Thursday, May 3

uh, very uneventful....

I picked up the apartment, read some blogs, took care of Rob's laundry, drafted my daily journal for my blog. Really, what a loser! I'm in Brussels and I'm hanging out at the apartment. In one way, I'm glad I stuck around. There have been a ton of employees in and out all day moving furniture. I get nervous after the time I traveled and someone went into my luggage, into my purse, into my wallet and stole my cash. Not that I think anyone here would, but for a while, the manager opened the door wide saying they would be by in a few minutes....over an hour passed, with my door wide open, before the movers got here. Not a very secure situation...

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Well, Thursday night definitely made up for the day. Rob managed to get out at a decent enough hour. We did the tourist thing. We pulled out the map, plotted or route, got lost, stopped for a beer, pulled out the map again and finally found our way. To where you may wonder??? To the place we were told had the absolute best frites in the city/country. Um, they tasted just like the ones I had at Dulles Airport. Such a shame too, all those wasted calories. We had a good time though.


One of the culinary specialities in Belgium is the famous "frites" ("french fries" ... but I prefer to say "belgian fries". After all, they were invented by Belgians ;-) And the best place to buy them is the "Maison Antoine". Try the home-made "tartare" sauce (tell them if you want the sauce separated or on the fries). Or may be you will prefer a "mitraillette" (fries and hamburger in bread) or a hot dog or a sausage ... If you want to sit down, cross the street and go to the typical Belgian pub "Chez Bernard". Frites are allowed if you have a drink. I found this funny article about belgian fries and Maison Antoine on https://webmail.sablaw.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_22/c3631157.htm. If you want to know how fries were invented, what's the origin of the name "frite", what's the secret of the tasty Belgian fries etc., please have a look ;-) Maison Antoine, Place Jourdan 1, 1040 Brussels (not far from Schuman and Mérode, not far from European Parliamant)

Next, a nice long hike over to Grand Place - sounds lame but it was beautiful - and full of tourists! little alleyways were actually outdoor seating for many many many many restaurants. We finally found one that wasn't too annoying Chez Leon and sat for some mussels and beer. I am hooked on the Kriek - a cherry flavored beer. After dinner we decided to walk a bit and finally found the actual Grand Place. It was beautiful. Too bad I was cold and had to pee or we would have stayed longer. We did catch a couple making out on the top of a building in the window. Can't tell if they were inside or out but I give them credit for being romantic!

We finally hopped in a cab and headed back home. Our hopes are to come for dinner on Friday night, but I'm not holding my breath!