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5th, 6th and 7th Sightseeing days,
Sat. - Mon., May 11, 12 and 13
Brussels
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| Two days in the afternoon at Brussels had just been as planned. The last
day, May 13, in the morning for one hour and a half, was thanks to the
kind arrangement of Ms. H and Mr. Hank, the driver.
In Brussels, we saw mostly the sights of Grand Place and surroundings for
three days.
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Grand Place (Grote Markt)
Though each city in Belgium was so tasteful that I had a strong impression
everywhere, Grand Place in Brussels was special.
It is the central square of Brussels. It is surrounded by the guildhalls,
the city's Town Hall, and King's House (Maison du Roi = the Breadhouse).
It stands to reason that it was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
in 1998, and I don't know of any such squares both with luxury and grandeur
as Grand Place.
I am sorry my photos may have limits themselves to convey my deep impressions.
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| City House on the right |
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| West Group |
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| King's House |
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| GODIVA Head Office |
Manneken-Pis |
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I didn't do much preparation though I had enough time before the trip.
This is usual for me.
Therefore I spent the whole time in and around Grand Place for sightseeing, souveniors, etc. However, I do not regret it nor think faulty at all. To be honest, I would like to spend more time here.
There are some cities I want to visit and stay for saveral days, like New
York, London, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Sydney......
Brussels must be ranked among the tops. How I wonder I could stay in this
city with Amsterdam for 10 days or so.
The chic buildings with history surrounding Grand Place are worthy of looking
at closely, and the appearance of the inner cafe/restaurants are supposedly
like the art nouveau and art deco. Then, what are the other spots I should
look around?
To begin with, I want to enjoy a half-day sightseeing bus tour of Brussels.
After that, Musée Royal des Beaux-Arts and Modern Art Museum, Palais Royal
(open only in summer), Cathédrale S.S. Michel et Gudule, Maison des Brasseurs......
and there must be several others.
Not only on foot but by Metro, tram and bus.
Back to reality, please see a couple of pictures of my memory. In the top
one, "Are you from the Czech Republic? "
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Everard 't Serclaes
If you touch his left hand, you will be happy. |
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We stayed in Ramada Brussels for 2 nights.
The TV in our room had 3 English channels: BBC, Euro News and Fashon TV.
Main channels were supposedly Dutch, French and Flemish.
Other languages were Arabic, Italian, Greek, Macedonian, Russian, Spanish,
Thai, German.
..........
There was no Japanese channel at all during this trip. |
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Please allow me to get sidetracked as I have just remembered the actress
Audrey Hepburn.
Her nationality is British, but she was born in Brussels, Belgium, in 1929.
During the Second World War, she is said to have lived with her family in the Netherlands. She must have led her young days full of cares.
There may be many people in Japan, too, who remember that she made a striking debut in the film "Roman Holiday." That movie came out in 1953, just 60 years ago.
As most of you know, she appeared in a lot of wonderful movies, several
of which I have in my memory are as follows.
Roman Holiday
The Nun's Story
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Charade
Wait until Dark
My Fair Lady |
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| Part 6 Reading 6:32 |
Sorry, some PC systems do not support
my sound-transmission software. |
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