Tinker's photos

Mariame is a natural when it comes to photos! And she is such a lovely kid. When I arrived at Brussels Zuid (Brussels Midi) station on the train from Ottignies, she let go of her mother Majka's hand and rushed over to hug me. I'm not used to that sort of enthusiastic welcome from a kid that has never met me before! She continued to be adorable and engaging for the next few hours, holding my hand as much as possible, and talking to me as much as she could in her limited English

"The Atomium is a landmark building in Brussels, originally constructed for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo 58). It stands 102 m tall. Its nine 18 m diameter stainless steel clad spheres are connected, so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. Tubes of 3 m diameter connect the spheres along the 12 edges of the cube and all eight vertices to the centre. They enclose stairs, escalators and a lift (in the central, vertical tube) to allow access to the five habitable spheres, which contain exhibit halls and other public spaces. The top sphere includes a restaurant which has a panoramic view of Brussels."

Mariame and Nantene with the Atomium looming in the background.

First sighting of Atomium from Heizel (Heysel) after emerging from metro station.

Very nice. "Red My Lips" is brewed by the Brussels Beer Project. From their website: "It's a collaborative project using co-creation to become more innovative & daring and to bring fresh air into a sometimes too conservative Belgian craft brewing scene!" Check them out here: www.beerproject.be

Interesting and spicy. I rather liked it. De Koninck's "Lost in Spice" beer (which is like an Aussie pronunciation of an old sci fi TV series). From their website: "Our Master Brewer, Sven was completely Lost in Spice when instead of hops, he loaded our hop gun with spices. At which point dry hopping made way for “dry spicing” with ginger and cardamom. In addition, orange peel, coriander and lemon were also added to the mash tun, resulting in a refreshing, pithy blond beer of 5.2% alcohol with fruity notes of citrus and a spicy aftertaste."

This Apple Lambic tasted almost like cider. I looked up what lambic means: "Lambic is a type of beer brewed in the Pajottenland region of Belgium southwest of Brussels and in Brussels itself at the Cantillon Brewery. Lambic differs from most other beers in that it is fermented through exposure to wild yeasts and bacteria native to the Zenne valley, as opposed to exposure to carefully cultivated strains of brewer's yeast. This process gives the beer its distinctive flavour: dry, vinous, and cidery, usually with a sour aftertaste."

"Psycho Foot" and "Psycho Sports" - the Belgians are so much more up front with how children behave, aren't they?

I'm not even sure we have places like this in Australia. It's for pre-school kids who are there while their parents work. But it's not just a child minding service. They do a big range of activities, including cycling, swimming, gymnastics, art, they have sleep periods, eat. Not school but very interactive. (I'm not so sure why there are so many crime scene outlines on the windows). Marie and Denis' kids go there and seem to love it.

I tried this one and rather liked it. De Koninck's "Lost in Spice" beer (which is like an Aussie pronunciation of an old sci fi TV series). From their website: "Our Master Brewer, Sven was completely Lost in Spice when instead of hops, he loaded our hop gun with spices. At which point dry hopping made way for “dry spicing” with ginger and cardamom. In addition, orange peel, coriander and lemon were also added to the mash tun, resulting in a refreshing, pithy blond beer of 5.2% alcohol with fruity notes of citrus and a spicy aftertaste."

"Red My Lips" is brewed by the Brussels Beer Project. From their website: "It's a collaborative project using co-creation to become more innovative & daring and to bring fresh air into a sometimes too conservative Belgian craft brewing scene!" Check them out here: www.beerproject.be

Part of the packaged cheese selection at the supermarket in Gembloux

Chips with the flavours "Indian Curry", "aux cèpes" (French porcini mushroom flavour), and the more normal "barbecue sauce", at the supermarket in Gembloux

Chips with the flavours camembert, pesto and yakitori. I reckon these would all go down well in Australia. At the supermarket in Gembloux

Live lobsters for sale, at the supermarket in Gembloux

A fresh orange juice machine. The empty bottles are stored on the right. At the supermarket in Gembloux

I don't think this is Belgian - looks Italian. It's an Easter cake shaped like a lamb (if you really use your imagination...). At the supermarket in Gembloux

Some of the mushrooms for sale, at the supermarket in Gembloux