The Pis Family.

Photo by ©  Pbrundel. Licensed under  Creative Commons 3.0)

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ou have to give it up to the Belgians. They are quirky to say the least but in a very lighthearted though reverent way.

I live stone's throw from Washington, DC where we have historic landmarks galore.  When it comes to design, they are all formal, staid and very conservative looking.  Some would say they are elegant.  I guess whatever adjectives you can use to describe structures befitting a nation's capital would be appropriate.

Belgium has its fair share of those sorts of structures too so it's a bit surprising that its most famous landmark is the statue of a little boy peeing into a fountain's basin.  Say hello to Manneken Pis.

Paris. The City of Dark.

Paris Catacombs. @Dave Shea, Flickr / CC BY 2.0

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aris is infamously referred to as the City of Light or City of Lights, depending on your reference source. But it should also be known as the City of Dark for under its lively streets lies another world.  As much as I want Z to fully explore what sits above ground, I also want to go below ground as it's a part of Paris I've not been to hence this blog post.

Dating as far back as the 13th century, the ground underneath what is now the present day city was mined for Lutetian limestone and gypsum (used in plaster of Paris), two of the materials used in the construction of the many structures in the city.

A Comical World. Bande Dessinée.

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ande dessinée literally means *drawn strips* in French. In English, we know the phrase as *comic strips*. Although both Belgium and France have a long tradition in comics and comic books, Belgium is the undisputed world capital when it comes to comics.  This is the birthplace of Tintin and those lovable blue Smurfs , among many other well known comic strip characters.  The Belgians take the art form (yes, I consider it an art form) so seriously that they actually have a museum dedicated to it - Center Belge de la Bande  Dessinée  (The Belgian Comic Strip Center), located in Brussels, is the world's first comic strip museum.

As a child, I did read Tintin comics and even watched many an episode of the Smurfs but that was decades ago so I truly know very little about Belgian comics.  Z may have heard of the Smurfs but I'm certain that's about it.

The Sweet of Belgium. Chocolate.

Box of assorted chocolates from Château Blanc, Antwerp, Belgium.
(Photo from ChocolateOnlineShop.com, official online store of Château Blanc)

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enerally speaking, I do not have a sweet tooth.  I much prefer to eat something salty over something sweet.  There are some exceptions.  The first is chocolate.  I love chocolate but I hate eating bad aka cheap chocolate.  I've tried a lot of different brands, from countries near and far. 

With the exception of artisan crafted chocolates like Scharfen Berger (which was sold to Hershey's in 2005) and Mast Brothers, I pretty much avoid eating any American chocolate - even candy bars.  It's all much too sugary sweet and that sugar overpowers the taste of the chocolate.  That goes for Guittard, Ghiradelli and even brands like Ms. See's and Whitman's as well.