The Royal Palace and Manneken Pis

Spent the first part of the day touring the Royal palace in Brussels. The thai jewel beetle shell ceiling was unique and beautiful. The palace itself is interesting with its many chandeliers and paintings, but it was the artifacts from prince Charles' life that I enjoyed the most. One of his report cards suggested that he'd do much better it he paid more attention in class.

After the walking through the palace, I walked all the way over to the Parc du Cinquantenaire. By the time I got there, the rain was coming down pretty hard, so I took shelter under a tent set up in the park to have lunch. When it became clear the rain was here to stay, I went inside (for WiFi and to dry out) to do something much neglected -- figuring out lodging and transportation for the last week of the trip, which was getting alarmingly close.

That accomplished, I needed to see one of the iconic landmarks of Brussels - Mannekin Pis. The cheeky devil is gearing up for the flowertime, which starts tomorrow. The famous flower carpet is only done in even numbered years, but I'm happy to settle to seeing the Grand-Place decked out.

Dinner once again failed to disappoint - tempura veggies, and some sort of Belgian-poultry-but-not-chicken dish served at Pré de Chez Nous.Read more