Little shops

What made me happy today? Little shops!
It's been a very long, hard day at work (lots of things went more or less ploin-shaped). So it was kind of hard for me to come up with a happy blog for today. At least, until I decided to treat myself to a latte. That gave me the idea of treating you all to a list of 5 of my favorite shops in Leuven!

- koffie Onan: yes, I've mentioned them before. But I really love that little coffeeshop. It's a small place, the door creaks and scrapes the floor a bit. But ah, the smell, the atmosphere, the tea, the coffee! Lovely! And the people that work there are always very friendly and happy to help you or give advice! I usually go there once a week for a latte to go. It's always handed to me with a smile and a wink, followed by a heartfelt 'enjoy!.

- Jenna: it's a shop that offers a variety of things. Clothing, jewels, watches and piercings. Most of my piercings were done by the ladies that own the shop. I always have a lot of fun when I stop by their shop. They're funny women who insist on calling me 'Miss'. And good at what they do too. If you go in for a piercing, they'll explain to you what they're doing every step of the way. And if you have a problem afterwards, they're always happy to help. It must be said that the only problem I've ever had with a piercing done by them was being unable to open the ring to replace it.. Plus, they have some very cute gothic clothing too!

- de Spelfanaat: if you're looking for games, RPGs, Magic, Warhammer, Warhammer 40K and other (board)game or RPG related stuff, de Spelfanaat should be your first stop. The guys that own the place are really, really good at what they do. They know every game in the store, and can often give you a lot of advice on the games as they've most likely played them themselves. They'll even offer you a demosntration if they have a game that's open. But I usually stop by for the Warhammer 40K books. The first time I did that, the guy behind the register's mouth almost fell open. A girl reading Warhammer 40K? I know... But by now they're used to it. Looking for something they don't have in the store? Believe me when I say these guys will go the extra mile to find it and order it for you. They once spent over 20 minutes to try and get me a book (yes, another Warhammer 40K one). In the end, it didn't work. Why? Well, the book wasn't publisher yet. little mistake on my part. But that just goes to show you how much they'll do for their customer.

- Penguin Village: looking for manga, anime or related merchandise? Penguin Village is your place to be! Another cute little shop with a great owner. Want to order something special? No problem! Looking for some hard-to-find manga or anime? No problem. Looking for something new, but don't know what? No problem! The owner will try to help you as much as he can! What I like most is that he seems to have read / seen everything he sells. When I went in there quite a while ago (I think it was a year and a half ago) to buy the Pandora Hearts manga, we spent 20 minutes just talking about it! Or the time I bought the 'Read or Die' dvd I thought he'd keel over of sheer surprise. He never thought he'd sell that dvd... I love it ^^

- Metalzone: last, but definitely not least on this list is the Metalzone. The Metalzone opened in Leuven in 2006. If you're looking for anything metal-related, this is your one-stop-shop! Wim is always happy to help you. And if you're looking for something new but don't know what, leave it to Wim. Just tell him what else you like and he'll be able to point you to at least two other bands he'll think you like. So far, he's never been wrong. You're also always served with a smile and as a bonus you get a nice little chat. I hope the Metalzone stays here for a long time, I really love that shop :-)

So should you ever find yourself in Leuven, please make sure to visit one (or more) of these shops! They're really worth it!