Sightseeing and a few beers...
After a reasonably early night, and a pretty late alarm, we got up feeling a bit more refreshed.
We had decided to do the hop-on hop-off bus and try and get our bearings, plus one of the places we wanted to visit was at least a ten minute drive out of the centre. As we walked up to the station, we heard “POLICE, POLICE” and saw two undercover officers tackling two men to the ground about 2 metres from us. We have no idea why they were arrested but we thought it best to move away and find the city sightseeing bus stop. The buses were lined up just along from Brussels central station so we boarded the one with blue line (line 2), ready for a day of exploring.
After the museum, we decided to have an ice-cream and head back to the blue line. It was another 30 minute bus trip back to central station where we disembarked the blue line bus and boarded the bus for the red line (line 1). There were lots of sites to see along both routes including the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Place Royale, the European Parliament and the Royal Palace to name a few.
We got off at the stop near the Royal Palace as there was a beautiful park beside it; the sun was also shining and there was a beer garden situated in the middle. After 30 minutes of recuperation, we thought we better go and visit the other “pissing” statues. First stop was Het Zinneke, which represents a dog urinating. This statue was also around the corner from L’Archiduc, an art Deco-style jazz bar, made famous by the likes of Miles Davis and Nat King Cole. There was some live music on so we decided to pop in for a visit and sample the atmosphere. We seen a solo artist called Melanie Isaac who played from guitar or piano. It wasn’t quite our bag but feel free to check her out. The venue was great though as it was very small and had upstairs tables so it did feel like a concert and not just a pub. People tried to come in during the concert, and they totally could have, but after looking at what was going on they decided they must be interrupting something and wandered off!
Although we had previously visited Delirium Cafe, we never noticed the “pissing girl” statue, also known as Jeanneke-Pis. It’s not particularly nice, but we already had pictures of the other two. We also used it as an excuse to have a beer in the loft within the Delirium complex.
It was now time for dinner so we wandered down one of the many streets lined with restaurants. This time, we were in the Italian quarter. We found a quaint little restaurant called Sole D’Italia where I ordered Escalope Milanese and a glass of wine, just for a change. The food was beautiful and we had just finished, when a parade with dancers and music came by. They were throwing oranges, which is apparently linked to the Carnival of Binche. The centrepiece of the carnivals proceedings are clown-like performers known as Gilles; they don large hats made of ostrich plumes and throw oranges at the crowds. Apparently, the oranges are considered good luck; they threw one towards us, but instead of catching it, the last of my wine went flying. Thankfully, it was only a little bit and we did get two oranges in the end.
There was one last stop that I wanted to make before we headed back to the hotel; it was to a pub called Moeder Lambic Fontaines. Here they specialise in spontaneous fermentation, which is apparently the type of beer I like! It wasn’t particularly late but we thought another early night would set us up for another day of sightseeing and a late flight back to Edinburgh.
Our first stop of the day was breakfast at Le Roy d’Espangne at Grand Place where I was determined to have my first Brussels Belgian waffle. I wasn’t disappointed, even with the healthier option of fresh fruit.
We had decided to do the hop-on hop-off bus and try and get our bearings, plus one of the places we wanted to visit was at least a ten minute drive out of the centre. As we walked up to the station, we heard “POLICE, POLICE” and saw two undercover officers tackling two men to the ground about 2 metres from us. We have no idea why they were arrested but we thought it best to move away and find the city sightseeing bus stop. The buses were lined up just along from Brussels central station so we boarded the one with blue line (line 2), ready for a day of exploring.
Our first stop was the Atomium, originally constructed for the 1958 Brussels World Expo. The structure is 102 metres tall and consists of 9 spheres, representing an iron crystal magnified 150 billion times. It is now a museum which was renovated back in the early 2000’s. There is a lift that takes you up to the first and tallest sphere, where you get a panoramic view of the city and also “Mini-Europe,” another museum that you can visit in the surrounding area. My only complaint is that the queue for the lift is horrendous if you go at peak times; I think we waited about 25 minutes.
After the museum, we decided to have an ice-cream and head back to the blue line. It was another 30 minute bus trip back to central station where we disembarked the blue line bus and boarded the bus for the red line (line 1). There were lots of sites to see along both routes including the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Place Royale, the European Parliament and the Royal Palace to name a few.
We got off at the stop near the Royal Palace as there was a beautiful park beside it; the sun was also shining and there was a beer garden situated in the middle. After 30 minutes of recuperation, we thought we better go and visit the other “pissing” statues. First stop was Het Zinneke, which represents a dog urinating. This statue was also around the corner from L’Archiduc, an art Deco-style jazz bar, made famous by the likes of Miles Davis and Nat King Cole. There was some live music on so we decided to pop in for a visit and sample the atmosphere. We seen a solo artist called Melanie Isaac who played from guitar or piano. It wasn’t quite our bag but feel free to check her out. The venue was great though as it was very small and had upstairs tables so it did feel like a concert and not just a pub. People tried to come in during the concert, and they totally could have, but after looking at what was going on they decided they must be interrupting something and wandered off!
Although we had previously visited Delirium Cafe, we never noticed the “pissing girl” statue, also known as Jeanneke-Pis. It’s not particularly nice, but we already had pictures of the other two. We also used it as an excuse to have a beer in the loft within the Delirium complex.
It was now time for dinner so we wandered down one of the many streets lined with restaurants. This time, we were in the Italian quarter. We found a quaint little restaurant called Sole D’Italia where I ordered Escalope Milanese and a glass of wine, just for a change. The food was beautiful and we had just finished, when a parade with dancers and music came by. They were throwing oranges, which is apparently linked to the Carnival of Binche. The centrepiece of the carnivals proceedings are clown-like performers known as Gilles; they don large hats made of ostrich plumes and throw oranges at the crowds. Apparently, the oranges are considered good luck; they threw one towards us, but instead of catching it, the last of my wine went flying. Thankfully, it was only a little bit and we did get two oranges in the end.
There was one last stop that I wanted to make before we headed back to the hotel; it was to a pub called Moeder Lambic Fontaines. Here they specialise in spontaneous fermentation, which is apparently the type of beer I like! It wasn’t particularly late but we thought another early night would set us up for another day of sightseeing and a late flight back to Edinburgh.
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