Brussels
We woke up to a grey misty morning that showed no sign of lifting (it didn’t), so we decided to head for Brussels. Set the sat nav to take us to the Centre Belgique de la Bande Dessinee, and it did a great job, we spotted a car park nearby and parked there. Spent a couple of hours looking round, it was a good museum although way too much for us to take in! We bought the children a Tintin book each on the way out 
Started to walk towards the Manneken Pis and Planete Chocolat, our two other chosen destinations, and stopped for lunch on the way. Walked down a street full of cafes, inspecting the menus and not really knowing which one to go in, until we found Chez Leon – advertising free meals for under 12s with their parents! Woo hoo, so we went in, and the food was fantastic – theirs as well – the girls had delicious spaghetti bolognaise while Joe had chicken, chips & applesauce, which he loved. And ice cream for dessert – all free! So Steve and I *really* enjoyed our meals too 
Felt a bit bad to have steak rather than mussels in Belgium but I just couldn’t stand the thought of ordering them only to find out that my memory was correct and I still hate them!
So after lunch – carried on walking, had to go into the Tintin boutique just because it was cool, then eventually got down to la Grande Place (very grand indeed) and saw the Mannekin Pis, then Planete Chocolat. We’d thought we’d see chocolate making demos in the shop (that’s what the guidebook said) but as it turned out they were only on Saturdays so we just bought a small bag of overpriced chocolate and went back to sit in La Grande Place and have a taste (overrated, imo).
From there we walked back to the car, then decided to go home via the Atomium. The Atomium was pretty cool, both inside and out. Would have loved to see it lit up at night too, but we didn’t stay that long – got home by 6pm for some more playing/tea/relaxing/bedtime.
Tintin books were much appreciated later on and gave us hours of peace and quiet! Just as well, because it started raining when we got back to the tent and didn’t stop for about 2 days!
