The city was so quiet when we left for the train station. No cars, no bikes, very few people.

The frite (French fries) restaurant had a long, long line!

Every 2 years, Brussels creates a carpet of flowers. This year dahlias and begonia were used.

Light show with music. It was 10 pm, and the crowd was huge.

We're 2 blocks away, and it was that loud

Welcome to Belgium & Brussels

August 15, 2024 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

We are in Brussels at a very special time. It is the biennial Flower Carpet Belgium celebration. They use the square in front of the City Hall, called the Grand Place, and create a huge blanket of flowers in beautiful designs.

Today, in addition to seeing the Flower Carpet we went to the Atomium. This is a very large structure meant to look like an atom. It was originally built for the 1958 Worlds Fair. Inside is a museum of sorts about the building of the structure and nuclear power.

Observations of the Day: We are definitely Central California coast people. We are so accustomed to mild weather. It has been warm, 80s, with high humidity for a few days, and it drains us. Hate to end our trip in 9 days, but the California coast weather sounds really good.

Second Observation: Frites (French fries) are served with everything here. I had a lage bucket of mussels for dinner, and it came with fries. One frites shop had a long line just to get French fries.Read more