At January 25, 2008 a group of activists is trying to break the world record for the “Largest Champagne Fountain”, near Antwerpen, Belgium. The previous world record was held by Luuk Broos, contained “only” 30,856 glasses. 56-story champagne fountain was made in Netherlands on December 30 1999. The new 7 meter high pyramid consists more than 43,000 glasses and weighs 8,750 kg (about 9 tons) . To fill the glasses will require approximately 7,500 liters. It is obvious – it beat the previous world record…

Brussels is a surreal linguistic city between the Dutch-speaking Flemish and the French-speaking Walloons, many transactions occur in neither language. But people just speak English. Its modest character made Brussels the perfect compromise for postwar rivals choosing a headquarters for the European Union and NATO, while all the diplomats and a swirl 
of immigrants from North and Central Africa give it 
an intense international, cosmopolitan flavor rare for such a small city. The picture displays the Atomiumis, built in 1956 for the World’s Fair, an homage to the future. It recently reopened after a complete renovation.

The Atomium’s interior, which includes these atomlike seating pods.

The Belgian Center for Comic Strip Art was designed by Art Nouveau master Victor Horta.

The Grand Place—Brussels’s major tourist destination—was burned down by the French in 1695, but was rebuilt within five years. Brussels has parks and forests, of course, but one place I especially like is both outside and inside. The Galeries Saint-Hubert were the first glass-covered shopping arcades in Europe. There are cafes in the galleries where you can sit outside and watch people go by, but you’re not in the rain. One modern and peaceful world …

 

Now we introduce you with two of most popular French restaurants in Brussels, Belguim. The first restaurant which you offer is “The Comme Chez Soi”. The restaurant was founded in 1926, but today it is one of the most visited restaurants in the city. The restaurant’s name translates as “like at home”. It serves typically Belgian cuisine, based on local products. The restaurant’s most popular dishes are “Sautéed lobster with truffles and chanterelles” and “Roast saddle of lamb”. This distinctive menu and a wine list cans to satisfy any gourmet. If you want to dine on Friday or Saturday night, make your reservation two to three months ago… 

The second offer in our article is “L’Ecailler du Palais Royal” – one of the best fish and seafood restaurants in Brussels. It’s a favorite for many diplomats with its quality cuisine and a large selection of French wines. Specialties include, of course, the assorted fishes and seafood, such as “Scallop carpaccio with green Puy lentils”, “Encrusted smoked eels”, “Medaillion of roasted burbot”, etc. Average budget which you need is 50-60 €.

These days many monasteries and nunneries in Europe are open their iron doors to overnight visitors. For instance the Monastero S. Groce in Liguria, Italy has entered the modern age of tourism: it has a Web Site and accepts credit cards.

Monastero S. Groce’s interior.

Tourists  in the garden at Monastero S. Groce.

In some monasteries, there are hotels occupying deconsecrated religious quarters. At the Hotel Monasterium Poortackere in Chent, Belgium, guests can choose between three-star hotel rooms starting at 115 Euros at night.

Monasterium Poortackero’s interior.

The gardens surrounding Monasterium Poortackere.

The Dominican Hotel is sitted in the heart of Brussels, just behind the national Opera House. The location is very convenient because of the downtown business district. The hotel is on 20 minutes drive from the airport and under three hours from London by Eurostar. People who travel a lot, probably are informed that Brussels is well served with frequent flights from all over Europe.

The hotel has very contemporary style with its sweeping archways and facade of French Revolutionary painter.

The Dominican Hotel owns 150 guestrooms which are individually designed. Some of them have very intimate atmosphere and are dressed with luxurious textiles.

Each guestroom has complimentary wireless internet access, complimentary WiFi and HSIA, cable TV, room safe, minibar, dry cleaning services available, variety of newspapers vaialable in the hotel’s restaurant and lobby.

The Lounge Bar is a combination of contemporary cafe and stylish lounge and it is open from 8:00 am until 1:00 am and beyond. The Grand Restaurant serves buffet breakfast from 6:30 am until 10:00 am on weekdays and from 7:00 am until 11:00 am on weekends.Food is served all day round until 11:00pm in Lounge Bar and Grand Lounge restaurant. The hotel is also perfect for business travellers, due to the 3 conference rooms, ranging from Salon I seating 14 people (boardroom style), to the Grand Salon for up to 300 people (reception style).

Chateau du LAC is sitted on the banks of Lake Genval in Belgium and is just a half hour from Brussels. Chateau du LAC offers peaceful surroundings, sport activities and excellent on-site leisure facilities.

