If you live in the concrete jungle or any overly congested city, you might know what a luxury it is to experience clean air as a given. Out here in the Semois Valley in Belgium, as I drive through the forests from one village to another, I want to run through the meadows and skip across streams just to celebrate …
Bouillon
To most of us Americans the word bouillon means broth, but today I’m taking you to Bouillon, a municipality in the Luxembourg province of Belgium. It is a scenic place heavily invaded by German and some French tourists on this sunny day. Rows and rows of restaurants and cafés line the Semois River that cuts through town. The pedalos (pedal …
Péruwelz
In the northwest Belgian province of Hainaut there is a town called Péruwelz that sits right on the border with France… and it is here that I’ve come specifically to see the Maison du Parc Naturel, a modern house that has a tree-top walkway some 16 meters above ground: Unfortunately, of all the days in the month that I am …
Kortrijk
About half an hour by car from French-speaking Tournai is the Flemish or Dutch-speaking city of Kortrijk (or Courtrai in French), located in Northwest Belgium. I happen to love both the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia and the Dutch-speaking northern parts of Flanders even if there is strong tension among the two parts that divide the heart of this country. …
Tournai
Tournai is about 85km to the south of Brussels and one of the oldest cities in Belgium. As in the tradition of all places of cultural significance and economic booms, Tournai has survived the exchange of many hands from the Franks to the French to the English to the Austrians and now finally to the Belgians. You might say it …