Day 66: Brussels, Belgium

Today was our travel day to Paris, but we scheduled a five hour stop in Brussels so we could see the city (and try one of their waffles). Brussels is half French/half German so we finally started to understand the language!

After we ate our waffle (which was delicious), we walked over to the Grand Place and ended up getting into a free walking tour. We saw Mannekin Pis which is apparently the 2nd most popular statue in the world (I will have to check). It is a little boy peeing into a fountain that is 700 years old (but not really as it was stolen 7 times and replaced). We also saw the old church which is a church in a church in a church. They've added to it and refurbished it over the years so the oldest part of the church is in the centre.

Brussels is also home to the most comic book artists (more than Japan). It's home (or was) to the creators of the Smurfs, Asterix and Obelix, and TinTin. On our tour, we also saw the Queen's and King's galleries. After the galleries, we had a break so Zoë and I opted for Belgian hot chocolates and fries. BEST fries I've ever eaten hands down. We also wanted to get some chocolate from the store and ended up taking too long so we lost our tour guide, but on our twenty minute hunt to find him (which we didn't), we saw the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, Mont des Arts gardens, and the Royal Palace of Brussels.

Brussels is actually a really nice city and I'd love to see more of Belgium one day. Apparently, the north part of Brussels is Dutch speaking whereas the South part is French. Never a dull moment with history in Europe. It's actually a joke here that Canadian history is incredibly uneventful and boring.

When we got to Paris, we walked over to our hotel and we have such a view of the Eiffel Tower! (Not from our actual room, but when we walk to our hotel). When we walked back at night from supper, it was gorgeous. I can't wait to walk around the city tomorrow.Read more