April 20, 2025
Happy Easter! The sun is out and as I leave the boat I am looking forward to a day of adventuring on my own in Brussels.
I dropped my bags at the hotel and headed out to walk to the city centre (about a mile). Along the way I encountered a beautiful park that reminded me of Central Park in NYC.
As I entered the city centre I was amazed at the amount of gold that was featured on the building that surrounded the square. Later I found out that in addition to the city hall (building with the tallest tower) that most of the buildings were trade union halls. Each of the trades tried to outdo each other and in the 16th and 17th century trades held the political power along with the wealth.
I took a touring car to see the highlights and to get to the top of the hill to view the city. Brussels is a mix of historical and modern buildings as it balances the past with its important position as the center of the EU.
The most popular tourist attraction in Brussels is Manneken Pis (peeing boy) is felt to be Brussels’s oldest citizen. The archives of Saints-Michel-et-Gudule Cathedral show that he served as a public fountain as early as 1388. Back then, he was in stone – the bronze statue was installed in 1619. Although he was naked when I saw him he has a wardrobe of over 1000 outfits. There is a museum that displays his wardrobel. There was a chocolate shop that had life size chocolate replicates of him in multiple colors. My guide told us that he was annually voted Europe’s most disappointing attraction and I have to agree…lol!!!
I was excited to find that I have my own Chocolate shop in Brussels!!! Amazing since I just became a chocolatier yesterday!!! Mary’s is the chocolate provider for the royal family and their chocolates are amazing. Of course I tried a few.
After 8 hours of exploring,, a bit of chocolate, a Belgium waffle and over 15 miles of walking I was exhausted so I headed back to the hotel feeling that I had experienced the best of Brussels!!