The chateau has 121 rooms and suites all overlooking lake Genval, swimming pool, sauna, Turkish bath, jacuzzi, plunge pool and a superb fitness centre with lake views. There is also really charming restaurant called ” Genval les Bains” connected with a stylish bar and a cosy tea room. Both are with two lovely terraces. There visitors can try one of the greatest Belgian beer, and a few drinks the night before, rest assured that the breakfast buffet served in the lovely Slon du Lae.

The beautiful chateau offers excellent business facilities with a total of 23 meeting rooms which can accomodate up to 1000 people. There is also the nearst Water and Fountain Museum.

A park in which you can find all the important monuments of Europe scaled down 25 times their original size. It was some kind of commemorative park for the EU. At a glance, they might look like thermocouple models, but closer look will reveal all the minute details being brought out in the model as in the original. They are made by sticking together small thermocole bricks. A time taking process. This truly brings out the architectural beauty of the original.

Mini-Europe is above all an “invitation to travel”. The chimes of Big Ben, the gondolas in front of the Doge’s Palace, the Grand-Place in Brussels, the Acropolis … an animated tour with visual and sound effects of 350 miniature models and attractions that you won’t find anywhere else. The miniature trees and plants in the park make everything appear realistic in scale. Cheer on the matador at the Corrida (bullfight) in Seville, watch the launch of Ariane V, the eruption of Vesuvius, the fall of the Berlin Wall, follow the Thalys from Paris to the other end of France and marvel at many other working models, for both young and old. Also visit the exhibition “Spirit of Europe” where you’ll get to know the EU in a fun way. Mini-Europe… not to be missed during your visit to Bruss. The miniature model park of Mini Europe allows you to sample the charms specific to each European country.

All the monuments have been recreated down to the smallest detail. Most models are made on a scale of 1:25, but exceptions are made for representations of larger objects – such as Mount Vesuvius, built on the scale of 1:1000. Big Ben is 4 m high. With its height of 13 m, the Eiffel tower projects above a 3-storey building ! And yet all the buildings are on a scale of 1 to 25. The town hall of Brussels is decorated with 294 hand-carved statues. All against a backdrop of miniature gardens with an area of 2.5 hectares.

Although an important part of its collections dates from the middle of the 19th century, the Ethnographic Museum is one of the most recent museums of the City of Antwerp. The Antwerp harbour and the ships that arrived there from all over the world have played a significant role. At the beginning of the 20th century, Congolese objects were added to the existing collections from South America and the Far East. The Belgian expedition to the Ivory Coast in 1939 initiated the revival of the ethnographic collections. The total collection, which was started in 1864, now comprises some 33,000 objects and it is still constantly being added to. Highlights include masks and other wooden sculptures from Africa, feather headdresses from the Amazon, pre-Columbian pottery, sculptures from India and bronze and scroll paintings from the Himalayas. The museum also has a very varied collection of textiles from every corner of the world. Some of the pieces are absolutely unique.
The African division shows a selection of mainly Central and West African cultures. Antwerp Harbour and overseas trade contacts are also important. Stimulated, among other things, by European avant-garde artists, the interest in African art developed as from the beginning of the 20th century.

Built in 1958 for the the Brussels World’s Fair (Expo ‘58), it is103 metre(335-foot) tall monument represents a cell of an iron crystal, magnified 165 billion times, with vertical body diagonal, with tubes along the 12 edges of the cube and from all 8 vertices to the centre. The Atomium is the visiualization of microscopic molecular structures on a great enlarged scale,which is located next to Heysel metro station in Brussels.

Nine spheres ,made of steel,18 metres in diameter connect via tubes with escalators as long as 35 m. A panoramic view of Brussels is seen from the top sphere. Other spheres have exhibitions. Three upper spheres are closed to the public for safety reasons.
Designed to be the star attraction of the ephemeral World Exhibition of 1958, this 103 metre high building has continued to shine for four decades, although its brilliance gradually faded with the effects of age and corrosion. But the quality and the precision of the work saved it from demolition, an ambitious renovation project has become rality. The aim was to completely renew the casing of the spheres and to replace the aluminium skin with insulating sandwich panels in mirror polished stainless steel on the outside and galvanised steel on the inside. The facelift also entailed the restoration of the structure, the replacement of all the windows, the lighting and the electricity systems.

After more than a year of renovation work the Atomium has a new face and give visitors a brand new aesthetic experience by taking them on a very special journey through its spheres.Today, the inside of the building glows with an unparalleled sparkle. The one-directional visit through each of the six spheres open to visitors makes the most of the possibilities offered by modern animation techniques. To echo this rejuvenation, the setting of the entire site is currently being developed with in particular the construction of an entrance pavilion at the heart of a pedestrian area. A fascinating and triumphant architectural prowess of the 50s that has once again opened its doors to the general public, the challenge of the Atomium is to retain its vitality. The vitality that endears it to the public.