Brussels - part 2

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

After touring the Royal Palace and the garden across the way, we started our walk back towards the train station.

On the way we saw this awesome bike lane. Sadly, just as in Paris, Dave refused to try the "Villo" bikes. I liked the play on words of this name, and the first half hour of use is completely free, but I simply couldn't persuade him.

We also walked past another entrance to the Royal Palace, a gate complete with lions on guard. 

We walked across the Place du Luxembourg:

and sort of stumbled upon this tower, called the Hallepoort or Porte de Hal, a gate from medieval times. It was pretty fascinating, but we didn't have a lot of time, so we didn't go inside, just walked around and admired it form the outside.

 This modern skyscraper, such a contrast to all the old buildings we had been admiring, stands right next to the Gare du Midi train station.

The Tour du Midi or Zuidertoren - the South Tower

We ate dinner at an outdoor restaurant next to the station -- Dave had a steak & fries and I had "tuna toast" -- both with salad. Everything was yummy, and there was plenty of opportunity for people-watching.

And finally, we went back into the train station, said so long to Tintin and his friends, and boarded the train for Zaventem airport.