Brussels, Belgium

  Brussels, Belgium
Friday, July 18, 2008

I finally stumbled upon a place to update this- there are travel info centers available for "young people" who are traveling from hostel to hostel.. anyway they have free internet but time is really limited so i was only able to upload a few photos... We're busy exploring Grand Place, the city center, and many other cool places here...

Grand Place

brussels, another view

lunch time!

We went to a beer museum today- the Musee des Brasseurs Belges, but it really wasn't all that great- it basically was a room where the beer is held in giant vats and we watched a video in French about how beer is made. They did let us sample a 'mystery' beer, however. (it was about 9:30 am). We also saw several chocolate stores - of course, but due to the slight letdown of the beer museum, we didn't go to the chocolate museum. BUT they do let you do a lot of sampling in most of the chocolate shops, and there are demonstrations of chocolate making in most of them as well. After feeling guilty about eating all that free chocolate, I bought several pieces at one of the stores (Chocopolis)- and made sure they were unique choices- one of them was dark chocolate with a violet center... Today I ate a Belgian waffle with ice cream and strawberries for lunch (good to know I'm eating healthy here in Brussels), and sampled some quiche and Belgian beer for dinner.

grand place, again

Waffles in Belgium

Belgian Lace

mmm chocolate

shopping

Notre Dame chapel

inside notre dame chapel

st. catherine's

  It's really pretty here (but cold- the weather is comparable to London I hear, which is upsetting considering the weather I left behind!). There are simply too many historical and art/museum buildings/attractions to look at! Brussels is known for comic shops and cartoons-

Just one of the many Cartoons

There are many random buildings throughout the city that have giant cartoons painted on the sides of them. I also finally managed to find the 'Mannekin Pis', which is a tiny statue hidden on a small street corner by some houses and shops. It originally was not meant to be a monument of great importance, but apparently has become the most well known symbol for Brussels. Apparently this little guy's costume is changed quite regularly, and word is that when he gets changed, he pees beer instead of water. (Sounds like a tale they tell tourists to me...) In our wandrings around we also found the Notre Dame chapel, the royal palace, and Brussels Park, which were all pretty amazing.

Mannekin Pis

in front of mannekin pis

Oh, and fortunately, some people do speak english here- which is a huge help!  I leave for London in the morning, so off to go find one last Belgian dinner!

brussels