It was already afternoon when they finished wandering around the museum. Yunluo and Koala unfortunately missed the meal time. After following the crowd out of the art gallery, they passed by a monument and a large square. Many squares in Europe have a green plant design, and the tops of many tall trees are trimmed into square pieces.
After the long and neat arrangement, looking down from above, it is a very neat green channel. It is worth mentioning that in Belgium and France, you can often see some people of Middle Eastern descent in different clothes, holding a piece of paper and a pen, probably for charity activities to find a home for the homeless.
Or they ask you to sign a petition to support a political campaign, but the real purpose is to get you to donate money, and everyone knows who will get the money. Especially in places where tourists gather, you can avoid such people, or even ignore them.
After walking in a circle, we walked step by step to the large square area. Generally speaking, hamburgers in Europe are always affordable lunches, they are filling and the taste is usually not surprising. After wolfing down the meal at a nearby burger shop, I took the remaining meat scraps and bread to feed the pigeons.
The pigeons here are as bold as those in the UK, but there are no more seagulls and wild ducks. I watched the passers-by in different clothes passing by, and found that the people on the streets of Brussels really blended various styles. I thought again, maybe they are like Yunluo, in such a tourist-filled area.
Maybe Yunluo saw more tourists, so it's not surprising that everyone dressed differently. It's worth mentioning that for Chinese people, when it comes to traveling, whether it's hiking, backpacking, or traveling, everyone thinks of jackets. Jackets have almost become the standard outfit for Chinese people to travel.
It is understandable that the jacket is more convenient, but it is not a standard. Yunluo saw travelers on the street. Some wore coarse linen, some wore casual clothes, and most of them were very individual.
At this moment, the sound of a cheerful accordion sounded on the left, which was very pleasant to hear. Turning around, I saw two middle-aged men performing with their hands in their hands, and a little boy, who was probably only 5 years old, was holding an African drum skillfully, sitting on a stone pier and beating the rhythm for them. The rhythm was very steady, and sometimes there would be some small changes.
The young face showed a nonchalant expression. Yunluo recorded a video on a whim. Many tourists stopped to watch. One of the mothers brought a little boy, who was about 4 years old, to watch the performance. The boy followed the rhythm, shaking his head, and twisting his butt. It was very cute, but who knew that the movement was too big, and he fell flat on his face.
Seeing this, the mother did not rush over to pick up her baby like other Chinese mothers who love their babies, saying, "Nannan, are you hurt? Rub it." Instead, she ignored him and the little boy got up by himself after a while, rubbed himself, and continued to twist to the music.
Gradually, Yunluo formed a concept deep in his heart that no matter educating children, career, or opportunity, most of the time we pay too much attention to it, try too hard to take care of it, educate it, decide on it, and think about it, which makes it impossible for children, careers, and opportunities to grow naturally as they should.
On the contrary, giving enough freedom and space will make things easier for yourself, and for the one that needs to grow, less interference and planning may help it grow into something more distinctive.
Although Yunluo is not a big fan of the recent popular drama See You Tomorrow, the song in it, which has been popular for a long time, is right: the future is always uncertain, so it is better to let nature take its course. Similarly, if our road suddenly reaches a dead end, instead of struggling and getting anxious, it is better to let nature take its course. There will always be another situation afterwards.
The next day was the day that Little Princess Koala had an appointment with Ms. Mei Si. She checked the route according to the map and felt excited and uneasy. This was the only time Koala contacted Ms. Mei Si after seven years. Perhaps she had never thought that after meeting her at the exhibition in China that year, she would really come to Belgium to visit her one day.
Ms. Meis's art gallery is located in the wealthy area in the north of Brussels. It was the first time for Yunluo and Koala to take a Brussels bus. When buying tickets, Yunluo repeatedly told the driver with long braids to ask him to tell Yunluo to get off when the bus arrived at the station. He nodded in understanding and motioned for Yunluo to sit in the seat behind him.
