volcanic drama

Let's see... last update was still in Amsterdam, so... we ended up spending a total of 4 nights and days in Amsterdam then spent nearly 6 hours getting from Amsterdam to Brussels... this whole volcano drama has really been something.

In Brussels we found Manneken Pis and had Belgian Beer and I ordered a Belgian Waffle - unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed - it was crunchy and had little flavor. 

I do have to say that Brussels was gorgeous. The architecture was incredible and it was clear to see that people were involved in community. The town square was covered in people studying or on their lunch break. The few people we came in contact with resonated what we knew of Belgian humor - pretty much as fun as the Dutch. ;) Mannekin Pis was everywhere... It was a nice stop.

The Grand Place/Town Hall is the center of Brussels and an architectural masterpiece. The square is surrounded by the Houses of the Guilds and King's House. 

Grand Place, Brussels.

Manneken Pis is the world-renowned statue of a small statue of a boy peeing... it's become the icon of Brussels. Manneken is famous for his wardrobe (which he apparently would have none of the day of our visit!) with some 725 costumes for various occasions, he's typically dressed up to match holidays and festivals. His costumes are kept in the King's House on the Grand Place.

Mannekin Pis

It took another good 2 hours to get a ticket from Brussels to Paris. Once in Paris we hunted for a hotel and found the best room we'd had all week. The next morning we got up early to catch the train to Lyon where people were EVERYWHERE and not very helpful. We ended up having to take a bus from Lyon to Bellegarde, then took a train from Bellegarde to Geneva - needless to say, we were less than delightful when we finally reached my apartment. Ufda!