Christmas in Brussels

	I've been to Brussels a few times now, and what’s not to love; chocolate, delicious fresh waffle aroma filling the streets and beautiful architecture. This time there were promises of chocolate tasting, but Christmas markets and mulled wines were on offer. Being my first Christmas away from the heat, I am very very excited to experience the typical winter Christmassy things. I have visions of it being exactly like in the Christmas carols and Christmas cards. And Brussels did not disappoint.
Everywhere you turn; there are Christmas lights, a never ending row of stalls selling everything from mulled wine, and beer, to waffles, and stoemp, to wooden tree decorations. The streets filled the people of all ages, rugged up in beanies, mittens and scarves, sipping warm drinks, or downing delicious street foods. I had been to the chocolate factory before and knew it was going to be difficult to resist sampling EVERYTHING! This time I was determined to not be sick after the experience and just enjoy the delicious chocolates to a sensible limit. Hehe yea right!
Neuhaus was packed. Sooo many people bringing their kids, grandparents, cousins, friends, to feast on free chocolate samples. When you enter the store all you can smell is that sweet sweet cocoa smell, mixed with hints of fruits and nuts. I held back and didn’t dig into the first open box of chocolates I saw. I looked around and carefully selected what I wanted based on the few words I could actually read on the boxes and how well the chocolate was presented. This worked for a little while, but then lust and greed took over and well Bec is not in charge then. All I wanted was more, and more chocolate. I knew it was time to leave. So I grabbed a handful of caramel slivered almonds and went outside to wait for my friends. Haha I will win the battle next time, NEUHAUS, next time!!!
	Next stop we were onto lunch! WHOOHOO!!!! There is a cute and popular fish shop, where they have no seating, you stand and eat your food around tables. It’s an odd concept to me and seems kinda barbaric, but I’ll roll with it. The food was DELICIOUS. The tuna steak was cooked amazingly, the last time I had tuna steak my mum cooked it, and it was possibly the worst meal I’ve ever had, haha poor mum! But this was the perfect kinda of tuna; it melted in your mouth. I also tried razor clams/shells which I’d never had before, they were also super tasty. It could have been that I was freezing my ass off, but everything tasted amazing!!!
I didn’t know or realise that the Smurfs were written and based in Brussels. Should have guessed as it’s the comic capital of the world. And as you walk around you can see street art of different comics. And in this cute little courtyard there is a massive sculpture of a Smurf sitting on a toadstool. Its soo cute.	We spent the rest of the weekend indulging in mulled wine, mulled apple and cinnamon cider, wine, chocolate, sweets and Belgian foods. I think I’m going to love this whole winter Christmas….. Peace out for now…. Bxxx

