Today, we arrived in Belgium, Brussels to be exact. We headed straight for the Royal Palace of Brussels, a high priority. Though it is called the Royal Palace, no royals live there. They live in another castle on the outskirts of the city, but the King uses this Palace as a workplace. The palace was built at the instruction of King Leopold II after 1900, but some portions of the land were once part of a complex from the Middle Ages. There were no tours, but Kileigh and I got to explore the castle on our own, but we did learn quite a lot.
The Palace of Brussels stands opposite the Parliament building and it symbolizes the government of Belgium. The castle houses many political figures that work as heads of departments of government such as Economical, Cultural, and Social Departments. There are many rooms that we got to see, my favorite being the Mirror Room. Mirrors were placed on the walls by King Albert I and the ceiling was recently decorated with millions of jewels.
We left the castle and stopped for food in a cafe that we found on our way to St. Michael's Cathedral, and of course, we both ordered Belgian Waffles, as is customary for tourists in Belgium. We also picked up some chocolate to bring home with us.
St. Michaels Cathedral was a very short trip. Most of the day had been spent exploring the vast array of rooms in the Palace, so we decided to look inside quickly and go back to the hotel to rest. We learned that St. Michael's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Church that was originally constructed in the 11th century. It was later subject to a renovation that lasted from the 13th to the 15th century. The inside was beautiful. There were enormous stained glass windows and statues all around the Cathedral. Once darkness fell, we decided to head back to the hotel to sleep, skipping dinner for the sake of a little rest.
The Cathedral Organ
-Miriam
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