Sad to leave Brussels

We could have spent much more time in Brussels. I hardly saw any of it, but HG walked around quite a bit on Tuesday.

He found the Grand Place -- the main square in the centre of the city. The architecture is stunning, such fine stone work, and gold leaf on the buildings. We went back in the evening, when the Christmas tree was ablaze with lights. there was a son et lumiere playing against the buildings on the other side of the square, and the biggest creche ever, since the real thing.

On PS's recommendation, we had dinner in an Inn opposite the creche -- which kindly decided to take us in. The food was good, but the most notable thing about the Inn is the taxidermied horse. I have never seens a stuffed animal that big. It was a little moth eaten, going bals in patches, but I gave it a stroke anyway. Unfortunately HG forgot the camera.

Our hotel was very close to the cathedral. But despite the huge landmark, we seemed to be incapable of finding our way home. None of the roads led to anything familiar, and we walked around in circles again, until we were rescued by a kind Belgian guy, who claimed to have lost a whole posse of Japanese business men in the 5 minute walk from the train station to the Domincan hotel. He claimed that he had had to rescue them by car. We felt better, warmed by te story, the very fast walk home, and finally getting to the hotel and out of the -5C cold.