Brussels ... Home of the European Union, NATO and the Grand Palace...

BrusselsSSD_7325 has grown from a 10th century fortress town into a bustling metropolis of more than one million inhabitants. Since the end of the World War II, Brussels has been a centre for politics and the headquarters to many international institutions including NATO. It didn't take us long to catch onto this and figure out that Brussels is home to the European Union when we saw all of the flags waving!

Besides the formality of politicaSSD_7335l institutions, we also saw the quirky humour of Brussels when we came across the manneken pis - a popular bronze sculpture of a youth relieving himself. This is a bigger tourist attraction than the EU flags. We learned that during holidays, the statue is dressed up in different costumes to go along with the occasion. Go figure!

SSD_7356We did some shopping in Brussels and did a drive by of the Grand Place - one of the city's most celebrated attractions in Brussels. This medieval square is lined with gilded halls. We learned that the original homes lining the public square were flattened in the 1695 bombardmSSD_7347ent, allowing the homes and businesses to rally and rebuild their properties using beautiful stone finishes and fanciful baroque touches on the gables. Originally built in the 13th century, the Grand Place is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We learned that every other year the Grand Place is decked out in a flower carpet, made up of one million begonias. Unfortunately, we didn't time our visit for us to see all these flowers, but we did enjoy seeing the Grand Place anyway in all it's splendour.

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