A New Year with friends amid beer, chocolate and art

We set off at dawn from Milan in a lovely Uno, four of us, overloaded, to go and celebrate at friends' house in Brussels. Pushed to the limit of the car's endurance, with almost no stops, we arrive at the little house in the afternoon. The week will then also be enlivened by other friends who will join us later.

We visited Brussels, a bit our own way, thanks to our very personal guide; we had dinner mainly at friends' houses and we celebrated the New Year in the square.

During the week we visited the university city of Liège, romantic Bruges and, given how close it was, a quick trip to Amsterdam was in order.

-->Brussels.? The starting point of the visit is the Grand-Place, the main square of Brussels and a true jewel of Belgian architecture. Many richly decorated buildings overlook the square, including the Town Hall and the Cathedral, built in fifteenth-century Gothic style. During the Christmas period the square has an ice rink, as in so many other cities of central-northern Europe. Around the rink, of course, the star treats can't be missing: warm gaufres, freshly made and covered to choice with chocolate, honey, jam or icing sugar. Of course we don't let the chance slip by. Taking a stroll in the centre, in the narrow streets with half-timbered houses, it's easy to come across stylish pubs, pastry shops, small restaurants with local specialities, brasseries and Arab rotisseries. We do a fairly classic tour, visiting the most interesting monuments and the curiosities of the city.

Unmissable is the already-mentioned Grand-Place, the Royal Palace, the Horta houses (see Art Nouveau), the half-timbered houses, the narrowest house and the Manneken Pis. The latter is a bronze statue of a boy peeing and, depending on the period, he is dressed up in his best. He is the mascot of the city and, according to tradition, he put out a fire that was starting in the city, which was built entirely of wood, thanks to his pee. A little further away are the Parc du Cinquantenaire and the Atomium. The Atomium, a construction from 1958, 102 metres high, represents an enlarged iron atom, with nine spheres housing restaurants, and not only; thanks to an ultra-modern and ultra-fast lift it's possible to go up to the highest sphere and enjoy a breathtaking view of the city and its surroundings.

If you wanted, there would also be the Théâtre Royal de La Monnaie and the royal greenhouses of Laeken, which however we didn't visit. Moreover Brussels is also the capital of the comic strip: it gave birth to Lucky Luke, Tintin, the Smurfs, Suske and Wiske, Boule and Bill, Zagor and Gaston Lagaffe. For this reason there are boutiques and little shops with the most varied gadgets, the colourful comic-strip murals scattered a bit all over the city, as well as the comic-strip museum (Musée de la Bande Dessinée).

? Art Nouveau is a complex cultural movement that cut across various disciplines and spread, under various names, throughout Europe. And it was precisely in Brussels that it first originated, with the construction in 1893 of the Maison Autrique and the Maison Tassel by Victor Horta, the architecture of Art Nouveau. From these two buildings an innovative style developed, which inspired great European artists, revolutionising the conception of spaces, materials and lines. Loving the Liberty style very much (the name of the movement in Italy), I couldn't let the opportunity slip by, and indeed I sought out and recognised its traces in many parts of the city.

(see the map in the photos) I read on the internet that <<throughout 2005 it will receive particular attention thanks to cultural events, themed weekends, celebrations and exhibitions; moreover, for the occasion the famous Maison Autrique has undergone grand restoration work and been transformed into the Art Nouveau dwelling 'par excellence', a tribute to Brussels private architecture and a gateway to the imagination.>>

? In Brussels this primacy is felt with pride, as are beer and chocolate. It's a must to taste at least a few beers in the pubs, which offer the possibility of taking 'the metre', with different beer samples. I personally adore Kriek, but there really are a great many good beers; there are 600 different kinds (see the paragraph Beer: what a delight!).

? For those with a sweet tooth, you absolutely must taste: the famous 'gaufres', served with jam, sugar or melted chocolate; the gracht brood, a sweet baked in the oven and finished with caramelised sugar; the speculoos, sweet and crunchy cinnamon biscuits to take home; the crêpes (served with dark sugar, melted chocolate, ice cream or jam); and the pralines. The praline is the sweet emblem of Brussels: a shell of the finest chocolate enclosing a soft filling, in the most varied flavours. In Belgium the praline is an institution and there are shops with endless flavours and combinations, as well as shapes. My favourites are Leonidas (Rue au Beurre 34) and Lady Godiva (Godiva and Galler, Grand-Place) but there are so many you can eat them on every corner! Belgian chocolate is made using cocoa beans from Africa, tastier than those from South American countries.

The ingredients are also very fresh: cream, etc. So be careful, if you have to bring a sweet little gift home, buy them only just before leaving. In the St. Valentine's period there are chocolate-related events: you've been warned!