To be quite honest, I hated Brussels when we arrived. As we drove through the small streets of the "lower" part of town, it looked dingy, dirty, and just a little bit shady.
You can tell that they tried to change this in the newer part of Brussels with their new skyscrapers and sculptures. The two just don't mix - it just looks very odd.
As we had arrived fairly early, we had time to drive past King Albert and Queen Paola's palace. It was quite beautiful - as much as we could see. There is no parking outside to take pictures so our bus driver, Giordano from Milan, drove as slowly as legally possible for us to take very quick pictures.
Then we drove past their "downtown" Palace which, apparently, the King and Queen only use to host parties, etc. It is massive! We slowly drove past it but I was on the wrong side of the bus to get a clear shot. I must admit, it was very impressive. - which is the whole point to palaces isn't it?
After arriving at our hotel, we were taken on a short walk to see the Manneken Pis. We were in luck - he had a costume on. Tomorrow, apparently, he is going to be wearing the uniform of a Barcelona player.If you are unfamiliar with what the "Pis" is, it's the original statue of the peeing boy that several gardens have.
We continued our walk through the very small, very crowded streets and beheld a wonderful sight at the end - the Grand Place. And, I can tell you that it was spectacular.
It is basically a great big square surrounded by extraordinary old buildings. Some of the buildings are fine examples of superb Gothic design. The Grand Place definitely lives up to its name. I went nuts trying to capture as much as I could of the ornate decorations on the buildings but, unfortunately, a picture or video could not capture the grandeur of this place.
At our dinner, I sat with two couples - Kathryn and Peter, Paul and Jo. Very lovely couples, one from Brisbane and one from Perth. We talked about our experiences in London and all sorts of things. I had a great time chatting away.
Everyone on this tour seems to be between 50 and 60 years old. Except one old man who’s here with his family seems to be waaaaaay older - his son who is travelling with him seems to be in his 50's. And they didn't want to go anywhere after we arrived. I am the only one travelling on my own. Several people that I've talked to have commented that I "am very brave". I don't feel brave though.We had a buffet dinner with cold cuts for starters and beef, chicken or seafood skewers for the hot meal. And, of course, there was dessert. Many, many pastries and cakes. I went straight for the chocolate ones.
Then it was off to bed.
Tomorrow, Amsterdam.
Also, forgot to mention - Giordano reminds me of the rapper Pitbull. For those who are a bit older, a young Kojak. He is bald, wore a very nice blue pin-striped suit with a light blue top underneath, very nice shoes and sunglasses. Some of the other people I have spoken to seem to think he looks like Bruce Willis. You decide.