The bus was very long, and it seemed that the bus drivers in Brussels were very slow, and there were many stops along the way, maybe only half a kilometer to one kilometer, and it took more than half an hour to drive. When passing an intersection halfway, Yunluo saw a very magnificent arch and exquisite sculptures on the arch in the very far distance.
But Yunluo didn't see this attraction in the travel guide, so she thought about coming to see it in the afternoon. Finally, she arrived at the station. This area is a quiet residential area. The driver signaled Yunluo to get off. Yunluo smiled and thanked him. According to the map, Yunluo and Koala walked back and turned a corner, and saw a very quiet trail.
On one side is a garden covered with branches of flowers, and on the other side are rows of houses of the same height, scattered in an orderly manner. All of them are independent buildings. As he walked along, he looked at the house numbers. The sign of a local design firm was quite conspicuous. However, when he arrived at Ms. Meisi's building, Yunluo was surprised to find that the appearance of Meisi's art gallery did not look eye-catching.
There wasn't even any eye-catching sign, just a very small steel nameplate nailed to the door. The garden in front of the door was full of small white flowers, and there was a faint fragrance when walking in. Taking a deep breath, Yunluo rang Meisi's doorbell.
Yunluo had obviously arrived too early. Ms. Meis was still busy on a conference call upstairs. Her new assistant came out to greet Yunluo and Koala. She was a Ukrainian lady. Although she was old, she had a very sweet smile and was very polite to others, even though Yunluo was just an insignificant guest.
She still went up and down to help Yunluo pour water, pick up magazines for Yunluo, and chat with Yunluo and Koala. Meisi's personal assistant was also replaced by a French girl, who was very kind. The gallery as a whole continued Meisi's favorite solemn black, with antique and dark sofas on the first floor. Coffee table, desk.
In the exhibition hall far away, Yunluo saw the priceless bronze tripod again, as well as other Buddhist statues that Yunluo had never seen before. Looking through the album of the art gallery sent by the new assistant, Meisi sold more artworks and the descriptions of the artworks were more accurate and detailed, and the art appreciation value was also higher.
After a while, Koala saw Melanie coming down from upstairs. She was still as tall and beautiful as she was a few years ago. He went to repair the gallery's network, chatted with her briefly, handed her a small gift, and she left in a hurry, but she was still very happy. She still remembered every bit of the exhibition in China.
Within 2 minutes, Ms. Meisi appeared in front of Koala. Seven years ago, Koala remembered her as an old lady who was demanding, strict but respectful. But when Koala saw her again seven years later, he felt like a family member.
What surprised Yunluo was that Ms. Meisi's assistant did not know how to drive, and she did not have a dedicated driver. Instead, she drove a two-door Ford to take Yunluo and her assistant to lunch.
Meisi took us to a small local restaurant, which was not luxurious but most people in the community would go there for dinner. When dining with Ms. Meisi, I met a close friend from the same community. We greeted each other and hugged each other. The atmosphere was very harmonious.
Like the French, Belgians like to have a glass of low-alcohol wine with their meals. That day, Miss Meis ordered a glass of rosé wine for us, which was delicious with the unique Belgian meal.
Yunluo's travels are like scattered puzzle pieces, adding different colors, goals, aesthetics, directions and emotions to Yunluo's life, and then becoming a part of Yunluo himself. Undoubtedly, the puzzle piece found in Belgium is undoubtedly the most beautiful.
Because there was a meeting to attend in the afternoon, after lunch with Miss Meisi, Meisi drove Yunluo Koala to the Greater and Lesser Sablons, a street full of petty bourgeoisie in Belgium. If you want to compare it, it is like the Left Bank of Paris. On the way, she kept introducing various buildings to Yunluo.
What surprised Yunluo was that most of the buildings in the area where she lived and those further into the city were over a hundred years old, and many were even over 200 years old, but they were still simple and elegant, very solid and beautiful. When passing by the road close to the city.
