Happy in Brussels

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May 13, 2003

Ron and I arrived in Amsterdam yesterday, and immediately took the train to Brussels. It's a long ways from Idaho. We are staying at the Hotel Dome, which is a wonderful example of Art Deco design. They have all the detail right, even in the individual rooms.

The amenities are not qute Americain, in another country I would say it borders on quaint, but that's my own prejudice showing, and no reflection at all on the real situation.

Some highlights so far: we're just a few blocks from the parliament buildings and the royal palace so we walked around the neighborhood yesterday afternoon. When we got lost, some very nice people helped us out. They didn't understand our English. We didn't understand their French, but we connected.

Dinner last night was here in the hotel restaurant "Kom-Kom." Ron had salmon and I had duck. One of the best meals I have had in a long time. The duck breast was crisply on the outside and creamy on the inside. The vegetables were beautifully arrayed across the plate, like some painter's palette. And I was with Mr. Chucklehead. I had a wonderful evening.

Hint: try the potato chips. The ones we had were made on premises, and are nothing like the chips out of the bag. The pommes frites are also a great morale booster here in Belgium.

Finally, the night concierge here at the hotel is from Venezuela. We had a long chat with him last night. We talked about the Iraq war, America, and being in a different country and culture. We have found the people here open and friendly, and we are trying to return the favor. It's interesting getting a very different perspective on the world.

Ron and I went for a long walk around parts of the city today. We started off visiting Leonidis Chocolatier shop, on Ken Stockman's recommendation. Then we headed out in no particular direction, hoping to see de Mannequin Piis. We found Julien relieving himself, and I took a few pictures. Then we headed up the hill, toward parliament and the art museums. We spent almost all afternoon among, madonnas, crucifixions, and iexplicable 20th Century angst and confusion. Not to mention malaise. We had a light lunch at the museum, and a lot of Magritte afterwards.

May 14, 2003

Last night we had another nice meal at the Brasserie St. Germain. I thought that the waiter probably perceived us as unsophisticated louts; he seemed a little more standoffish than the occasion warranted, but none of that affected the taste of the food and the novelty of the dessert. I had baked cod with mashed potatoes, which sounds pretty ordinary, but it wasn't. The cod was served on top of the potatoes, which were mashed with garlic and olives. All of this, of course, gives me ideas about how I might fix a similar meal at home. The dessert was an apple tart served with vanilla ice cream and a sour whipped cream.

After two days in Belgium, we are back in the Netherlands. Our room in Brussels was overheated, and we couldn't control the room's temperature. Ron and I both had a fitful night's sleep, and are kind of snappish with each other today. He's been sleeping on the train to Amsterdam.

We had an unpleasant taxi ride to the train station this morning. In the process, I lost my bag that had a pound or so of Belgian chocolate for my coworkers. I guess I'll have to settle for Dutch chocolate instead. I got my dander up about how the taxi driver behaved. It was not a pleasant experience for me, but I hope he enjoys chocolate, because it's all in the trunk of his cab.

The weather on the trip has been overcast and some rain. It doesn't look like that is going to change any time soon. For the most part, we prepared for that. We done a lot of walking, some good eating, and some sightseeing. I hope that we get the sleep that we both need.

Lamp Post Decorations

View over Brussels