11) Brussels, Belgium-home of Mannkenpis. Yes, pronounced Man Can Piss and it's exactly that. Legend has it that a little boy saved Brussels during the war by peeing on a bomb. Well, if you have to have a mascot, he sure is cute enough. I missed Mannkenpis many years ago, so I kept seeing this statue in various outfits, so I made sure to visit him this time. As we came to the end of the
street corner, there was a crowd and there he was, he wasn't wearing any clothes and people were snapping pictures, of course my husband did his best impression of Mannkenpis for our picture. We happened to be at the next train stop, Gare de Midi to go to a carnival when we came upon 4 hapless Japanese girl tourist all lugging the same black and white polka dot suitcases, were they in a Japanese girl band? Surely they were lost and in the wrong part of town. I was wondering what in the world were they doing in this part of Brussels, (kind of seedy and run down) when they stopped us. They asked us in very broken English if we knew where they could find the Moooka Pisaa, to which I said "the Mona Lisa?" My daughter said no Mom, they're asking for mannkenpis! Poor things, wrong train stop and very lost. The best I could we tried to direct them back to the train station to Central Station. This was probably lost in translation.
street corner, there was a crowd and there he was, he wasn't wearing any clothes and people were snapping pictures, of course my husband did his best impression of Mannkenpis for our picture. We happened to be at the next train stop, Gare de Midi to go to a carnival when we came upon 4 hapless Japanese girl tourist all lugging the same black and white polka dot suitcases, were they in a Japanese girl band? Surely they were lost and in the wrong part of town. I was wondering what in the world were they doing in this part of Brussels, (kind of seedy and run down) when they stopped us. They asked us in very broken English if we knew where they could find the Moooka Pisaa, to which I said "the Mona Lisa?" My daughter said no Mom, they're asking for mannkenpis! Poor things, wrong train stop and very lost. The best I could we tried to direct them back to the train station to Central Station. This was probably lost in translation. A must see Grand Place, which it surely is. Unfortunately Brussels is full of competing restaurants with hawkers at every turn, eaters beware! Every other street have their specialities from mussels (a speciality) to Greek and Italian. We found the best Chinese food restaurant, take the street from the Drug Opera, away from Grand Place, to the main boulevard, look for the McDonald's on the corner, and turn down the street, I think the restaurant had the word Bowl in it. Really good! Another eating tip: Moka Cafe in the Royal Gallery, good food and reasonable prices. A must in Brussels, the waffles, try it with bananas, cream and nuts, delicious!
10) Lake Como, Italy-While not exactly on the major train routes, Lake Como is a nice place to stop and r
elax on your way to the southern Italy. The lake is beautiful. We took a boat ride around the lake in hopes of seeing George Clooney's house, whom we are told is the unofficial mayor of Lake Como. Cool off your tooties in the lake and relax from the hustle and bustle. Ah, if only I could afford a house here, one can only dream!
elax on your way to the southern Italy. The lake is beautiful. We took a boat ride around the lake in hopes of seeing George Clooney's house, whom we are told is the unofficial mayor of Lake Como. Cool off your tooties in the lake and relax from the hustle and bustle. Ah, if only I could afford a house here, one can only dream!9) Amsterdam, Netherlands-What's not to love, more canals, dutch clogs, cheese, bicycles, more bicycles, and fabulous double salted dutch licorice. What is especially wonderful there, everyone speaks English. Bruges and Ghent have nothing on Amsterdam with their lovely canals, so what if some of the most charming canals are in the red light district, although I heard they are trying to clean that part up. Haven't been to Amsterdam in many years, but definitely worth a visit if you've never been there. The train station alone is amazing and lands you right in the heart of the city.
Hotel hint: The hotels do not use sheets on their beds. I ran down stairs to tell the tiny front desk that the bed hadn't been made. He asked, was a comforter on the bed? Well, Yes, Then the bed is made, that's the Dutch way, he says.
8) Siena, Italy-Just a short bus ride from Florence is the beautiful town of Siena in the Tuscan countryside. Meandering cobblestone streets and beautiful old building along with another amazing pl
aza. It can be really hot there so make sure you stop and have the gelato. Be sure not to stir up the ire of some of the town's roving Gypsies, like my sister-in-law did when we were there. The Gypsies got on our bus back to Florence by way of the back door. When she reported it to the bus driver, he promptly ignored her (guess he didn't want the evil eye put on him). Well, nonetheless, my sister-in-law starts giving the Gypsies a hard time. When we were getting off the bus, the older Gypsies woman gave her the evil eye while pulling at her hair (sister-in-law later encounters really bad luck???) If you can avoid the Gypsies, then a trip to Siena is well worth it!-Single D
aza. It can be really hot there so make sure you stop and have the gelato. Be sure not to stir up the ire of some of the town's roving Gypsies, like my sister-in-law did when we were there. The Gypsies got on our bus back to Florence by way of the back door. When she reported it to the bus driver, he promptly ignored her (guess he didn't want the evil eye put on him). Well, nonetheless, my sister-in-law starts giving the Gypsies a hard time. When we were getting off the bus, the older Gypsies woman gave her the evil eye while pulling at her hair (sister-in-law later encounters really bad luck???) If you can avoid the Gypsies, then a trip to Siena is well worth it!-Single D
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