NEW! Page 8:
More London
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9: More Paris
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10: Even more Paris
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11: The Eiffel Tower Page
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12: More Venice and Rome
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13: More Rome
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14: More Florence
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15: More Nice, Montpellier, Bordeaux and Bilbao
BRUSSELS
Continuing my quest to find the weirdest sights of Europe, here is the Atomium in Brussels, built for the 1958 World's Fair to celebrate the bourgeoning age of nuclear power. Now it just sits in an unassuming suburb, collecting dust (but it's undergoing restoration, as you can see from the cranes). Doesn't it look like an oversized chemistry-class model? Or something out of a 1950s sci-fi B-movie? I love it.
The other "WTF?" thing to see in Brussels is the Manneken Pis, the odd little fountain of a boy peeing. Those Belgians are a weird bunch. Amazing chocolate, though.
BRUGES
Due to a flash-card failure, I lost over half my pictures of Bruges (grrr!!!). Luckily, this photo was spared, and it's one of the most beautiful photos I took on the entire trip. I was wandering through Bruges around sunset, and the beautiful Medieval streets were surprisingly empty (the tourists seemed to stick to just the market square, even though Bruges' true beauty is to be found in the small streets and canals). I look down to my left, and I see a single swan drifting down the middle of a calm canal, breaking the stillness of the water as the sun sets on the Medieval town behind her. Not one soul in sight, and it's a freakin' perfect moment out of a fairy tale. I hastily take out my camera and snap a few shots, and this is the only one to survive. Precious!
Come to think of it, all of Bruges is a fairy-tale. You just walk down any old street and you're surrounded by buildings from the Middle Ages, and then there's a castle or a tower in the distance. And meanwhile you're eating the most delicious and creamiest chocolate you've ever put in your mouth. The town is right out a storybook.
