FIRST TOUR BY EUROPE IV PART: BRUSSELS

BRUSSELS

Brussels has the stamp of the typical Belgian city. At the same time ancient and cosmopolitan, (and for the European people very important because most decisions are taking here that afect to our countries) is a nice city with a lot of history. Being the capital of a country and at the same time being from de EU is not easy, but she has known how to do it well. You can find all in Brussels, in special culture, but also nature, peace, party, ... The centre of the city is the beautiful Grote Markt, the central square where are the emblematics buildings and the ancient hall, where is now based the Tourism Office.

When you walk along the city and see the different parts, you sometimes forget in what city are you, because they are so different between them: the ancient part, where is the Grote Markt and de Maneken Pis, the European part with the Parliament and the European Buildings, the hight town, the part of the Atomium,...But when you want to realize, you are in love with the city.

The prices are not expensive, are standard. Brussels is something cheapper than Brugges and you can find cheapper hotels. You can find restaurants of all the prices. The public transport works perfectly, so is much better you use it or go by foot.

What you can’t you when you visit Brussels:

-         The Grote Markt

-         The down town with their shops with chocolate fountains!! and the creeperies and gofres

-         The Manneken pis (maybe you will feel a little dissapointed because is very small and you waite another thing)

-         The European Part

-         Parc du Cinquantenaire

-    The Atomium area and the Mini Europe.

11TH AUGUST 2007

We go to Brussels. Today we can see the sun for first time in two days. During the trip the weather is good and there also. It’s hot, but not as hot as Paris. This time we are not as lucky as the other places. Is fulled and I ask in another and it’s fulled also. We look the Ibis guidebook and we see another Ibis in the centre. We ask here and now we get a room. We installed ourselves and we go to eat to a Quick, a fast food chain, which we like so much. The hotel is next to the Grote Markt, so we are very good situated. The Grote Markt is very nice and big. Is the centre of de down town and in the ancient hall is where is the Office Tourism. After doing some photos, we go to the Office to have a map. We start to walk and we see suddenly a lot of people doing photos. We approach and find out that they are there because of Maneken Pis, the famouse fountain of the kid doing pee. The truth is that the sculpture dissapoint us a bit, because we expected it bigger. But, anyway, we do some photos, trying to have a place between such people. We keep walking and we get into some shops ( we don’t miss the chance of buying the Andrelecht’s scarf, of course).

A little more further, a street fulled of restaurants of all kinds is showed. A waiter ask us: “Spanish?” and, before wondering ourselves how did he know our nationality, we are seated in a table. Is a greek restaurant and the food is good, but still we are wondering how did the waiter know that we are Spanish. It is written in our faces? After having lunch, we scape from the down town (is small) and we keep the itinerary suggested by the Tourism Office’s assistant. We raise a slope that lead us until a square where there is a nice panoramic of the city. We arrive at the Justice Palace,which you can visit, but we don’t. We take a free elevator that take us to a even more hight part of Brussels. We go down by other street, which it seems the inmigrants neighborhood. After walking a lot, we arrive to the European Union area. Here many laws that then will be affect us are decided; like for example, the great idea of working until 67 years old. We see the outside buildings.

   
It’s hot and we stop in a bench under the tree’s shadow. We drink cool water and eat an ice-cream. At the end, we take the subway and go to the Cinquantenaire Park, that has an small arch of the victory. We see a typical bus from London and a group of English people having a picnic with their hats. We don’t know why…Maybe is a bachelor’s farewell. While we are coming back, the evening starts to became night. We have a shower and have dinner with our food in the hotel. Today we have again a free drink on the hotel’s hall and we are not going to waste it. Tomorrow, we’ll go to see the Atomium, the most characteristic monument from de city.

12TH AUGUST 2007

Today is a little cloudy but it’s still hot. After the breakfast we take the car and go until the Atomium, which is in the outskirts of the city. This monument was built for an Universal Exhibition in the 50’s of the XXth century and has a very futurist aspect. You can go up in an elevator and to go from a ball to another, there are escalators. Inside there are some exhibitions. At 9:00 o’clock in the morning we are in the queue to buy the ticket (9 €), that fortunately is short. Quickly we are going up in the elevator. The sensation that we have is like to be in a spaceship. There hight the view is very good, included the Anderlecht Stadium, wich is very near. We waste some time going from a ball to another and visiting some exhibitions. Then, we go down.

A few meters from de Atomium, there is a park, Minieurope, with the most famous buildings in Europe in miniature. Is very advisable if you travel with kids, but anyway I’m sure you’ll love it. The ticket costs 12 €, maybe a little expensive, but it is worth it to see the Eiffel Tower from Paris, the Big Ben from London or the Columbus Statue from Barcelona in mini size. Also there are interactive things. For example, in the Holand linen Mills, is you push a button, they will start to move. Also there is an airport with a concorde and a Boeing and the ships in the channel between England and France. At the end of the visit, there is a room with games about the history of the EU and the countries that are members. Is very entertaining and interesting to play and, by the way, to lern a bit. At the end of the room there is a very big screen with a lot of coins and you have to put them in a box with your own hands, moving them in the air. Is very funny. Javi was the winner. In the exit there is a Quick and we take the opportunity to eat something.

After this, we take the car and we drive a while along the Atomium’s area, fulled of nice and elegant Parks. A Japanese tower pays our atention. The guidebook says that there is a Japanese Garden, the tower and a pagoda with an exhibition of Chinese porcelain inside. We take some photos of the outside, this is not interesting for us, although is quite beautiful.  

Now, towards Luxembourg!!