I LOVE Brussels. Paris was pretty and romantic, but Brussels is sweet and there is a sense of peace here. There is also this amazing contrast between the new (brought in by the EU and business) and the beautiful old. I could live here. I took some really beautiful PICTURES (some of which have blurriness - mostly churches and thus no flash. And it was raining). My favorite part of the whole day was the very first thing I saw - the Saint Michael's Cathedral. I sat there for an hour and just listened. They have the most beautiful bells. It was so quiet. I could have sat there all day. I had mussels (of course!) for lunch and bought some chocolate. You know, the Parisians have the Eiffel Tower, the Americans have the Statute of Liberty, the Brits have Big Ben, and the Belgians have the Mannekin Pis. This thing makes me laugh. It is a BIG DEAL here. There are all kinds of souvenirs dedicated to this statute, people are crowded all around it. It's just hilarious.l So, I did see that.
Observations for the day:
1. What is up with the French and trying to rap? I mean - it works in English, and I could see it working in German (it being such an abrupt language) but FRENCH? Take this guy Fatal Bazooka for example - what is HIS deal? I am watching music videos in my hotel room - now THERE is an interesting cultural examination. I'm trying to sort out if he's making FUN of American rappers or if this is supposed to seriously be his videos. The videos kinda freak me out. Oh yes - you too can rap. Holy cow. Good Lord, we're raising a whole GENERATION of male chauvinist pigs. Just what I needed.
2. Every man who tries to hit on me here says "You have such beautiful eyes." Do they teach them this in GRADE school? For some reason - they say that & I write them off. See ya. It just sounds so tacky and played. I did actually have a guy on the street say "Ooh La La" to me today, which CRACKED ME UP.
3. I am such a happier person when I am:
(a) well rested in a comfortable bed,
(b) well showered in a hot shower in my private room, and
(c) well fed by the free breakfast in the lobby.
You KNOW I'm out of my element when I consider it a TREAT to put my makeup on. Oh my, today I am so much happier just to be alive. I don't HAVE to do anything - just decide where I want to wander today. I am floating about 3 inches above the floor. It's marvelous. I guess this really does show that there are certain things that I need to make this trip worth it and enjoyable for me. I might even take advantage of the hotel gym tonight. I must have something in my bag that I can pass off as workout gear.
In summation, Brussels is lovely. I don't see much tourist-y stuff, but I could live here. Which I think means more than the touristy stuff to me. If I like a place depends more on "would I live here?"
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2 comments:
Cute pics!
A couple of low light photography tips for you:
1.) Try not to zoom in on things too much, the longer focal length will exaggerate camera shake from your hands.
2.) Try to be really still when taking the picture, take a breath right before you hit the shutter not during, and brace your elbows against your sides (but don't get all tight)
3.) see if you can up the ISO setting on your camera, all of these are at ISO 200 (you can see that by clicking on the "more info" link on the right side of the page in picasa), 800 or 1600 if your camera goes that high would allow your camera a faster shutter speed, which will mean less blur (though you will get more grain)
Sounds like you are having an AMAZING TIME!! Keep the pictures coming!!!
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