Cake and Falafel: 2011

This past Monday, the Husband and I celebrated our first anniversary. We figured we were already across the pond and wanted to go somewhere new. So we booked a trip to Brussels in Belgium. It was convenient to get to via the Eurostar train and relatively inexpensive. Brussels was never high on my list of places to visit but I HIGHLY recommend spending a weekend (or even just a day) there if you ever have the opportunity.

I was a little concerned to go to a country where the official language was one that I didn't speak. I've been to Argentina and Israel on group tours before but never really on my own. I've been to France twice before but with someone who spoke French. So this was the first time I would truly have to mange on my own. The official languages of Brussels are French and Dutch. Most people speak French and English though (and unlike in France, people are willing to talk to you in the latter). Even the signs around town are in both languages so looking at both helps to clue you in to what you're looking at.

We began the trip with three forms of cash.

The Husband has never been on a high speed train. Even though it was actually cheaper to fly, he wanted the experience of the Eurostar. It was quick and convenient and didn't have to worry about the airport.

Welcome to Brussels!

When we arrived, we checked into the Leopold Hotel and then went in search for lunch.

Brussels is the greenest capital in Europe with more parks per square miles than any other.

I knew we would be spending Shabbat in Brussels so I thought I would look up some local synagogues. Not too far from our hotel and near the city center was the Great Synagogue of Belgium. It is also considered the Great Synagogue of Europe as Brussels is capital of the European Union (more on that to come).

I wish I had taken pictures inside the synagogue before services started but I left my camera at back at the hotel. It was built in the 1868 and is truly breathtaking.

Of course, we got a bar of chocolate at the first chocolate shop we saw. Didn't quite know what we were in for yet.

Our walk to and from the city center included a stroll along the Palais Royal. Belgium is a relatively new country, and declared independence in the 1830's. It used to be a part of the Netherlands and has such an established capital because the Netherlands used to have two capitals, one of which was Brussels.

One thing I especially enjoyed about Belgium is the fact that it is not as big of a tourist attraction as Paris or London, and therefore less crowded. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of people but far fewer people wandering around.

The roads around the city are mainly cobble stone and wide. Even this square surrounded by museums was grand.

Check out the view of the city center. But then think about the trek back to the hotel at the end of a long day of walking and then to have to tackle this uphill battle.

This a Holocaust memorial I happened to notice.

Not quite sure what it says (in French or Dutch) but I think I got the gist.

Just some random art around the city.

So remember how I didn't have my camera when we came back to services? This may be a good time to fill in what actaully happened on Friday evening before I go any further. Services were fine. It was an orthodox service so there wasn't much French anyways. After services, there was a new couple sitting behind us. I don't generally talk to random people unless I'm around Jews. I heard an American accent and figured "they don't belong here," so I went up and introduced myself. We met J and B. J is actually British and B is the American. They got married just two weeks after us and were on their official honeymoon. Within just a few minutes of playing Jewish Geography, we figured out a few links. I was surprised that I met someone in Brussels who knew of the ISJL. So we decided to grab dinner together. I knew the Husband had been craving Italian food since he had been on the boat. I figured since we would be even closer to Italy, the Italian food would be better in Brussels. It was, but not because it was closer but because the Beglians are like the French in sense that they actually care about their food. So B led us to a fabulous Italian place where we ate family style (mainly because all of us wanted everything). We ended up sharing a pizza (great), some pasta with tomato sauce (great) and the best macaroni and cheese I've ever had! It was then that I knew I was in love with that country. After dinner, we explored the city center sampling and buying chocolate and just having a great time with our new friends. At the end of the evening, we exchanged contact information and planned to meet up on Sunday before they left.

On Saturday, we woke up, had a fabulous breakfast at the hotel and hopped on a double-decker city bus tour to see some sites. I didn't take many pictures because they didn't come out too well from the bus but we went back to the ones worth taking a picture of.

Again with the parks...check out those permanent lawn chairs.

One of the stops on the bus tour was the Atomium. It's basically Brussel's Eifel Tower. It was build for the World Fair one year and just never taken down. It's made to look like an iron atom and each pod has a different exhibition in it. The current exhibition was on diversity in Belgium and how many people have emigrated in recent years. The offered some great views of the city.

This is the Arc d'Triumph (I think it's better than the one in Paris).

After the tour, it was time to start our real journey: the one where we discovered how GREAT the food is.

You have to have frits...but why not balance it out with a salad? Actually, It was great! The salad was more than just tomatoes and lettuce (what I've only been able to get here in the UK).

The Husband had some kind of chicken sandwich which he was in love with (obviously not as healthy as my salad with frits).

If you don't know, Belgium is popular for it's beers too. While this is actually a bunch of candles at an open market, the Belgians are like the French in that there is a special glass for each type of beer you get.

