{"id":1579,"date":"2016-03-02T09:00:33","date_gmt":"2016-03-02T17:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandtraveltips.com\/?p=1579"},"modified":"2016-02-29T06:06:25","modified_gmt":"2016-02-29T14:06:25","slug":"a-mostly-pictures-trip-report-part-ii-brussels-and-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/milespointsreselling\/2016\/03\/02\/a-mostly-pictures-trip-report-part-ii-brussels-and-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"A Mostly Pictures Trip Report: Part II Brussels and Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note: \u00a0This was first published on Portland Travel Tips\u00a0in 2014. \u00a0I am importing miles and points related posts from there and re-posting here.<\/em><\/p>\n

Part I: Bruges<\/a><\/p>\n

After spending two days in Bruges it was time to head to Brussels for a day. \u00a0We arrived in Brussels around lunch time, dropped our bags off at the hotel, had a quick bite (while walking to Grand Place), and started exploring the city.<\/p>\n

The first stop on any tour of Brussels, must begin at the Grand Place. \u00a0One of Europe’s iconic public squares.<\/p>\n

\"Grand<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Grand<\/a><\/p>\n

After hanging out in the Grand Place, people watching and having a beer, it was on to the Manneken Pis.<\/p>\n

\"Manneken<\/a><\/p>\n

This little guy is tucked away by some shops and restaurants a few blocks from the Grand Place. \u00a0He was dressed up as a Red Devil because the Belgium national team was playing in the World Cup.<\/p>\n

Brussels is split between upper town and lower town. \u00a0The upper town is about 200 feet higher in elevation and as you can imagine that’s where the aristocrats settled back in the day. \u00a0Upper Town is home to the Royal Palace, Palace of Justice, Place Royale, and a handful of museums.<\/p>\n

The Royal Palace used to be home to the king and queen, but is now mostly an office building for the royal family.<\/p>\n

\"Royal<\/a><\/p>\n

The Place Royale is a square near the Royal Palace. \u00a0The dude on the horse in the middle of the square is Godfrey de Bouillon, who led the first crusade.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0494\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The statue of Godfrey is facing this view. \u00a0A park and the spire of City Hall off in the distance.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0489\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We continued walking around upper town and stumbled into a farmer’s market, with a guy selling something that I have always wanted to try. \u00a0Jamon.<\/p>\n

\"Jamon\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By way of a little background. \u00a0Spain is on my to do list. \u00a0Aside from spending time in the Madrid airport I have not been to Spain. \u00a0I also love to eat pork. Jamon is cured pig’s leg from Spain. \u00a0It looked amazing and after getting a taste from the vendor I\u00a0had to buy a few slices.<\/p>\n

\"Slice<\/a><\/p>\n

Being the cheapskate that I am, I was hesitant but I had to get it. \u00a0Six slices put me back 18 euro ($25). \u00a0 We got some cheese to go with it and it made a nice picnic lunch. \u00a0I don’t even know how to describe the taste, it was almost buttery in flavor. \u00a0It was fantastic. Spain just went higher on my to do list.<\/p>\n

After dinner that night, mussels of course, we went to King Baudoin Stadium to watch Belgium play South Korea in the World Cup. \u00a0The crowd was lively and fun to watch.<\/p>\n

\"World<\/a><\/p>\n

The next day we were off to Paris for 4 days. \u00a0I can’t believe how much sight seeing we jammed into 4 days. \u00a0A piece of advice for anyone visiting Paris. \u00a0Get the museum pass. \u00a0It covers almost every major sight and lets you skip the ticket buying lines. \u00a0Very handy for places like the Louvre and Versailles.<\/p>\n

One our first day we hit up Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle Church, Paris Archaeological Crypt, and the Louvre.<\/p>\n

\"Notre<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Notre<\/a><\/p>\n

I love this side view. \u00a0Notre Dame’s architecture is stunning. \u00a0A nearby church with less stunning exterior architecture is Sainte Chapelle, but inside is a\u00a0chapel filled with stain glass.<\/p>\n

\"Stain<\/a><\/p>\n

After touring Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle and other sites on Ile de la Cite it was off to the Louvre. \u00a0I heard that the museum is less crowded in the evenings so we went to the museum around 5:00. \u00a0There was not much of a line to get in but it was still crowded. \u00a0I can’t imagine what the place is like during peak hours.<\/p>\n

\"Louvre\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Venus<\/a><\/p>\n

I really like Greek and Roman art. \u00a0This is a greek original Venus de Milo, it’s only 2000 years old.<\/p>\n

\"Michelangelo<\/a>

Michelangelo’s Dying Slave<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Michelangelo<\/a>

Michelangelo’s Rebellious Slave<\/p><\/div>\n

We of course, also saw the Mona Lisa. \u00a0Let me say this about the Mona Lisa. \u00a0While it is a great piece of art, the crowds are ridiculous. \u00a0I think most are there just to say they’ve seen it, take a picture and move on. \u00a0I spent a good amount of time just sitting back and watching the crowd.<\/p>\n

\"Mona<\/a><\/p>\n

Our second day was spent out at Versailles. \u00a0Versailles was built by King Louis XIV who fancied himself as a new age Roman Emperor.<\/p>\n

\"Versailles\"<\/a> \"King<\/a> \"Versailles<\/a> \"Versailles<\/a> \"Versailles<\/a><\/p>\n

Words cannot really describe how grandiose the palace and its grounds are. \u00a0Seeing Versailles first hand certainly puts the French Revolution in perspective.<\/p>\n

The next day we visited the Arc de Triomphe, Orsay Museum, and the Rodin Museum.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a>

View from Arc de Triomphe<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Arc<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Musee<\/a><\/p>\n

The Orsay museum is a converted train station, that I think is a really great museum. \u00a0It shows the transition from classical art of the late 18th century to realism and impressionism. \u00a0Sorry I don’t have pictures of the art, picture taking was not allowed.<\/p>\n

Next stop was the Rodin Museum, perhaps the greatest sculptor since Michelangelo.<\/p>\n

\"Rodin<\/a> \"Rodin\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Once we were finished touring the museums we had dinner and then walked back to our hotel. \u00a0Walking made us a little hungry so we stopped at a crepe stand for a sugar and butter crepe.<\/p>\n

\"Crepe<\/a><\/p>\n

It was delicious.<\/p>\n

On our last full day we climbed the Eiffel Tower, toured Napoleon’s Tomb, and souvenir shopped.<\/p>\n

\"Eiffel<\/a>\u00a0\"Eiffel<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Napoleon's<\/a><\/p>\n

At 7 days and 8 nights, this was a very short trip. \u00a0I would have preferred doing this over 10 or 12 days, but you make due with what you got.\u00a0 We crammed in a lot of sightseeing, ate some wonderful food, and had a great time doing it. \u00a0I look forward to returning.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Note: \u00a0This was first published on Portland Travel Tips\u00a0in 2014. \u00a0I am importing miles and points related posts from there and re-posting here. Part I:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":1646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Mostly Pictures Trip Report: Part II Brussels and Paris - Miles Points Reselling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/milespointsreselling\/2016\/03\/02\/a-mostly-pictures-trip-report-part-ii-brussels-and-paris\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Mostly Pictures Trip Report: Part II Brussels and Paris - Miles Points Reselling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Note: \u00a0This was first published on Portland Travel Tips\u00a0in 2014. \u00a0I am importing miles and points related posts from there and re-posting here. 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