Brussels for Mussels...

From Amsterdam, we took a train to Brussels, captial of Belgium. It was about a train ride of 2 hours, so pretty nearby... We stayed for just 2 days to take a look at the city... Main purpose was probably to be in Brussels to try the mussels! ahhaha... They are famous for mussels, served with french fries... So if you ever go to Brussels, remember to try this! hee...

We stayed in Novotel Brussels, which is right at the centre of everything... Pretty bustling in the evening around the town...


The bazaar just at the square outside the hotel...

The town crowded with people...

The shopping mall

Chocolates! Another item Belgium famous for! Me outside the Neuhaus shop, with my bag of chocolates!

The seafood market... Actually, it is just an entire street of seafood restaurants.. Take your pick, you will be spoilt for choices... But apparently, Belgians are very particular about the quality of food, so if you see a restaurant crowded with locals, it must be pretty good.. heehee...

Seafood galore!

At the Grand Place area...

Since 1988, The Grand Place area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Cafes at the Grand Place square...

And we walked on to the shopping street, to be stopped by something... hehehe... That's a chocolate machine, flowing with choco!!!!!

And it is for waffles! Belgium Waffles!!!

Chocolates anyone?

Hot waffles in the cold weather! Yummy... Chocolates keep you warm...

Kevin at the Grand Place again...

The buildings at the Grand Place... very medieval...

Me posing...

Slanted pic by Kevin... hee...

Couple shot...

Tintin Boutique shop!!! Kevin relives his childhood memories...

Kevin at the Tintin Boutique...

The famous statue in Brussels... Manneken Pis (Dutch for 'little man urinating').
It is a small bronze fountain sculpture depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin.

It was not supposed to be wearing clothes.. but apparently over the years, local has made different clothings for this statue, and there are various costumes for this little man every time.. So it depends on your luck, you will see it dressed differently each time...

Kevin at another chocolate shop again!!!!!! heehee..

Night view of the town with the Cathedral lighted up...

Chcolates shop everywhere behind!!!

Night view of Brussels...

Time for dinner now! Mussels here we come! They serve you as main course, this big pot of mussels with fries!

The St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral

The interior..

Service going on that morning...

Heading for the Comic Strip Museum in Brussels... One can see how the history of comic strip evolved, which is a very typical art form in Belgium. Kevin is seen here with one of his comic heroes, Asterix and his doggy, Dogmatix!

Childhood memories??? Smurfs!

The creator of Tintin

The rocket in the Tintin comic strip...

Cowboys at work?!

A model of how comic artists present their work to the publisher..

Another model of ongoing discussions of doing up a comic...

Tintin and gang in space...

Kevin or Captain Haddock?!!!

Ms Castafiore with Kevin and Prof Calculus..

The pair of detectives in Tintin - Thomson and Thompson...

Professor Calculus

Tintin and his different identities

Kevin hoping to be part of the Tintin adventures?!

Brainwashing time for my husband... "Your wife is not naggy, your wife is not naggy, your wife is not naggy..." "Your wife is beautiful, your wife is beautiful, your wife is beautiful..." hahahhahaha.. did it work????

Thunder and lightning! Shanshan and her acting skills... can pass? hahah...

Comic in foreign language... ahhaha...

The colourful land of smurfs...

The comic strip museum at a glance..

Up up and away! The rocket woman!

Back at the seafood restaurant street... But didn't find any food...

Went for some local fast food instead... hee...

The old man in the park... Or maybe i should say two old men... hee..

A museum in Brussels...

On Kevin's way, this van selling waffles caught his eye.. hahaha.. the always hungry man... hee...

United Nations office in Brussels

Kevin walked on his own to see this UN building... (As it was a little out of the way, he actually walked there on his own, while i stayed in the hotel to rest, since I was pregnant then, and couldn't have walked too far)... It was a must-see for Kevin... My "peace-loving" husband... hee...

The various countries' flags...

The EU Court

The UN office at a glance...

National flags...

How the UN works...

The Royal Palace of Brussels

The Atomium, Brussels...

How many atoms are there?

9 in all... hehehe...

The Atomium is a monument built for Expo '58, the 1958 Brussels World's Fair.

It is 102 metres tall, with 9 steel spheres connected, so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times.

Oops, suddenly, the weather got so cold... It begin to snow!!! And sua-ku us... hahah... enjoying the falling snow flakes...

Amused Kevin...

And we ended our Brussels mini trip... with a shot of the Belgian fries shop behind Kevin... hahaha.. Belgian are famous for their fries too, with different dipping sauces... so apart from mussels, do make sure you try these fries too if you are there! :) Bye bye Belgium!!!