Did you know...

...that Audrey Hepburn was born in Brussels?

The actress and fashion icon was born on May 4th 1929 in this house in rue Keyenveld 48 in the neighbourhood Ixelles under the name Audrey Kathleen Hepburn-Ruston.

"I'm half-Irish, half-Dutch and I was born in Belgium: If I was a dog, I'd be in a hell of a mess."

Her father, the banker John Victor Hepburn-Ruston, was British-Irish, her mother Ella van Heemstra a Dutch baroness.  Audrey got a British passport which she carried throughout her life. She only spent little time in Brussels as during her childhood she travelled between the Belgian capital, London and the Netherlands. Later she lived in New York and Switzerland.

"The best thing to hold on to in life is each other"

The house is not open to visitors  - but why not watch Breakfast at Tiffany's one more time...

Wine & Design: The Pixel Bar

In one of the little picturesque streets between art galleries and antique shops, a bit hidden from the tourist crowds at Place Sablon, the Pixel Wine Bar with its original decoration quickly catches your eye.

The capacious windows reveal the artwork of Belgian artist Charles Kaisin who covered the walls and ceiling with thousands of little cubes in different colours - or pixels. Seen from far away the more than 7.500 dots join together to a giant landscape picture.

The wines are excellent (around 4 Euros); beer, coffee and softs are also on the menu as well as little snacks. I tried the salmon wrap (7.50) - recommendable.

Prices are slightly elevated in general, but therefore you can enjoy a very cool and cozy interior - or a terrace in the summer.

Location: Rue Ernest Allard 39, 1000 Bruxelles

Without Words

Seen at: Rue du Prévôt, Ixelles

What Ever Happened to Rock’n’roll?

Indieclub Tries to Revive Brussels Rock Scene

From Electro and Pop to Techno - there are plenty of options to go clubbing in Brussels. But for rock fans the picture looks a bit scarce to say the least. The party Indieclub wants to fill this gap.
What exactly is the concept? Charles Grison (24) and Gordon Delacroix (24), the organisers behind the event, admit that they are not trying to reinvent the wheel: "It's really simple. We just want to revive the old recipe of playing indie and rock music in a club."
"In the end of the 70s and beginning of the 80s there were only parties like this in Brussels", Carl de Moncharline who has worked in the Brussels club scene for 20 years now tells me. "But then the movement changed." The nightlife veteran of the Belgian capital recently opened the Wood in Bois de la Cambre where the Indieclub party will take place this Saturday.

In other European cities as Berlin or London numerous rock parties have continued to exist - with success. Why not in Brussels? "In other countries rock plays a bigger role in the popular culture, especially in England", Charles and Gordon explain. "It seems that rock parties were forgotton here and rock was only related to concerts and festivals."

The potential seems to be there. With the Ancienne Belgique and the Botanique, Brussels offers two renowned conert venues with a diverse and up-to-date line-up. Rock concerts are generally sold out within minutes - who ever tried to get tickets for bands like Vampire Weekend, Franz Ferdinand or MGMT knows what I'm talking about. And not to forget of course the Belgian rock festival Rock Werchter which was elected the best rock festival in the world several times. Remains to be seen if the Indieclub will succeed in getting Brussels on the dancefloor with guitar sounds. You can find out for yourself this Saturday, May 8th.

Entrance: free
Doors open: 23h
Address: 1 Chemin de la Meute, Brussels

Sofas in the Sun

Place Flagey becomes Giant Living Room

Some are lounging on couches having a drink, others are sitting on the floor playing chess or smoking shisha, a band is playing in the background. The event "Take your couch, sit and relax" turned Place Flagey on May 1st into a giant open air living room.

 Everything started with a paramount hangover on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Francois (25), Jeff (25), Benoit (27), Yannick (26), Florent (27) and Raphael (25), all living right next to the Ixelles Ponds, wanted to take advantage of the great weather - but in a casual, comfortable atmosphere. As they had neither access to a terrace nor a balcony, the six friends spontaneously decided to move their living room onto the street. "The feedback we got was so positive that we wanted to try it on a larger scale", Francois tells me.

 The organization takes after the so-called flashmobs, happenings solely organized via the internet and social media where a big group of people comes together to perform a rather absurd act as for example a pillow fight. "We only advertised through Facebook and word of mouth", Jeff says.
And it worked. The concept proved to be a success: The randomly born idea evolved into an event attracting around 100 participants. Like Louis (21) from Lille who was, as most attendees, captivated by the originality of the idea: "This is something different, something unconventional, so I really wanted to come and try it out." Many brought a piece of furniture or decoration along: banana trees, lamps, carpets, shisha pipes, table football and even a stuffed pheasant - there definitely was a real living room feeling.

"Take your couch, sit and relax" is set to take place each year on the 1st of May - if the weather allows it. If you don't want to wait until 2011, just put your sofa outside on the sidewalk. Maybe someone will join you with a banana tree.

Welcome to FEAR AND LOATHING IN BRUSSELS!

As probably every person outside Belgium I thought Brussels was boring and not much more than EU Politics, rainy weather, those omnipresent chocolates, granny laces and Manneken Pis. Until I met some "real Belgians" (yes, they do exist!) and discovered that the real picture was far from what I had had in mind.

Fear and Loathing in Brussels wants you to discover the hidden, the new, the cool, the hype, the fun, the stylish, the crazy, the surprising, the real Brussels - those diamonds that make this city worth living in.

For all Bruxellois, new arrivals, passers-by and everyone who loves the Belgian capital. Be wild!