Brussels: The Capital of Europe

Today we took a thirty minute (okay it was longer because John had no idea where we were going---he thinks it is the most frustrating city to drive in that he's encountered thus far) drive to Brussels. I had another Belgian waffle because I was told that the last waffle I had wasn't the kind they rave about. Apparently there's a Brussels waffle and a Liege waffle. I had a Brussels waffle (ironically not in Brussels) and tonight John and I tried a Liege one....which is really more of a dessert. It has cane sugared carmelized on the top and isn't as perfect of a rectangle as the other. I had it with bananas and chocolate (Belgian, of course)---divine. We've included pictures of the Grande Place, one of the cute side streets that was lined with open air restaurants (in January) and the Maneken Pis (The boy statue using the bathroom). Believe it or not this is a world famous statue with a variety of legends around it that date back to the eighth century...a boy went to the bathroom on a monk's doorstop who then turned him into stone...another is about a little boy who went to the bathroom out the window on the army of an enemy and a battle was won as a result. Bizarre but historic, so there you have it. It was suprisingly comfortable outside and as usual Sophia was a trooper. Enjoy the photos!