Mussels Upon Mussels in Brussels!

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Brussels & Brugge (19th-21st May, 2006)

It all still seems to be about the food!

Fruit Beer
The Grand Place (main square) is where we started our Belgian beer sampling. Cherry, strawberry and apple beers were all very popular.

Belgian Chocolate
Brussels and Brugge were chocoate heaven! The rules for the weekend were; 'you are not permitted to walk past any chocolate shop under any circumstances.'

Brugge
A georgous town about 1 hour out of Brussels by train. We enoyed a boat trip along the canals.

Lace Work
We were facinated by the work of some of the women we watched making lace. They have amazing co-ordination of their fingers. A piece of lace work can take them years to complete.

Mussels and Frites
Mussels are very popular in Belgian and must be served with Frites (chips). Belgian claim that Fries really come from Belgian and not France. We were happy to sample them in both countries! There really were mussels upon mussels and Bern and I just couldn't get through them all. I think we each had a 1kg pot. We then attempted to see who could build the biggest shell tower in the lid of the pot. Bern thinks she won but it was very close.

Manneken Pis
Also known as the 'Pissing Boy,' Manneken Pis is a world famous statue. He has over 700 outfits. Not bad for a statue. We had a look at some of these in a museum. He even has a Baden Powell and cub scout uniform. He wasn't dressed when we saw him which is surprising given how many clothes he has. It is thought that some time ago there was a little boy who used to urinate freely in the street. When the statue was made the people honoured it as a sign of freedom and independence.

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Photos

Grand Place in Brussels
Sampling another local beer.

Bruges
View from Bell Tower in Bruges

Frites in a cone!
Sitting in the Grand Place in Brussels.

Fruits de Mur!
A two tiered shellfish platter. It was sensational and the 3 of us managed to get through it!