Up early and out the door. We were off to buy our tickets and stand in line , or stand in line to buy our tickets, whatever was required. We have noticed that generally people in Europe do not get up early and we were counting on that. We arrived at the ticket area at 8:15 and we were about number 10 in line and we found out tickets would go on sale at 9:00. Now, you know if this had been in the states, people would have been camping out. We were grateful that the queue was small and we could get our viewing done and hop back on the red bus to take us to the sights around route 2. Our ticket for on and off ended at 2:30.
The morning was a little chilly and the forecast was for rain so this time we ncame prepared. Sharon ran and got us coffee and a coissant and we chatted with the people standing in line so the time went by fairly quickly.
I've already told you some general background of the Flower Carpet and that each year a theme is selected. This year the the Flower Carpet chose to celebrater the 50th anniversary of Turkish immigration in Belgium. The carpet of Begonia's made up an ephemeral tapestry inspired by the patters of Turkey's famous kilms.
I have 225 more pictures of this but perhaps this is enough to give you an idea. If any of you want to view the other 221 just let me know next time you see me :-)!
Climbing the stairs to the balcony of the City Hall allowed us a glimpse of the inside of the buiding as well. That too was pretty spetacular.
The Main Staircase
Beautiful and unique flower arrangements were located throughout the vaious rooms. These were done by new flower designers.
Our panoramic view of the carpet was complete so we left the square and ran to catch the on and off bus, line #1. I think run is an exaggeration of our pace.
Our first stop was at the Atomium.
"The story of the Atomium is, above all, one of love, the love that the Belgiums have for an extraordinary structure symbolising a frame of mind that wittily combines asthetic daring with technical mastery. The appearance is unusual and unforgettable. It has a rare quality of lifting everyone's spirits and firing their imagination."
The Atomium was the main pavilion and icon of the World Fair of Brussels (1958). It symbolizes the democratic will to maintain peace among all nations, faith in progress, both technical and scientific, and an optimistic vision of the future of a modern, new, supertechnological world for the better life for mankind.
I particularly liked this description: " A seminal totem in the Brussels skyline, neither tower, nor pryramid, a little bit cubic, a little bit spherical, half-way between sculpture and architecture, a relic of the past with a determinedly futuristic look , museum and exhibition centre, the Atomium is, at once, an object, a place, a space, a Utopia and the only symbol of its kind in the world which elludes any kind of classification".
And here it is.....
It stands 335 ft tall and 59 ft in diameter. Tubes connect the spheres. They enclose escalators and a lift to allow acess to to the five habitable spheres which contain exhibit halls and other public spaces. CNN named it Europe's most bizarre building.
Next, we searched for Mini Europe which we were told was out by the Atomium. We failed to see any sign but were told to go up the path and to our left. Well , we walked around a bit and then it really started to rain. You remember me telling you we were prepared. Well, not so true. Sharon was prepared. When I reached into my purse for my umbrella it wasn't there. Fortunately Sharon had her trusty raincoat with her so she put up the hood and gave me her umbrella. We finally found the sign for mini-Europe and debated if we should do it. It was raining and we really didn't know what we were going to see. We finally decided, we're here, why not. We are so glad we did and in just a few minutes the rain stopped and we completed the entire walk without one raindrop falling.
They have built replica's of the standout or major buildings in each of the countries of the EU.
All models are built down to the finest detail to a scale of 1:25. "The park offers something to everybody's taste; lovers of history, enthusiasts of the European Union, people remembering their latest journey, people preparing their tour or people just having a nice stroll." This stroll takes almost two hours and you see something from every country, in great detail. In front of each display is a blue button you can push and listen to the National Anthem of the country while looking at one of it's famous buildings.
The Abbey in the city of Melk, Austria 
Flanders Field
"In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Betwen the crosses, row on row.
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flanders fields.
The Flower Carpet in the Grand-Place
The Sacre-Coeur - ParisThe Brandenburg Gate - Germany
The deregulation of airspace in Europe has permitted a strong expansion in air transport. These planes actually taxi down the runways.
The Olavinlinna Castle - Finland
Where in the world is Sharon Daugherty ?Bath - England 
Arc de Triomphe - FranceThere are over 100 buildings on the site. Fifty five professional workshops from 9 member states of the EU were contracted to carry out the mammoth task involved in making models. The models were made using a new technique that reproduces exceptionally fine detail and guarantees excellent weather resistance. The entire process to build these models is extrememly slow. For example, it took 24,000 hours of work to complete the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela ( the equivalent of one person working for 13 years).
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela - Spain
It is a well done - the trains race by, the boats move to the docks, the cranes lift materials, and the models are truly amazing.
The Monument of Freedom - Riga, Latvia
Big Ben - London
Of course, it wasn't all buildings, We ran into some very nice people there as well. I asked them if I could take a picture or two and they were most gracious.
I really wanted to know if this gentleman would share his bottle of wine but he had places to go and things to do.
This is the first time I have ever seen one of the Royal Guards with a smile on his face.
