Belgium

Country Information:

The capital of Belgium is Brussels. There are approximately 12 million people living here. The official languages of the country are Dutch, French, and German. Belgians predominantly practice Roman Catholicism.

Jim’s Perspectives:

Have been to Belgium several times while in Europe. Drove by the Grand Place, the Palais de Justice, the European Parliament building and then had dinner enjoying some amazing food and cold beer.

It’s impossible to visit Belgium without enjoying it’s rich culture of chocolates and waffles as I did in 2022!

One fun fact about is that Belgian men are the second tallest in the world measuring on average over 5’9″.

Went to check out where Napoleon fought his last battle … at Waterloo:

France

On our "Backroads" bike trip from Provence to Cannes in France Jim's Perspectives: I've lost count of how many times I have visited this gem of a country. Some of the more memorable time were as a young man right out of college, I took two summers to improve my...

Iran

A week prior to leaving for Iran (in '16) I still did not have my visa and I was getting a bit nervous. This is a country that has had US sanctions imposed on it since the 70s and gets few visa requests from Americans. I’m sure that my request was thoroughly vetted by...

Philippines

Country Information: The Philippines are an archipelago between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea. The capital of Philippines is Manila, and there are approximately 110, million here. The official language of the Philippines is Filipino and English, with the...