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With its destination in bar Le Cirio, WALK 2 allows for a more in-depth explorationof another religious concept de Botton speaks of, namely Genius Loci.

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According to Wikipedia, in classical Roman religion a genius loci was the protective

spirit of a place. De Botton draws on historical examples to explain such beliefs thatpeople assigned to certain geographical sites at the time:

The spirits from the coastline south of Naples, for example, were thought to beparticularly well suited to the abatement of melancholy, while the genius loci of Colonia

Iulia Equestris (modern-day Nyon, on the shore of Lake Geneva) was supposed to have aspecial talent for consoling those oppressed by the vagaries of political and commercial

life. (p. 268)

De Botton points out how these Roman customs were later appropriated by Christianity

and he includes a Pilgrimage Map of Medieval Europe in his book, mapping the placespilgrims were to travel to when suffering fromExcessive Fears of Lightning(Bad

Mnstereifel, Germany) orThroat Problems (Dubrovnik, Croatia).

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De Botton adds that although few of us would today walk a hundred kilometres to seek

help for a fear of lightning, travelling nevertheless remains at the heart of many secular

ideas of fulfilment. (p. 272) The thing we lack however is a capacity to identify theserare and curative locations.

As a former student in Brussels, I myself can testify to the troublesome relationship one

may establish with the city. Often times Brussels can present itself as a dirty old town, anunwelcoming one, hostile even. I remember I felt relieved travelling back to Antwerp in

the evenings, leaving that messy city behind for my quiet hometown. But to maintainsuch an attitude does not do any justice to Brussels what so ever. It does not grant the

capital city sufficient credit, especially when it does finally reveal itself as a melting potof the most disparate cultures on the one hand and keeper of charming local tradition on

the other, against the background of a staggering divide between rich and poor. A city ofchance meetings with strangers also, with people passing through, to fall in love (with).

If I think about it, I am pretty convinced that my initial conflict with this city has neverreally been feeling-based or aesthetic, but rather dictated by my incapacity to get a sense

of what the city stands for. De Botton argues this has become a very common concern:

Having arrived at our destination, we seldom know what to do with ourselves. We

wander around in search of a centre. We long for a plausible crucible of significance, forsomewhere, anywhere to go in order that we may touch the essence of the genius loci, but

in the absence of alternatives we usually end up listlessly touring a museum, ashamed ofourselves for the strength of our desire to go back to our hotel and lie down. (p. 273)

Discussed here as part of the books chapter on Architecture, de Botton recognizes thisproblem of locating the genius loci as being first and foremost a spatial one. To him it

seems to be a matter of defining and/or building sites temples and shrines that willget us back in touch with the transformational powers these places may still have to offer:

How much more therapeutic our journeys might be if they could include a visit to secularlocal shrine or temple, a work of architecture that would define and concentrate the

qualities of its surrounding setting. Inside, we could deposit wax versions of our anxietiesand immaturities, attempting thereby to formalize the purpose of our trip. (p. 273)

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In Medieval Christian faith, pilgrims were accustomed to carry small moulded wax

figurines with them to the holy shrines, placing them onto altars, tombs or caskets. De

Botton informs us how these models represented the troublesome parts of themselves,from legs, ears and breasts to penises and even whole souls (in the form of babies).

Nowadays this peculiar fetish ritual has long disappeared from Christian church servicebut the act of lighting a wax candle does persist.

So-called votive candles - ones you find on stands in rows which you can light in church -

indicate that someone is praying about something particular, either for themselves or on

behalf of someone else. The word votive can also refer to a promise to pray for someone,as well as a wish or desire for a certain outcome on behalf of someone, such as recoveryof health. (fromAsk a Catholic - http://www.cptryon.org/ask/ask/candles.html)

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The Spanish word for candle is cirio.

As the voice speaking to me through my headphones directs me to bar Le Cirio around

the corner of La Bourse, I notice the sign of a place that has not caught my attentionbefore. I head for the front door, open it and I am surprised to walk into a very poshlooking interior. Senior waiters in tuxedos pass me by, slow-paced, like priests in a

church, as I make my way for the back of the space, where the voice has asked me to finda table in the corner. I sit down, order a beer and I find myself in this place where I would

not usually go. I wait for the woman whose voice just spoke to me to arrive to the scene,but I suspect that she will not be coming. My suspicion is confirmed as the voice tells me

she had to leave quickly, that she will be back. There and then I am struck by a strangeawareness that the genius loci of Brussels happens to take over me in that bar.

In that moment, sitting there by myself in Le Cirios old-fashioned bourgeois decor,

having missed someone who had to leave in an instant, who wont be coming back untillater, with myself pretending to be an actor in some tragic love story, drinking a beer,

Brussels makes much sense to me.