Life in Little Luxembourg: A day in Brussels

This weekend, Alex and I made a day trip to Brussels, which is about 2 hours away from Luxembourg by car. Our friends, Kristy and Jacques, who recently moved to Lux from South Africa, joined us for the adventure! I've been known to forget my camera at very crucial times - for instance, our honeymoon - and it happened again. But thanks to Kristy and Jacques, I have some great pictures to share :)

Brussels is known for several things including chocolate, waffels, beer and an odd little statue called Manneken Pis. Tourists always flock to this tiny "monument" in the old city but I'm not sure why. It seems that the little boy was a fountain dating back to the 15th century that played an essential role in the former distribution of drinking water. The little guy has survived traumatic events in the city including a bombing in 1695 and now stands proud (but not tall) in the middle of Brussels. Evidently, people in the city dress him up in funny outfits year around but sadly, last weekend, we found him only in his birthday suit...

See how small he is?

After seeing Manneken Pis, the four of us headed to the second most coveted thing to do in Brussels - eat "frites," (or french fries). Did you know that french fries aren't French? They are Belgian! Kristy had some some research before arriving in Brussels so she led us to the "best frites" in town - Fritland!

No idea what the flesh colored sauce is below the fries. I stuck with Ketchup.

After some frites (and a stomach ache), we ventured to the Grand Place, the (ancient) city centre of Brussels. The gothic buildings were breathtaking!

After a little more exploring, it was time for another snack. A Belgian waffle...

Alex and I opted for the waffle with chocolate. We were still full from the frites :)

After snack #2, the 4 of us continued to explore the city and saw several Cathedrals (almost a dime a dozen over here), some chocolate shops (our favorite is Neuhaus) and popped in a famous brewery, Delirium Cafe. Because Brussels is a popular place for tourists and the streets were packed, we decided to take our explorations to the outer edges of downtown, which turned out to be a great idea. We saw the Palace of Justice (with views over the entire city) and Kristy found an adorable restaurant for us to eat dinner. En route back to our car was the best view of the trip but its hard to see behind us...