First Day in Brussels

So, the first day of the trip was pretty slow.  We woke up VERY late and decided to get some groceries.   I found a nearby Carrefour on Google Maps, so we headed out.  We loaded up on cheese, olives, croissants, and other goodies.  When we got back, we heated up the quiches we purchased for breakfast...only to discover I had picked one with bacon.  I was famished, so I tried to pick most of it out.  My stomach was still not happy afterwards.

We decided to head to the Grand Place or Grokte Markt (French/Dutch), the main center square in the city.  We eventually found a bus and got off near where we thought it should be.   We did eventually get there, but saw lots of interesting public art on the way.

This is a very cool record store with Banksy-esque famous musician portraits.

A fake window facade with cartoons

And on the side of the museum dedicated to his costumes, a depiction of the infamous Manneken Pis. 

And there he is in all of his glory, costumeless today, the most famous symbol of the city of Brussels, Manneken Pis (little pisser).   I found out later that he is a replacement reproduction, but more on that another day.

Not sure why I don't have photos of the entirety of the Grand Place today, but here are some building details.

And a gargoyle, cuz I loves the gargoyles.

UPDATE:  Stolen from Christi...

THAT is what the Grand Place looks like.  

And me with a beer as big as my head.  We had lunch at an outdoor cafe in the square and that beer was only a pint, I swear!

I though this building was cool at the time.  We ended up having dinner here the next night, then desert two nights later on my birthday.   A fun place to eat and people watch.

I just loved this building!

I think this was someplace important, but I haven't looked it up yet. 

We ended up walking the mile and a half or so back.   The cheese, olives, and snacks ended up as dinner (after we picked up some wine) because we had to go to bed early.  Tour to Delft and tulips in the Netherlands the next day.