Woah, hold on sec. I thought this is over?! I know, I know. I promise this will be a short read!
The sweetest and the friendliest people we met in our trip was in Belgium.
We only spent two days in Belgium, a day in Brussels and a day in Bruges. I knew prior to coming it's one of the smallest and most densely populated European countries. Belgians are multi-lingual. They speak English, Dutch and French. So coming here was definitely a breath of fresh air for us. Having to speak in English was a big relief and joy. Imagine, just having one person to talk to in the entire trip (I love Kevin but still, he and I both know human interaction is a must lol)? When we arrived to our AirBnb which was surprisingly in a hotel, we were greeted by their super friendly host, Eva. It felt so amazing to be able to talk to someone about what she loves about her city. She even pointed directions out on the street. The hospitality was off the charts, seriously.
The good thing about Brussels is everything is walking distance or a bus away. And the best thing for us was our Airbnb was just right next to the Grand Place. Name itself is grand, this place is absolutely gorgeous. Our time in Brussels was the coldest and it drizzled quite a bit. It was breathtaking to see this place when the ground was shiny from the rain.
Here's what you must try: It's a MUST to try their fries, waffles, chocolates, mussels and beer. Fries. Sorry no pictures to show (crazy right?) but everything that I mentioned is so good. I am not a big fan of mayonnaise, but mayo on fries, sure why not. But it doesn't taste weird, their mayo looks different like not that Kraft Mayo, I swear it's good. You can add grilled onions or ketchup if that's your thing but their fries is definitely good. Waffles. I'm a waffle over pancake girl. I love the crispness and the airiness of it. Again, Belgian waffle is like no other. It's lighter and slightly sweeter. It's so good. Chocolates. I mean, have you had a Belgian chocolate before? If you haven't, just go ahead and try it. It's so smooth, creamy and decadent.
Mussels or Moules is one of their popular dishes. You'll see it in most restaurants. Be careful though cuz they would haggle and convince you to eat at their restaurant and end up getting ripped off. Lastly, the Beer. Any beer connoisseur or craft beer drinker would know that Belgium offers many of the best beers in the world. Especially their sour beer. I am not a beer drinker. If I do, I like my ciders and stouts. And thanks to Kevin and Belgium, I discovered my love for Framboise. SRSLY SO GOOD. Stop by at Trader Joe's and get a bottle asap! It's like cherry juice!
Grand Place at night
On our last day, we took an hour and half train to Bruges. Bruges was straight up picture of a fairy tale. Called as "Venice of Belgium", this small town is romantic and colorful, you see couples in love everywhere. I highly recommend doing the canal tour. It's a 30-min boat ride which takes you to the canals and experience Bruges in a whole different level. It is definitely the highlight of our Bruges trip.
Aside from the colors of Bruges (seems like this Euro trip is truly meant for me, haha. totally digging the color palette!), we also noticed that there are bicycles everywhere. Bruges is such a small town with spiderweb alleyways, narrow streets, people bike to their destinations. Their parked bicycles are seriously eye candy. What's with the 'seriously', Riva?! I'm very serious about this seriously. (That was just an internal conversation haha)
Me: Can you stand right next it and pretend it's yours and about to ride it? Kev: Im not gonna do that.
Before I end this post, I want to share our last AirBnb cuz it was STUNNING! I wish we stayed a bit longer so we could enjoy this place. What you're about to see is a lil photoshoot we did at their rooftop. We heard church bells ringing the day we left, it was such a treat. The best AirBnb we had so far.
Travel bug is totally real. The thing about traveling, you just want to see more places. I think one of the ways to beat it is to explore your own city. See new places, try a new coffee shop, or just window shop. Or maybe change your walking route. It totally helps! San Francisco is such a small city but it offers so many things. You just have to find those hidden gems. In case you haven't seen it, I posted our Euro trip video on Youtube. I am planning to do this on a monthly, featuring San Francisco, and its districts, what's good in the hood, would also love to feature another Creative who can take us where the coolest spots are. What do you think?