Copenhagen

This has been top of my list of places to visit since I arrived in the UK. I’ve been dreaming of this trip for months. And when my friend suggested we go for my birthday and for the Christmas Markets, I honestly cried. This would be the best birthday of my adult life! There were a few key things I wanted from this trip. I wanted to go to 42Raw (a cafe that only serves raw food), Paleo (a cafe that only serves paleo foods) and the Christmas Markets. The trip over was awful and I will NEVER fly with Easyjet again. But that bitching will be saved from your eyes, cos I’m that kind: P
The first day started with a trip on the train to the little mermaid statue. Mind you the trains themselves are amazing, and way bigger than my house. It felt like I was in the future. The trains had TV’s and plush chairs, London tubes could really take some pointers from them. So I arrived at the statue of the Little Mermaid, which has been the centre of the Disney movie, and some other dude who wrote the actual story, I forget his name.
	We didn’t have a plan till lunch time, so spent some time wandering the streets. Copenhagen is beautiful; it has everything I’d ever want in a town. Every second shop is a health food, or organic cafe. Aimlessly walking lead us right into the palace square, where at that exact moment the changing of the guards was beginning. Talk about timing. I’ve never seen a changing of the guards, it’s all quite scripted and almost like a dance. It was quite interesting to watch. Near where the guards marched, there is a huge beautiful church. It’s a massive dome, and has murals, and stained glass all around the walls. I imagine the sounds on a Sunday here, when there a tons of people singing, would be wonderful due to the shape of the church.
Next stop LUNCH!!! And mannn have I been waiting for this for a loooong time. Little did I know that 42Raw and Paleo are actually in the same street and side by side. AMAZING!! So 42Raw was first on the tasting menu. I couldn’t decide what to have, so settled on a tasting plate: raw sandwich, raw lasagne and raw curry. I’m a fan of the raw food movement, only as a treat, or a change to the usual eating plan I have, and everything on this plate was delicious. Even my bacon loving, chicken eating friend liked the raw lasagne. I finished the meal off with a coconut and ginger brownie, and a vanilla cookie. The cookie was my favourite part. I honestly could have died happy after that cookie.
But there was more to discover........ The Tivoli Gardens are a huge draw card to Copenhagen, as they are only opened four times a year. And being a month till Christmas, they had opened a week or two before our trip, and were stocked with Christmassy stuff. The temperature dropped, and man was I cold. And for everyone who knows me, I whine, and whinge A LOT! I’m like a little kid. No attention span, always need a drink or to pee, or I’m cold, or I’m hot, or I’m tired. Haha can’t win really. So when I went to the Tivoli Gardens, it was night time and the temperature was around 1 degree. Yep I was dying. Pretty sure winter will kill me! But as soon as I saw the lights, and all the prettiness of the gardens, my freezing disappeared. It was soo fun and Christmassy, with tons of lights and decorations, and sweet sweet smells of sugared nuts, and waffles. I guess this is what you expect for a cold Christmas.	There was soo much to see and look at, my eyes and brain were in over drive! After a few hours, the excitement wore off, and I was back to being cold! But with a quick costume change I was off to a Ruby for birth day cocktails.
	Day 2 started with a late breakfast and then more wandering and stumbling upon great parts of the city. I saw Christmas markets, with a super jolly Santa, I had juices, and coffees at nice little cafes. And then it was time for Paleo: D
It’s the best feeling going into a cafe and knowing I can order anything on the menu and be able to eat it without dying or feeling awful. Paleo was everything I could imagine. I had a salmon wrap, which was made out of egg, and in the wrap was orange and pomegranate. It was simply divine. And what is lunch without dessert, coconut muffin and brownie with coconut butter and flakes. Too much YUM!!! With full bellies, we set off for more sightseeing. I have this ability to find organic food places no matter where I go. It’s like I am drawn to them, and no surprise I stumbled upon two food halls, which housed soo many different kinds of foods and oils, and drinks. EVERYTHING!
	After a rice milk gelato and peppermint tea, it was off to prep for dinner. On the menu were fishies!!!! When I arrived at Fiskebaren we were seated at a huge bar with a fish tank in the middle. So we were literally eating dinner with the fishies. The restaurant was a little more up market, and nothing seemed too difficult for them. They were soo helpful with all my allergies and issues; that they specifically made me a dessert with ingredients I could eat, which the chef bought out himself. The fish was super fresh and so delicious. The whole experience was fun, and really ended our nights in Copenhagen amazingly.
With our trip drawing to an end, we decided to spend our last hours in Copenhagen at the zoo!!! It was minus a million degrees, but that didn’t stop our excitedness.  One thing I don’t understand is how they can take a zebra from Africa and dump it in a zoo in Copenhagen where the temps are super cold, and the zebra just adapt and act like it’s the Bahamas. I’m freezing my a$$ off and I have a million layers of clothes on. The zoo was a ton of fun, and you could really get quite close to some of the animals. It really ended the trip off well.
	The flight home was a disaster, and again will never fly with Easyjet again. But Copenhagen is now my new favourite place on earth. Peace out for now...... Bxxxx