A bunch of photos of Brussels

For times I can't think of clever post titles (ie all the time) I like to title them with a description of exactly what will be in the post. Get ready for a bunch of photos of Brussels.

Mer du Nord was a really popular joint where all the food was made outside and people crowd around trying to get an order in. It looked delicious though I didn't try any myself.

Tourist to the core

Much of my trip to Brussels was characterized by my need to see every famous art piece I could. I think I succeeded.
The Magritte Museum was my second favorite place to visit- especially since I got in free for being an Art History student. It was three stories dedicated to Magritte's life and work put together in a wonderfully smooth and visually appealing way. It would have been my first on my lists of favorites, but unfortunately for Magritte, I visited the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, where The Death of Marat exists. I died a little when I saw it.

 

I couldn't take enough pictures of it.

For those who aren't familiar with The Death of Marat, it's a painting by Jacques Louis David from 1793, right smack dab in the middle of the French Revolution. It's an awesome painting, and if you happen to be in Brussels, don't miss out. And here are some other art pieces I got to see.

 The last three pictures are of a really cool art exhibit I got to climb (free, you just had to put on a hard hat) and from the top you got a great view of a cathedral.

City wandering

Though my start in Brussels was a little stressful, a good night's rest made me feel all new and sparkly, ready to embrace everything the city had to offer. I spent most of my first morning just exploring, hitting some of the major tourist sites I had marked on my map at a leisurely pace. Though I got lost quite a few times, it actually turned out for the better when, after a wrong turn, I came across a beautiful antiques market set up outside of a church.

I couldn't really afford anything there.

Why Brussels was almost terrible

My train going from Bruges to Brussels was delayed by an hour. In my mind it didn't seem like such a terrible thing until I was halfway there, watching the scenery out the window, and it started to get dark. I arrived at the Brussels train station just as a really creepy twilight was setting over the city. There I am, a young girl caught without pepper spray or brass knuckles, wandering through the dingy, seedy streets of Brussels (areas around train stations never seem to be nice) just trying to find my hostel. It was terrible, I just wanted to sit down and cry. Fortunately for me I ran across these lovely ladies, who made my day worth it.

They were doing a promotion for Lush, offering free products to anyone who would do the twist with them. So I did. To an upbeat 1950s song, I twisted and jived in the middle of the city- and I didn't even bother to take my backpack off. And as I walked away with new friends and shampoo, I decided Brussels was a pretty cool place.

Bruges in Pictures

Two days in Bruges was the perfect amount of time to thoroughly explore and visit every inch of the city. Sadly most of the museums I went to didn't allow photography (including the hospital museum, dating from 1188 ad and set in the still preserved medieval hospital; as well as the Michelangelo's Madonna, the only one of his works to leave Italy while the man was alive). But here's a little taste of my Bruges experience when cameras were allowed.

Medieval ruins in the basement of a hotel

My first Belgian waffle, not my hand

My tour of the De Halve Brewery

The bar underneath my hostel

Bruges, Belgique

Sad truth: I've now been to Bruges, but I've never seen In Bruges. I did, though, watch the trailer in preparation for trip.
Apparently the movie has inspired many to make the trek out to this adorably quaint and perfectly magical ville.

Canals run all throughout the city, creating about a gazillion kodak moments and allowing for boat tours that can only be compared to Disneyland's Small World. What's more, every boat that went by seemed to have a different language being spoken- though sadly I heard no singing.

One of my favorite parts of Bruges was waking up early and just strolling along the streets. The city is perfectly still in the mornings save for a few people riding by on their bikes. This probably has something to do with the fact that Bruges, at any given time, has more tourists than actual people residing there. And, as we all know, most tourists (unless you're from my family) like to actually vacation, ie. sleeping in, eating a leisurely breakfast at 10, etc.
Well at least I don't miss anything.

Ville de Lille

I just got back from an absolutely wonderful solo trip up to Belgium. For whatever reason (I tried asking, but no one seemed to really know why) most French students were given a break last week, leaving me plenty of time to relax, and to travel. So after some careful planning I hopped on a train Wednesday morning and rode 5 hours to my first stop, the lovely city of Lille.

 

Though I only had half a day there until I moved on to my next location, I definitely did my fair share of sight seeing. The Musee des Beaux-Arts was a favorite. Not only did it have a wide variety of art- ranging from really really old to pretty contemporary and including ceramics, statues, and paintings- but I was also able to check my backpack and walk around free of all the extra weight.

  

I also got to browse through a used book sale that was set up in the middle of an old building's courtyard. The vendors were offering everything from yellowed and fading postcards to glossy neon colored comic books. There was even a man with huge boxes of worldly coins for the collectors out there.

The brisk weather made it a perfect day to just wander the city, and though it definitely was no Bordeaux, I did enjoy my visit to Lille. It was a nice mix of working city and quintessential 'french' culture with plenty to offer to a tourist passing through.