What's not to love about bread shaped like animals?

Ladies and gentlemen...Now, what you've been waiting for...TADA! The typical Chocolate shop. Everywhere you go, they give free samples. At the end of the day, I couldn't handle much more chocolate. Good thing I was there for four days.

This is the city center, Grote Markt or Grand Place. It's just a huge pedestrian square full of people bustling around and of course, chocolate shops.

We went to the Museum of Cocoa and Chocolate...Look how excited the Husband is!

The museum was small but we had the opportunity to learn about how chocolates candies are made. It was all in French (of course) but it didn't look too hard...right? I'll tackle these after I master the French Macaroons.

Of course the street performers were out.

We looked everywhere for this guy. This is the manneken pis. It's a tribute to the city. According to legend, a little boy peed on a fuse or something, preventing the city from being burned down. And thus, there is a fountain in the middle of the city of a little boy "taking a pee." He has a whole wardrobe and this time he was in costume.

It's just a fun, quirky city...

This was the one disappointment. This macaroon just wasn't up to par with what the city had to offer.

We stopped for tea. We promised our new friends we would wait to have waffles with them...so we got this crepe instead. It did not disappoint.

What's tea time without tea and beer? The husband and I are not big beer drinkers but this was a peach beer and it was a little bit of heaven.

Then we went shopping.

And came back to the manneken pis to find him in his natural state.

We went back to the hotel and I took a nap. According to my pedometer, I had walked close to 30,000 steps, much more than I was used to. When we got up, it was about 9 at night and raining. We didn't get back out to the city center but found a pub near our hotel called London Pub. Even the Begians out did British food. I had a light caprese salad with soft mozzarella and the Husband had the classic Belgian carbonnade which is a beer and beef stew. Something that I MUST recreate (yea, I know it's not British food).

Sunday, we started our day off with breakfast at the hotel again. We hoped to go to the Museum of Modern Art but it was closed so we did what we do best: wandered around. We found an antique market. While we were headed back to meet J and B at our favorite chocolate shop (they gave us the most samples and had the friendliest staff), the Husband noticed the Jewish Museum. We didn't have time to go in but it went straight to the top of our to do list.

This is Pierre at our favorite chocolate store, Burgerre. We came across the store on Friday night with J and B thinking we walked into Godiva. It wasn't until we left that realized that Godiva was just next door.

J and B joined us at the Jewish Museum which didn't take much time to get through because we couldn't read anything. I did think this chart was interesting because it has letters on it we usually learn in the states (like the gimmel or dalet with the dagesh).

Obviously political but also amusing was this chess set. Not the best picture but some of the pawns are mohels.

For lunch, B recommended a restaurant he had seen on the TV show Three Sheets called Mort Subite (Sudden Death in French). We also played a dice game called 4-2-1. The goal is to roll a 4, a 2 and a 1 with three die.

J was the first one to roll the 4-2-1, and she was proud of it.

Then the Husband rolled it..

But I was the first who rolled it all at once!

Lunch was a croque madame (grilled cheese with an egg on top). I had another peach beer and the husband had a croque monsieur (grilled cheese with no egg) and a cherry beer.

We knew 4-2-1 was a drinking game but we didn't really know the rules. So we made up our own and as the game went on, things got silly. At this point, the boys had to kiss before each turn (they cheated with their hands), stick their tongues out when they weren't talking and when they were, they had to speak as little girls. J and I totally dominated the game.

Then it was finally waffle time!

Waffle, chocolate, strawberries and whipped cream. Need I say more?

We headed back to Burgerre to watch the chocolate demonstration. I so want to go to pastry and chocolatier school!

It was pretty exciting.

I don't know what these cone things are called but I'm sure it means little bites of heaven.

A special thanks to J and B for hanging out with us throughout the weekend!

On our way back to the hotel, we thought we'd pop into the Palais Royal. Magnificent.

Ok so this room was strange. It's covered in beetle wings.

We headed back to the city center for dinner. The city really comes alive at night. Here's you typical street quartet.

We decided that since we couldn't get good Italian food back on Farnborough, we would go for more before we left. We found a restaurant called Sole d'Italia and thought if it's called "Only Italy" it had to be good, right? RIGHT! We started with parmigiana fondue. Not the fondue we expected but I would totally get this again!

The house wine came in the cute little pitcher.

It was almost a perfect evening...

...that is until the awning almost fell on us.

But all was forgiven when the food came out. I had the parmigiana aubergine (eggplant parmasean).

And the Husband had a chicken with a marinara sauce. The sauce was superb! It was thin and sweet.

We looked earlier in the day for this but couldn't find it. This is the Jeaneke Pis, essentially the female version of manneken pis. She was tucked in the back of an alley way rather than on the corner of a popular street. Just a good example of the differences between men and women.