La Côte Normande

Surprise...it's a long, and long-overdue, post about a trip we took months ago! To be precise, it's the second post about our first trip to Normandy. Troy did a great job describing our big WWII tour -- there's actually more to tell if he gets around to it -- so it falls to me to write about some of the other things we saw during our visit along the La Côte Normande (the Norman Coast).

It is about 5± hours from Brussels to Courseulles-sur-Mer, the tiny coastal town where we stayed, so we stopped off on the way for lunch and a stroll through the cliffside village of Étretat. It was a super cute little town, albeit very quiet in that funny hollow way that seaside places get during the off-season.



Troy outside the cute restaurant where we lunched, a meal that included a really fabulous local, warm, herbed camembert demi-lune served over salad. De-li-ci-ous!



A bol de cidre ("bowl" of cider) -- apples and apple products are a Norman specialty.



The cliffs were especially dramatic (and quite bright and breezy as you can see from the funny expression on my face).

From Étretat, we made the quick hop over to Courseulles-sur-Mer to our lovely 18th century farmhouse bed and breakfast.



View over the Norman countryside. The geography was crazy -- these lovely green fields are literally only ±1/2 mile away from the ocean!



The entrance path to our B&B.

Although the primary draw, for us, was to visit the many heritage sites related to the Normandy Campaign and the D-Day Invasion, there were several other interesting things to do in the region. One such place is Bayeux, a pretty little town with cute shops, a gorgeous cathedral, and also the home of the 70 meter long, 11th century embroidery known as the Tapisserie de Bayeux/Bayeux Tapestry. This 'tapestry' is an incredible pictorial accounting of the Norman Conquest -- incredible in its fabrication and in the fact that such a fragile textile has survived for nearly a thousand years! For those of you who slept through your history courses in college (as opposed to eating them up the way I did! Nerd, I know), this was that whole event in 1066 with the Battle of Hastings and the Normans beating up on the English and where Guillaume de Normandie became William the Conqueror.



Bayeux Cathedral just after sunset.



The interior masonry was amazing and super detailed.



Masonry masks close-up.



Troy outside the Bayeux Tapestry Museum.



This pâtisserie and salon de thé was the cutest thing ever!



All decorated for Easter.

On our way to Bayeux we stopped off at a neat bio cidery, an organic farm and orchard that produces calvados (the famous Norman apple brandy), plus pommeau, cidre, juice, compotes, and other apple products. The owner was a quirky older man who seemed to enjoy the tastings as much as his clients did (tee hee), but he was also very welcoming and even let us peek in the cave. Needless to say, we left with a couple of the local specialties.



Les Vergers de Ducy, organic cidery.



Troy in the cave.



All of this was great, but even so the big regional attraction for me was Mont-St-Michel. With its spectacular setting on a rocky outcropping in the middle of a bay, the architectural drama of this place has called out to me since I was a child. (I was about 12 when I first learned about Mont-St-Michel, and I have wanted to visit it ever since.) So, one day we made the trek practically into Brittany to see the Mont. We climbed the paths to the very top of the rock, toured the abbey, and watched an incredible thunderstorm roll in across the bay.

Visually speaking, this was a highlight of the trip for me. In fact, it is one of the most stunning things that I have ever seen in my whole life. However (SPOILER alert for anyone who, like me, has harbored a lifelong romantic notion of Mont-St-Michel and doesn't want their fantasy shattered) the town that lies at the base of the rock, below the abbey, was one of the chintziest, tackiest, most tourist-riddled, neon-signed, expensive places anywhere. And...the food was terrible. That is like an insult to the entire nation of France! We didn't actually eat on the island -- everything looked so utterly unappetizing or outrageously expensive (I'm talking 90 euro for a lobster omelet expensive) that instead we found a grocery story on the 'mainland' and had a little picnic at a roadside pull-out with a view of the Mont.



This was our first view of Mont-St-Michel, approaching from the south.



As with much of our trip, it rained off and on this day. It kind of sucked, but it was kind of cool because it added that extra bit of drama to an already exceedingly dramatic place.



The whole place is encased in massive stone walls.



The tide was out when we arrived.





Inside the abbey cloisters





What a cool shot, if I do say so myself -- everywhere you looked was beauty and drama.



The storm approaches!



Despite my utter disappointment with the town, Mont-St-Michel was still really, really cool and a must-see for anyone with even a slight interest in architecture. Our Normandy trip was surprising in many ways and so chock-full of interesting sites, tragic and heart-warming stories, and multiple layers of history, that five days felt like weeks. But, you know, in a good way.



La Côte Normande Photo Album - Click Here

Perfect Bacon

We have both been horribly remiss about blogging as of late. Troy has a good excuse: he was recently assigned to a large acquisition/merger/integration project that has brought him nearly weekly to the garden spots of the UK, Chessington and Bracknell (read with heavy sarcasm). In all seriousness, he has been spending the better part of each week for the last two months working in England and, if not there, Germany. I, however, do not really have a good excuse for falling lax on my writing. It's been a funny time of year -- it's the so-called morte saison (dead season) when everyone is away, but somehow there always seems to be something going on. Tant pis for the blog, I guess.

