Staying in Belgium with friends

Travel is amazing !!!!!

You get to see amazing things; you experience amazing food; you immerse yourself in diverse cultures; you explore amazing places, and of course, you meet amazing people.

Over a year ago, as part of our world trip, we met one amazing man — a lovely guy at a hostel in Ecuador.  We then traveled around the town exploring with him. Next thing we even booked a bus to Peru with him.

Over the following 30 hour journey we got to make a new friend, and here we are in Belgium with him again.

The joys of travel are amazing, and to meet up with our lovely friend is very special.

It is even more special as he stays with a host family that welcomed us, and our friend into their home or a few days.

Explorason was so spoilt.

Belgium traditional foods were a hit.  Belgium biscuits that had a hint of ginger in little packs were great snacks.

Then breakfast was chocolate milk; chocolate spread; and chocolate sprinkles made from real chocolate.

I had a kid on a sugar rush !!

As for lovely food? Explorafriend discovered the white cherries waiting to be picked in the garden.

We all picked madly as our tall host held down the branch for us.  I am not sure how many went straight into our mouths?  They were so sweet and juicy!

It was a beautiful home, with a beautiful garden. To hear the birds sing, and to feel the tranquility was amazing.

Another lovely feature of staying at a home was that Explorason was able to play with the dog Kasper. He had a few lessons on ball throwing skills. It was lovely that he was getting some attention.

One fascinating item in their garden was “Zoe”, the computerized lawn mower.
Explorason liked to follow it around.

Fascinated!

Next day our friend took us to Waterloo where the battle with Napoleon was fought.

He was so full of knowledge, and it was a great time to “see history” and a place of a great battle.

There a French soldier charmed us all.

I must admit. He had a fantastic calf hide backpack I would have readily bought off him in a flash. He was great with Explorason too.

Belgium has great commemorative coins and so we bought a beautiful one here with Napoleon on it – a keepsake forever!
At their home, we also were treated to traditional Belgium food.

A lovely dinner with breaded meatloaf; gorgeous whole potatoes and beans. The applesauce was a winner with Explorason who I think ate about half!

Take a look at this – it was amazing!

Another night we were treated to beautiful Belgium strawberries.

We came home one evening from a long day trip exploring Brussels, and our host treated us to a local diner with traditional food.

White asparagus !!!!

The next was a fish stew called Waterzooi. It was amazing!

On our last night, after a busy day driving all the way to Luxembourg and Germany and back, we were treated to a beautiful BBQ.
We were joined by more of our hosts family.

It was a beautiful end to our stay.

Travel really does enrich our lives.

It is not just about where you go. It is also a big part of about who you met.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Questions and Comments

• What do you find fascinating about Belgium?
• What do you make of their culture?
• Do share your comments with us below.