I’ve done this part of my trip times before, and for many reasons Belgium is like a second home. I should be able to do this trip in my sleep. But for some odd reason, this leg of my journey is turning me upside down. I can no longer brag about being immune to jetlag because for the third night in a row, I’ve fallen asleep around 1am only to wake up at 4, and by wake up I mean wide awake with no chance of falling back to sleep. Which means I want to crash around 2pm the following day.
It’s also very warm and sticky here right now, so that’s probably affecting how quickly my body can retrieve its normal internal clock. Right now I just feel like a sluggish vampire in Belgium.
But sleep deprived or not, I am here to reveal my latest workhorse of a purse that I’d hinted about last week. As many of you “orange lovers” out there guessed, it is indeed the Hermes Massai bag in the smaller size.
It makes a perfectly comfortable messenger bag, and the pebbled togo leather molds to one’s body. Did I also say it is extremely light? I don’t think it would look too cute overstuffed, but on the road it will hold maps and all my other necessities.
So where am I in these pictures? Somewhere on the grounds of the Citadelle in Namur, where there are lovely homes…
chapels with priceless views…
and hotels with gorgeous gardens and restaurants…
Tomorrow I will reveal the bag that broke three of my purse rules only to become one of my favorite little treasures. Meanwhile, think I’ll try napping now and hopefully feel more like myself by dinner.
Tags: Belgium, Citadelle, Hermes, jetlag, Massai, Namur, togo leather
We’re only a few days away from Christmas so I’m taking a break from Fes to report to you live from the Belgian Christmas markets.
At the moment I’m somewhat snowbound. Ice,
snow and sleet
take turns at this same window that greets me each morning–though by yesterday’s late afternoon the snow melted just in time…
for me to watch the Christmas fireworks…
over the famed Citadelle that rises majestically above Namur’s Christmas market:
Anyway, on the day that I venture out to the Marché de Noël in my host family’s pretty town,
I am wearing a blend of Look 4…I’ve been fighting the subzero weather in my trusty Prada ski jacket, Hogan shearling boots, and Chanel muffler and earmuffs on top of about 3 or 4 layers of clothes:
And still, the minus 6 weather (even the locals are shocked by this winter’s early biting cold) feels very much like being in an igloo in a swimsuit. No amount of clothing seems to keep me warm enough. The few minutes that I remove my gloves to take these pictures feel like hours, and I have to rush back inside a store to thaw. The pain in my fingers and toes is an all too familiar one I experienced earlier this year from frostbite so I know better than to dilly dally outside in the cold.
But luck is all relative, and it’s what you make of it. If it weren’t cold enough for snow, I wouldn’t be having quite the same white experience at these markets. After a few, I can tell you that there are basically the same vendors of artisan crafts and local foods…
but the markets just feel more Christmasy because of the snow. Everything looks more festive, more like a true winter wonderland:
In particular at the Namur market, there were an ice sculptor
and a small parade re-enacting the Régiment des Canaris…
But I know what you’re waiting for, and here it is. When in Belgium eat as the Belgians do (the gaufre is cute with the earmuffs, non? hehe)…
See you at the next market tomorrow in one of my favorite little towns in the whole world.
Tags: Belgium, Chanel, Christmas market, Citadelle, gauffre, Namur, Prada, Regiment des Canaris
So from London I transit to Brussels. I arrive in Belgium on the eve of their Fête Nationale or Independence Day (actually it’s July 21 but I’m late in posting this entry) and there’s a festive mood in the air. I land around 6:30 pm, which theoretically is the best time to acclimate myself to the local time zone. Because then I can grab a hot shower and late dinner and go to bed by midnight like the rest of the locals–well, the ones who aren’t carousing in the streets. That was the plan anyway. The reality is that at 2am I’m wide awake; never mind that I haven’t slept in over 24 hours…my internal clock tells me it’s 5pm and bright in LA right now. Isn’t it always 5pm somewhere though? I sort of want to get up and unpack the rest of my stuff but put a pillow over my head instead. It’s not 5pm here.
