Brussels and Bruges

Brussels has one central area, which itself is very touristy.  Many big wide courtyards (most of which seemed unused) and tall older buildings.  While Brussels is more French-speaking, there is still a lot of Dutch for those who live in the north.

I came here mostly to find one of the newly minted 2.50 euro coins depicting the battle of Waterloo.  I went to a bank to find one.  They said they aren't distributed to banks and directed me to a money exchange/pawn shop.  The exchange place said it's a collector's item.  Then the coin collector's shop didn't have any.  I ended up at the EU Mint, who told me to look online.  They were sold out online.

Bruges is a beautiful authentic town to the west.  It has canals going through it, moreso like Amsterdam than Venice.  If Brussels is touristic, then Bruges is indescribable; tourists were littered all over the town.  I felt bad for the locals, really.  There didn't seem to be any particular landmarks; instead, it was more of the architecture that people were interested in.  That, and boat rides through the canals or just sitting outside with a beer.  While originally I was going to stay for a night in Bruges,  I opted for a day trip from Brussels instead.

On my last night, I visited Brussels' Angoleiros do Mar capoeira group.  During the summer season, they practice in the park, which was really fun.  I haven't played capoeira since getting to Europe, and I was starting to feel a bit out of shape.