Mini-Europe

Today we started our day with a free ( for tips) Tour of Central Brussels around the Grand Palace. Our tour guide was originally from Edmonton, AB. Our tour started in the main square which was a marketplace in the 18th Century. It houses the City Hall, which is quite asymmetrical ( longer on left side, diff. Windows, the arch below the tower doesn't line up) because it was built in 3 phases, the ancient guild houses such as the Beer and Butcher Guilds and the Brussels Museum. The Butcher Guild is the location where Karl Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto before he was ousted from Brussels! We saw the 60 cm tall statue of the "peeing boy" or Manneken Pis. He has 1150 different costumes for different occasions. The most plausible story for its origin is that there was a leather factory in the center and pee has ammonia which is needed for leather tanning! Brussels is very divisive because of the 2 main religions of the Dutch and French in the 1600's being Catholic & Protestant. Now it's more divisive because of their 2 main languages of French and Dutch. It's bilingual, and the Dutch speak both, but the French don't necessarily speak Dutch and don't have to learn it. Brussels has a history of brutal Colonization where millions were killed and the money made from it was used to build the Royal Palace and fund the city. We tried the Belgian waffles, frites ( double fried in beef tallow😆😋) and the Belgian chocolate👌 It is some of the best because they have strict quality controls and use a higher quality of cocoa. These standards attract talented chocolatiers.
We met up with S & T late afternoon and walked around the center. A great day exploring.Read more