Day 32, 14 July 2014, Brussels - Free Walking Tour, chocolate sampling, souvenir shopping, tram riding and home! Had planned on taking the metro, then another metro, then a walk to get to the Grand Place/Grote Markt for my free walking tour. But calculations showed it would take just as long to actually walk there - only 20 minutes. So off I went, map in hand, more or less sure of where I was going and through the Sablon district with all it's antique stores. Interesting mixture of French, Chinese and items from the Congo - once a colony. I discovered early in the walk that the reason the map was so crowded is that every street is named in Flemish and also in French as both are official languages of Brussels. Add to that when streets change name halfway along and you have some idea of walking in Brussels. Still, gorgeous. Similar to Amsterdam but without the Canals (negative) and with more dog poop (that would be the French thing - similar to Paris) and without the crazy immortal cyclists. So yeah... aside from all that, very similar to Amsterdam. Back in the eurozone - not cheap, but not damn-fool expensive either - postcards only 25-30 euro cents instead of $1.40 which is nice. Made it to the Grand Place and it is truly a little jewelbox of a square. Often voted the prettiest in Europe, if not the world, I'd have to agree. The Townhall, started back in the 1400s is a confection, albeit quite asymmetrical - one wing is bigger than the other, the front door is off kilter and the windows on the left wing are completely different to the windows on the right - but for all that she's a beautiful building. The tour started just outside the Royal Palace on the other side of the square. Apparently on the very spot where heads rolled during the Reformation. Pretty sure they were Protestants. Realistically though, this is Europe. I'm pretty sure there's not a public square from Spain upwards where there hasn't been some good burning/lopping/hanging or generalised public torture spectacle at some point in history. One of the stunning buildings in the square is next door to the Brewers Guildhouse and is called the House of the Swan (Yay - back to Dutch Naming Practicality). That would be because of the big swan on the house. Notable because Karl Marx lived here and wrote his manifesto. Now Brussels is known as being incredibly tolerant and will take in any crackpot who's being persecuted for his political views. With this in mind you can understand what a big thing it was for them to give Marx the boot. But nothing gets in the way of business. Very sensible too. Next stop was the third most well-known statue in the world after Lady Liberty and David. Little piddly boy, Manneken Pis. I think I'd vaguely heard of him but he certainly wasn't my reason for visiting Brussels. Though by the crowds hanging about the 60cm little fellow, it seems it was for many. Though sculpted in the early 1600s, this is actually version #8 - the others have been knocked off by Uni students over the years. Enjoying Brussels mural art is quite a past time and we stopped and looked up to see a Tin Tin cartoon. It's actually harder than you might imagine to spot a mural. Due to cobble stones, steps, bollards, dog poop and the odd car in the pedestrian zone, it's actually much safer to watch where you're going. Onwards to the Galeries St Hubert (a covered arcade - copied all over Europe), the Cathedral of St Gudela and into the Royal Park - my brain was fried with the history of Belgium distilled to 3 hours - fascinating stuff though. Haven't had a guide with so much passion since Northern Ireland - and though not as violent, the Flemish/Dutch vs. the French here in Belgium is certainly an in depth topic of discussion. The challenge after any good walking tour is of course to retrace steps and visit things along the way back - so into the Cathedral just in time to hear a choir singing mystical chanting music. Magic. Also went and had a closer look at the bronze scallop shells in the pavement. They were designed to direct the pilgrims coming from the north via St Gudule's to the south where they would be heading to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Apparently in every language the guide knows, these shells are referred to by their human purpose... The Swedes call them Pilgrim Shells, the French coquilles st Jacques etc - all to do with heading to Santiago/St James. He was playing to a tough audience, but made the point that it's like referring to a bear as a coat - it's human purpose... "Look honey... there's a really scary Coat at our campsite - I don't like the look on that Coat's face - I think he might attack us". Anyway, I found it amusing. Moving right along I headed to the gorgeous Galleries and discovered most of the posh and expensive chocolate shops in town actually have free tastings. Which was good because starvation was nipping at my heels. Strolled the tourist zone - all of central Brussels is a pedestrian area. Tried some chocolate... tried some more chocolate. Got turned around and found myself at a supermarket. After Norway's teetotal approach and vicious alcohol taxes, it was joyous to discover French wine for only 2.50 euros / A$3.75. Also bought some cow-cheese. (Triangles of cheese in a circular box that lives without rectangular refrigeration). It is of course the protein of choice for travellers and James and I have eaten it from Egypt to Morocco to France, the USA and South America. Schmeared on top some crusty bread, it makes a superb hotel room breakfast with a cup of coffee. Found a tram I was pretty sure was heading in my direction - after 8 hours of walking my feet were almost down to stumps. It was indeed the right tram, and trams being pretty safe in terms of getting lost, I stayed on it until the view got boring then jumped off and rode another tram back. As it turns out that one wasn't going quite where I needed to - so when it had to stop because of a breakdown on the line ahead, I took it as a sign (a modern day invisible pilgrim shell if you will) and jumped off. Just around the corner was a lottery agent selling tickets for the 67 million Euromillions draw tomorrow night... It's a sign! So got a ticket, got another tram, got home, got into my bottle of French vino and got a little bit tipsy. Celebrating in advance obviously. Tomorrow? Hmmm... Euro Parliament and the Magritte Museum - nothing too taxing.