Brussels - Part II

On the second day I did more walking around the center and less hiking to see buildings miles away.


I took this picture, because he looks strangely like Schnarf:


See?


This guy owned a fantastic Belgian chocolate shop. He made all his own truffles and stuff...


And this shop sold cookies. The mannequin in the window was great!



I did do some trekking out of the city to see the Basilique, (after having a Belgian waffle with melted dark chocolate). It was really grey, so the photos aren't too good, but this building was absolutely magnificent. I had to make do with taking photos from the outside only - there was a da Vinci exhibition inside so cameras were verboten, and in the church part there was a funeral. I don't think they would have appreciated me barging in to snap the architecture.



This, I found hilarious! A picture of the Mannekin Pis - do not pee in the garden...


By this time, my Eurostar train was about 2 hours from leaving and I still had to collect my bags from the hotel and make my way to the Midi, so I had to leave.

Brussels is a beautiful city, and I'd recommend it to everyone who travels to Europe.

Brussels - Part I

So, I decided to go to Brussels at the last minute. I was in Amsterdam and then Paris for work, and then got on a train on Friday for some chocolate, waffles and mussels. No, I didn't go entirely for good food, but I did partake in the eating of bad things and drinking of Belgian beer while I cleared my head for an entire 27 hours.

I spent most of Friday morning wandering around the Grand Place, people-watching and taking pictures.


I wandered up side alleys and different streets, and took a couple of photos on my way to the Manneken Pis.



Then I came across a busker who looked like Santa - he had a beautiful electro-acoustic and was singing John Denver, Johnny Cash, Creedence Clearwater Revival and others. He was fantastic and drew the biggest crowd than any other street entertainer I saw the whole time I was there.



I took a walk out to the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudule. It was quite a trek, but it was the most beautiful cathedral I've seen in a long time. I went down to the crypt to see what the original church was like, before looking around the rest of the building.





Then I headed through the Parc du Bruxelle over to the Palace de la Nation - it must be pretty important, because you're not allowed inside - there's a lot of guarded space between the road where tourists can view the building, and the entrance.


By this time I'd been walking for about 4 hours and had covered about 16 miles. I headed back in to the center where I found the St. Hubert shopping gallery and had a beer, before heading back to the hotel for a shower before finding somewhere for dinner.