I am in a period of very frequent (weekly, actually) business trips, with Brussels as the most frequent destination. Usually most of the time is spent in meetings, but sometimes I get lucky and there is a free afternoon, or I just snap some pictures while walking from one meeting to another.
39_1
This is Square de Meeus, in Ixelles, close to the apartment where I lived for 2 months back in 1995. There is now a work of art that people are invited to enter:
39_2
I went to L’Ultime Atome, one of my favourite bars in the area, and spent an hour or so enjoying the sunshine and the beer. As did these two girls and their dogs:
39_3
Across the street from the bar is a shop window where I have drooled many times over the years, as have many other photographers. I did actually buy something this time–a film developing tank:
39_4
This is Chaussée d’Ixelles, the main thoroughfare of the immigrant neighbourhood Matongé. The neighbourhood celebrates its diversity:
39_5
A nice aspect of Brussels design is that the main arterial roads into the city are partly in tunnels, meaning that they do not completely spoil the neighbourhoods through which the run:
39_6
Waiting, in the entrance of a supermarket near Merode station:
39_7
The geometry of Berlaymont, the seat of the European Commission, continues to fascinate me:
39_8
Back home, with some Belgian cheese to complement my stash of Belgian beer:
39_9
On Friday, I went for lunch with my colleague Claire. She is self-conscious about being photographed, but I like this picture of her studying the menu, even if it is somewhat lacking in sharpness:
39_10
Finally a couple of pictures from my dog walk. I have always looked at this little plant fighting its way through the concrete:
39_11
Another take on the same theme. Either this picture profoundly represents man’s relationship with nature, or it is just crap. You, the viewer, decide:
