Days 5 and 6

[Rhia’s comments are italicized]

• Train from Lille to Brussels

Arriving in Brussels was actually a breath of fresh air as it’s very cosmopolitan. As soon as we arrived we sat down for a bite to eat at a sidewalk cafe. We are finding out water seems to be a precious commodity in this part of Europe as it’s only available bottled…and expensive!

We visited museums, cathedrals, the Grand Place, walked through a 14th century medieval city gate, and admired other buildings with exquisite 17th century architecture.

Despite all this history and beauty, something that impacted me are the bathrooms…for example, in a cafe today the ONE ROOM (not lockable) male/female bathroom had 2 urinals, 1 self contained toilet for men and 1 for women! In other words, 4 people could be using the facilities at the same time 🫢🫢🫢

Brussels is known for its many displays of street art. We found a few exhibits during our (very long) walk around the city. The murals were sharp, colorful and eye-catching…

…the statues, however, were a different story!!

I’ve learned something about myself over the last week…I have good taste…or at least the mosquitoes think so! So far I have over 50 bites (29 on one arm) while Dan has NONE! Score one for women 😳🥴😁

Tomorrow, very early, we move on to Paris. Think of someone who’s bright eyed and bushy tailed; now think of the opposite to that and add heavy packs and you have a picture of Dan and me!