 View from our Brussels hotel room |
 Simon prefers the swanky lobby |
 Belgium has lots of good chocoloate |
 An evening stroll |
 Simon with street mural |
 Matt with the famous irreverent statue |
 Old city wall |
 Every storefront on this street sells chocolate |
 Dinner at a brasserie |
 National delicacy: mussels |
 Simon has an omelette |
 The pickle is more sour than expected |
 The main square |
 Ornate carvings |
 This guy is holding an elephant tusk |
 Street scene |
 My eye is inexplicably drawn to the "bowling" sign |
 Sunset on our first day |
 Second day: train to the Tintin museum |
 Simon is excited |
 Running down to the entrance |
 Simon is sad he can't read French |
 But excited to be here |
 In elevator with (English) audio guide |
 Main atrium of the museum |
 Simon with Tintin and Snowy |
 Selfie with Tintin |
 Sampling Belgian beers |
 Matt's favorite appetizer ever |
 He would like three more of these, please |
 Back in Brussels, at the European parliament |
 We all like this statue |
 Lady Europe with flags |
 European parliament building |
 Algae-covered pond, with ducks |
 At the main square |
 Another train ride, to Bruges |
 Biggest bike rack I've ever seen, as viewed from the Ghent train station |
 Central Bruges |
 At the Henri Maes brewery |
 "We went to the Tintin museum, so now you're touring this brewery with us, kid." |
 Fermentation vats |
 Dried hops |
 On top of the brewery |
 Downstairs in the restaurant |
 Maria likes Belgium |
 Simon is not OK with arugula on his euro-pizza |
 Land of many languages |
 In the Bruges bell tower |
 We climbed 300+ steps to get this view |
 The descent |
 Why don't we have bikes like this in America?? |
 Simon on rental bike |
 Exploring the roads outside of Bruges |
 Simon alongside the main canal |
 He likes riding a bike with gears |
 Happy boy |
 Off the main road |
 A country home |
 Nice views from the bike path |
 Maria in the lead |
 Simon races ahead |
 Pit stop at a windmill |
 A mere 2km from the Netherlands border |
 Simon exhausted after a big day |
 So exhausted he fell over while asleep in his seat |
 Back in Brussels, the comic-book museum has a Tintin section! |
 Even Snowy has a space suit |
 Simon with Professor Calculus's moon rocket |
 Simon as Sir Francis Haddock |
 Three Simons = three times the fun |
 Simon on Thorgal's boat |
 Simon in Smurf house |
 Simon with an unidentified Smurf |
 Lane guys with Tintin bust |
 Too bad Simon doesn't read French. |
 Amazing tapestry in the metro station |
 View from Bruxelles-Midi station |
 On the train back to London |