We left the Normandy coast with a light sprinkle of rain which soon cleared for most of the 5 hour drive to Brussels where we arranged to visit with Susan's brother-in-law and wife, Scott and Joan. They have lived there for just under 4 years while Scott works on a European Union project for NATO.
Upon our approach to Brussels, we attempted to follow our computer-generated instructions to the hotel which was described as just outside the city limits. As simple as the instructions seemed to be, we soon got terribly lost. In addition to being tired from the long drive we were also overwhelmed with the intensity of the end of day city traffic. We decided to follow signs to downtown central where we thought we would find a tourist office for some help. But after many twists and turns we didn't find anything. Out of exasperation we stopped at a large retail shop to ask directions. Of course she never heard of the street or the hotel which wasn't very reassuring, but suggested instead a big hotel nearby where we might get better help.
Upon finding the hotel she described we were utterly amazed to learn we had ended up within just a few blocks of our destination. The 'travel gods' were smiling on us for sure and then added the bonus of a wonderful (free) parking space across from our hotel.
After settling into to our second and final room (first was under construction) we opened the windows, put on the desk fan to get some cool air flow (no air-conditioning), showered, and confirmed final arrangements with Scott and Joan.
Since parking in the city (where we were) was a challenge, it was easier for us to take the metro and accept Scott's offer for a drive back. We found the metro, boarded the first train without incident, but then in our excitement took the second train in the wrong direction. Good thing we noticed early enough so the correction was easy to make and we didn't have to keep Scott waiting too long at our final stop.
It was wonderful to see them and visit their beautiful home in Kraainem, a suburb outside Brussels. After a number of hugs and a few tears we spent a while catching up at the house before proceeding to dinner at a delicious local Italian restaurant favored by Scott and Joan (picture 1). We enjoyed eating outside and talking until the restaurant closed. On the drive back to our hotel Scott gave us a night tour of downtown Brussels which sparkled in it's many city lights. It was a magical end to a very special evening.
The next day was raining (very common in Brussels) which didn't dampen our energy to explore downtown (picture 2). We took the metro and spent the next hour or so at a terrific English bookstore, suggested by Scott, where we selected travel books for our upcoming trips to Northern Spain, Turkey, and Egypt. We strolled around for a while looking at sights and stores then returned to our hotel to do some computer work and read.
We checked out the following day to get back on the road for a short trip to our next destination - Luxembourg.
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