Brussels Highlights

The Belgian Comic Strip Centre is just across the road from our apartment so we started the day there today. The building itself is a beautiful renovation of the Art Nouveau Waucquez Warehouse which was designed by architect Victor Horta in 1906.

Beautiful lights and stained glass roof in the Waucquez Warehouse

There was a fascinating display on the way that comic strips are produced, with biographies of famous Belgian cartoonists and models of various characters such as Tintin, Boule and Bill, and the Smurfs.

Next stop was a cafe for a lunch of Belgian waffles - with strawberries and cream for Ian, and strawberries and hot chocolate sauce for me. Delicious!

The favourite tourist attraction in Brussels seems to be Manneken Pis, the statue of a little peeing boy, but he has a sister, Jeanneke Pis who is not as well known. We saw both today, Manneken surrounded by crowds of tourists and Jeanneke alone in a cul de sac, with the water turned off.

  

Manneken Pis and Jeanneke Pis

In the Grande Place we visited the City Museum where there are sculptures and other artefacts from historic buildings, and two great models of Brussels, one in the Middle Ages and another in the eighteenth century. There was also a whole room of costumes for Manneken Pis, which have been sent from around the world to dress the little chap.

Model of medieval Brussels

1695 Bombardment of  Brussels by  the French

St Sebastian

Costumes for Manneken Pis

 While Ian took some more photos in the Grande Place, I went around the corner to the Costume and Lace Museum. That turned out to be a bit disappointing since the main exhibition was a pretty ordinary display of 1970's dress and the area where most of the historical lace was shown was closed.

70s Expo

 Back in the Grande Place to meet Ian, I discovered that he had been checking out the chocolatiers. I felt that the least I could do was check the quality of his purchase and I can report that he had done well!