Brussel, Belgium

In the fall of 2010, I was in Brussel for one day trip. 

The city of Brussel is the capital of Belgium. Here, they call it 'Bruzzel' and many speak French.

Brussel is also the central administrative for European Union, seriously, with proof everywhere.

Commercial activities are obviously active here as many office buildings cover up this land.

 The Royal Palace of Brussel is standing proudly in the center of Brussel.

Accompanied by this Leopoldo..should be one of the kings in mids of 1800s.

I made an appointment with a friend, to meet in Brussel. Arrived here, I called him but my phone line could not get through. Panic! I phoned repeatedly but unsuccessful.

First thing came to my mind was to find the nearest public telephone. I asked people here including some shop keepers. You know what? Fortunately, they still know what a public telephone is. Hardly any public phone around.

Only one person told me that there's one near the train station. 

Desparately, I wanted to borrow from the shop keeper, and asked for it. She said she didn't have a phone. 'Sweet!' Chocolate town.

 

It was as if I were requesting this horse to come down.

While hunting for a public phone, I was also in a rush to search for famous Belgium chocolate. Arhh....Saturday afternoon...most shops were closed! After long walk, finally, YES, I found 2 chocolate shops OPENED and 1 of them was Leonidas. (No picture for this..I told you I was in a rush). You can get fresh chocolate as great gifts for family and friends.

Since the chocolate were wraped so beatifully, I didn't open them in Brussel. Instead, I ate this little waffer (EUR 2) sold by a little mobile waffer van. So yummy. Sweet and crunchy. 

And I sat down to enjoy this beautiful scenery here. Ahh...I would explain to my friend when I got back.

After explaining and discussing with my friend, the reason I could not make the call was due to my phone line access that did not cover Brussel. Anyway, I got the chocolate for him. ;P

Streets of Paris

From the park in Lourve museum, I ventured out to the streets of Paris, with one aim of Eiffel Tower in mind. My first practice of 'pouvez-vous m'aider' was with an old helpful couple here. 'Je veux aller à la Tour Eiffel'. Then, I got lots and lots of  reply that I could only understand the finger pointing direction.

Merci merci, I said repeatedly. I followed the direction and went through this arch.

Not far, a bridge was waiting for me. Cars, buses, bicycles and people cross this bridge as well. 

At the other end, I searched around for direction. My destination wasn't far but my challenge was great. Look at these buildings...

Look at those buildings...

And these buildings... see carefully...

What can you see? 

Same colour, same height, same design, very neatly arranged

... and that's the challenge.

I walked fast and walked continuously towards my direction. Then, I learnt that I had to avoid the corners.

Nope.. not the rubbish bag. Notice the wet 'thingy' on the wall and floor?

That's the mark of canine's territory. Ah ha..

I was attracted to ancient door in most of the building here. As much as possible, the original architecture and fixtures were very well maintained. Impressive! Living museum here.

Don't get me wrong. Not all the buildings are old. Many are new and famous too.

Familiar with this?

You can also find Coco, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and many many more.

It wasn't at all tired to walk here. Of course...

Finally, à la Tour Eiffel was seen. What a relief. I love Paris.

Musée du Louvre

World's largest museum. This was my first destination in Paris. The external building itself is a historical monument. From the train station Gare de l'Est, I walked to Musée du Lourve (about 10 mins).

Standing in-front of Lourve, I was opened-mouth. The size of this muzeum is much bigger than I expected from what I've seen the pictures on Internet and heard from others. It took me sometime to walk around this magnificient building, that was once called Lourve Palace in the late 12th century. 

In the middle of this gigantic buiding,  you can find a big open space with a glass pyramid and water fountain. The entrance is in the pyramid. Here, I felt myself so minute..

The see-through pyramid allows you to peep into the 'under-ground' exhibits. Allocate yourself minimum of 3 days to see all objects in this museum (include long queuing time).

At the edge of the museum, a lovely French garden awaits you. Perfect!

Just admiring and walking around this building externally, I spent 2 hours.