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This morning's breakfast was strictly 'Continental' - pain au raisin, pain au chocolat, croissants, bread rolls, sliced bread and cheese and jam. What a carb overload!! Fortunately there was a fruit bowl so we managed to eat something that wasn't bread or pastry!!
Although a little bit cool today, it is mainly sunny and fine. We headed towards the Grand Place via the local open air food market in St Catherine Place. The Church of St Catherine was shrouded in scaffolding and cloth undergoing a major cleaning and restoration so we couldn't really see what it looks like ... apart from very big!
Our next stop was The Bourse, the old Brussels Stock Exchange building, which is located on Boulevard Anspach. The Brussels Stock Exchange was founded in Brussels by Napoleonic decree in 1801. This building, that mixes Neo-Renaissance and Second Empire architectural styles, was built between 1868 and 1873. It is a highly ornamented building that features sculptures by Auguste Rodin, amongst others.
A very short walk brought us to the Grand Place, which is Belgium's main square. Bernie's research had told him that we could do an English speaking tour of the Town Hall this afternoon,
so we went on a bit of a wild goose chase trying to find out where we could book a place on the tour. Eventually, we tracked down the tourist information centre in the office labelled Politie/Police!! Who would have thought?! And all the woman there could tell us was what Bernie already knew from the Internet. Hmmn, helpful?! She seemed to think we would be fine if we just arrived 20 minutes before the tour.
After this diversion we admired the Grand Place which is surrounded by many Baroque style buildings that include: the Town Hall, a Gothic building that dates back to the Middle Ages, King's House, the House of the Dukes of Brabant, Abre d'Or, owned by the Brewer's Guild, Cygne, originally the bar where Karl Marx and Engels met, now one of Brussels most exclusive restaurants and Etoile, one of the oldest and smallest buildings on the Grand Place that served as the residence of the Chief Justice in the 13th Century.
The final side of the square consists of: Renard, built for the haberdashers' guild, Cornet, with a roof resembling the stern of a ship, built for the boatsmen's guild, Louve, Sac and
Brouette, an ensemble of houses with original facades considered the most beautiful on the Grand Place because they date back to before 1695 when the rest of the buildings were renovated and Roi d'Espagne, which served as the headquarters of the guild of bakers.
Which only leaves the building known as Pigeon, which is one of the most famous buildings of the Grand Place square because it is where Victor Hugo spent part of his exile from France. Originally the home of the painter's guild, it is currently undergoing restoration and it is shrouded in scaffolding and cloth!! It seems like half of Brussels is being renovated or rebuilt?!
After the Grand Place we followed the 'Mannekin Pis and surroundings' walking tour that Bernie had downloaded to our iPhones. We started at the Gabrielle Petit Statue commemorating her services to Belgium due to her espionage activities during WWI. After the Regional Parliament Building - notable for the modern glass extension on its roof - we arrived at the Mannekin Pis statue.
The statue was dressed today in the costume of an African villager to celebrate 'World Milk Day'. In underdeveloped countries milk is a vital food source.
Veterinaires sans Frontieres were collecting donations to support their work in developing nations to increase herd health and productivity which, in turn, ensures the survival of many villages. The statue is often costumed and has about 600 costumes kept in the city's museum.
Continuing the tour we walked to Eglise Notre-Dame du Bon Secours, a Renaissance church famous for its baroque facade, back past the Bourse and then to Saint-Nicolas Church, one of the oldest churches in Brussels. Then we began our hunt for the Jeanneke Pis statue. This statue in honour of loyalty was erected in 1987 as a female counterpart to the world famous Mannekin Pis. It is not easy to find, but we persevered - only to find it just about completely obscured by a set of steel gates. I understand the need to protect her from vandals, but surely they could put something in place that we could see through?? Maybe a sheet of perspex would be more tourist friendly?
After eating so much bread - and cheese - in the last two days we were keen to find something different for lunch today. We settled on a souvlaki on a plate (no pita
bread in sight) at the Vlady Apollona on the Marche-aux-Fromages Kaasmarkt, a street of restaurants that was recommended to us by one of our hosts at the B&B.
To fill in half an hour after lunch we visited the Boutique de Tintin. Bernie thought that he might by a Tintin T-shirt, but they didn't have much in the way of T-shirts. The shop was more for hard-core Tintin collectors and children with hundreds of miniature Tintin figurines, plush 'Snowy' toys and an extensive selection of children's clothing!
At 2.30pm we returned to the Town Hall for the weekly tour of the Town Hall in English at 3.00pm. As luck would have it we are in Brussels on the right day!! Although incredibly historic the building is still a working Town Hall so they can't have tourists traipsing through all day, every day!! The tour started in the Wedding Room which is where all civil wedding ceremonies are conducted on Fridays and Saturday mornings. In Europe only the civil wedding ceremony is recognised by law. If couples choose to have a religious ceremony, it is only for show!
From the Wedding Room we proceeded through the council chambers
and a number of other meeting rooms, galleries and receptions rooms - all of them filled with an impressive collection of tapestries, sculpture and paintings. During the early part of the tour there was a bit of bi-play between our guide and a security guard. It seemed pretty weird, but our guide later explained that there were new rules for the guided tours from 1 June 2011 and the guard was making sure that she abided by them!!
Before heading back to our room, we walked by the Galleries of Saint-Hubert a very posh, glass-roofed shopping arcade. There are two main arcades of over 100 metres in length and one smaller arcade. the whole complex is filled with boutiques selling chocolates, beer, leather, lace and antique books. There are also a number of cafes, bars and restaurants and a theatre.
Back in our room we spent some time writing the travel diary and processing photos before heading out to a local restaurant that was very well reviewed on Travel Advisor. We went to the very small St Catherine's Restaurant just a couple of minutes walk from Les Ecrins. Run by a chef and his wife, the restaurant's size
allows for plenty of conversation with the chef as he prepares the food. We enjoyed some simply prepared, but delicious lamb chops with some fabulous ratatouille on the side.
After dinner we walked back to the Grand Place for some twilight photos. We arrived just after sunset, but nothing was lit up. We thought that we might be out of luck as far as night photography was concerned, but while we were deciding whether to try some photos without any floodlighting, the floodlights came on. With some mood lighting happening, Bernie snapped away to his heart's content.
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Janet
non-member comment
enjoying your blog
Hi, good to read your news so far and check out the great photos. I will be using my hotmail address so I can check email on my iphone. Will be getting a simcard in the UK soon after we arrive so will let you know my temporary phone number. I have yet to pack but have most of my things organised already. Enjoy the rest of your european adventure and stay safe on your cycling leg. Janet