Of course everything but a few eateries are closed today for the holiday so I head out with my friends to the Grognon flea market in Namur. It’s like meshing a flea market and farmers market together and sprinkling the stands through the curvy streets and alleys of the old town center. So you will find stalls hawking Spiderman movie posters under a medieval tower, juxtaposed across from a charming cafe where people are dining al fresco. The sugary smell of beignets and gauffres waffles through the thick crowds on this sunny day. I’m somewhat half-awake (hence not too many pictures) so my first street meal of the day is a mango sorbet.
The picture above was taken after crossing that bridge; I am desperately looking for shade. With the ODJ photos snapped, we go to lunch.
It gets really warm by mid-afternoon so many of us take cover at a movie theater. I tell you, the world is the same everywhere. But I understand only about 58% of the new Harry Potter movie because they’re all speaking rapid French and I have my American ears on still. So during intermission (I know, strange, right? But what a great idea if you need a popcorn or bathroom break but don’t want to miss any of the movie) my listening comprehension is checked by my English-speaking friend. Let’s just say I don’t have a career in translation. He’s looking at me like we’re not even watching the same movie. Sheesh. I still think my interpretation is better than what’s actually going on up there on the big screen. It also explains why I was laughing when no one else was. Can’t take me anywhere.
After dinner we all end up at the foire, which is a fair. If you’ve been to the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, you probably wouldn’t get too excited over this one. It’s like comparing a sniffle to a sneeze. But I’m still down with it because I get to stuff my face with the croustillon (you can wikipedia this for pics), which is fried dough dipped in confectioner’s sugar. It’s not good for any of us to eat these things but going to the fair gives you permission to eat your way to a heart attack. I can always repent tomorrow.
I’ve spent so much time in Belgium at this blog that I have to be mindful about not sounding repetitive, so this weekend I’ll take you across international borders.
Tags: beignets, Belgium, Brussels, croustillon, fete nationale, foire, Grognon flea market, Namur
Today marks my fourth complete week on the road and while my head is still in full overdrive, my belly is craving Rubio’s fried shrimp tacos (sigh) and Vien Dong Restaurant’s cha ca Thang Long (sizzling dill and tumeric fish dish) (longer sigh) from southern California. Luckily, I’ve been able to find enough ingredients here in Belgium to appease some of my hankerings. While visiting my adoptive family in Namur, I’ve had a lot of fun preparing a few VN dishes that they’ve come to love as much, if not more, than I do. At a local Turkish market we found produce and herbs like cilantro, mint, and scallions. I think we were only missing the bean sprouts:
The rice noodle and fish sauce all came from a nearby Thai store (where we also bought tumeric powder for my beloved cha ca dish)…
The rest of the ingredients like pork and shrimp came from the local market, and on a mini grill…
we made enough Bun Tom Thit Nuong (or in my case just bun tom nuong) to last for three days:
Unfortunately I’m banned from eating any more shrimp. I have some kind of allergy to them and am suffering from the dreaded fat finger symptoms. Right hand only. Weird, I know. I’ve been to the doctor for this problem a few times before because my fingers swell up to two times their regular size, turn a weird color, and don’t bend, and her sole professional medical advice is: stop eating shrimp! You can see why I just self-medicate now. But my antihistamines are not working so I’ll be substituting fake meat for this dish next time. Anyway, I’m just glad I was in charge of cooking instead of dishwashing.
Since we’re on the subject of eating and grocery shopping on the road, let me share some things I photographed at a recent big outdoors Saturday market.
There were vendors of produce, meat, cheese, and even clothing everywhere. I can’t say I have much of a sweet tooth but when I see beautiful chocolates I just want to collect them:
Who am I kidding! I wanted to stuff my face!
On this particular Saturday it was Valentine’s Day so the flower section was especially lively:
Besides architecture and pearls I think I could spend hours looking at flowers. The blush calla lilies below are one of my favorites:
Here are some more unusual vegetables I don’t see often or ever at home. The first one tastes like a white carrot:
See you in the next blog. I’m going back to my breakfast tartine now while fantasizing about a bowl of bun tau hu ky from Pho 79 in Alhambra, California. Longest sigh.
