At last, Brussels

We're in Brussels now, where our advanced waffle research program requires that we continue testing at every available opportunity. To date, no waffle has failed the test; in fact, every waffle has passed with flying colors. These clever Belgians!

Brussels is many things, but it ain't quaint. Ghent and Bruges were charmingly and obviously Belgian, but Brussels is another big city, always in motion, trams and buses and metro and cars and lots of people. Sometimes it reminds me of Paris, sometimes Buenos Aires, sometimes Barcelona, but underlying it all is the common big city atmosphere of jostling, of always having to work one's way through crowds.

Here we've heard mostly French. Unlike our experiences earlier in the trip where I had no idea what language was being spoken, I now know I am hearing French. Since I do not speak or read more than ten words in French, I have no idea what is being said, but at least I know it is French.

The grandest part of Brussels is Grand Place, the central plaza of the city. The old city hall faces the old king's house, and the rest of the square is ringed by guild halls mostly rebuilt after a French bombardment in the late 17th century. It's physically smaller than I expected but it is nonetheless very grand and imposing. The Wiki link above and a Google search will give more information and images about Grand Place, but it cannot compare with standing there and taking it all in.

Last night's dinner was Italian, at a little restaurant run by a family from Portugal. Terri had pizza, I had spaghetti carbonara, we drank a bottle of Bardolino, and through it all we listened to the same salsa song over and over and over. I kid you not: they were playing a Latin American dance number when we walked in and ninety minutes later the same song was still playing as we walked out.

We've stayed busy, leaving our hotel in mid-morning and not making it back until dinner time: the Royal Museum of Fine Arts (Ancient), the Royal Museum of Fine Arts (Modern), a James Ensor exhibition at the ING Cultural Center, the Museum of Musical Instruments, the Beer Museum (free samples), the Atomium, the Basilique Nationale du Sacré-Coeur, all punctuated by tram/bus/subway rides, extemporaneous walks through new neighborhoods, visits to chocolate shops, and the occasional waffle.

We only went to the Museum of Musical Instruments because it was included in our museum pass and was on the way to someplace else, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. The museum is housed in a fabulous Art Nouveau building that was a department store 100 years ago, and their audioguide is the first that I really like: no talking! At selected spots in front of the exhibits, you hear music from the types of instruments you're looking at.

I could write more but I am tired. We've been freezing (daytime temps seldom above the mid-30s), I am full of waffles and beer, and today I am another year older. I'll write one more blog post about our Belgium trip after we get back to Texas.

The growing set of Flickr snaps is here.