Can you imagine a prettier place to go for lunch with friends? Me neither. These are the things that I will miss most when we move away. Train rides, laughter, and lots of amazing historical sites to admire. I won't even mention the delicious Belgian waffles we had for lunch. OK, maybe I will. YUM! 
I won't, on the other hand, miss some of the costumes Mr. Mennekin-Pis sports. This one had a lot of people shaking their heads and rolling their eyes. I can't say that I blame them one bit. 
Brussels is considered the capital of Europe, so it's a must see destination for everyone. For an even better experience, take the train there. The Grand Place is a very short walk from Brussels Central Train Station, and there are lots of interesting sights along the way.
It was a tad overcast, but nothing cane take away the beauty of the Grand Place.
It's amazing to just stand in the middle and slowly turn around. Every building there is beautiful, but the Town Hall is my favorite.
Of course, the Moms had to touch the statue of Everard 't Serclaes. Legend says that if you touch the statue, you'll have good luck for the next year. You can never have too much good luck.
Another thing that you have to do when you go to Brussels is get a waffle from a street vendor. It's like getting a reindeer hot dog from a street vendor in downtown Anchorage. You just have to do it. The best ones are found in the little street that leads from the Grand Place to the Mannekin-Pis. Yum!
We pigged out.
Some of us were a little more "piggy" than others. I'm just saying.
After enjoying a waffle, you have to check out the Mannekin-Pis. I don't know why, but you just have to do it.
Then you can buy a souvenir. OK. I would never really buy one of these, but I had to take a picture. I wonder how many of these they really sell!
We headed back to the Grand Place to admire the architecture some more. It's a amazing.
The Town Hall has lots of gargoyles on it. You could spend half the morning just looking at them all.
Don't forget the most important rule for touring Europe: Look up!
There was a wedding going on in the Town Hall. Can you imagine getting married there? 
Across from the Town Hall is the House of The King. At one time, it was a covered bread market, but now it houses a museum. Over 250 costumes for the Mannekin-Pis are stored in the museum. They were gifts from different countries. This is the one from the United States. I thought it was funny that they chose Elvis. There was another one that was a Pioneer costume from the US, too. 
After touring the museum, we went back out to the Grand Place to admire the architecture some more. 
It was getting late in the afternoon, so we started to head back to the train station. 
We stopped by the Galleries Royals Saint-Hubert. It was the first indoor mall in Europe. In a country that has so much rain, it's a brilliant idea. 
We did a little window shopping there. Check out this Rolex. It's only 8,450 euros. It's a bargain.
The Gallery has some beautiful architecture, as well. 
It's divided into two sections. Most of the stores sell clothing, jewelry and chocolate. What a great combination.
Near the train station, there is a very interesting clock. You have to walk under the concrete arch and look back to see it. 
You'll also get a great view of the gardens on the Mont-des Arts from there.
Turn around and you'll see this. That's the Town Hall in the distance. It was getting late, so we had to say good-bye to Brussels. 
We hoped on the train and went back home again. By the way, the new Starbucks at the Brussels Central Train Station is very pretty, so be sure to check that out as well. You can get both the Belgium and Brussels collectors mugs there. (If you were to start collecting. I'm sure I wouldn't know anything about that. I'm just saying.) 
Back to the train station for another adventure. This weekend is the annual Flower Carpet Exhibition in Brussels. 
It takes about 2 hours to get to Brussels by train, but it goes quicker than you would think. The fact that we went with lots of friends probably helped. :0) The Central Station is about a block from the Grand Place, so it's very convenient. 
Although it was pretty crowded in the Grand Place, people were considerate of each other, and it was easy to get a great view of the Flower carpet.
When we got out first look at the carpet, we were amazed. It was stunning. These pictures don't do it justice. The colors were beautiful! For a mere 3 euro, you can go up on the balcony of the Town Hall and get a view of the carpet from above. The line was pretty long, so we decided to just check it out from ground level. 
I love the fact that they put a fountain in the center of the design this year. It looked like it has always been there. 
The Flower Carpet takes place every 2 years, on the even numbers. Check out the link I included above to see pictures of past designs. 
The design is started about a year in advance. The day before the flower part of the carpet construction is started, the grass is laid out. Then, the following day, over 750,000 flowers are quickly placed on the ground. (No soil is used, but they do cover the cobblestones with a thin sheet of plastic). It takes about 4 hours to complete the entire design. 
The Flower Carpet Exhibition has been taking place in the Grand Place of Brussels since 1971, but it was going on in other places around Belgium long before that. 
The Carpet is constructed entirely of Begonias (and some grass to complete the pattern). Belgium is the largest producer of Begonias in the world, growing an average of 60 million a year. 
After checking out the Carpet, we walked around the city a little bit. There were lots of little markets sprinkled around.
At first, I thought that this was real beer, but upon closer inspection, I realized that they were candles. They looked so real!
The Royal Palace in Belgium is only open for tours for a short time each summer. The entrance is free, and the line moves rather quickly.
It's a beautiful building. My only complaint is that they didn't allow you to take pictures inside. In fact, they don't even let you take your camera in there. You have to check your bags and cameras at the door when you enter. Sadness. You know how I love my pictures. 
A trip to Brussels wouldn't be complete without a visit to the world famous Manneken Pis.
This is his big brother, who apparently was hungry for some of the cities delicious waffles. I know. It's pretty disturbing. He couldn't even wait to finish his business before he grabbed a snack. We had a talk about manners, but he pretty much ignored what I had to say.
