Jan 24, 20233 min read

My Europe Research + Writing Trip Photos - Part I (Brussels)

Hey, so since it's difficult to email a ton of photos to people without ending up in spam / promotions, I thought I'd post some of my travel photos on here for those who are interested. :) I'm going to be in Europe for the next three months-ish (January to April), and doing a fair bit of research for upcoming books while I'm here.

Plus there are just a ton of super pretty places here, so I wanted to share. I feel really lucky to be able to do this, so I hope you enjoy getting a glimpse of some of what I'm seeing while I wander around and check out particular locations. :)

So these are just my first few days in Europe, where I was in Brussels. I'll need to break these into a few posts, so this is the first. :)

Me on my way out of the United States (somewhere over the Dakotas, I think, on my way to Minneapolis). Unfortunately, I got super sick on my second flight over. I found out later a good chunk of my family was sick too, so we think we all got food poisoning possibly from our last big meal together, which is a bummer.

Me walking around Brussels. Because I was still sick (and jetlagged) when I first arrived, I pretty much slept through the entire first day, so this was my second day on the ground. :) Brussels is a really beautiful city, so I'll have to see more of it on my way back through in April.

A funky statue downtown.

I'm not exactly sure what this is, lol... artwork on a rooftop as seen from the Hall of Justice, which was pretty close to where I was staying downtown.

L'oreille Tourbillonante, an art sculpture, with Brussels Town Hall in the background.

I'm still trying to figure out what this is - I didn't make a note of it, but the building was really gorgeous. I'll try to update if I ever figure it out, lol.

Behind the Art Museum (just above Brussels Square)

Brussels Square (from the courtyard above)

There was tons of street art all over the city. This is right outside the major art museum, which struck me as sort of fitting. :)

The Old England building, which is really beautiful. It's now a museum of musical instruments.

A statue in Brussels Park

The Parliament Building

More random street art :)

Some of the houses were just so beautiful. I would have loved to see inside of them. :)

The Column of Congress (detail). There is a lit flame at the base.

A view of downtown from right next to the Botanical Gardens.

The Botanical Garden

Statue of an alligator eating a snake in the Botanical Gardens :)

It says on the side "I licked it so it's mine." This is inside a hotel restaurant.

St. Mary's Royal Church

A view from above...

Place du General Pontey-Nauer

More street art...

The main art museum in Brussels (I was staying like 800 yards from here - it was basically right outside of my door, which was very cool)

A view of Brussels Town Hall

The sculpture garden at the back of the art museum

Where I went to get a sandwich the first time I tried eating after being sick (It worked out, mostly, lol... but I've had to be careful with food since I got here as my stomach's still a bit touchy)

Statue on the walk in to the Grand Palace in Brussels

My early morning walk (this was at around 7:30AM on a weekday, believe it or not - it was dark until after 8:30AM in the morning, and the streets were shockingly empty for such a big city, but maybe because I was in more of a tourist than a business district)

Detail from one of the statues on the Grand Palace in Brussels

More detail from the Grand Palace

More of the Grand Palace...

This place was just getting ready for the day (it's right on the Grand Palace Square) so I poked my head in to look around. Such a cozy place! I might try to come here when it's open on my way back. Seems like a hobbit's restaurant, lol.