Exploring Belguim

Last Wednesday we had dinner in Mons. The city's main plaza was beautifully decorated with Christmas lights and in the center of the plaza there was a small skating rink. We had to wait for the restaurant to open at 7pm so we walked around and stopped at a cafe to have some hot chocolate and vin chaud.


We had dinner at a really nice restaurant where we barely understood the menu. The menu changes frequently so whatever is being served that night is written on a chalk board in French. The waiter spoke very little English but we managed to order. The food was very rich. Most of the dishes were fried and had lots of cheese. My poor body has been in such shock. I rarely eat white carbs or fried food but I suppose I should indulge while out here and try everything I can at least once no matter how much Lipitor I'll be needing after.





















Last Thursday we were back in Brussels to see the Atomium, which was something that Ron wanted to see. I had no idea what to expect and I was very impressed with the structure. There was a huge line to get in so we decided to skip going inside.

We took the subway to get back into the heart of the city and stumbled upon another Christmas Market. I tried escargot because I heard that it was a very popular among the locals and I heard them talking about it on the travel channel. I had a few bites before I tossed it. I just couldn't deal with the fact that I was eating snails. Yuck!!!!

After my escargot experience, I wanted to eat something that I knew would be delicious: french fries. Out here in Belguim the french fries are fried twice. They were pretty good but I still think In N Out fries are the best.

We then headed for a chocolatier were I tried a Russian Latte. It was like a cafe latte: warm, milky, and delicious. This particular chocolatier was really quaint because they sold chocolate truffles and pralines and it was also a coffee shop at the small time.
Before returning back to the train station we went to a fine dining restaurant. Ron introduced Ty and I to foie gras. It's considered one of the greatest delicacies in French cuisine. Knowing what I know now about foie gras, I'm not so sure that I would have tried it. It's acutally the liver of a duck or a goose that has been specially fattened by force feeding through a tube placed in the animal's esophagus. Poor little ducks!!!! The French obviously don't care. We saw foie gras being sold at the Christmas markets everywhere.



The next day we visited the medieval city of Brugge in Northern Belguim. They had a really interesting Ice Sculpture exhibit that we went to check out.


We walked around the city's main square and then went to another chocolate museum. I tried chocolate again and I still found it disgusting. Ughhhhh!!!! Ron was pretending to force feed it to me in the museum's lobby. It was pretty funny. I definitely know that I don't like it considering that Belguim makes the finest chocolate in the world.
We left Brugge when it started to rain. Acutally it was more like a down pour. I wore my running sneakers and my poor feet were soaked walking back to the train station. I woke up the next day with a sore throat.


According to Dr. Tapia's strict ordersI have been gargling with warm salt water and it really has helped. Last night for New Year's Eve we had wine, cooked, and played cards and Pictionary. We watched the countdown in German where there were thousands of people in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. It was so strange because they had a huge clock on the TV screen. We toasted with champagne at midnight and Tylene and I, on our attempt to keep traditions alive, ate 12 grapes and made a wish before eating each one. I have a feeling that 2007 is going to be a great year with new beginnings and adventures. Bonne Année