Turas in Ireland: Brussels, Belgium 3/25

In a much overdue post, this is a recap of my trip to Brussels, Belgium, with Callie and Tracy.

Most of the people here speak French as their first language, and Dutch is also very popular. Many shopkeepers spoke limited English, if any at all.

We stayed in a fancy hotel because the hostels in Brussels were all booked for this weekend. The change was much appreciated - our own bathroom, closet, couch and TV! We arrived in Brussels on Thursday night in the middle of the rain. The hotel concierge suggested an Egyptian restaurant for supper, so I had my first falafel at Le Nil.

The next morning we walked around the Grand-Place, the main square in Brussels (seen below).

This memorial statue to Edvard 't Serclaes is down a street off the main square. He led a successful citizens' rebellion in Brussels, and touching the statue's wrist is said to bring good luck.

On a street off Grand-Place, we found Manneken Pis, a statue of a small boy peeing. There are several stories about it, one being that he put out a fire that was going to destroy the castle in Brussels, and the king was so grateful that the boy became a local hero and a statue was built to honor him.

Sometimes they change the outfits.

There are many souvenir statues of Manneken Pis for sale.

Waffles are everywhere in Brussels!

... as are chocolate stores, fortunately offering free samples like these.

This is the Palais de Justice, the city's law courts, with a public outdoor elevator to the left.

Parc d'Egmont is a public park in the middle of many churches and next to the Place Royale.

Place Royale with statue of Godfrey of Bouillon, a medieval knight who was one of the leaders of the First Crusade and became the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1099.