Spring is officially here, and even though the weather isn't quite cooperating yet, the days are decidedly longer. This is a nice change of pace as I can now walk the boys a bit later in the afternoon and avoid this scene...until Jeni returns. Ever loyal Jonas waits patiently at the door each evening when he hears the rest of our neighbors file in from their work days. Toby usually lurks just behind...not sure if he should be barking or pining.
We sure do miss Jeni. She's acclimating well, but they work a long day where she is. My guess is they'd rather be busy working than bored or consumed with homesickness. I can only speculate. Anyway, let's move onto some of the fun things we found while we were in Brilliant Brussels!
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| 11 pm on a Friday night at Maison Antoine |
I last left you smack dab in the heart of the Old Town, Brussels. Let's back track a bit and go in search of some street food.
We started with the ubiquitous "French Fries" or more properly put Frites. Belgian fries are distinctive in three ways; 1.) they use a particular potato; the 'Bintje' is sweet and slightly larger than her cousin the Yukon Gold, 2.) they double fry them so they are hot and crispy the second they arrive and 3.) well let's pretend this doesn't exist. We were fortunate to have the Landmark Maison Antoine just around the corner from our hotel (they have a website)! This place is packed day and night! Forget what you heard about dipping your fries in mayonnaise. There are over 50 sauce choices, albeit many have a mayo-like consistency. Our suggestion - go with the mustard!
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| Frites are served in a paper cone. A great value at €2.50 for a large - there's way more than two people can share! |
After living in the land of the Schweinhock for 5 months, our impression of Brussels is one of foodie jubilation. This is Belgium after all, and there's no shortage of Steak Cheval on menus in town. We were super excited to find a Greek place our first night...unfortunately it was a bit underwhelming for us vegetarians. The place was absolutely packed. They must be doing something right...just not the veggie platter. I thought is was 'fair to middlin', but Jeni was not impressed at all...and the amount of garlic. Whoa! I can eat me some allium, but man-o-man, this was something else.
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| Please note the Tatziki and the Baba Ganoush at the top left of my plate - looks like it came out of a caulk gun! Can you smell the garlic from there? | |
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Before I tell you about our next dining experiences, I want to go back and revisit some of the quirky culture we encountered. If you know anything about Brussels, the city is fixated with a little boy peeing in a fountain. Manneken Pis is a cultural phenomenon. Much like the Mona Lisa, once you see him in real life your quite taken at how diminutive he actually is. I mentioned previously that the Brusseleers like to dress up their statues. Well, the Manneken Pis is the number one obsession for this doting populace. Apparently he can change costumes two to three times a week. We were there for some sort of an unveiling...long web searches provided no context, but apparently the following day he had two separate outfits for St Patrick's day. This little dude puts Lady Gaga to shame!
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| With songs and speeches, this ceremony took at least 20 minutes to perform! |
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| Tah-Daaaah! | |
While not nearly as culturally relative or as popular, there is another work of public art we went out of our way to find.
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| Watch out ladies! He's not on a leash! |
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| ...oh wait its just another peeing statue. He needs a sweater! |
...and then we came across this little piece of street art.
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| Dude! I bet those were Italian loafers, too! |
For lunch we tracked down a Peruvian restaurant on Rue du midi just around the corner from Mr. Manneken. Dimension Latina ticked so many boxes left empty since our arrival here. While not truly Tex-Mex or Mexican, it was an immense treat to get proper Latin American cuisine...the real deal created and served by an actual Peruana! I think I'll recommend the Chimay to Tio the next time we're in Del Ray.
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| A quesadilla - made with real hot peppers, emmenthaler cheese (actually delish!) and of course love :) |
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| Papa a la Huancaina - Potatoes covered in velvety cheese sauce |
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| ...and honest to goodness GUACAMOLE! |
After lunch - because why wouldn't we - we headed to Sablon Square where the best boutique chocolatiers have staked out their claims. Brussels is full of top quality chocolate, and all of it is super tasty. We were in pursuit of a particular store Pierre Marcolini.
Just before we made contact with the Marcolini Mothership, we were caught completely off guard by this:
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| Yes, Virginia, there is a Cafe Leffe! What a great surprise!! |
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| I think my face say's it all...Leffe on tap! I enjoyed the Leffe 9 (9% alcohol), but don't worry I never drink on an empty stomach! |
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| Pierre Marcolini's 'Store Window' |
Those of you trying to keep track of our caloric intake...don't bother. I'm sure we consumed two weeks worth of energy in two days. From the Leffe Brasserie we popped across the street to Marcolini's. They really take chocolate seriously here. It was like going into a fine jewelry shop. Overwhelmed by the sheer variety, we opted for a lovely box of house made chocolates created from cocoa from all around the world. Ghana, Madagascar, Java, Brazil and Venezuela were represented in our box. Plus some House-Blends...really yummy. On the square we also picked up some other random chocolates from Nuehaus and more macaroons from Dandoy (these may have been from Grand Place - I can't keep these things straight).
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| Here's a pic of our "14 Pack" - couldn't wait. Sorry. |
Our sugar fueled street food frenzy was further enhance with a Belgian Waffle...c'mon!
Jeni said it was good. I wouldn't know. She got the first bite, and I promptly plopped it on the ground. Too embarrased to process the moment, I forgot to take a photo. I was furiously trying to clean up my mess...not 10 feet from the vendor! Hey - "Lady with the iPad"; I usually mock you people for your goofy stance with hands at '10 and 2', but if you have that photo you took of me, send our way :-)
A bit of a Palate Cleanser:
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| Le Petite Sablon - at the top of the plaza. Very nice neo-renaissance style park, and extremely well maintained. |
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| ...because (I think) the Mr Park Ranger lives in that cubby hole! |
Oh, the food continues, Dear Reader. Not satisfied with our one bite at the apple (waffle), we felt the need for some Belgian Hot Chocolate. We raced back to the Galleries St Hubert and tracked down the Neuhaus Cafe that served us this...
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| ...two pots of Type II diabetes! |
On our way back through the Galleries, we came across this old friend of ours;
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| Allain how we miss you...just too full to stop that day! |
After the most decadent hot chocolates. Ever. We needed to take a break, so we hopped back to the hotel for a quick digestif and to recharge for dinner. We ended up eating back downtown at a great little Tapas place. It was waaaaay too busy / dark to take photos, but trust me when I say it was very nice. Again, real Spanish Tapas served by Spaniards! Le Bar A Tapas is not earth-shatteringly groundbreaking, but again we're coming from a land deeply rooted in traditional foods. Tapas were a nice treat, indeed!
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| The front of the Royal Palace - I bet you could fit three Luxembourg palaces in there! |
I shall wrap up this post with a couple more iconic landmarks and a parting shot of our road trip back to the Grand Duchy!
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| St Michael & St Gudula Catherdral...not Notre Dame? |
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| I am not kidding. We left partial sun and dry roads and entered into this - just as we crossed the Luxembourg Line! |
