meeting up with friends in bruxelles

Last weekend Marco and I met up with some friends in Brussels.  Both Zach and Rosalin live in Germany. Zach is a former colleague of ours from when we worked in the Washington, DC area.  Rosalin and I go back to kindergarten days, we grew up down the street from each other.

Marco and I took the Eurostar (the chunnel) from London St. Pancras >>> Gare de Midi Bruxelles Central. We putzed around the Saint-Gilles neighborhood until check-in time at our Airbnb apartment.

Rosalin met us at the apartment.  We took some time to relax and enjoyed a few beers, catching up in what was another great Airbnb find.  We are on our fifth or sixth Airbnb experience and all have been great. It is the combination of spending less than a hotel room, staying in a slower paced / non-touristy neighborhood, and getting an entire apartment to relax in - it's the best.

We set out Friday afternoon to explore the Saint-Gilles neighborhood and pop into a few bars that Marco had researched.  We started at the art deco restaurant La Porteuse D'Eau and then made our way to Brasserie Verschueren.  

Zach arrived that evening and then we headed to Moeder Lambic.  The tiny corner bar had a chalkboard menu, old wooden tables with mix and match bentwood chairs, and was lined with racks and racks of old comic books.  (Who knew that Brussels is a comic book arts mecca? Tintin and The Smurfs are by Belgium artists and there are comic murals are all over the city.)  We scanned the packed room and saw no tables available.  Two guys motioned us over and started speaking to us in French  I translated for my group, "Guys, they said they are leaving soon and we can have their table."  Marco jumped in, "No they didn't.  They said they are going out for a smoke but we can squeeze in and join them."  Both guys laughed and spoke back in perfect English that Marco was correct. They were from São Paulo, Brazil and were studying at an English university in Brussels.  We talked the night away, trying beer after beer.  It was so much fun to exchange life + travel stories with our new friends while I could casually order a 2007 De Dolle off the beer menu.

Saturday morning was a slow start (see above).  Up and at 'em Marco hit up a corner bakery and brought back some much needed pastries to get Rosalin and I moving.

We walked to a flea market that came recommended from the owner of our apartment.  Then we walked towards the Grand Place through the design and furniture district.  We browsed store after store - many of them specializing in mid-century furniture, lighting, and art.  Everything was catching our eye.  We couldn't resist some white gloved high end chocolate shops along the way as well.

We arrived at the Grand Place, the center square of Brussels and joined the rest of the tourists in tilting our heads and cameras high, spinning around to admire the towering gilded Gothic buildings.

After the Grand Place came more chocolate shops and Rosalin showing us the Delirium Cafe (she has been to Brussels several times for work trips) which is affiliated with the beer but it's not the brewery.  For lunch we found a quaint brasserie for some mussels and frites.

After lunch we headed over to Cantillion Brewery.  The place was packed.  We relaxed in the bar area, had a few gueuze beers and I picked up some bottles to bring home with me.

That night we headed back to the popular Delirium Cafe along with everyone else visiting Brussels.  A three story Belgium beer mecca.  We started in the rowdy basement and realized the floors got progressively quieter as they went up.  We ended the night on the top floor, where we could sit down at a table and hear each other speak.

Sunday we roamed some parks, ate Belgium waffles piled high with Nutella and bananas (AMAZING!) visited the Manneken Pis (like celebrities and the Mona Lisa - smaller in real life and a bit disappointing) and stocked up on more chocolate to take home.

We ended the day waiting in line at the highly recommended frites shop Maison Antoine. The 30 minute wait was well worth it.  Similar to the original Shake Shack in New York, it is a stand alone building in the middle of a square. Tourists and locals wait in lines wrapping around the park to order from the extensive menu and list long of sauces - frites with tartare maison, andalouse, and curry sauces being the most popular.

Brussels architecture as a whole was less ornate and more modern day than I expected, but the cliche things that make it famous: frites, chocolate, waffles, and the beer culture make it worth a visit.

Not one day goes by where I don't appreciate the travel opportunities we are experiencing, but weekends where we can meet up with friends make it even more special.  It was great seeing you Rosalin and Zach!

inside my weekender

On the road again this weekend.  I thought I'd share a peek into what I pack for a typical weekend getaway.

Nothing revolutionary, I start with a mental pack of looks I have in mind.  Then I have a peruse through my closet and dresser in case I forgot about something that would be great for that specific trip. (Marco: "How do you forget what you have??)  

