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Wednesday, April 19, 2017
When in doubt, go to Belgium
Tiffany and I hit it off before we even met at Fulbright orientation last summer. I can't remember how we became Facebook friends, but we did and I knew I liked her right away and it's true: she's one of my favorite people and now I can say she's one of my favorite people to travel with.
About a month ago we were talking on WhatsApp with Google Flights and Google Maps and Airbnb open on our Chromebooks, Tiffany in Jyväskylä, Finland and I in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Within thirty minutes, we'd determined we'd meet up in Brussels. Whoop!
Translated into English as literally the ‘Palace of Justice’; Belgium’s supreme court of law. It is situated in the uptown area of Saint Gilles, down the road from Avenue Louise in an area formally known as ‘gallows hill’. This location gives it a great panoramic view of the city below. Almost like a watch tower or a guardian. The design and building of this goliath court house was not without controversy.
Measuring 20,000 square metres, the building was designed by architect Joseph Poelaert, who died 4 years before its completion in 1883. The style is described as Assyro-Babylonian, a mixture of different styles. The building is about 3 times the size of the Royal Palace and was commissioned by Leopold II, one of the first Kings of Belgium; it took 20 years to complete and cost about $300 million in today’s terms.
The main controversy of the Palais de Justice was the fact that 3,000 homes in the Marolles-Sablon area had to be demolished to make way for it. The people of the area were so furious. In return they defiled the building on the day it was open to the public and the word ‘architect’ has become a derogatory term; ‘schieven architek’ (twisted architect).
From the outside the Palais de Justice is an immense grey building with columns and a large golden dome. A glass elevator at the end of a bridge takes you down into the Marolles, where the ‘peasant’ and ‘working-classes’ used to roam beneath the towering symbol of justice.
this place is HUGE
Awwww
Really...Viv can always find a playground.
Oh, look...a castle.
This was Tiffany's first time doing a Hop on/Hop off tour and she was a real champ about it. Sometimes travel with a seven-year-old can hamper a seasoned road warrior, but Tiffany was accommodating about slowing the pace to suit Vivi.
Within the first 30 minutes of meeting Tiffany, Vivian was hooked. Me, too, kid.
fresh melon in a street market
She didn't want the chicken -- she just liked being warm.
She cracked up over this image.
Easter services were taking place; we stood and listened to the music and the voices singing together. Beautiful.
Measuring 20,000 square metres, the building was designed by architect Joseph Poelaert, who died 4 years before its completion in 1883. The style is described as Assyro-Babylonian, a mixture of different styles. The building is about 3 times the size of the Royal Palace and was commissioned by Leopold II, one of the first Kings of Belgium; it took 20 years to complete and cost about $300 million in today’s terms.
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