looking out over Florence.

Ponte Vecchio

View over Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo

Basilica di San Miniato al Monte

The next morning was a quick visit to Santa Maria Novella, another beautiful church decorated in the same style as the Duomo, before our train to Venice.