Belgium, part 3

Monday, after all the swimming was done, we left Antwerp and took the train to Brussels.  As we got off the train and walked up into the station, Sam's first observation was that Brussels smelled GOOD!  I am not sure if we were smelling chocolate or waffles or both, but it did smell good!  We only had Monday and a little bit of Tuesday to explore Brussels, so we quickly got to our hotel and were able to check in early.  We dropped our stuff and headed to walk around the city.

All of the museums were closed on Monday, so we were limited in what we could do.  First we headed out to find waffles.  And along the way we searched out what is the most famous statue in Brussels.  It is called Manneken-Pis.  It is this little statue of a boy peeing in a fountain. It is supposed to represent the irreverent humor of the people of Brussels.  My understanding is that he has several different costumes, but he was not wearing any the day we were there.

Along the way, we walked through a main square with some beautiful buildings.  They were setting up the Christmas Markets all over Brussels.  However, they don't open in Brussels until December.

Finally, the Manneken-Pis.  We thought he would be a bigger statue, but not so much.  After I forced my kids to get their picture here, we walked around the corner to find.....

What Tommy would probably describe as heaven!  A waffle stand, or actually, several!  So many choices!

The gummy on top of our waffles is the Manneken-Pis.  He showed up all over Brussels.  Tommy couldn't bring himself to eat the gummy, but had no problem with the waffle!

What we learned is that waffles in Belgium are nothing like Belgian waffles in the US.  They are sweeter and chewier, and oh-so much better.  I did find a recipe and have done a fairly good job and recreating them since we have been home.

A war memorial, if I remember, it was kind of like our tomb of the unknown soldier (however, I could be wrong)

Since Mike shot down the idea that the building in Bruges was my ancestral home, then this one must be.  It's the royal palace, and I think the flag flying on top indicates that the royals are present.  I wanted to knock on the door and introduce myself to my long, long lost family, but Mike and the kids, as well as the guard, didn't think it was a good idea =)

Before the day was over, we had to get some more fries!  So we searched out a shop...

YUM!

So that is a brief overview of our time in Belgium.  We were there for about 5 days, but I could have stayed there so much longer.  Tommy and I both felt like it was home.  Tommy said the first day we were there he was checking out what the people look like in Belgium, and he felt like he looks like the Belgians.  If we have time and the desire repeat some of our trips while we are in Europe, Belgium would be top on my list!  For now, we will continue to explore other parts of Europe.  It is early in our time here, and there still might be someplace that will top this trip.