Belgium Escapades with J: October 2013 - 1st trip to Brussels

The famous pissing boy of Belgium, Manneken Pis

What I wanted to see the most in Brussels (besides Jarne :P) was Manneken Pis. I think it's a good representation of how I see Belgians--they're naughty, sometimes they're annoying, but in the end, very loveable. The story of this statue is interesting, because there are many. The most prevalent legend behind the boy is that a long time ago there were two troops battling, and the duke of one of the troops was a 2 year old boy. The troops put the young duke in a basket and hung it in a tree for encouragement.  From the tree, the duke peed on the enemies which led them to lose the battle :P


The statue is a short walk from the Grand Place of Brussels. But if you've seen one Belgian grand place, you've seen 'em all :P

Jarne being a tourist

Manneken Pis peeing on my head

A few steps away from the real statue is this awesome graffiti, Manneken "Peace" 

Sightseeing is never without long walks, so here are some random pictures of us roaming around :P

Jarne is tall.

WAFFLES.

We got tired from walking, so we hung out at this place, not really sure what it was. Haha

Sneak peeking under the cathedral of Brussels

Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert

If you noticed, the name of the place above is French. In Brussels, French is the prevailing language. Which is weird, because most of Northern Belgium speaks Dutch. See below:

Since Brussels is the capital, most street signs and public announcements are in both Dutch and French. But everywhere else in Belgium, I think, the signs are written to correspond with the prevailing language of the area. 

Anyway....we had lunch near Galeries, in this area that only had restaurants. It was really nize.

My pic

Jarne's pic

Jarne claims to be partly vegetarian. What he order? Steak. 

After our late lunch, we bought some beers (Belgian ones, of course) and hung out at Parc royal.

And then it was time to say bye bye to Brussels

And bye bye to Jarne :)

L