We began our day by getting breakfast at a mini-mart down the street. It had a machine that squeezes oranges so you can have fresh orange juice. Then we started our first walking tour. Our guide from CEPA, the coordinating program, showed us the practical places around town: ATMs, pharmacies, grocery store, and the mall.
After lunch, we took a second walking tour that lasted about 3 hours telling about the medieval history of Brussels. It started as a small community on the marshlands, a church attracted more inhabitants, roads were built along the flow of the river and between existing buildings, and a town wall was erected. Our hotel is just outside that initial town wall, and the loading docks from the river were right next to the hotel. The river has since been re-routed underground. A second city wall was later erected as the city expanded. King Louis 14th of France bombed the central part of Brussels in order to gain control of the Low Lands, destroying half of the central plaza and leaving a cannonball stuck in one of the inner pillars of a nearby church.
The grand plaza was rebuilt and extended. It was the home of the city hall and many of the wealthy guilds including bakers, brewers, shipbuilders, and archers. Each guild house had significant symbolic properties on the front above the door so they could be easily found despite a lack of street numbers on buildings. Street numbers were not instated until Napoleon's reign in France. The city hall was built in three stages due to the bombing and available funds. Thus, each stage has its own distinct properties and looks a bit haphazard upon closer analyzation. A block or two over, we saw "Mannequin Pis", the famous peeing baby statue. It was dressed up for a Gay Pride festival to be held next weekend, wearing an orange raincoat with a rainbow flag draped down from around his feet.
We continued our tour finding many picture-worthy sites. We saw a large gorilla head made of chocolate in a store-front: about 2ft x 3ft x 2ft. Unfortunately, the glare from the window made it impossible to get a good photo. We also went by another cathedral where the guild of the archers were hold a ceremony. We happened to come by just as they were getting ready to leave, so we saw them parade out, a few of them in historic costumes. There was a park just across the street, with beautiful flowers and ducklings in the fountain. The most amazing thing to us was the greenery: trees, grass, and shrubs that made us really appreciate Clemson.
On our way to the museum of comics, featuring internationally famous TinTin and the Smurfs, we passed through a lookout point with a gorgeous city-scape of the historic architecture.
After lunch, we took a second walking tour that lasted about 3 hours telling about the medieval history of Brussels. It started as a small community on the marshlands, a church attracted more inhabitants, roads were built along the flow of the river and between existing buildings, and a town wall was erected. Our hotel is just outside that initial town wall, and the loading docks from the river were right next to the hotel. The river has since been re-routed underground. A second city wall was later erected as the city expanded. King Louis 14th of France bombed the central part of Brussels in order to gain control of the Low Lands, destroying half of the central plaza and leaving a cannonball stuck in one of the inner pillars of a nearby church.
The grand plaza was rebuilt and extended. It was the home of the city hall and many of the wealthy guilds including bakers, brewers, shipbuilders, and archers. Each guild house had significant symbolic properties on the front above the door so they could be easily found despite a lack of street numbers on buildings. Street numbers were not instated until Napoleon's reign in France. The city hall was built in three stages due to the bombing and available funds. Thus, each stage has its own distinct properties and looks a bit haphazard upon closer analyzation. A block or two over, we saw "Mannequin Pis", the famous peeing baby statue. It was dressed up for a Gay Pride festival to be held next weekend, wearing an orange raincoat with a rainbow flag draped down from around his feet.
We continued our tour finding many picture-worthy sites. We saw a large gorilla head made of chocolate in a store-front: about 2ft x 3ft x 2ft. Unfortunately, the glare from the window made it impossible to get a good photo. We also went by another cathedral where the guild of the archers were hold a ceremony. We happened to come by just as they were getting ready to leave, so we saw them parade out, a few of them in historic costumes. There was a park just across the street, with beautiful flowers and ducklings in the fountain. The most amazing thing to us was the greenery: trees, grass, and shrubs that made us really appreciate Clemson.
On our way to the museum of comics, featuring internationally famous TinTin and the Smurfs, we passed through a lookout point with a gorgeous city-scape of the historic architecture.
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