Saturday - Brussels

Typical street in the old quarter of Brussels. Slightly worn but full of character - and characters.
One for the Saison Dupont lovers - at the beer festival. See the hops on the railing behind the beer.
Barrels of aging lambic at the Cantillion brewery.
The morning cappuccino.
Belgian chocolates.

Yesterday I had a nice day. Got up early to take photos but the sun was still too low in the sky to get any good ones. The streets are so narrow in most places that the light doesn't get down into the cracks and crevices until about 10 o'clock. I have mostly been wandering, taking photos and wandering some more, stopping for occasional food, coffee, or beer breaks. The beer festival has been nice because I can always wander back to that and have a nice cheap very good beer. I have started the last two days with an 11 am Westvleteren 8, one of the best and hardest to get beers in the world. Not a bad breakfast. One interesting note for Ragbrai'ers, the portopotties at the beer festival on the men's units don't have doors. I guess the feeling is that as long as you are facing the other direction it is ok for the general public to see your back. I had the same experience in a public WC when the 60'ish lady attendant walked in to do some cleaning while I was busy. I guess I had forgotten that European phenomenon.

Eating too can be a little awkward. Most of the cafes have the seating all bunched up so you are basically sitting at the table with strangers and most are not that talkative. Also people tend to linger after eating so the check is not very forthcoming. I am trying to relax and enjoy it though.

After lunch I walked to the Museum of the Gueuze, also known as the brewery Cantillion. This is a very small, traditional family run brewery specializing in very traditional open fermented labic styles. The brewery is very old with original equipment and techniques. The brewer and his wife were serving the samples explaining the processes. It was nice to see someone still at this and still making world class lambics. I hope to post some photos of this soon.

I walked back to the city center to take some more photos after that and eventually went back to the hotel to work on some drawings. Drawing on site has been difficult because all of the best scenes are in terrible locations to sit and draw. Unfortunately most of the good unusual shots are on the Rue de Bouchers which is impossibly crowded with pedestrians and diners. Fortunately I brought my mini printer so I have still been able to work from printed photos. Hopefully in some of the other cities I will be easier to find drawing spots with benches located in prime areas. Definitely a lack of benches and sitting spots here.

Had a great dinner at Bier Circus. Enjoyed a steak and fries with a sauce constructed of green peppers, mushrooms, and Duvel. Walked around at night. The city was very crowded from the beer festival goers, all the bars, cafes and restaurants were full and it was hard to get a seat anywhere, but I managed to at a couple of places. Brussels is definitely a great place for going out to eat or to drink. Endless possibilities and much of the focus of life seems to be centered around these two activities.