Variation on a Photo Dump (Cliched City-Tour Edition)

On this installment of 'Photo Dump,' we start with a couple of pictures of the Grand Place.  Yes, I know that you've seen more pictures of this than anything else in Brussels and yes, it is one of the more touristy (and thus, unhip) parts of Brussels, but everytime I walked through there, I couldn't help but take a picture or two.  It's really that nice.

Next, we move slightly norhwest of the Grand Place to a monument to Belgium's independence known as the Congreskolom.  There are a number of Bauhaus buildings once used to house Belgium's government workers in the area surrounding the column.  There's only one picture here, though, mainly because of the graffiti on the side of one of the buildings.

Tired of staring into the sun because of a breathtaking (yet slightly fallic) monument?  Then let's head to the Parc de Bruxelles, a beautiful park across the street from the Royal Palace, which we'll visit in a minute.  For now, here's the Parc (or for you patriots out there, Park):



Wait, what's that in the distance?  Is it the US Capitol Building?  No--try the office of only the most importa--I mean, powerf--I mean, random (yeah that works)--world leader:  the King of Belgium!  Sure, he's slightly overshadowed by other world leaders, but dang, he's got a nice office:

And for the sake of a good photo dump, here are a few random pictures:

Place des Martyrs

Place des Martyrs

Place des Martyrs

Stoemp saucisse (sausage on top of mashed potatoes--very fancy!)

Brussels' finest



Brussels has a few of these Vegasesque passages connecting its streets...





...as well as these 'comic walls'