After a morning of presentations and discussions by some of the leading scholars of literary journalism, I headed in Brussels for a little sightseeing.
I suppose in Brussels all streets lead to the Grote Markt, the large historic square at the centre of the city. The Grote Markt is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and began in the thirteenth century as the site of the meat, bread and cloth markets. The square is bordered by the Brussels City Hall, built between 1401 - 1455, the ornate Guildhalls, and the King`s house, built between 1504 - 1536, in which no king has ever resided!
The next stop was the equally touristy, and somewhat underwhelming, Musee du Cacoa et du Chocolat - the Chocolate Museum! This is not exactly Willie Wonka`s chocolate emporium, but presented an interesting demonstration on the making of Belgian pralines, as well as a beautiful display of `chocolate pots`- used for brewing hot chocolate before the advent of finely ground cocao powder.
Along every street in Brussels I came across at least one chocolate, cake or sweet shop...I could feel my waistband tightening just looking at the window displays!
Most of my afternoon and early evening was spent in a rather peculiar quest...tracking down Brussels` peeing trio! Almost everyone is familiar with the iconic Manneken Pis, the statue of a little boy peeing into a pond, and the tourists flock to this famous site. However, I was after the less well known Jeanneke Pis and Zinneke Pis! Jeanneke is the poor lonely, and rather irreverent, sister of Manneken, and she can be found tucked away on a little back street behind bars. She was installed in 1985 and actually aims to promote cancer research. Zinneke is perhaps the most bizarre of the three - a bronze dog peeing against a post on the sidewalk! Some suggest these statues capture the irreverent attitude of the city...
After a rather long afternoon/evening traipsing round the city, I headed back to my hotel on Avenue Louise, a high-end shopping area packed with expensive boutiques and fine eateries.
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