Catching up with Claire Bear!

We had some wonderful hours with Claire and her family while we were in Belgium. Claire lives in a lovely University town called Louvain la Neuve, just a short train ride out of Brussels. It is a very new town but built along the lines of a medieval city, with a central square and winding streets. There is a small lake with walking paths and very beauiful trees. The afternoon we were there, several people were fishing and we watched as one little boy, about Gus's age, pulled in a small fish. We were pleased to see it go back into the lake to grow a bit more! Louvain la Neuve was built especially as a University town and has a population consisting almost entirely of students and university staff. One other feature is the very new Herge museum, only opened in May 2009. For fans of Herge's work, especially Tin Tin, this is a must; although it is not so much a centre for children (they did enjoy it!) , rather a serious exploration and showcase for an important contributer to Belgian literature.