FAVORITES from Brussels

Below are some of my favorite photos taken while I was in Brussels, Belgium.

A covered alleyway just off the main street...

within the Grand Plaza...

Er, cake please...

Me, Mom, Dad...

Belgium -- churches

The church/buildings shown in the photo above were really interesting to walk by. Mom and Dad read about it in their book earlier in the day and told me the story behind these storefronts built against the entire side of the church. -- Apparently, the people that gave money to help build the church were then able to have a shop here... and they still exist today. (I think that's pretty much how it goes...) I've never seen a church like this before - and almost missed it walking right by! Very cool.

Our last morning in Brussels, I took a walk with Mom and Dad through a different part of the city. I enjoyed it. We went by this great church... I really like the reading statue shown two photos below... :P

Beautiful stained glass inside the church!

Then a nice guy took some photos of the three of us  : )

walking around Brussels...

Brussels is a nice city... although I'm glad we had time to also go to Bruges for a day-trip... it is nice to be able to see such different parts of Belgium! I'd like to get back some day and see more. Below are photos taken while we were out and about in Brussels:

Reading and enjoying the sunshine  : )

Cute...

I love this street art!

The flowers and buildings are equally gorgeous...

(one end of the Grand Plaza...)

Mom, Dad, Angela, BRUSSELS!

Our few days in Brussels were great. My presentation with Mom at the conference went really well... and the rest of the conference was solid. Angela was there too! She is not only a great friend of mine in Milan but also the elementary librarian this year! We began at ASM together last school year... she was a 2nd grade teacher... and it's been really great to have her be part of the Library's team now (thankfully, she loves the change too!).

Out for dinner... sidewalk-style in Brussels:

Angela had mussels in Brussels!

Dad stuck to pasta bolognese... 

The friends that my dad just spent time with in Cork, Ireland (just before coming to Brussels) have friends from Ireland that have been living in Brussels for a number of years now. They put my parents in touch with these friends and we went to their place for a lovely dinner after the conference our first night! It was great. A really nice family... and a delicious, home-cooked meal.

Grand Place, Grote Markt - Brussels

The Grand Place, Grote Markt, is the main plaza in Brussels, Belgium - and WOW it is impressive! The plaza is actually an UNESCO World Heritage Site... it is surrounded by gorgeous buildings, including the town hall, a museum of the city, and much more.

I first walked through the plaza after the first day at the conference, on our way to dinner. It was a lovely time of evening... the lights were just coming on and shining...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM!

I never imagined going to Belgium... until I moved to Italy and found myself surrounded by amazing travel opportunities all across Europe. I am loving this. The list of great places to be able to travel to just keeps going and going.

Mom and I presented together at the ECIS Librarians' Conference in Brussels late September. (ECIS stands for: European Council of International Schools.) It was a lot of fun to do something 'librarian' together. Our session was titled: Enhance Your Students' Library Experience with iMovie.

So... I was there for work, really... here's a photo of the second day's keynote speaker, Jim Cummins.

...BUT... we had fun too. It was awesome to be able to attend a great conference and spend time with Mom and Dad in a new city.

Here we are in the Grand Place - Grote Markt

and we definitely also ate

BELGIAN WAFFLES! (they really are that good)