Heart and capital of European government, Brussels has the feel of a serious city, full of weighty institutions, politicians and foreign diplomats.
Round and about the Grand Place, the Beaux Arts and Galeries Royales
Children playing on the almost deserted square in front of the Brussels opera house, La Monnaie/De Munt, a few hours before it filled up with opera-goers for a startling production of Orphée et Eurydice (see here), based on a real-life case of a young Belgian woman with locked-in syndrome.
Peering up at the grand vaulted glass ceiling of the colonnaded 19th century Galeries Royales
... a perfect place for a pre-opera drink.
And from the sublime to ... Europe's oddest tourist attraction? the jolly little Manneken Pis, unadorned by outfits on this day but still drawing the crowds.
Brussels, June 2014
