Few Days in Belgium

One of our stops in Europe this year was Belgium! For many, the first thing that comes to mind  if you think about food that is associated with this country are waffles and chocolate. I did not realize how much I like beer, until I tasted it there. If for my son, Belgium is birthplace of Tintin, I now think of their yummy yummy beer. Yep! That sums up what we know about Belgium but naturally,  there is more. A lot more, so that it makes it is difficult to learn everything you want to learn about a country on a day trip that is only few days long. I did not know that fried potatoes are eaten in large quantities and that mussels is an iconic Belgian food. You can't learn everything and nothing can stop you from enjoying the trip but the weather. We were lucky and even the weather has cooperated for the most part. I really did not know what to expect from the trip and was pleasantly surprised, so there is something to say about lowered expectations.

• Brussels

One of the more famous places in Brussels

 We flew to Brussels from Stockholm and stayed there in an old hotel. Our goal in the city is to be able to walk to most attractions, so we try to live in the, or close to the center  and walk everywhere by foot as much as we can. We made it to these attractions relatively painlessly. We visited museums, walked by royal palace, strolled through the park and walked all the way back to the hotel.
This is famous Peeing boy

This is another place everyone wants to see and his representation in housewares

 We absolutely had to have some waffles and this was enjoyed near the store that we had to visit for our son, who is a big fan of Tintin and who has enjoyed all of the books.

The cafe was right near the Tintin store.

 Incidentally,  the cafe is also overlooking this street. I love the names of food in the streets as it is a foodee's blog.

 I know that we can buy all of the goodies in the state at the fraction of the cost they are sold for tourists but you can't pass the chocolate aroma of the multiple chocolate shops and not be moved to buy some right there.

A fantastic thing happened in Brussels. My husband reunited with his high school friend, some one he had not seen in 25 years. This was absolutely a great thing. The connections that we keep  are invisible but so strong. I met my husband's classmate and his family for the first time but it felt like we are good neighbors that have known each other for a long time. We were invited to dinner, that was absolutely fantastic. I have to admit that I would love to be able to present a meal in such manner like the my new Belgian friend. I am not capable of that type set up. I can create a spread for 40 people but it will look like a buffet not this beautiful presentation.

 

• Leuven

 We were also lucky to be introduced to lovely city of Leuven by the same friend. Our tour guide was awesome from city tour to the explanation of  our dining options.

 

 Students are everywhere. The atmosphere is magical, where old and new equally thriving.

 

 These are representation of Flemish cuisine. Chicken with sauce, beef stew and toast with beef spread.

Puff pasetry (bouchée) with chicken (vol au vent) and fries

Beef stew cooked with beer or carbonade flamande or soofvlees

Toast with ground beef or filet américain

... and of course the beer

I absolutely love this beer

 

• Brugge

Our next stop was Brugge. We took a train early in the morning from Brussels and spent an entire day in old and beautiful Brugge. Our feet were aching by the end of the day when we got on the train to Brussels but what a fun we had. The pictures were so many that it is hard to choose what to put in the blog.

Unfortunately we did not have enough time to visit this museum

The St. John’s Hospital (Sint-Janshospitaal) is one of the oldest preserved hospital buildings in Europe.

Fish Market - empty when we stumbled up on it

Swan is a symbol of Brugge

I had to include this picture. How cute is this pup?

Some window shopping examples are below

 

 

 This picture is a composite that is done by Microsoft Image Composite Editor and I have to tell you that this program is a lot of fun and free to download.

 We had a lovely dinner that evening and of course some beer and a waffle with ice cream.

One of our last scenery before catching the train back to Brussels

  Strangely, on this trip we did not try the traditional mussels and perhaps it is because we are not huge fan of the mollusk. The only mussel that I ended up with was the one we bought for my silver charm bracelet - I love that one. We were limited on time and did not have a chance to visit everything we could but we had a great time and the country was lovely. Thanks Belgium!

Stockholm in June

This summer my husband and I had an extraordinary opportunity to visit 3 countries in Europe.
The first country on our itinerary was Sweden. my husband attended a conference in the hotel in suburbs of Stockholm and after it was over we stayed over and took commuter train to visit the city in the next 3 days.
It is a beautiful city we really enjoyed visiting. The are so many pictures that it is hard to choose what to put on the blog.

We spend a lot of our time in the Old Town, or Gamla Stan and in surrounding islands. Even though we had three days, we still did not get to visit all there is to see.

When we got hungry we went to look for a place to eat. I have to admit that we were somewhat shocked at the prices. When we recalculated the price of a meal from kroner to US dollars we realised how lucky we are to live in USA. Even with the prices growing almost daily on most items here, from gasoline to produce, we still have a way to go to reach the prices that are common place in Europe, and, in this case Sweden. After a long day of wandering and enjoying the city, one must find a spot to sit down and eat, no matter how shocking the prices may be.  So, after some deliberation, guided by exhaustion and hunger we found a reasonable spot. It was not a sit down restaurant, but rather a small cafe with just a couple of tables. Old Street Cafe boasts of having an oldest cellar from middle ages in Stockholm. Well, that meant, that we found where to have our dinner that evening. We had to see the cellar and we stayed for a meal. The food was very nice and did not leave us wanting anything else, we were pretty full, and in fact, we made an effort to finish everything.

My husband got himself a panini sandwich with turkey  and I chose tuna salad served in a baked potato. It was not your American tuna salad. I remember that it was different and lovely. At the time I even got all of the ingredients, but now I realised that I should have written them down, right there and then. Unfortunately,  the ingredients for that  recipe that I thought I figured out are no longer in my head.



The way to the cellar. Very tall steps.



This is the cellar and I think we caught a ghost sitting on the bench... and he is wearing a watch.

Overall, we really enjoyed visiting in Stockholm!

Mexico and Riviera Maya

Mexico and Riviera Maya in particular is probably my favorite vacation spot.

 

I have been to Pacific Coast of Mexico and it was nice, but it does not compare to Riviera Maya. Not only there is fantastic food, there is beautiful turquoise water, white sandy beaches, fascinating attractions and most importantly the culture! I simply can't get enough. We have been to several hotels at this point and settled on a a particular hotel complex that fits our needs. We love going to all inclusive Barcelo Maya.

 The food is not the reason we go there but is a definite plus to the overall experience. Besides several buffets that are almost always open, there are several specialty restaurants that are open only in the evening.  A lot of resorts have similar restaurants.

After this meal we were full but we just had to see this show!

 I still can't get over this presentation of the Gazpacho soup! The bowl is in the block of ice and there vegetables within the ice. So beautiful!

There are usually Japanese cuisine specialty restaurants in large resorts. This one wasn't not only a dinner, it was a show.

Unfortunately, we can't always get a good deal so we explore other wonderful resorts. And I dream of going to Riviera Maya again soon!