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Ah, Paris. Though 2 days isn't nearly enough to experience it, I was amazed at what you can fit into 2 days there. DAY 1: We arrived by ICE into Paris Est, where we caught the bus 32 to the 16th Arrondissement, our home for the weekend. From there, it was a short 20-minute walk to the Eiffel Tower. After taking loads of photos -- up close, far away, artistic -- it was time to move on to the Seine riverboat ride. For EUR 13 per person, we piled into a flat-bottom boat (after waiting about 30 minutes - apparently this is a popular activity!), and sailed off towards the Notre Dame. The commentary was quite good, but it was difficult to get a good view of many of the buildings - unlike similar cruises in Amsterdam, where everything is at eye level. Still, this was a nice way to get a lay of the land, and would be perfect o n a sunnier day. After the boat cruise, we headed by foot to the  Champs-Élysées  and the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc was gorgeous lit up at night - I've t...

Brussels is a short 3 hours by ICE from Frankfurt, and a nice change of scenery from the big city. Although bustling in its own right, Brussels was peaceful at 9:30 am, when my train arrived. Most shops were closed, but luckily Dandoy's breakfast stand was open - perfect, to warm up and eat a waffle. Although I didn't taste their delicious-looking, but extremely pricey "handmade" biscuits, my waffle and fruit sauce hit the spot! The Grand Place in Brussels, which appeared to be the centerpoint for tourists like myself, is simply stunning. Even on a dreary gray day, the gold-leafed buildings seemed to glimmer a little more brightly and were a nice change from the dark stone buildings in the Marktplatz of many German towns we've seen. I walked around the square to take it all in, snapped a few pictures, and headed up to see the Manneken Pis and his costume of the day. Definitely a tourist trap, but also only a 10 minute walk from the Grand Place, so why not? ...