At any rate, Troy rather unexpectedly got a few days off, so of course we had to take advantage of this windfall with a quick trip to the lovely wine region of Bourgogne (Burgundy) in mid-eastern France. This is the time when I normally promise a full post on said trip, which might happen (and well should given that we took about 400 pictures!), but we have gotten so higgledy-piggledy with our posts that who knows what will come next: the finale to our March Normandy trip? A good post about our anniversary getaway to London? A throwback to last summer's lovely aventure provençal?

As the future is uncertain, I'll close this little post with the comforting and quotidien: Breakfast. Many moons ago when Troy and I were newlyweds, I attempted to make that most banal of breakfast staples, bacon. This was quite early in my culinary 'career' and the results were a smoky, blackened mess. Novice husband that he was, Troy responded severely, going on about 'smoke damage to the apartment' and 'ruining all his clothes' etcetera. I in turn responded with dig-in-your-heels-stubborness and declared that if he was so talented in the arts of bacon-cookery then he could darn-well handle those duties from here on out....a declaration that stuck for the last five years running. However, every now and again I get the hankering for a nice, crispy piece of bacon when Troy is not around to whip up a batch for me. So, swallowing my considerable pride, I asked him to instruct me in the ways of bacon-making. I took his tips to heart and while he was out for a run (and getting lost in the Bois de la Cambre/Forêt des Soignes, which is another story for another day) I tried my hand at bacon-makery this morning. The results, as evidenced by these pics, were bliss.

Wow, July

Well, it's certainly been a busy, fun few weeks since my last post. The weather has really pumped itself into high gear, producing lots of sunshine and even several days of 32+℃ (90+℉) temperatures! Our apartment stays fairly comfortable, temperature-wise, but for about a week it was so hot in the evenings we just had to leave. We sought solace on the terraces of the many cafés in our neighborhood, and were also able to watch several World Cup matches in that convivial environment! Brussels is a particularly fun town in which to progress through Le Mondial as there are people from everywhere here, so each match held a personal drama for someone.



This is a shot standing outside De Valera's pub during the Final between Spain and The Netherlands. De Valera's was the de facto Spanish-supporters bar on Place Flagey, while Café Belga across the square was the gathering spot for the Dutch side. It was just too crowded for me (as I told Troy, the only way I like a crowd is when I'm on a stage performing in front of one!), so we headed to a café around the corner where we could actually see the screen. But, we went back down to Flagey afterwards to experience some of the post-match madness.





In the midst of all the soccer-craziness, Brussels was also buzzing the first weekend in July when the Tour de France passed through town! Troy's writing a whole post on that subject so I won't steal his thunder, but instead will just offer one pic as a teaser.



In addition to these big-time sporting events, there always seems to be something going on around town. Some people claim that summer in Brussels is boring, but I think that's because they assume that nothing happens once the vast hordes quit the town for the summer, on holiday or on their annual return to their home countries when the EU institutions take their break. But, au contraire mes amis, this is our third summer in Brussels and we find it to be a lovely time. The big summer sales in July (one of only two legally-allowed sale periods in the year) make for some great shopping, festivals of all sort seem to happen every weekend, and you even see random things like the Belgium Rollers. And just what is that? It's a crazy summertime rollerblade-and-bicycle parade and our street is on the official route, making our terrace a prime viewing location for the 10 minutes they pass by.





The rollerblading cops getting their groove on never fails to crack me up! But, seriously, in a town as devoted to the car as is Brussels, it's pretty impressive to see the streets blocked off to traffic for such as this.

Here's a brief video clip of the rollers and their DJ taken from the terrace. (Not the best quality, but you get the idea):



As if all this wasn't enough fun and excitement for one month, July is also my birthday month! Whereas last year and the year before we went out of town for my birthday, this year we decided to stay in town. We've been meaning to have a party chez nous for quite a while and so what better excuse than a birthday?



Beautiful birthday bouquets courtesy of the charming Troy.



We invited 50 people(!), but luckily only about half could make it (luckily only in the sense that our apartment would have been packed like a sardine can if everybody had showed!). We snapped a few shots before the guests arrived, and I had great intentions of taking lots of pictures of my friends and the evening, but....we were having so much fun I forgot until the very end when only a hardy few remained.








Alice, (me), Ana, and Matt -- serious party-goers!

In addition to being interesting, fun, and international (the 20± people present represented about 10 different nationalities!), my friends were also super generous -- I received several lovely bouquets, many nice bottles of wine, and some really thoughtful gifts, including a tiny vibrant orchid to add to my growing flower collection.


Birthday posies, plus French B&B book


Miniature orchid!

We had such a good time! By the time the last guests grabbed a cab and we finished cleaning up, it was past 4 am! As you can imagine, nous avons fait la grasse matinée the next morning and spent the rest of the day "taking some sun" amidst the flowers on our terrace. Truly a bon anniversaire!

