All those museums, all that chocolate and all that beer!

Brussels: a capital like no other.

Belgium may be a small country -- it encompasses 11,787 square miles and has a population of 10.7 million -- but big treats are in store for visitors. Here are some of the things they will find: 

* 2,000 chocolate shops.

* 500 types of beer, from 125 breweries.

* 200 museums.

* 35 UNESCO World Heritage sites.

* 3,000 castles, farm-castles, citadels, manors or palaces, giving the country more castles per square mile than anywhere else in the world.

* More than 500 buildings that are fully or partially Art Nouveau, in Brussels alone.

If you need more to whet your interest, consider this: The Belgian Tourist Office says that Brussels -- the capital of the nation and the headquarters of the European Union and NATO -- is less expensive to visit than London, Paris, Amsterdam, and most western European capitals. And wherever you go, you'll be sure to hear lively music. After all, the saxophone was invented in Dinant Belgium in 1846.
For more information, go to www.visitbelgium.com.

Worth quoting

"Laughter is an instant vacation." 

                                               -- Milton Berle.

The wide world of the Web

FlightCaster.com says it can predict flight delays up to six hours before official airline alert notifications, which should help travelers determine if they should change itineraries, notify colleagues, or alter their plans. The data is available free on the Web and through paid apps for the iPhone and BlackBerry.

Forget the heat and think about autumn foliage

The Appalachian Mountain Club is offering an all-inclusive "kid 2-for-1" deal at AMC's five lodges in New Hampshire and Maine throughout New England's glorious peak foliage season, plus a Moosehead Lake package at its Maine wilderness lodges with a cruise of Moosehead Lake. Prices vary but are reasonable.

Click here.

Fascinating fact

In addition to being nicknames the Sunflower State, Kansas has also officially or unofficially been called the Squatter State, the Grasshopper State, Salt of the Earth, the Battleground of Freedom, the Garden of the West, the Cyclone State, the Dust Bowl State, the Wheat State and the Jayhawker State.

Free hotel nights throughout Italy

TourCrafters is offering free nights at many hotels in Italy. In Florence, for example, the new 4-star Palazzo Ognissanti is offering a pay-for-two-nights-stay-for-three deal in August, November and December, cutting a third off the usual nightly price of $224. Rome's centrally-located Hotel Brasile, popular with budget travelers, has a pay-two-stay-three offer in August, November and December. In Venice, the Hotel Malibran ($174 a night)also has a pay-two-stay-three deal in August, November and December. Even on the Italian Riviera, the 4-star Hotel Continental ($284 a night) is offering pay-three-stay-four from September through December. Several villa hotels in Tuscany and other regions are offering similar deals from August through December. Hotels in Bologna, Perugia, Parma and Spoleto are also offering free nights.

For a list of all hotels offering free nights, visit www.tourcrafters.com. For more information and reservations, call 800-ITALY-95.

Disney World Halloween starts Sept. 4

On 24 evenings between Sept. 4 and Nov. 1, Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom will be filled with friendly ghosts and goblins during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.Guests of all ages can dress up in their own Halloween costumes if they want, but in any case they get to trick-or-treat around the theme park, collecting candy. Special lighting and music transform areas of the park into haunted (but happy) hollows. The parties will be held Sept. 4, 11, 15, 18, 22, 25, 29; Oct. 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31 and Nov. 1, beginning at 7 p.m. and continuing till midnight. The event, which takes place following Magic Kingdom closing and requires a separate admission ($46-$59), also features two entertainment extravaganzas: Mickey’s “Boo-to-You” Halloween parade and a “Happy HalloWishes” fireworks spectacular.

Visit www.disneyworld.com/halloween or call 407-W-DISNEY.

Trivia answer

The statue pictured below is of Paul Bunyan and this particular one is located in Bangor, Maine. The question was not that easy because, among other places, you can also find Bunyan statues in Bemidji and Brainerd, Minn.; Westwood and Del Norte County, California; St. Ignace and Ossineke, Mich.; Enchanted Forest Water Safari, New York, and  Eau Claire, Wis. Bunyan, alas, exists only in folklore. Among the wondrous tales told about him is that he and Babe the Blue Ox, his companion, dug the Grand Canyon when he dragged his axe behind him.