Indian summer

At the moment in Brussels we are enjoying an Indian summer (this is somewhat like an Irish summer, only warmer, drier, and more pleasant!). Yesterday it was a pleasure to be out and about in Brussels, and many many people were enjoying that pleasure. Town was thronged with locals, tourists and day-trippers from all over. Every pavement café was full, and the parks, streets, and squares were full of people sunning themselves, reading on park benches, cycling, walking, playing with their kids, and so on.

In the morning I was in the Bois de la Cambre, the green lung in the south of the city. Although normally its internal roads are full of speeding cars, on Sundays half of it is closed to traffic and becomes an oasis of calm and relaxation. It is full of walkers, joggers, kids learning to ride bikes, older people learning to roller-blade, dog-walkers, pick-nickers, and amateur footballers.

In the afternoon I cycled around the city; the canal area, Place Flagey, the Bourse, Place Royal, the Park van Brussel, Matonge, the Cinquantenaire Park, and many places in between. What is immediately obvious when you cycle, is just how small Brussels is (geographically), but how much it squeezes in. There are so many different areas, so much to see, so many beautiful building, and so many grotty ones. By turning a single corner you can go from the grottiness of the poor housing near the canal to the trendiness of the Saint Catherine area. And everywhere, in every quartier, there are hundreds of cafés and restaurants, each looking (and smelling) very inviting - some get mentally noted for a later and more leasurely visit!

On days like yesterday it is truly a pleasure to be living in Brussels. Lets hope thee are many more like it.