Belgium - Day 2

After a restless night of sleep, I couldn't wait to start exploring.  First thing first though, Breakfast.  The hotel I was staying at included breakfast in the price, and what a spread it was, not your typical European breakfast.  There were fresh baked goods, meats, cheese, fruits, fish, eggs, bacon, etc. etc.  A great way to start the day.


My first stop today was the Chocolate Museum.  Just a little FYI Belgium produces 172,000 tons of chocolate per year, and has over 2,000 chocolate shops.  I was in Love.  The museum was an old home located in the Grand Place, and every 15 minutes had a demonstration along with a tasting.  Although the history of chocolate was interesting, I was most amazed by the fact that there was actual clothing made out of chocolate, that looked as real and wearable as anything you would find at a department store.   There were also sculptures of all sizes with such detail, it appeared to be art. 




These dresses and hats are 100% chocolate!

After the chocolate museum I headed back to the Grand Place area.  It seems that every European city has a square, and the Grand Place did not disappoint, with it's guild houses, and Hotel de Ville, it is Flemish Renaissance at perfection. Even though this is a definite tourist spot, where you might pay a little more for a beer or snack then you would at the cafe around the corner, I just couldn't get enough.  I found myself on several occasions imagining what life would have been like in this Medieval and Baroque square 400 hundred years ago.  " Who stood where I'm standing?", and "Who walked these same cobblestone streets I'm walking?"  

As I was walking around I started to notice how many Greek restaurants there were.  Then as I turned the corner I couldn't believe my eyes.  Greek Town in Brussels.  An entire street of Greek restaurants, about 20 or so.  I literally burst out laughing, and started taking pictures.  My husband is not going to believe this.  Since he had no desire to see Brussels, he decided to skip this trip, I bet he would have liked it now.

 



 

I decided at this point to head towards the Palais Royal (the Palace.)  While the Royal family is on Summer Holiday they open up the formal rooms to the public, and it is FREE!  I am a sucker for Palaces and Castles, and although it was not the most grand of Palaces that I have seen, It was still breathtaking.  It amazes me that people actually lived, and still live like this.  The most beautiful thing about this place was the chandeliers.  They were gorgeous, and they were everywhere.  Every door that I would pass through seemed to lead to an even more impressive room than the last.  As with every palace though, the most impressive room is always the ballroom.  I stood there just taking it all in, imagining the costumes, and the dances that had taken place in this grand space.  Honestly, standing there in my sundress and sandals, I felt completely under dressed.  Time to move on. 

One thing that a lot of people don't know is that the SMURFS originated in Belgium.  Oh, and they are not called Smurfs, their real name is SCHTROUMPFS.  I grew up watching these blue creatures, and to this day they are still my favorite cartoon.  So I could not pass up a visit to the comic strip museum to see how it all started.  I am not really into comics, but took the time to walk around, and have to say the museum was quite charming with a lovely gift shop, and of course a bar in case you need a beer break.  It was time to find the SCHTROMPFS.  It was interesting to see some origianl drawings and comics, and to see that not much has changed since the beginning.
 



 

After the comic museum I decided to head back to the hotel to freshen up.  Tomorrow I booked a day excursion, and I had to be up early.  So after a quick shower, and relaxing for about an hour, I headed out for dinner.  I headed back to the Grand Place, and treated myself to my staple dish - Beer (actually 2) , Fries, and Carbonnade Flamande.  DELICIOUS!!!