Miss Meis asked her assistant to buy a kind of passion chocolate for Yunluo and Koala, which is a brand that is particularly popular among Belgian locals. This brand is only available in Brussels and has not expanded to other markets. Later, this big box of chocolates accompanied Yunluo as she traveled through France, bringing her sweetness along the way. Yunluo would put a piece of chocolate in her mouth every day.
In Sablon, Meis also introduced Yunluo to a jewelry store she always patronized. The owner was a very kind lady who had been to China with her husband when he was the Belgian ambassador to China. The jewelry store she opened was also very distinctive. The jewelry was made of high-quality materials, and all the gemstones were amazingly large, and in order to highlight the crystal clearness of the gemstones.
There were no complicated decorations around the gemstone, but the natural luster of the gemstone was restored. The price was not as high as expected, but because Yunluo was leaving Belgium the next day, he did not make up his mind to buy the sapphire that Koala liked very much.
It was not until Yunluo arrived in France and looked around the jewelry stores around the famous Place Vendome that she realized that Belgian jewelry is indeed of high quality and reasonably priced. Jewelry stores in France rarely use pure gold, and usually use 18k white gold.
White gold and platinum are completely different concepts. White gold is gold with white metal added to it, which shows a white luster, so there is no concept of 24k for white gold. Platinum, like gold, is another separate substance. The price of platinum jewelry is very expensive, and generally jewelry is not calculated by weight, but by style.
For example, if Yunluo wants to order a ring, the price of this ring will not fluctuate according to the size of the ring, but will be the same for each ring. Yunluo did not stay for long in the Greater and Lesser Sablons, but was thinking about going to the intersection where the bus passed by to see the magnificent arch.
But who knew that it was this decision that led Yunluo and Koala to embark on a three-hour arduous journey. The Greater and Lesser Sablons were all irregular geometric blocks, and the streets were complicated and difficult to identify on the map. Near a slightly larger square, Yunluo saw a relatively large but unknown church.
Although there are no complicated carvings, the white color of the building with the ultramarine stone ceiling is impressive. Yunluo took this as a starting point and began to slowly measure the city of Brussels on foot.
It turned out that Yunluo's sense of direction didn't seem to work particularly well in Belgium and Paris. Yunluo did take the wrong road again, but it was a good thing that Yunluo took the wrong road and really walked into the living area of the locals in Brussels, where there were elementary and middle school children playing on the roadside after school. There were graffiti sprayed by young people in the park in the street garden.
There were also young people resting in front of the community church. The atmosphere of idleness was everywhere, and the little bit of sunshine in the afternoon made Yunluo, the lost man, less anxious.
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
After turning a few corners and reaching the main road, Yunluo, holding a map of Brussels city, stopped a lady with a smile and asked for directions. The lady looked at the map and said that our current location was outside the map, but she still pointed out to Yunluo that we could reach the location on the map by walking along this continent.
Yunluo thanked him and walked on. In places without sunshine, the weather is still relatively cold, but the sun was shining brightly that day, and the scorching sun made Yunluo unable to wear a coat. She found a corner where no one was, took off her coat, and walked on. In less than half an hour, the little koala princess was sweating.
The Belgian old lady who saw Yunluo on the road must have been very surprised. Why was she walking on the road with a sweaty face? In front of the building near the Brussels long-distance bus station, Yunluo saw a sign next to a cafe that said it had wifi, so she just sat in. Take a break and try the famous Belgian beer.
It is said that Belgium is different from Germany. They have more than 200 flavors of beer. Among them, there is a fruit beer called cherry beer, which is especially popular among girls. Yunluo asked the waiter for a glass of cherry beer. The waiter was a very friendly uncle. He said there were two kinds of cherry beer, one bottled and one free-style. Free-style was stronger. He even gave Yunluo a sip.
