We woke first thing Monday morning (3rd December) to a tiny bit of snow. Unfortunately, half an hour later, it stopped, disappeared, and then proceeded to rain for the rest of the day. This was somewhat unfortunate because today was the day we planned to go to Brussels.
Snow!
We did end up going but we left a little bit later than we originally
planned. This kinda worked out ok because while we were wandering
through the Christmas Markets (yes finally we found some that were
'open'), I heard a really strong Aussie accent say, "hey babe, that's
what I need, one of those penguin things." I found this hilarious
because not only was the accent so strong and screamed tourist, but the
penguin thing was in reference to the things they have at ice skating
rinks to help kids, or in this case, Australians. Oh did I mention there
was a giant outdoor ice-skating rink set up at the markets? Anyway, I
was laughing and Seh didn't hear the accent originally so she hung back a
bit to overhear and the next thing I hear is Seh squeal my name and
tell me it was Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban. I turned around as Nicole
and one of their daughters walked straight past me and then I looked
straight at Keith who was trying to cheer up their youngest. He then
walked past and caught up to Nicole. We did consider talking to them and
asking for a photo but felt it was inappropriate because they had the
girls with them and seemed to be having some difficulty with keeping
them happy because they left soon after we saw them. They were so easily
incognito because the cold means large coats and beanies, etc, so it
was really only because I heard Keith's accent that we noticed them at
all. Anyway, our celebrity spotting didn't quite end there.
Brussels Christmas Markets
Brussels is ready for Christmas :)
The main reason we were in Brussels was because we had concert tickets
to see Matt Corby that night. The venue was at The Botanique which I
believe has 4 different rooms for shows. There is also a bar and mini
restaurant so we grabbed a very yummy dinner (with an impressive
vegetarian selection) there before the show started and Matt walked past
our table. It was lucky we planned to go in as soon as the doors opened
because the show had sold out and the room really was very small.
Everyone was packed in there but we managed to get a good little spot
that we were happy with. I was really impressed with the show. Matt has
come a long way since his days on Australian Idol and his voice is
amazing. It's very mature and strong and can reach some amazing notes.
There was no support band and he only played for an hour but for 11
Euros, I'm not complaining in the slightest. Quality over quantity won
out for sure.
Matt Corby
Matt and the band
The day also involved eating Belgium waffles with chocolate sauce,
checking out an English language bookstore (you will be shocked to learn
I didn't buy anything!), and doing a walk-by of the hostel we stayed in
five years ago.
Waffles
