There is something utterly peaceful about finding a quay down by the Seine, in the summer, when it starts to get dark in the evening. And then, “magically” at nine, the Eiffel Tower starts lighting up. And despite having just been to Disneyland Paris – this feels like the real magic.
In my series of things to see in Brussels (although, honestly, waffles and fries will get you very far), the chocolate museum makes its way, dubiously, onto the list.
A chocolate museum should, in theory, be a fantastic thing. This museum, however, is more worth the visit because of the building it is in, rather than the chocolate museum aspect.
The building is old and rickety and seems quite like the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam. And I love the creaky stairs.
The museum bits, well, you can tell that is a private collection that fairly recently was made into a museum. It’s an okay collection, with some neat spread of different chocolate beans on display, and some interesting chocolate sculptures, but if you have any knowledge on how chocolate is made, it is probably better to go straight to a chocolatier and eat the chocolate instead.
I think part of our frustration with the museum part here is that it looks like they’ve decided to put everything on display, when they should have been more diligent, in my opinion, and weeded some things out.
The bonus is that it is just off the corner of the big square, so it is not out of the way for anything in Brussels.
When I talk to people after my visit to Brussels, and tell them about The Atomium, my most frequent reaction is “What?”
This leads me to believe that I’ve really picked up on it being a “thing,” from my dad’s comics from the 60s and 70s – again, a lot of Belgian artists there.
The Atomium was made for the 1958 World Expo in Brussels. Like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, you can go into it, and it has become an iconic symbol of Brussels. (It’s either this, or the boy who pees.)
We didn’t go in, and our guide book said that it was not really worth the admittance fee, especially since most of what we were there for were the pictures and to grasp an understanding of the size.
We took the Metro out there, and the tram back. And honestly, it was worth the trip, even though it is a bit out of the way of the city centre.
The tram trip back made me see that Brussels as a city – might be nice to live in, as it went through residential neighborhoods that looked, affluent, to varying degrees, but also less cultural confusion between Flemish and French architectural styles .
When I was looking up things to see in Brussels – the only reason I was going there was because I’d never been and it was a quick train ride from Paris – I asked around if anyone had any tips on what should be seen.
I got a lot of tips on what to eat (most of it fried, and it was delicious), but I also got a couple of other helpful hints.
One of these was the Belgian Comics Strip Center. Belgian comic book writers are so plentiful that they’ve made a museum dedicated to them. A lot of them staples from my childhood, either from the library or from the collection my Dad amassed in the 60s and 70s.
We could easily have spent more time in the museum than the 2 hours we were there. I also discovered the work of Posy Simmonds there. I’ve seen Tamara Drewe, but I’d no idea that it was based on a comic strip.
The only sad thing about it, was that the comics for sale in their shop were mostly either in French or Flemish.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone going to Brussels, with the slightest interest in comics or drawing.
Bwhat? From February 1, a single 1-zone ticket for transportation (bus, tram, or underground)in Oslo, if purchased onboard, will be increasing to 50 kr ($8.2). The same ticket, if purchased online, will cost 30 kr ($ 4.9) .
If you’re going to Oslo for a shorter period of time, but don’t know how much you will take the tram/bus/underground, there is also the option of purchasing day-passes (which cost 75 kr (or $12.3) compared to the onboard-bought single-zone tickets and is valid in three zones) or week-passes might be cheaper than to buy single tickets.
Of course, that’s what they want you to do as well, because the reasoning behind the increase?
“Many transactions onboard means that we can’t keep the timetable.»
I think I have more respect for Stavanger’s rhetoric in that they want as many as possible to have travel-passes and the like and not buy tickets onboard – because driving around with cash makes the bus drivers a target for criminals.
If you can’t keep the timetable – adjust the timetable.
This summer, we stopped by Salisbury Cathedral on our family vacation. My dad and I had read Sarum
The cathedral in itself is fantastic, but I kind of got caught up in this wooden sculpture by Ernst Blensdorf. It looks amazing. So soft and smooth.
This video comes from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.
Parody of Waka Waka, for Rosh Hashanah.
I noticed these elephants around in Copenhagen, and fell completely in love with them, thus taking the pictures below. When I was in London earlier this summer, I noticed an elephant close by Oxford Street.
It is part of a project to get funds for the Asian Elephant, and the project is called Elephant Parade
This September, the project is expanding to Milan.
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are the green spaces that pop up seemingly out of nowhere, and are perfect for mini-picnics.
