Despite having their house and newly re-landscaped yard hit by a freak nighttime tornado/hail storm a week before they were scheduled to leave, my parents were able to get things patched together and cleaned up enough to rally and make the trip. Given all that stress and drama, we thought they might want to just lay around and do nothing once they arrived. Au contraire, my friends. Once they had rested for a day or two, they were ready to Go Forth and See Belgium!
Because we did and saw so much I have divided the posts, like Belgium itself, into three regional chunks. This first one is of our days in Brussels. And, since pictures are worth thousands of words, be sure to check out the photo album (link's at the bottom of the post). Troy doesn't appear too much in this post because, alas, he did have to work some. But, never fear, he will reappear in later posts on the other regions.
Saturday at the Flagey Market. My mom went nuts over all the flowers and produce, and we all went nuts over The Waffle.
We wanted to show my parents "Our Brussels", those favorite things and places that we most enjoy about our neighborhood and our adopted city. This is at Les Etangs d'Ixelles or, more simply, The Ponds.
My parents got a kick out of riding the vast transit network of trams and buses and metros, oh my! Why would that be thrilling, you're asking? Well Denver, for all its beauty and charm, is very sprawled out and woefully lacking in intra-urban transit. So, to be able to sight-see car-free was in fact a treat! (Note to self: Start letter-writing campaign to Denver Mayor Hickenlooper requesting reinstatement of old streetcar network.)
King Leopold II commissioned the triumphal arch and surrounding Parc Cinquantenaire to commemorate Belgium's 50th Anniversary as an independent state. That anniversary was in 1880...and the arch was finally completed in 1905, just in time for the 75th Anniversary. How Belge.
My father, Troy, and Field Marshall Bernard Law "Monty" Montgomery. An important WWII general, the neighborhood that borders Parc Cinquantenaire is named after him.
We did not visit too many museums, but did enjoy our time at Autoworld. Housed in a building constructed in 1880 for the Exhibition Nationale, the museum is a fascinating collection of antique and rare cars.
Of the four of us, my dad is the only one who has been to Washington D.C. (can you believe it?!?) and so he really wanted to visit the EU Quartier to make a comparison. According to him, it's not much of a comparison. But, we still enjoyed taking pictures and strolling through the complex.
In Square de Meeûs, one of the pretty green spaces near the EU. By the way, are you noticing all the sunny pictures? My parents totally scored by visiting this summer and not last. Last year we had two weeks of summer, both of which were in May, while the remaining months were largely chilly, gray, and wet. This summer, by contrast, has largely been sunny, warm, and dry. Hallelujah!
When we were not touring around, chances are we were feasting! Belgium has quite the culinary richness about it, so there was ample opportunity for sampling waffles (our favorites are the gaufres de Liège avec chocolat), chocolates, frites, and of course beer! In this picture we are having an indoor picnic as, sadly, our terrace is not big enough to permit four people to dine al fresco. However, the lovely spread of local meats, cheeses, and veggies accompanied by a very nice bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape rosé brought back from our recent trip to Provence more than made up for having to sit inside.
My dad showing off his 60th Birthday tarte aux fraises. Full confession, I did not make this cake—I picked it up from the charming Les Caprices du Bailli pâtisserie down the street—but the lovely antique cake plate it is resting on is a new favorite of mine, found during our most recent visit to Brugge.
To celebrate the big 6-0 we did it up in high style at The Belga Queen. The grand dame of the Brussels restaurant scene, the Belga Queen is located in a former art nouveau bank and serves up a fierce steak à la béarnaise. And, with this being Belgium, even in fancy digs such as this your steak comes with a paper cone of perfectly crispy frites.
All in all, I think my parents enjoyed seeing the myriad of sites and sounds in the "Capital of Europe". And after all that urban action, it was time to get out of the city and start exploring the countryside...
Howells in Brussels Photo Album - Click Here
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