Yun Luo naturally chose the stronger one, and the uncle chuckled. He took the wine glass, chilled it with ice water, and then filled it with iced rose-red cherry beer. He felt refreshed when he poured it into his hand. He found a place to sit down and tasted it slowly. This wine had a strong fruity flavor, was cool and delicious, and was much stronger than domestic beer.
The cup looked round but actually held a lot of beer. Yun Luo didn't finish the cup, but the sweet taste and the slight effect of alcohol in such a hot afternoon made the red wine unforgettable. Yun Luo couldn't stop drooling while sitting in front of the computer. He would definitely try that kind of beer again next time he went back.
At the end of the road is the Brussels Cathedral. Although the scale of the church is not comparable to Westminster Abbey, it is all white and its architectural style is unified and beautiful. Its scale is not smaller than Notre Dame de Paris, and its overall design aesthetics is definitely superior to Notre Dame. Perhaps the fame of Notre Dame is definitely inseparable from Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
She is holy and beautiful, solemn and exquisite. On the left side of the church stands a bronze statue of an archbishop in cassock, with sharp facial lines, a high nose, and deep eyes looking into the distance. Climbing up the stairs to the main entrance of the church, against the backdrop of blue sky and white clouds, the church is so beautiful that it makes people dizzy.
The church is open to the public free of charge. As usual, Yunluo donated 2 euros to light a candle and also contributed to the protection of such a beautiful building.
The interior of the church is magnificent and towering. The central hall is dominated by white tones. On each giant pillar stands a great god (Yunluo is not a Christian, so I don’t know which one they are, please understand). Each of them stands on a giant golden shield, holding various weapons, with precise facial depictions and clothing textures.
Just like the air flow, constantly lifting their light robes. Unlike other churches, there are not many complicated decorations or angel shapes around the statue, but it highlights the overall beauty of the statue. With the white color and huge size, it is like sitting in heaven and listening to the voices from there.
Except for the lobby, the entire corridor still maintains the traditional dark design, and the lights are dim, which sets off the sacred feeling of the central hall. To reach the arch, you must first pass through the famous European Union area. The European Union building and other buildings stand on both sides of the road. The style is simple and rustic, and there is no sign of strict security around it.
Instead, it looks more like a creative industry park. As for the arch, it is located at the end of the road. The naive Yunluo thought it was very close, but in fact it was definitely a long way to go. Originally, I thought that as long as I walked in the direction, I would arrive in about 15 minutes at most. However, Yunluo walked in for 30 minutes and still didn't see the specific appearance of the arch.
On the huge lawn, people were enjoying themselves, some sitting on the ground, some sitting on benches, thinking about something, and some groups of young people simply sat in the flower beds and had a picnic. An Asian girl who looked like Koala, Yunluo guessed that she was also from China, was wearing a black dress and simply lying on the grass, holding a SLR, repeatedly focusing on the arch.
Unexpectedly, the most delicious ice cream Yunluo had along the way was actually from the mobile dessert cart in front of the arch. Yunluo bought the smallest mango-flavored cone. The shopkeeper was not particularly enthusiastic or gave much introduction to his products, but the ice cream was extremely sweet and fragrant in his hands.
Especially the waffles below exuded a crispy smell as if they were just taken out of the oven. They were so delicious that Yunluo was reluctant to share the last bit with his pigeon companions.
I have to mention here that along the way, the foreign tourists I met were elderly. Some of them were carrying small card cameras, and the girls only carried small mirrorless cameras without telephoto lenses. Only a few elderly people carried very heavy SLRs.
As for Chinese tourists, whether they are seniors or young people, the minimum configuration is at least a SLR camera, and long guns and short guns are also often seen. If they add a more eye-catching jacket, it is already the standard configuration of Chinese tourists. It is also respectful to sigh that the income of the people is getting better and better, and the national strength is constantly increasing. (To be continued...)