Groot-Bijgaarden & Bluebells

Here 'tis, the end of June already. Summer has finally arrived here in Brussels...admittedly late, but welcome as ever. I have been so busy soaking up every possible ounce of warmth and sunshine, that I have not given much thought to the blog this week. But, as luck would have it, I started a post about a rare sunny, warm springtime weekend we enjoyed in late April, and somehow never got around to posting it. Since it's mostly pretty pictures of flowers, it seems the perfect way to wrap up this pretty month.

Since we're a trifle en retard, I won't write too much about our visit to the Groot-Bijgaarden -- a fortified residence about 7 km from Brussels that dates back to the 12th(!) century -- but instead will just offer a few lovely images of the grounds and the spectacular springtime flowers.


Troy is the lion, guarding the 14th century entrance to the castle


Sitting in a field of flowers


Gorgeous tulips!


Variegated tulips


A river of narcissus...


And a sea of tulips


Springtime happiness

The next day we went out to the Bois de Halle for a hike amidst the forest's fabled bluebell carpet. I visited the Bois de Halle with my friend Cornelle last year and, as she is a talented photographer, she knew the best time of day to capture the light. Under her direction, I captured some amazing shots, so good that we didn't bother trying to one-up ourselves this year. Instead we just strolled and talked and soaked in some forest peace.

Hope that you have had a sunny and peaceful June. Now it's on to high summer and July...

Groot-Bijgaarden Photo Album - Click Here

Houseguests, Birthdays, Friends, and Pie

June has been a crazy month for us. First, we sold our apartment in the US, which involved a 10 day trip to Colorado for Troy while I manned the fort here. We were really glad that we were able to sell it, but even so, what a relief it is to have that finished!

As it happens, Troy flew back from the States the same morning that my best friend Angie arrived here from Germany. Angie directs the international sales department of a high-end audio company, a position that brings her to Europe several times a year. She was able to tack on a few days at the end of her latest trip to come visit us in Brussels -- hooray! Whereas on her last visit she was hobbled with a broken foot and the weather was bitter cold, this time we were both sound of feet and the days were long and warm(ish). So, it was with a very light heart that I ran down to the Gare du Midi to pick them both up at the station. It was a little bit like something out of a movie!


At the Châtelain Market


At the always-packed Mamma Roma, our favorite pizza place here in Brussels


Underneath the Place Royale (on the now subterranean Rue Isabelle) at the Coudenberg Museum

Angie spent three days here, which provided us with perhaps the most uninterrupted stretch of time to just hang out and talk that we've had in years. We visited the Châtelain Market, checked out a show at the Music Village (coincidentally the KMGs again!), went shopping, visited a cool underground museum, ate lots of good food, and talked ourselves silly. Poor Troy said it was like listening to a couple of magpies!


Enjoying some fine Belgian beers at the Music Village


The KMGs squeezed nine players on that tiny stage!


Two of my very favorite people in the world!!!

We had such a nice visit, and I was very sorry to see Angie go. We're already looking forward to the next visit! Thankfully, though, I didn't have much time to get sad as I had to start planning for the next big event: Troy's birthday! The first project was cookie baking, though this year's output was slightly smaller at just 84 biscotti since we didn't have a class to worry about this time around. Since Troy has been traveling a lot recently and had an early train to England the morning after his birthday, we decided to keep his day-of celebration rather chill, and I made one of his favorite meals: fajitas and guacamole!


The birthday boy!


These peppers were SO gorgeous. The pic doesn't do the colors justice.


A colorful meal and a yummy one too!

While recently I have ventured into making cakes for Troy's birthday, this year we went in a different direction. We were shopping at the Flagey Market after we dropped Angie at the airport and spied a beautiful bunch of fresh rhubarb. With delectable strawberries now arriving daily from Wépion, I decided to make a strawberry-rhubarb pie, another of Troy's favs. (As an aside, I fashioned a make-shift pie guard out of aluminum foil and it worked perfectly! Evenly baked crust and edges!)


Strawberry Rhubarb Birthday Pie, hot from the oven

Troy and I don't really do presents anymore, but when I found an antique copy of some of O Henry's short stories at a second-hand bookshop in the neighborhood, I couldn't resist picking it up for him.


Troy with his vintage book



Since we celebrated seulement à deux on Troy's actual birthday, we decided to have our friends Josh and Maisie over for brunch on Saturday morning to celebrate once more. Using a French-language cookbook and an English-language cookbook written by a Parisian (just take a second, it will make sense), plus adding a healthy dose of my own ideas, I made what turned out to be a de-li-cious quiche as the main part of the meal. Troy, always charming, said it was the best quiche he had ever eaten in his life.


Tarte aux lardons et oignons

Troy's extended-birthday-weekend ended up being a super fun one! The evening after the brunch, we went off to a birthday party for one of Troy's colleagues. Then on Sunday, we met up with some friends to watch the Italy - New Zealand match at a local pub, followed by a fun apéro at one of my choir friend's houses. Whew! We're so grateful for all of our friends, and what a fun few weeks we've gotten to spend with everyone.