Balloon Parade

A couple years ago my family and I went to NYC for Thanksgiving. I was really excited about the Thanksgiving day parade. Because Im an idiot I didnt listen to my mom when she said we had to get downtown by 6 am to get a spot to see the parade. At 8 or 10, whenever the parade started we took the subway down to see the parade and she was right...we were 30 feet away from the parade and could barely see anything. This was my chance to make up for the parade, Belgian style.

Like I said in my post about Binche Carnivale, Belgians dont have any rules to parades. We got there early and scoped out a place to stand...the Belgians just stood wherever and walk around and dodged giant balloons. Eventually we did the same because Belgian parades aren't efficient either. BUT in their defense, this was the FIRST annual balloon parade and they had to call in the experts from America to teach them how to do it. Where we were was right under the cables, so the balooners (is that what they're called) had to pull down the balloon far enough so they could go under the cables. This made it hard to see the balloons so we decided to move to get a better look.

Also in Belgian fashion, the Mannekin Pis has to be somewhere!! He was the second balloon! The Atonium was the second! Of course they had to represent Brussels! They also had balloons to represent Clifford the big red dog, Dr. Seuss, the Smurfs, a giant dinosaur, and other interesting balloons. I will post pictures when my computer gets fixed. :(

After the balloon parade, Olivia took us to get some super good hot chocolate! It was delicious and very strong!

After that we are went are separate ways and since it was actually a nice day out, I decided to explore Brussels a little more. I went to the Grand Place once again and walked by the Mannekin Pis, in costume, saw a few of the cartoon murals, and bought some souvenirs. It was nice just to walk around the city and not get lost! Brussels is finally beginning to feel a bit more like home. I can't wait for my friend Jasmine to come visit March 20th!!