La Hulpe etc, Belgium

So I spent the past week buffooning about Belgium absorbing art, culture and kilojules. It was spectacular. I stayed in the chic French province of La Hulpe with a family friend Christine who spoilt me absolutely rotten. 'Sif the cityscape wasn't enough.

Twilight breaking over Gent

 Above is the Stadhuis (Town Hall) of the medieval city Leuven, not far from La Hulpe... needs more spires in my opinion.

To the logistical breakdown: I spent two days in Brussels, the capital city, with whom I am well acquainted and have a long standing love affair. I still think it's one of the purrdiest cities in Europe.

A typical inner city alleyway. 

This one leads to Toone, an authentic and therefore tiny Belgian beer hall.

Christine holding the arm of the Monument to Everad 'T Serclaes (Liberator of Brussels) which is kind of the Belgian equivalent of Buddha's belly- i.e. it brings good luck. I gave it a little pat and judging by awesomeness of the rest of my stay I'd say she worked a treat!

Here is just one side of the Grand Place/ Grote Markt*,  a ludicrously beautiful place. The type that sends you into a minor existential crisis because the sparkle of the gold-leaf, the enormity, and the age of these buildings makes you feel like an unimportant, un-shiny, evanescent ant crawling the cobblestones...

...but I was a cheerful ant.

And one of the main reasons behind my grin was the Belgian food. They specialise in chocolate, hot chips, waffles, mussels and beer - essentially everything good in this world. To spare you from scrolling endlessly, and to disguise how many calories I consumed I've just thumb-nailed some of the delicacies.

Chocolate Nokia 360: "Hello? Did anyone order a coronary bypass?"

I also took an obligatory photo of Manneken Pis. It's a bit rushed cause of the crowds thronging at the base but I get a photo with this little guy every time I come to Brussels. He's usually wearing some kind of costume but today he was 'au naturel'. For those unfamiliar, Mannekin Pis is a monument from around 1618 celebrating an urban legend that says a child (sometimes a bebby Duke) peed either on the fuse that enemies had lit in preparation to burn down the city or on the enemies themselves. Either way it was a fortuitous toilet stop and it's a hilarious fountain so I'm satisfied.

Speaking of statues I also went to the Royal Museum of Fine Art with Marianne and Christine to see the Kandinsky exhibition. As if I hadn't been dazzeled enough. Photos were a no-no inside the exhibition but I took some snaps of the permanent collection.

 This dapper gentleman is Leopold I, who is not only the first Leopold but also the first Belgian king.
Well done Sir!

These two are better than Kings.

Whilst trying to find Kandinsky we accidentally snuck into the Museum Margritte. I managed to get some cheeky pictures of his surreal goodness before the guard stiffly asked us to leave.

Le Domaine Enchanté IV, 1953

So we abandoned high culture and tracked down the number one Belgian detective dude - Tin Tin! Which wasn't hard considering he's all over the city.

Oh hai there!

And finally we spent the afternoon paying homage at the Bandes Dessinés Comic Strip Museum. I totally dressed for the occasion. Yaay Asterix!

The next day (Easter Sunday) Christine and I headed to Bruges and Gent. It was such a jam-packed excursion that I've dedicated a separate blog entry to it. Check it out for some true stories of combining chocolate with bacon, snow by the seaside and fresh-out-of-a-fariytale scenery.

*Everything in Belgium is written in at least two languages (French and Flemish) often with a German and English translation thrown in there for good measure. Often street signs, road warnings or shopkeepers will alternate between the two. This results in some rich, if conflicting culture, awesomely multilingual locals and the most confusing city navigation in the history of the world/monde/wereld.