TOPIC:

After a great deal of humming, haaing, and discussing the finer points of early morning tram journeys, we have booked into the Meridian which is right opposite Brussels Central Station. We got a rate of €110/night, room only, on Hotels.com. So we'll be getting the local train down to Gare du Midi on the Saturday morning.

An alternative I had been looking at is Be Manos (<!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="www.bemanos.be">www.bemanos.be) which is spitting distance from Cantillon and has a B&B rate of €120/night on its own site.

On my trip I spent two days in Hotel Saint Nicolas right in the heart of Brussels. They do good weekend deals being a business hotel and breakfast is more than a just a croissant! In Sint Niklaas where the Zythos festival is held I stayed in the Hotel New Flanders and it was fine. Good selction of bottled beers if you need a nightcap after the festival.

I agree with Beernuts friend by saying that its better to go to the Cantillon brewday in the morning when the going is easier. There's less pressure to get around the tour route and you can take your time, ask questions, and drink in the experience. Later in the morning it seemed like a madhouse. Of course this leaves you drinking various glasses of lambics in the early morning. Not a bad thing at all and if you're lucky you can grab yourself a table near the pot-bellied stove (its a cold place in March!) and order a bottle of your favourite lambic tipple nestled in a pouring basket.

Once the actual tour is over there's no rush to leave the premises and there's plenty of merchandise to buy too, including the carafe basket!

So if you're up early at the brewday, drop off your recently purchased collection of lambics at your hotel room then I'd recommend going to Sint Niklass for the beer festival. It's brilliant!

&amp;quot;Ichiban&amp;quot;:33dcbh2l wrote: grab yourself a table near the pot-bellied stove (its a cold place in March!)[/quote:33dcbh2l]It was bloody cold in January too. And the stove wouldn't light.

&amp;quot;Ichiban&amp;quot;:33dcbh2l wrote: I'd recommend going to Sint Niklass for the beer festival. It's brilliant![/quote:33dcbh2l]I've so far been unable to convince MrsBeerNut of the merits of this plan.

Sorry I should have pointed a little trick I've learned over time...many Euro hotels advertise on hostel websites amoung others so as to separate the tourist and rich/business customers. The offical hotel site is for business accounts and for those who worry little about the cost, and through the hostels sites prices are for more reasonable. Take for example Hotel Saint Niklass. On their website it quotes €109 while through 'Hostels.com' its a mere €69 for a double room! Bargain!

BeerNut, you might try presuading her with promises of genuine LaChouffe hats to wear and plates of Dutch cheese a plenty! If that fails then lose her on the main Grand Place in Brussels as she gapes open-mouthed at the beautiful urban World Heritage Site. Plenty of time for excuses come the morning....

&amp;quot;Ichiban&amp;quot;:sdss22oi wrote: If that fails then lose her on the main Grand Place in Brussels as she gapes open-mouthed at the beautiful urban World Heritage Site.[/quote:sdss22oi]If only it were that simple. No, she'll be at her usual table at A L'Image de Notre Dame or Toon, making nice with the pub cats, when I make my getaway.

Myself and the lady spent last weekend in Brussels and stayed in the Be Manos and I would highly recommend it. Literally 2 minutes from both the station and the brewery <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->