So on Saturday we took the metro to St. Catherine Square to visit the the Christmas Market and the Grand Place of Brussels. We exited the metro and were in the center of St. Catherine's square and the market. St. Catherine's Church anchored the square to the east, the Ferris Wheel to the west. In Brussels, the Christmas Market stalls were lined on either side of the square: a mixture of local crafts, food and beverages. First, we bought something warm to drink. Then we took the girls to the merry-go-round. They rode it three times. First, they rode the airplane together on the merry-go-round (similar to the Wright Brother's plane). Then, Elisabeth rode the cello and Kate rode the dinosaur. On their last and final ride they both rode in the rockets together! (I need to learn how to upload photos - the most incredible merry-go-round I have ever seen).
Next we walked to the end of the square and rode the Ferris Wheel. This Ferris Wheel was smaller than the one at Lille, France last weekend. However, it was enclosed. Both Rich and I were scared and didn't like it when the girls moved. But, a great view of Brussels. We looked for chimney sweeps (aka Dick Van Dyke from the film Mary Poppins), but we didn't see any. We did see the Atomium and Rich's office building though.
After riding the Ferris Wheel Elisabeth and Kate went on three toboggan rides on an ice slide at the end of the square. Elisabeth had more control of her sled than Kate. A winter wonderland!
Finally, for our last adventure, we went ice skating in the outdoor rink in the center of St. Catherine's Square. Incredible to ice skate in the evening with the Christmas lights. There was a separate children's section with "walkers" for the girls so that they wouldn't fall down on the ice. The best was the "chair" - Kate sat in it while Elisabeth pushed her around the rink while ice skating. Rich and I were not far behind... Elisabeth was so proud of herself.
For dinner we ate at a local Brasserie. Lots of antiques in the restaurant: cash registers, scales, stoves, etc. About 80 Euros for dinner for four. A lot compared with the 30 Euros we spent at Pizza Hut last week for dinner. Next time we'll eat at the local McDonald's on the Grand Place (although it was nice to sit next to the old-fashioned stove and warm ourselves after skating).
To top off the evening we walked to the Grand Place for the light show. We stopped at a local chocolate shop, Elisabeth, to savor some of Belgium's finest chocolate.
Our outing lasted five hours (2pm - 7pm). It wasn't too crowded in the afternoon and early evening, but I would not advise going after 6pm because it was difficult for little ones to see the creche on the Grand Place with the crowds.
