We decided to drive down to the Ardennes in southern Belgium. To be correct, I was HIJACKED by Duncan & Marc and forced to drive them to Belgium. They wanted to see some hills and decent scenery (and after the flatness of Holland, who can blame them?). The beer tourist in me took over when I noticed how close the La Chouffe and Rochefort (Trappist, see map) breweries are! The weather was really nice and gave us a chance to drive with the tops down.	Here is a map of the area. We stopped in a hotel in a town called La Roche (the Rock, no relation to the film!) en Ardennes, about 20km from Rochfort. The driving time is around 4 hours if you miss the Easter holiday traffic! From Holland you're better off driving via Maastricht than via Breda/Antwerp.
When you arrive in La Roche en Ardennes (hereafter called La Roche), your attention is drawn to the imposing castle. It was built in the 9th century and took 400 years to build. You can visit the castle for only BF 100 or approx. 2 pounds. This area was of strategic value and was part of the Battle of the Bulge. Which brings me onto our next picture....	La Roche (and the surrounding area/towns) were the site of the WW2 Battle of the Bulge where, during the winter of 1944, Hitler's armies tried a desperate last ditch attempt to break through allied lines in southern Belgium. The idea was to reach Antwerp in northern Belgium. Although they did push Allied lines back (forming a bulge in the Allied lines) they ran out of fuel and were defeated.

Local Delicacies :- Belgian food is fantastic! For eating out, Belgium is my favorite country. The food is great and you have a small selection of great beers to go with your food. You're not limited to a basic lager. If you're an Asterix/Obelix fan then you should try Wild Boar (Everzwijn in Flemish/Dutch). The area is also well known for it's ham (there's even a ham museum!).

L'Apero - Rue Clerue, 5, Phone (084) 41 18 31. Excellent food :-) They have bottled Rochefort beer so I ws happy!

Drinks :- Belgium is the home of (in my opinion) the greatest beers in the world. Most of the bars will stock a selection of 50 beers. Check out my beer page for beer advice.  Some local beers worth trying are Rochefort (try the 8 which is 9%), La Chouffe and Ciney.

Le Venetien, 28 Rue de L'Eglise - An excellent bar on the main street. Good variety of beers and friendly staff. Don't go for the tap bier Diekirch. It's an ordinary lager and none of us though much of it.	Le Bronze, 10 Place Du Bronze - A similar bar to Le Venetien but on the main square. Food options seemed better but still mostly snacks. There are a few extra 'draft' (van het vat) beers listed. These turned out to be shandy's eg Tango was lager and orange! My favorite bar in La Roche.

Hotel le Luxembourg - Avenue du Hadja 1a - Phone (084) 41 14 15.

A very, very nice hotel. We'd all like to stay there again. Lots of wooden furnishings and clean rooms with a TV. Breakfast included but a bit basic. Cost was 1350 BEF (approx 27 pounds) for a single room. Book before you go as hotels tend to fill up quickly!