The European Parliament Building in Brussels, Belgium

It has been almost two years now since we visited Brussels, the capital city of Belgium. That time my friend from the U.S. spent her  first vacation in Europe. One of the cities we visited was Brussels.

From this city, one of the sights we visited was the European Parliament building. This is not actually the seat of the European Union but a legislative chamber. EU's official home is actually in Strasbourg, France, where I also visited last December 2010.

It is estimated that around 15,000 people visit the complex everyday. I believed I am lucky to pay  a visit there last  summer 2010. Our self-guided tour did not really last long because we only have a day-sightseeing in this city and yes, there are a lot to see and to experience  in Belgium's lovely capital.

This was taken during my visit with friend last August 2010.

One of the many buildings of the European Parliament  in Brussels, Belgium. We had a short tour around the  complex.

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Galerie de la Reine Koninginne in Brussels, Belgium

I am trying to think what to share here today. I just browsed and browsed my photo albums in my external hard drive and found this interesting building in Brussels, Belgium. You can see the name of this building because I also took an image of it. This is the Galerie de la Reine Koninginne, also known in French as The Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert and in Dutch, it is called Koninklijke Sint-Hubertusgalerijen.

We just happened to pass-by here while looking for the travel agency where we booked our bus tour to Amsterdam, Netherlands. This building is actually a glazed shopping arcade in Brussels. I guess the shops were still not open during the time we were there. It was still so early for such shopping arcade to open at 7:00 a.m.

I guess I have to stop now because the tour guide for our bus trip to Amsterdam is already coming. Just kidding folks. We really don't have have the chance to explore the interior of this building. I would love to do it in my next visit there.

Goodnight folks and I am hoping for more travels this year. In God's will!

The Royal Galeries of Saint-Hubert during our visit last August 2010.

The gallery consists of two major sections, each more than 100 meters in length (respectively called Galerie du Roi / Koningsgalerij, meaning King's Gallery, and Galerie de la Reine / Koninginnegalerij, meaning Queen's Gallery), and a smaller side gallery (Galerie des Princes / Prinsengalerij, meaning Gallery of the Princes). The main sections (King and Queen's Gallery) are separated by a colonnade at the point where the Rue des Bouchers / Beenhouwersstraat crosses the gallery complex. wikipedia.

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The Grand Place in Brussels, Belgium

Let' go travel Europe again! This time we are visiting Brussels, the capital city of Belgium. I am featuring the central square of Brussels called the Grand Place or Grote Markt in French language. This square is the most famous sight in this city and considered to be the most memorable landmark. Together with the Atomium and Manneken Pis, these are all included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Site.

These are some of the snapshots I took during our visit last summer 2010.

The Brussels Town Hall stands 96 metres (315 ft) tall and is capped by a 3 metre (12 ft) statue of Saint Michael slaying a demon.

the guildhalls in Grand Place.

The Grand Place is surrounded by guildhalls, the city's Town Hall, and the Breadhouse (French: Maison du Roi, Dutch: Broodhuis).

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My Euro Travel to the Royal Palace of Brussels in Belgium

I am reminiscing again my travel to Brussels, the capital city of Belgium. One of the sights we visited was the Royal Palace of Brussels. It is located in front of Brussels Park which I also remembered that we took some time here to sit down and take a short break after some sightseeings we made in Brussels.

We were at Brussels park when I took this image. The Royal Palace of Brussels is just accross the Brussels Park. This was taken during our visit last August 2010.

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The Famous Manneken- Pis in Brussels, Belgium

Happy New Year! I hope that you all had a wonderful first weekend of 2011. I had quite a nice one and I can't complain about it. It seems that I was also away for some days. This blog had a little holiday break and I guess, let's begin to travel again.

I had already seen some images of Manneken-Pis in the internet and honestly, I don't have an idea about it. During my visit to Brussels, Belgium last August 2010, I finally found the statue of this very famous little boy. There is a good story I read about this legendary Brussels figure.

A legend says that a rich bourgeois had lost his only son in the crowd during popular festivities. After five days, he found him in the corner of Etuve Street, doing what the little man is doing. You know what I mean folks?

Manneken-Pis whose known to be people's friend has received many military and civil honours and distinctions. The Elector of Bavaria, Germany named Maximilian Emmanuel, gave him his first costume. Ever since then, the lords and burgesses have offerred him the most beautiful clothes. His wardrobe is probably the most varied and complete that has ever existed. There is a museum of his clothes in Brussels.

taken during my visit with a friend, Nonna in Brussels last August 2010.

see what the little man is doing? that is Manneken -Pis..a very cute figure in Brussels.

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The Albertina in Brussels, Belgium

During our visit to Vienna, Austria last June 2007, I also saw a building named Albertina. As we visited Brussels in Belgium last August 2010, we also passed-by to a building that has a nicknamed Albertina. Who is Albertina anyway?

The Royal Library of Belgium whose nickname is Albertina, is considered to be one of the most important cultural institutions in Belgium. It is a library that dates back to the age of the Dukes of Burgundy. It is located in the downtown of Brussels near the Central Station.

The library owns several collections of historical importance, like the famous Fétis archives, and is the depository for all books ever published in Belgium or abroad by Belgian authors.

The library also houses the Center for American Studies, a new institute of higher learning established by the University of Antwerp, the Free University of Brussels, the University of Ghent, and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, which is internationally accredited for delivering Master of Arts degrees in American Studies.

taken with a sony camera model DSC-W110 during our trip to Brussels last August 2010.

The library owns several collections of historical importance, like the famous Fétis archives, and is the depository for all books ever published in Belgium or abroad by Belgian authors.

