JUL 10 - AUGUST 18, 2013
July 10-11, 2013
New York***Brussels
Flew from New York JFK Airport to Brussels via Delta Airlines DL140 arriving in BXL the next day at 9:15 am. Took the train to the city and called Olivier who was at work. He told me that Sophie is arriving soon and will come and pick me up at the train station. In the meantime I walked around the Grand Place and had a bite to eat. I called Sophie and met her and she took me to her parents' house where I'll be staying on and off for the next six weeks. This is my fourth visit to Brussels. My vacation starts!
My first views of the city
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Got settled at Pablo and Sara's house with the help of their daughter Sophie. She then walked with me to orient me with the neighborhood. Dinner with Sophie and Olivier was at Le Bier Circus, a neighborhood restaurant with quite a selection of Belgian beers (I tried La Chouffe) and Tintin memorabilia.
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July 13
Brussels
Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula This morning I will start to refamiliarize myself with the city. First stop is the nearby cathedral. The patron saints of the church, St. Michael and St. Gudula, are also the patron saints of the city of Brussels. The church was given cathedral status in February 1962.
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Galeries Royales St Hubert Checked out the nice shops and chocolate stores here.
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Grand Place Then on to the Grand Place or Grote Markt (Dutch), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is the central square of Brussels. It is surrounded by guildhalls, the city's Town Hall, and the Maison du Roi.
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July 14
Brussels
Another day and this morning my walk takes me to the Palais Royale, the Parlement, the Eglise Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, the Notre Dame de Sablon, and the Petit Sablon.
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July 16
Brussels
Another visit to the Grand Place area to see the Musée de la ville de Bruxelles in the Maison du Roi and the building where Victor Hugo once lived and also the Reynard (Fox) building. Then on to the touristy site of the Manneken-Pis or le petit Julien, a statue of a little boy pissing designed by Hiëronymus Duquesnoy the Elder and put in place in 1618 or 1619. I've seen this statue with different costumes in my past visits.
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July 17
Brussels
A relaxing day today, just did my exercises, went for walks in the neighborhood, food shopping, lunch and dinner at neighborhood bistros, then beers at Le Daric with my new friends, the guys donning wigs and goofy poses. Sophie plays with her dog.
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July 18
Brussels
Another beautiful but hot day in the city. I noticed a shiny bronze shell embedded on the cobblestone and I realized it is a marker along the Camino to Santiago de Compostela.
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Today I will take the Comic Strip Route since Brussels is acknowledged as the comic strip capital of the world. Several buildings all over the city have a side painted as frescoes of famous comic strip characters.
The Scorpion; Young Albert; Monsieur Jean
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XIII; Yoko Tsuno; Olivier Rameau
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Tintin; Ric Hochet; The Passage
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Other murals
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July 19
Brussels
Today is a lazy day. Just walk anywhere, nothing planned in particular. Passed by the Bande Dessinee which I will visit in a day or two.
Statue of Gaston Lagaffe; Asterix; Tintin's Rocketship
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Passed by the Opera House and the Stock Exchange.
Theatre Royal de la Monnaie; Bourse
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Went back to the house and had Leffe, a Belgian beer, and some country pate and crackers on the top floor terrace before going out to dinner in a neighborhood restaurant and later beers at Le Daric. View from the back terrace and a mural done by Pablo's children on the wall.
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