Brussels - the Grote Markt

  

Lillian : Here we are in the middle of the Grote Markt in Brussels - I'm sitting down because my feet were very sore.

Audrey : All those Cobbles !  Do you wemember the zebwra crossings?  the white stripes were marble cobbles!!
Lillian : Oh yes - amazing wasn't it.                

Lillian : It's sad but our photographer lost all the photos from the 1st five days of our journey -

Audrey : Yes!  A digital thingie happened - and her camera ATE all those photos !  
Lillian : Very sad.  We've no photos of the day-trip to Brugge - such a pretty pretty place ...
Audrey : Bwugge looks just like the pictures in a book of fairy-tales.
Lillian : Well, we spent the last day in Brussels rushing about to get more photos from our favourite places.  Like the Grand Square, or Grote Markt
Audrey : that's a funny name !
Lillian : It is big - or Grand
Audrey : or Grote !
Lillian : Audrey, shhh!    there are very ornamented "wedding cake" buildings all around.  Here we are in front of The Town Hall

Audrey : Parts of the Town Hall were built in the early 1400s - amazing isn't it?
Lillian :  Yes, dates like that are amazing to Australian dolls like us.   Our photographer really liked this building
Audrey :  There were lots of funny people like these, all in a line ...

Lillian :  And Lions by the main entrance.

Audrey : You were very bwave Lillian.
Lillian :  tee hee, I don't think he noticed me, he was very busy holding up that board thing.
Audrey : We got to play at being Sentries - but we didn't have the nice uniforms with lots of gold braid and buttons

Lillian : Maybe next time, we'll have to ask our stylist to make us some uniforms.  I liked these ladies' outfits, especially that amazing head-dress.

Lillian : The Craft Guilds of Brussels built many of the other buildings about the Grote Markt - and I wonder if the Chair-makers paid for this capital ?

Audrey :  And did you notice the chap above all those chairs is playing an early form of 'cello?
Lillian :  Perhaps a viol d'amore?   Like the ones in the wonderful museum of Musical Instruments.  We went there and it was great.  It is in a wonderful Art Nouveau building and they give you head-phones so that when you stand in front of an instrument, you can hear it being played.
Audrey : Yes, that was a gweat place, wonderful to be able to hear all the instwuments - not just look at them.  But, back to the Grote Place Lillian ...

Lillian :  OK.  Our photographer has a bit of a 'thing' for gargoyles
Audrey : Yes I know, have you met her husband?
Lillian : Don't be naughty Audrey.  Gargoyles traditionally serve as rain water-spouts ... like this one on that Town Hall






Audrey :  Well I think he drank far too much black Belgium beer and has a bad hang-over!

This guy is much nicer to look at  - ain't he cute!

Lillian : Oh yes, that's round the corner from the Town Hall, it is a memorial to Karel Buls, he was a Mayor of Brussels.












Lillian : Well, let's leave you with some more photos of The Town Hall - and we'll save the photos of the rest of the buildings in the Grote Markt for our next post.

This is the spire of the Town Hall - with St Michael & Demon on the top.
















And a night-time photo.