Day 3- Brussels (Now with photos!)

OK, bear with me, I know this is a million and one photos, but I had a busy day! I wasn't able to upload these last night due to difficulties with the connection, but after a night's rest I'm happy to report it's back to normal. So here is my second (and last) day in Brussels!

Beer delivery for the tourist sector:

The Lewd Jester and the Urban Spongebob: A tableau.

The rain was pretty bad the day before, but apparently this restaurant was expecting a flood:

Les Armes des Bruxelles: according to the book, this is where Danny DeVito likes to dine when he's in town!

Rue de Marchees aux Herbes/Grassmarkt- a tiny alley behind the Grand Place/Grote Markt filled with expensive restaurants. Naturally no self-respecting local ever dines here. Oddly enough, the tiny, winding streets, cramped delivery trucks, multiple awnings, and aggressive hawkers reminded me of Lamma Island in Hong Kong.

In and around the Grand Place/Grote Markt, a plaza surrounded by 17th-century guildhalls.

This is a self-portrait I found from the day I arrived in Europe:

Rue des Fromages/Kaasmarkt- not vegan! Also called 'Greek street' because of the proliferation of Greek doner shops.

This one's for my homegirl Isa, whose Jewish rapper name is Ice Berg:

If youth hostels aren't your thing, try staying at the Hotel Mozart! It may be too loud to sleep, though.

Citroen!

Apertifs!

And Belgium's national symbol, Mannekin Pis. Yes, it's a fountain of a little boy peeing into water, and it's their national symbol. The Belgians are a strange and wonderful people.

Some guy named Jean-Luc or something dresses Manneken Pis up in different outfits! I was very sad to see that on the day I departed for Holland, he'd be wearing his gay pride outfit.

These columns had an interesting texture, and I passed by them a couple of times before realizing...

...I'm pretty sure they're meant to be dick garlands.

Art!

I then hopped on a tram to see the Africa Museum, on the outskirts of town. It went through a swanky neighborhood filled with embassies and one of Belgium's last remaining forests, amazing!

I went to the end of the line, this little country station. It's hard to believe Brussels is only ten minutes away.

This gorgeous, immense park was where the Africa Museum was.

Elephants made of driftwood! Note how the eye is a knot in the wood.

... what is this Belgian obsession with dicks?!

The Africa Museum- no pics allowed inside, but it was fascinating. One part was an exhibit untouched since the 50s, meant to showcase the colony in The Congo. The rest of the museum was a more modern perspective on colonialism. 

After ten rooms of dead stuffed animals, though, I was through, and headed back to town to find the vegan shop. And here it is! La Saga, in the little grey trailer.

Thankfully, the trailer is only temporary. Here is their brick and mortar shop, undergoing renovations! I'm happy to see that a vegan shop is expanding/improving. Let the takeover commence!

WARNING: Graphic vegan porn follows!

My lunch. I still have no idea what was in this.

Hazlenut spread with dark AND white chocolate!

Lemon chocolate!

Pizza-flavored tofu!

This is the height of fashion in Europe. You'll laugh at me when I get back, but in two years you'll be begging for my hand-me-downs.

The Cantillon brewery, Brussels' last traditional, family-run brewery. 

I won't bore you with all the pictures, but it was fascinating look into how this beer is made. Here are the oak barrels where the beer is fermented and aged:

After a number of additional processes, the beer is bottled (and continues to ferment in the bottle) and stored for additional ageing:

The best part is that the price of the tour includes a tasting! This beer (gueuze, and no I don't know how to pronounce that) is incredibly tart and sour. There are over 200 bacterial cultures that contribute to the fermentation process, including some species that are not found anywhere outside of Brussels. In this way, gueuze is like sourdough break- you simply can't make it anywhere else!

Big Brother!

Roma buskers- old boys were breakin it down! Note the two other buskers who quit playing to come and admire. 

The perfect end to a trip to Brussels- frites!!!

I'll post yesterday's pics of Den Haag later today- I don't want to hog my friends' internet connection too much, and I should get out of the house at some point today, even if nothing in Holland is open on a Sunday!