Brussels area (or more cafes)

The Belgium border is just a little over an hour's drive from here. Brussels is in the middle of the country, just over the split between the dutch/flemish and french speaking parts of the country. Brussels is a strange city; it's almost impossible to see where the "good" and "bad" areas start and end. We always hear about how bad Amsterdam is for petty crime like pickpockets, but for some reason we felt more uncomfortable in areas of Brussels, particularly at night in some of the more crowded areas (and some areas get really crowded). The food more than makes up for it; Belgians are really proud of their food and the area is famous for its mussels. There's also a huge variety of cuisines, and there's a food "street" where you walk down a narrow, very crowded street and the restauranteurs literally try to grab you off the street to eat at their place.

There are some really pretty areas in the city, especially the main square or Grand Place. The town hall dates from the 1400s, but the surrounding buildings were built mainly at the end of the 1600s/early 1700s following a massive French bombardment. There are a number of outdoor cafes, and we enjoyed one our second night there when to our surprise we discovered that a group of marching bands from around Europe were playing there (yes, the band geek in us comes out every once in a while). Our guidebook recommended seeing the square at night and they weren't wrong -- here's a shot of the town hall. A group of french-speaking people were happy to take our picture -- so happy that the surrounding people clapped & cheered when they took it!

To and fro Brussels we also made some good discoveries. On our way we stopped at a great little town called Leuven (Louvain). Once again we found ourselves at a great little cafe on the square, enjoying the view of the 15th century stadhuis. The entire building is covered with statues of famous local people and bible reliefs. Belgium is home to a lot of beers, but the biggest name is Stella Artois, and we were surprised when we passed by their huge brewery here. On the way home we stopped in Mechelen (Malines), where we -- don't be surprised now -- spent a leisurely morning at a cafe on the square! Sundays are pretty sleepy throughout the region, so we weren't able to explore the buildings much, so perhaps we'll return to visit some of the historic buildings on the square. One thing's for sure, we definitely know where to go when Rochelle is craving a big bowl of mussels! (Pictured: Leuven stadhuis, Mechelen square)