What plays out - I pull the two or three uniforms that are in current rotation, a dress in case we have a fancier night out, two shoe options, and a few accessories that go with everything.

sea-salt spray to keep the hair BIG / best makeup remover ever / dry shampoo / benefit eye cream / nuxe dry oil / bb cream / a scent 

We avoid checking bags when we fly because the budget airlines charge extra.  I transfer liquids into these carry-on friendly bottles.  When we train, I just throw the big bottles into my bag.  Little zip cosmetic bags for bringing the bare minimum of makeup.

j.crew over-sized leather tote  / clare vivier flat clutch / timex / ray-ban options / mini bag for all the lip options 

As for my daytime bag, I usually bring this over-sized tote.  I am always lugging around the digital SRL camera, a travel map or book, and several random personal items.  I keep it light at night, just carrying the CV clutch and the point + shoot camera fits in nicely.  

Parka weather is over, finally.  Zara leather jacket, similar one here

boyfriend jeans / clogs / favorite striped shirt

painter tee / leopard booties / high waisted jeans

beanie / burnout tee / saint clair necklace

linen baseball tee / flannel button up / marled sweats, similar here

flanders beer tour

Last weekend we took an impromptu trip to Belgium.  Though it was a short two day visit, we were excited for beer tastings at some renowned breweries and tour the Flemish countryside and some World War I memorials.

We booked a room at the Bed and Breakfast attached to St. Bernardus brewery.  We were greeted by the excellent host Jackie who showed us to our room  (and unlimited bar of St. Bernardus) and then led us over to the adjoining building for the brewery tour.  The guide gave the tour in Flemish, German, French, and rounded it out with a tad of English for the two Americans.  We ended the tour in the tasting room that overlooked farmland, hops fields, and the Belgium / French border.

Next stop was De Dolle Brouwers - "The Mad Brewers" based in Esen, West Flanders.  A brewery since the 1800's, the current owner and brewer, Kris, purchased the brewery from the original owners in 1980. Kris gave an excellent tour of the building showing us the still in use machinery and equipment dating back to WWI.  He told us the history of how he and his brother experimented in small batch, high fermentation home brewing (not common in the 1970's - even in Belgium) before they took over the brewery and started De Dolle Brouwers.

De Dolle bar and tasting room is only open on Sundays.  It was PACKED.  A true beer lovers atmosphere. People came to purchase bottles to take home, ordered a beer at the bar, and then joined the long communal tables.  We were lucky to meet some fellow Americans who were visiting from London, Brussels, and San Diego.

The San Diego group were on a two week brewery tour of Amsterdam and Belgium with an aggressive schedule of hitting three breweries a day.  A couple of guys, Dennis and Bill, came bearing gifts from the west coast.  It was fun to watch them present Kris with some brews from Green Flash and Russian River Breweries.  Dennis, owner of Fathom, gifted Marco and I with a bottle of Consecration when he heard we visited Russian River Brewery the day we got engaged.

Marco and I meet + chat up some great people on our travels but we hit the jackpot at De Dolle that day. We sat for hours with the San Diego group as Kris was so kind to let us try some dusty bottles from the cellar.  I knew I was tasting some rare and special brews, but it was the knowledgeable Bill who was breaking down the complexity that was in our glasses to help me process the heaven that was going down.

The next day was a visit to the legendary Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus in Westvleteren.  If you aren't familiar, behind the very private walls of this monastery lies the highly regarded Westvleteren Brewery.

To a non beer lover, the process to purchase Westvleteren 12 may seem borderline absurd.  The Brewery does not brew to commercial demands and is closed to the pubic but it sells small quantities of the beer weekly to the public via in person, drive through system.  The absurd part: to purchase beer from the Brewery one must first obtain a reservation by calling the brewery in advance, which depending on luck can take hours to days the get past the busy signal.  Once getting through, you're given date and time of when you can come pick up your crates. Each car registration number is limited to a certain amount of visits per year.

If you aren't lucky enough to get a reservation, Westvleteren has a cafe and bar on  site where you can purchase a limited amount of six packs.  Bill told us to order the ice cream - made with Westvleteren 12 and freeze-dried hops.  "What?! ... Gross"  No, totally delicious.  We lounged at the cafe and sipped on Westvleteren 12 and Westvleteren Blonde until it was our reservation pick-up time.  What an experience.