For the past couple of years, I have been (surreptitiously, usually with the camera app on my iPad Mini) taking photographs of Belgian bars and the beer I drink in them. Here is a selection of the pictures.

I am a single white female in her late fifties, and mostly I drink alone, keep myself to myself and read or play with my iPad in a quiet corner, but I have yet to enter a bar where the staff or owners have been anything other than friendly or charming. No doubt there are bars in Belgium where I wouldn’t feel at ease, but I can usually tell which ones I’ll feel comfortable in from the outside, I tend to avoid ones that look too noisy or crowded, and I am always made to feel welcome, whether the prevailing ambience is traditional, trendy, touristy, or neighbourhood.

I think Belgium (where I live) has the best bars, the best beer, the best frites and the best chocolate in the world. Also, the best light. For more Belgian beer and bars, and other photographs of Belgium, please take a look at my Belgium blog, L’Empire des Lumières.