As Grubb has posted, after our little flurry of excitement yesterday morning in Liege, we did manage to make it to Brussels with all our belongings intact.
Above: The unique Liege-Gullimins train station
From the Brussels-Midi train station, we tried to hop a #96 bus to our AirBnB but the bus was so packed, not a one of us waiting at the stop could wedge ourselves in. Where were all these people going on a Sunday afternoon?
Grubb said “nuts to this”. Okay no, what he really said was “&#%*&$!!!, I’m calling a $$&$*&! Uber”. Fine. 5 minutes later we were loading ourselves and suitcases into a shiny black BMW.
Our Uber came to a stop two blocks from our apartment. The streets were barricaded. “C’est fermé. Nous avons terminė”. our driver says. The streets were packed. It seems all of Brussels had converged here. It’s an arts, antiques and anything you want to sell market. For blocks. And our apartment is right in the middle of it.
We threaded our way through the throngs and arrived at the apartment. It was too early to check in (check in isn’t until 5pm, which yes, is a little unusual- mostly AirBnBs are like hotels with check in at 2 or 3pm) but our host Gaelle had texted that we could store the luggage. Just press the buzzer marked LB. The house cleaner will let you in. We do, she does. She doesn’t speak English, she does speak Spanish and a little French. She is breathless and lively, indicates where to place our suitcases and then tells us we are to go away and when she is done, Gaelle will let us know.
Oh goodie, let’s go join the hoards of shoppers crawling along the streets. After a couple of hours, I found my interest in perusing heaps of faded clothing, broken kids toys, and endless stacks of china begin to wane. There was the occasional beautiful glass platter, delicate handmade jewelry, antique brass lamp – I’m sure there were great finds to be had.
Seeing clothes spilling out of suitcases, I wondered, apropos of the FENIX, who was going where and if this is what they were leaving behind.
There were food vendors and bouncy castles, sidewalk bars, and yikes, there was someone selling roasted ears of corn. Where am I? The State Fair in Albuquerque?
Time to take a break from the jostling crowds. We found a place that had a free table inside (rain was about to happen), Chez Jacky, where we shared a rotisserie chicken, a pan of French fries (yes, served in a rectangular sheet cake pan) and a salad. But what I really needed was an Aperol spritz…or two. We lingered. When we finally emerged, it was into a full scale rainstorm. Sigh.
Above: view from the apartment and kitchen area