Massive Crowds, tired children...

We got up relatively early for a weekend and went down to the Gare Du Midi (centre station) and got lost several times, had to finally ask a policeman then found a bike market, just before it wrapped up for the week. There were vendors just standing beside a bike, trying to sell it to passers-by but there were also massive marketeers with dozens, if not 100-plus bikes of all qualities (very used to brand-new) and all sizes. This is exactly what we were aiming for, to get a bike for at least our oldest, if not a bike for each of us...ideally would have been to find a daddy-bike, an add-a-bike for D. and a suitably sized one for our oldest, all with locks, baskets or paniers, helmets and lights...too much to ask, right? But there is a reason: NEXT sunday is the car-free day here in Brussels, and we want to be ready to join the fun, where there are adventures and parades for kids, and all sorts of deals for anyone riding bikes--all on the city streets free of any form of motorized vehicular traffic...we could even go into some of the highway access tunnels, and along streets far too busy to travel by bike on a normal day (think of 6 lanes of traffic, add two lanes of dedicated tram tracks, a round-about and angry truck-drivers, late for their next dropoff and you might get an idea of the speed and size of this city, even in our relatively quiet district).

Next time we'll actually investigate the bazaar, or marche that is at the Gare Du Midi...the travel guides and hint-books for Brussels say this is the market to go to if you want appliances, clothing, fabric, raw or prepared food, a live chicken or a part for your car... it rivals anything in the middle east and bargaining is expected. Sounds like an activity to do without the kids, as ours had had enough by mid day and were refusing to go on without sustenance. Citron-fizz and two jupilers (for the parents) got us into our local village square and we had pasta, some wine and many buns, all very tasty and definitely needed after our fighting the transit system, the crowds, the marketeers and the whiny kids. Now for a nap, a light soup, some homework assessment and an early bed for all of us. Thankfully the weather cooperated, but I think we actually got some sun which has made us all very tired.