Is that big yellow thing the sun??

The sun rarely pokes out in Brussels. I have been told this many times by our friends Ale and Flora, who have lived here several years, and whose wedding we will attend tomorrow. We looked at the forecast before leaving the states and it looked pretty grim for our entire visit. But then this morning, a very nice surprise--the sun was shining brilliantly and giving an optimistic aspect to the normally gray city.

We slept in our clothes, washed up, then put the same things back on to head outside for the day. Of course, this is not the optimal way to begin a vacation, but since nobody knows us here I was not too worried about my appearance and various body smells. This neighborhood has plenty of cafes and we found a cozy spot for cappuccino and muffins just around the corner. 

We quickly came upon the famous Manneken Pis statue, which must be one of the quirkiest things about Brussels. Why they have chosen to make a monument to a small boy taking a pee is anyone's guess.

Then we took a long stroll in the direction of the Royal Palace, where Belgium actually has a king and queen in residence. I looked up the royal family and saw that King Phillipe and Queen Mathilde just took over last July. They are a young couple with four small children. The buildings in that neighborhood include historic churches and a giant museum complex. We bought tickets and visited the Magritte Museum, dedicated to the life's work of native son and famed surrealist Rene Magritte.

 

These kids were on a field trip to see Magritte--surprising to us since the work contains so much nudity and very dark images. 

Then we moved on to the Fin-de-Siecle Museum, which just opened in December. It features the work of artists in the very early years of the 20th century. Mostly local artists were represented and there was a Van Gogh, three Gaugins and some pointilists, like Seurat and Signac whose work was on display.  We could have also gone to the museums of Modern Art and Old Masters, but there's really only so much art one can absorb in a day.

On to lunch in a local institution called Chez Leon, which was buzzing with customers--both local and tourists. I had the Moules Frites, which is like the national dish of Belgium and found on every menu. It was delicious.