The library also houses the Center for American Studies, a new institute of higher learning established by the University of Antwerp, the Free University of Brussels, the University of Ghent, and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, which is internationally accredited for delivering Master of Arts degrees in American Studies. credit

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The Town Hall of Brussels, Belgium

Everytime I see the images I took of the Town Hall of Brussels in Belgium, it always reminds me of the Town Hall of Munich in Germany. These two buildings almost look like the same.

The Town Hall of Brussels is located in the famous square called Grand Place in Brussels City. It has a Gothic architecture. Its building started in 1402 and was said to be completed in 1420.

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The oldest part of this building is its east wing. The architects who built this Town Hall were Jacob van Thienen and Jan van Ruysbroek and was engineered by Guillaume de Voghel.

It is nice to see historical architecture like this which formed part of the history of Brussels. I had the chance to visit this city last August 2010. This is only one of he images I took during my visit.

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Chocolate Shopping in Brussels

I guess we will be talking about food especially chocolates this time. I will bring you today to Brussels which is famous for its French fries, waffles, chocolates and of course numerous kinds of beer. You can also find a lot of cafes, bistros, and international food chains and restaurants in this city.

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I remember a friend who travelled with me to Brussels last summer. The first thing she asked as we arrived there were about the chocolates in Brussels. To name a few famous ones are the Godiva, Neuhaus and Leonidas. I bought some as presents for hubby. Here is an image I took inside the Leonidas chocolate store.

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The Stock Exchange Building in Brussels

This is the Stock Exchange building in Brussels, the capital and largest city of Belgium. It is called Bourse or Beurs in Brussels. The building was built from 1868 to 1873. It has mix elements of Neo-Renaissance and Second Empire architectural styles.

We had been walking back and forth in this building looking for a certain bus stop.

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We want to go to Europe Parliament that time and some people we asked for, told us that the bus stop going to Europe Parliament is located near here. We finally found it after half an hour of searching. This building is located on Boulevard Anspach, and is the namesake of the Beursplein/Place de la Bourse.

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The Town Hall of Brussels , Belgium

Let's go travel Europe again! I still have a lot of travel experiences to share from our recent Europe tour but sometimes I just don't have enough time to do it. At least, I am slowly doing it when time is possible.

This time we will be visiting the beautiful Town Hall of the City of Brussels, the capital of Belgium. You can find this Gothic architecture in Grand Place or Grote Markt. It is called Hôtel de Ville in French since most if not all Belgians are speaking this language. This building is 96 meters high (315 ft) was was built from 1402-1420. The facade is decorated with various statues representing nobles, saints, and allegorical figures.

This is such an amazing atchitecture.

taken during my visit last August 2010

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Brussels Specialties

Good evening folks! I am here again to share a quick update. This happened during our visit in Brussels, the capital city of Belgium. Me and my friend were asking that time, what are the specialties of Brussels. A friend from Brussels told us that chocolates in this country taste good. I ended up buying some packs of Leonidas chocolates as presents for hubby. I am just reminding you guys that if you want to know how to lose weight quick, you better avoid eating sweets like chocolates, candies, ice cream and anything that has a lot of sugar. That is also the reason why I am trying my best to avoid such food. Here is an image of the different delicacies and specialties from Brussels, Belgium. You better click the image to enlarge.

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European Parliament Quarter in Brussels, Belgium

I finally had the chance to visit Brussels or Bruxelles, the capital city of Belgium where you can also see the European Union Quarter. I am not really an expert about European Union so I consulted the expert to give you more information about European Union and Brussels. Please continue reading below. I also have a snapshot of a part of the European Union Quarter below. This was taken during our visit last month.

Brussels (Belgium) is considered to be the de facto capital of the European Union, having a long history of hosting the institutions of the European Union within its European Quarter. The EU has no official capital, and no plans to declare one, but Brussels hosts the official seats of the European Commission, Council of the European Union, and European Council, as well as a second seat of the European Parliament.

the different flags of some member countries of European Union in Brussels, Belgium. taken during our visit last August 19, 2010.

Most of the institutions are located within the European Quarter of Brussels, which is the unofficial name of the area corresponding to the approximate triangle between Brussels Park, Cinquantenaire Park and Leopold Park (with the Parliament's hemicycle extending into the latter). The Commission and Council are located in the heart of this area near to the Schuman station at the Schuman roundabout on the Rue de la Loi. The European Parliament is located over the Brussels-Luxembourg station, next to Luxembourg Square. more here

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The Tall Buildings in Brussels, Belgium

We happened to pass the Northern District of Brussels which is known to be the central business district in this city. This is where you can see the collection of skycrapers' steel building rising to the sky. I was inside the bus while I took this image. We were on the way to Luxembourg during this time. I also read that the buildings in this area are mostly 100 meters tall. I am trying to find an image of a building with WTC name in my file but I can't find it at the moment. I just have thousands of images which I took during our three weeks Europe tour. I still have to organize them. More images to be posted from Brussels.

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The Cinquantenaire in Brussels, Belgium

Brussels, written in French Bruxelles and Brussel in Dutch is the capital city of the European Union (EU) and the largest urban area in Belgium. It comprises 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels proper. The City of Brussels is the constitutional capital of Belgium, the seat of the French Community of Belgium and of the Flemish Community.

I have here an image of the Cinquantenaire Park which is a large public, urban park (30 hectares) in the easternmost part of the European Quarter in Brussels, Belgium. It is also known as Jubille Park of "Park of the Fiftieth Anniversary".

I took this image while riding on a bus going to Luxembourg. I wish to share more images from Brussels in my future post. The triumphal arch was planned for the National Exhibition of 1880 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the independent state of Belgium.

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