Parc du Cinquantenaire

It was a gorgeous day to be outside - a perfect fall day. I explored Parc du Cinquantenaire.

If the Grand Entrance does not impress you, I do not know what will.

The park was filled with families, friends playing sports, students reading.... it had a real laid back Sunday vibe.

Girls nite...in French

I had my Belgian first club experience the other night. Let me start by saying smoking is still permitted in clubs, restaurants, bars.... in Europe. By the end of the night I felt as though i smoked 2 packs of cigarettes myself - YUCK!

The scene was actually pretty similar to NY believe it or not, LOTS of Hip-Hop, Reggea, and Pop Hits (Shakira 20 times). The crowd was very mixed and I liked that, drinks were expensive as expected. The dancing was great.

















Mostly, I learned..... its possible to have girls night in any country(avec fumer)!!!

Manneken-Pis

Much ado about nothing if you ask me, this manneken-pis. I was amazed to see people lined up to see this little boy and his pee. Apparently he managed to extinguish fires that were theatening Belgium with his pis - and now he's famous.















Something that did manage to catch my eye is the statue below. I can not remember the name of it but its gorgeous! It is supposed to bring luck and wishes come true to anyone who touches it. My friend thinks its just a good way to get germs - but u better believe I rubbed it and WISHED...... I also visited Parc de Bruxelles (the equivalent of Central Park of NYC). It was very quiet, as Im learning all of Brussels is. Mostly there were people going home from work walking through it. Now that I realize this parc seems more romantic....

I fell in love with this ad about latino culture. If you look closely the woman looks like my mother when she was younger.

On Foot

I explored my home-base neighborhood a bit yesterday. I first came across the Palais de Justice, it the size of a NY Avenue, and its going through some renovation.


At the back of this building there is a drop where you can take a glass elevator to the ground. It was quite different, I've never seen an elevator like this in the middle of a city - and it was free! It was actually kind of scary because 3 walls were made of glass. I met someone sitting on the bench next to me and she took the elevator with me.

When you get off you're in a little inlet of shops and restaurants. Even though temps are cool everyone still prefers to eat their meals outside (almost all restaurants I've seen have heaters however).

Grand-Place

Even in the rain, this place was beautiful. The sun was starting to set so the sky had a wonderful blue tone, it added to the scene. Naturally only tourists were out in the rain looking at these sites.

This is Town Hall, which dates back to the 13th century. I plan to revisit so that I can expore the inside.

Sunset in Brussels

At the end of my first full day in Brussels, Belgium, there was a magnificent sunset. This is the view from Gabriel's patio.

A great way to end a day of traveling!

Je suis arrivé!