Five: Waffles and Hats

Went to Belgium last weekend. Brussels and Antwerp. We consumed many belgian waffles, frites and chocolates. We navigated our way using our trusty TomTom, Jane. Turns out Jane is no good at navigating if you are on foot. We went to Atelier Coppens, Christophe Coppen's hat store. He is the royal family's hat maker. I had a hat made.

We ate dinner at Belgo Belge, a local's favorite in a cute neighborhood a short cab ride from our hotel. The area is a lot more welcoming than the austere and somewhat gritty city center. This is the sort of restaurant you would not discover without some insider knowlege (another Global Exchange expat told Kim about it). It was excellent. We asked the waitress to bring us the most representative selections, and she came through. We had a really good shrimp scampi in tomato cream sauce, rich beef stew (french style) and chicken braised in cream. And of course a chocolate lava cake for desert. It was such a good find that we agreed that if ever in Belgium for dinner again we'd return, forgoing new dining experiences.

The buildings in Grand Place in Brussels and Market Square in Antwerp are over the top. We'll have to return to Antwerp; the shopping is supposed to be great but nothing was open when we were there (Sunday). We also missed the Rubens on display at Cathedral of Our Lady.