Brussels May 10, 2022

After a somewhat jet lagged night, we hit the streets at 10:00am and breakfasted in Place Rouppe on delicious coffee, fresh orange juice, bread, ham, cheese and a croissant before heading for the metro and the one change ride to the European Parliament. Unlike other metro systems, Brussels obliges you to complete your journey within 60 minutes, so exiting via the turnstile to change lines was not a problem. The Hemicycle of the European Parliament was impressive and Tim was particularly saddened to witness Britain’s absence. Noticeable was the lack of the Union Jack and indeed any trace that it was ever there; in the large entrance lobby, the base from which grow all the EU member states flags did not have an embarrassing hole, but instead some bright spark changed the base back in 2021. Clever; beyond all the costs we think of resulting from the UK’s departure we forget about the little things. The Parlamentarium had a great museum outlining the history of the EU with fantastic interactive displays, including a place where we could leave our photos and send messages.

Lunch was taken in a café near the Jardin Du Mont des Artes where we continued to enjoy the street theater of life in a European city, It’s not that you can’t do that in Santa Monica, but its just so much more prevalent here.

After a visit to the cathedral, we strolled along the Galerie Hubert and stopped for a late afternoon coffee and a bit of chocolate shopping at Neuhaus. Dinner took just a few minutes; fresh ravioli and tortellini bought earlier in the day at the market in the Place de Luxembourg. Sleep came easily.