Castle Gaasbeek (27-7-2008)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

A great castle with great exhibits! We have visited once before but we did get to see different parts of the castle this time. A visit is very much recommended!
The exhibit has ended but you can still check out the paintings Johan Clarysse: http://www.johanclarysse.be/ (also in English!).

More info on the castle: http://www.kasteelvangaasbeek.be/ (Dutch, French, English and German).

Anno Expo (Mechelen, 20-7-2008)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Other

Fifty years ago Brussels was the scene of a World Fair and this is celebrated throughout Belgium this year. The 1958 World Fair (Expo '58) gave us the best attraction ever to see the face of the earth: the Atomium (more info).
There is a special exhibit here which we will probably visit soon but there is also a nice exhibit in Mechelen.

The Anno Expo exhibit is a nice way to discover the architecture of the World Fair and the Fifties. If you are interested in either of those this is a great exhibit to visit ;-)
You can visit un till 14-9-2008. More info: http://www.anno-expo.eu/

Wiels - Mike Kelley (Brussels, 13-7-2008)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

Wiels is an art-centre in the south of Brussels located in an old brewery. It's a really cool place for exhibits! You can also eat something here.
It's easy to reach on foot from Brussels South station so check it out some time.

The last time we visited Wiels it was for a retrospective of Mike Kelley which has ended by now.
Mike Kelley is an American artist who makes pictures, movies and installations. Most of his works are about memories but they aren't nice ones!
Looking at his work I'm sure he didn't have a very nice childhood and he definitely hated high-school. But it does make interesting art ;-)
Check his site: http://www.mikekelley.com/

A day in Anderlecht

More than football ;-)

It's not only Rock'n'Roll, baby! (Bozar, Brussels, 11-7-2008)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Other

Cool exhibit about musicians who also make art.
Includes works from David Byrne, Patti Smith, Brian Eno, Pete Doherty (see pic), Yoko Ono, The Kills, etc.
You can also watch several video-clips!

Exhibit un till 14-9-2008. More info: http://www.bozar.be/

Mapas Abiertos (Bozar, Brussels, 11-7-2008)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

An exhibit about contemporary Latin American photography. Very high quality works! Very funny works too ;-)
Exhibit un till 21-9-2008.

More info: http://www.bozar.be/

Sioux in Paradise- Johan Muyle (Bozar, Brussels, 11-7-2008)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

Impressive free exhibit of this Belgian artist. His sculptures are terrific!!
They are weird, freaky, surreal, funny and they move!
Check it out: http://www.johanmuyle.com/

Exhibit in the Bozar un till 21-9-2008. More info on site Bozar: http://www.bozar.be/

SMAK-Guillaume Bijl (Gent, 5-7-2008)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

The SMAK is one of the best and most interesting modern art museums in Belgium. There is always something interesting, exciting and/or controversial to see here. If you are ever in this area you should check it out!

Guillaume Bijl is a Belgian artist who makes weird, un-real installations of modern live. He shows us our modern day and age posing as fake museums and fairs.
I think his work is really exciting because it is so surreal. There is no craftsmanship in his art and not even real beauty. His work is scary like an empty supermarket where the music is still playing and the lights are still on but where there is no-one to be seen or heard.
If you have a chance to see one of his installations I thoroughly recommend the experience ;-)

Museums in Anderlecht (Brussels, 28-6-2008)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

Anderlecht used to be a village near Brussels but is now part of this big city. It's a really beautiful place with a big church (St.-Guidon, the patron saint of Anderlecht), many nice buildings and two small but wonderful museums.

The first one is situated in the beguinage which is rather cute and small. The museum shows all kinds of objects related to Anderlecht and the beguinage. It's rather quaint so I totally love it ;-)

The second museum is the house of Erasmus (see pic). This Dutch Humanist lived here for a while, very much enjoying the beautiful surroundings.
In this museum there are special exhibits, objects Erasmus used to own and of course books from Erasmus.

Check out the site: http://www.erasmushouse.museum/
You can visit both museums on the same ticket (and it's very cheap!).
You can easily reach Anderlecht by taking a metro from Brussels Central Station.

See pics here.

Botanique-museum (Brussels, 11-6-2008)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

Not just concerts here but also a restaurant, a park, a gallery and a museum! Check out the exhibits in the museum here.

Exhibits in the gallery are free, the museum is around 4 euro's. You can buy a ticket for a concert+the museum too!

Argos-Centre for Art&Media (Brussels, 11-6-2008)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

A cool art-centre in Brussels with really interesting exhibits. Check out the site (English): http://www.argosarts.org/index.do


Don't forget to take a look at the really cool loo's =>

Asian food in Paris (may 2008)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

Saveurs d'Asie: a small Vietnamese restaurant near the Lamarck metro-station. Tastes great, service is perfect, many choices and not expensive.
Also take-away.
See a French review here.

Shenaz: a nice Indian restaurant between metro-stations Pigalle and Abbesses. Great decorations and lovely food! More info here.

Le Thai: obviously a Thai restaurant. Great food! Check it out! Same street as Shenaz (rue Houdon).

Le Jumbo de Paris: Chinese restaurant near the Gare du Nord with a funny name. Decent chinese food!

La Pinacothèque de Paris (Paris, 19-5-2008)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Other

A place for exhibits behind the Madeleine-church. Exhibits are not cheap but pretty special. We saw an exhibit on Chinese ceramic-warriors (still running un till sept. 14) and one on Man Ray.

I love Chinese ceramic warriors (see picture) so seeing them live is always pretty cool. There were some pretty special ones in this exhibit. It's not a very large exhibit but it's diverse enough and the information is ok. Check the site: http://www.pinacotheque.com/

I love Man Ray's work (check this site: http://www.manraytrust.com/) so it was exciting that there was an exhibit on his work here too. Not a very big exhibit either but many nice works and I learned a lot about his life.

Eglise de la Madeleine (Paris, 19-5-2008)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Other

Interesting neo-classical Roman temple built for the glory of Napoleon's "great army" which became a church later. Pretty dark interior.

The site of the church: http://www.eglise-lamadeleine.com/

More information in Wikipedia. Especially note the famous funerals held here!

Cinémathèque Française - Georges Méliès (Paris, 18-5-2008)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

La Cinémathèque Française is a place for movies, exhibits and research on (French) cinema. It's a great place where you can see old movies and buy them too.
There is a permanent exhibit on the history of films with some truly great examples from the early days.

We were there for the special Georges Méliès (1861-1938) exhibit which was really magical!
You may not know this pioneer but maybe you remember the video for the Smashing Pumpkins song "Tonight, tonight" which was based on one of his best known movies ("Voyage dans la Lune" from 1902).
Sadly not many of his movies survived (he destroyed a lot of them himself) but the ones that did are all fantastic. His special effects are pretty special for the early 1900's.
This exhibit re-opens on the 27th of August so you've still got time to go and see! You can also buy some of Méliès' work on dvd ;-)

The site: http://www.cinematheque.fr/fr/la-cinematheque-francaise.html
(also English information!)