This guy was pretty fierce looking but I got him to smile for the camera. HIs moniker was "Terrible Terry"!We finished, caught the bus and got off in a little area known as Bourse which the guide said had cafes and restaurants. Just what we were looking for.
We found a restaurant situated on the corner that had lots of outside eating space so we sat down and before ordering we decided we'd go inside. Just a little chilly for us. We scaned the menu and I found that they had Moules with frites. The Moules ( Mussels) could be cooked any number of ways but I chose them to be cooked in leeks, mushrooms, ham and wine. I wish I could say I ordered a Belgium beer but I didn't. I do love the fact that there is a beer to go with every dish and each beer has it's own particular shaped glass. Last night when I was looking at foods in Belgium I came across a website which told you what kind of beer to order with the different food selections. I wish I had had that when I was in Belgium. I will definitely use it when we visit Brugges and Ghent and try more beer. Back to the restaurant. We placed our order and just as we finished a downpour came and everyone outside came rushing in and sat at any available space. Two women sat down at a table right next to us.The restaurant was large, an upstairs and down and it was packed. Just a little chaos ensued.
To pass the time Sharon took out her phone and started to look at some of her photo's from mini-Europe. One of the woman looked over and commented on it - asking if Sharon had just been to Paris. Sharon explained about mini-Europe and before long the four of us were having a wonderful conversation. They were delightful. They were concerned that our food had not arrived but as I said it was chaotic in the restaurant as waiters were trying to find their costomers that had been seated outside, and we assured them that we were fine and just enjoying talking to them. They did not want us to have a bad impression of Brussels.
Josee Elisabeth
Look how smart Elisabeth was to hold up the menu so we would remember the name of the restaurant. We have their email addresses and if we should get to Brussels again we are going to have lunch.
This lunch finally came and I can only say, they were the best mussels I have ever tasted. Josee and Elisabeth said it was a little early and they probably weren't as good as they would be a little later in the season. Shoot! I may just have to go back for "the good" mussels.
Look mom - all gone!This is the broth that the mussels steamed in. Absolutey delicious! I couldn't eat it all but I tried!
It was a good three hour lunch but such fun - good food, an old friend, and new friends!
On our way back we did stop into a little chocolate shop - Elisabeth's. Elisabeth had a bag of chocolate from this store so we decided that was a good endorsement and we bought a few little treats for ourselves.
Now, with our new found energy we walked to the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula and went inside to have a look.
The Cathedral is the National Church of Belgium and it is here that royal weddings and funerals take place. Though dating from the 12th century, the church was only granted cathdral status in 1962. The interior of the church is not as decorative as one would expect to see in a Gothic Cathedral but Victor Hugo desribed this gothic wonder as the "purest flowering of the Gothic style".
We returned to our hotel and rested up for our night out because we had big plans. At 10:00 we were returning to the Grand-Place where a splendid sound and light show was to take placre. A special musical theme was especially composed by Gregoire Dune for this summer's display.
We ate dinner, and I had the rabbit stew this time. I was a little hesitant but Josee had told me she made it all the time and it's delliciious. I tried it and I liked it. Only one problem - it's hard to get the meat off the bones and there's not a lot of meat.
Rather than go back to the hotel after dinner and wait until 10 for the show we decided to justwalk around a bit. After a while we stumbled on a little alley way where some great music was coming from so we proceeded to go and check it out. We didn't go into the place with music it looked more like a restaurant but there was a little bar around the corner so we stepped inside and had a wine and beer. It was a very interesting little bar.
And this is Sharon saying " not again," I'm always pullling my camera out to capture our presence at a place and Sharon just looks at me and that's why I wanted you to look at Sharon's expression at the bus stop. I think she wanted to do this very same thing. So when you see that look on Sharon's face , not really happy, she's saying " really, another picture - do you have to" ? The answer is YES!We returned to the Grand--Place and unfortunately we didn't get there early enough to get a good view of the light show. We did hear the music and I have some video's of the light show. I just held the camera up in the air and shot.
Can't post the video's on the blog but I'm going to put them on Facebook. They aren't great because I didn't have a good view but you can hear the music and get a feeliing for the light show.
So ended our night in Brussels.
The following morniing we headed out to have a little breakfast in the Gallery. Now I have failed to tell you that everytime we went out of the hotel we had to walk through the gallery to get to almost anywhere we were going and we had to walk right by the shop which had the lovely sculptures, and chandeliers, and vases and crystal. This morning was no exception. This time we went in with intention. We were going to buy a piece of our favorite artist's work and we did. The artist is LOHE, a Frenchman We each bought a piece. They are signed and named. Sharon's piece is Leah and mine is Dorothy. They are on their way via Federal Express to Charlotte NC.
Dorothy Leah 
We both loved this artist's work. Hopefully next time we're in the mood to buy a momento of our year it will not be similar. Who would have known Sharon would have such good taste. I guess my influence is rubbing off.
You make me so homesick for Europe mini or otherwise, and Brussels. what fabulous pictures of the Carpet as well as in the cathedrals. You have both taken great advantage of every place you visit and I am there vicariously. Great times, great food and great memories. k
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