I was in Brussels yesterday, and once again, Belgium was wonderful. I only had about five hours to explore, but the city was so relaxed and friendly that I still had a great time. The week before I also visited Ypres, a city in northern Belgium, which was the site of some major battles in World War I.

In Brussels I did a lot of walking around just getting a feel of the city. I went into the St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral, which was a very nice Gothic church sitting on a little hill leading down to the Grand Place. Lining the cobblestone streets and sidewalks were shops, cafes and, most importantly, chocolate shops. There were so many to chose from, and the good ones had dozens of chocolate varieties displayed under glass counters, probably to prevent customers from drooling on the confectionary delights. We had a short lunch (by European standards -- only an hour and a half long) in a sidewalk cafe and watched people walk by while listening to some street performers....