Briefly Brussels and Friendly Faces October 20, 2006

Our hotel is only about a 20 minute walk from the Grand Place, which is the center of Brussels, so after a breakfast of fruit, yogurt and pastries we started walking toward the town center. (The hotel had a breakfast buffet but at EUR 20 (US$25) each we decided to buy supplies from the small grocery around the corner and fresh pastries from a small bakery - we ended up paying EUR 3 per breakfast.)

I wish I could say grand and exciting things about Brussels but to me it was not a very interesting city. Other than the typical European narrow town roads lined with shops, this mid ground between France and Germany didn’t have much to offer us. We did go see the Manneken Pis (the peeing boy) which is somewhat strange. This small fountain of a boy peeing, the original dates from 1619, is one of the more famous landmarks in Brussels and the tourists were lined up to have their picture made in front of it. Legend says that the statue was inspired by the son of a duke that was caught relieving himself during a battle, the statue being a symbol of the country’s military courage. Tradition has all visiting heads of state donate clothes to the boy and he now has a collection of 650 outfits including an Elvis suit.

We wandered around the historic district, had lunch and did a little shopping before walking back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and a visit with our friends Denise and Chuck Spears that use to live in Hong Kong but have lived in Brussels for the last three years. We enjoyed their company and the great Lebanese dinner. We wish them well.

We left Denise and Chuck shortly before mid-night so we wouldn’t miss the last train of the night, arrived at the hotel and immediately went to bed.