Tags: basil, bun tau hu ky, bun tom thit nuong, calla lillies, cha ca, chocolates, cilantro, Namur, Pho 79, tumeric, vietnamese
I’ve blogged before about how Namur has one of the most magnificent citadels left in the world. From the top of the hill you can see the entire city below, laid out along the Meuse River.
Walking around the grounds amidst the medieval ruins is a walk back in time. In the summer the medieval festival is recreated here, but the torch walk in the winter is truly an experience not to be missed. You can sign up for just the walk for 10 Euros or the entire soiree which combines the promenade with a medieval banquet for 50 Euros. Participants meet up at the Chateau des Comtes…
and are handed a waxy torch:
Around 6.30pm some bonfires are lit for us to light our individual torches–here’s a video of me struggling to light mine…c’mon baby, light my fire!
Then we begin our walk around then down the hill:
In case you’re thinking it might be dangerous to be in close proximity with so many torches on a windy night, you are correct. One woman actually sets my sleeve on fire by bumping into me with her torch and for a few seconds I think I might go up in flames. Luckily I put out the fire and there’s only slight damage to my jacket. I’m disturbed but it could have been worse; plus it’s the kind of travel mishap that I always seem to encounter then laugh about later.
At each stop there is a character in costume, speaking in Old French, telling stories about life in general back at that time. In this segment, the guy is a laborer who talks about the difficulties of making ends meet and explains how the expression travailler en noir came to exist.
The next stop is the highlight of the night–sword and flame fighting between knights and mercenaries. Before and during certain fights they explain that the armors worn are replicated in the same material and thus are as heavy to wear today as originally. Some armors weigh more than 30 kg. In pitch darkness, way above the city on this hill, the fights look like a ballet of torches, performed to the music of metal striking metal.
My favorite battle is with a young woman!
Following some 30 minutes at this spectacle, we meet up with a Count who gives an account of what it is to live obliviously, prosperously at the castle, far from the maddening crowd in the village below (note the racoon fur collar of his costume):
He even reads us a poem written about his love for the Meuse. We are then asked to extinguish our flames…
then he leads us back inside the castle, and down in the cellar is a museum displaying relics from centuries ago:
As we walk through the rooms I can’t stop thinking what a fabulous apartment this would make!
Here’s an actual chain mesh top as seen earlier on one of the knights:
Back on the main floor of the chateau there are displays documenting the chronology of the citadel. This stump shows some tools used to make coins:
By now we are starving. In cold weather I think it really is possible to eat hourly. When we get inside the banquet hall, our hands are washed as we’ll be eating with our hands as in the medieval times–I find out we’ll also be sharing food with each other, strangers or not!
I’m lucky that when we went to get our tickets to this event on Friday morning, the coordinator arranged to have the caterer provide me with a special (no meat) meal. The room is lit by candlelight and music played with traditional instruments completes the ambiance:
Before each course is served, the hostess explains the ingredients and cooking method used. The next photos are of dishes made with items found in the area from the 13th-14th century, which means heavy on cannelle and light on salt:
There were red wine (hypocras) and honey-flavored white wine and home brewed beer (which is particularly bitter):
This was the meat plate–full of fragrant mushrooms, almonds and cranberries:
Here’s mine with salmon, which was indeed found in the Meuse back in the day:
My vegetables include spinach sauteed with onions and a raw sauce consisting of crushed almonds, garlic, basil, and parsley. Typically, fish dishes were always accompanied by an uncooked sauce. For dessert there is black nougat sweetened not by sugar but honey. There is also gauffre with a creme frite that does not taste anything like today’s Belgian waffle. Sugar does not make its appearance till the 19th century, and supposedly we used to consume 1kg of sugar annually whereas it’s closer to 40kg now!
This has been a really cool experience shared with dear friends. I’m actually behind in blogging about the one great snowy day I had in Belgium this past week, but that will have to wait because I’m packing my bags. Wait till you see where I pop up next!
Tags: almond, cannelle, Citadelle, gauffre, hypocras, knight, medieval, Namur, torch walk, travailler en noir
