Hello from Belgium! Brussels

     Manuel and I took a bus from Amsterdam to Brussels on June 16th, 2013 in the evening.  We arrived at our hotel and decided to explore the city center.  Lucky for us, we discovered the Grand Place which is absolutely beautiful at night.  We were pretty tired, so we just took it easy wandering around before heading back.

 Belgian Beer

     The following day, we went to Use-It which is a place which provides tourist info for young people.  They offered a free tour with no tips allowed.  We had a great guide that showed us parts of Brussels and told us information that we would have never known walking around alone.  Brussels has about 150 different nationalities living within the city.  This is absolutely amazing seeing as there are roughly 200 countries in this world.  He took us to the rich parts of Brussels and the poor parts and we were able to see the difference between the ways of life separated only by a canal.  It was a very interesting tour.  Afterwards, we wandered around on our own and definitely ate some Belgian chocolate.  So delicious!  I have also discovered that my new favorite dessert is macaroons! 

     On June 18, 2013 after having Belgian waffles for breakfast, we went to Mini Europe, a small park that has models of famous aspects of countries in the European Union.  It was so cute and we were really happy that we went.  Some of the models were so beautiful, made to precise detail of the real buildings itself.  

     After Mini Europe, our goal was to see more of the highlights of Belgium.  My main goal was to see the European Union Parliament building.  It was a must see!  I once was on the track to majoring in Political Science before switching to Social Science and I try to keep up with world politics as often as I can.  I just find the concept of several countries coming together and many of them switching their currency to promote peace within Europe so fascinating.  After this, we enjoyed an evening bike ride through a very nice park to see the Cinquantenaire.  It was a lot of fun!

 Royal Palace

 European Union Parliament

 Cinquantenaire

 Grand Place

Enjoying a famous 1 liter beer at Delirium.

     Manuel and I had a wonderful time in Brussels.  It was great to have him with me to explore a new city.  We walked so much and really felt like we saw what we needed to.  Wonderful memories!

"After all these years, I am still involved in the process of self-discovery. It's better to explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life". 

-Sophia Loren