Lucky Number 33 in Brussels

Such a treat to spend my 33rd birthday with my new friends in Brussels. Rebecca, Kathrin and Sheila made sure I had a wonderful day. Rebecca brought me breakfast, Sheila sent me beautiful flowers as she was in Seattle and unable to participate in person, and Rebecca and Kathrin planned a really special night for me.

Kathrin, Rebecca and I began the night with cocktails at the Metropole. Hotel Metrople is one of those Brussels establishments ... a gorgeous fin de siecle space that is totally classy and over the top.

The beautiful Ms. Eichel at Metropole.

The sexy and mysterious Ms. Rebecca Brown.

And that's me, laughing my ass off in my beautiful Josep Font dress. Love it!

After drinks, we had a really lovely dinner (not at La Manufacture as planned, but at a nice little Italian joint). The girls made me a huge birthday table and gave me my gifts and a little cake. Rebecca gave me a very "me" ring and Kathrin gave me a Berlin city guide (we are going this weekend!). I'll admit it, I cried. I love my Biscuits and Dr. Eichel!!!!

Me and my Biscuits at my birthday dinner.

After dinner, we headed to Zebra Bar to meet up with other friends. The night went on and on ... I believe I arrived home at 4:30 am with a kebab from the Sultans of Kebab in tow. It was a blast ... and I don't feel a day over 25!

John and Dragan were there to celebrate.

So was Filippo.

And my crazy friend Eva!

And the adorable Zoe!

Paris: Third Time is a Charm

Ms. Kerry O'Brien graced Europe with her presence a few weeks ago and the main event was a long weekend in Paris. For years, Kerry has been talking about visiting the Rungis market. Rungis is a huge, huge, HUGE market on the outskirts of Paris that is the main purveyor of meat, fish, vegetables, and flowers to the restaurants and shops of Paris. They only are open to the public on the second Friday of every month for 6 am tour. Yes, I said 6 am. After waking up at 4:45, taking a cab to the bus depot, and taking a bus out to the market, we joined our tour at 6 am. I wish I had photos, but I can tell you that there were massive amounts of cows hanging on hooks, entire buildings of gorgeous looking vegetables, and a dead rabbit or two to keep you awake throughout the tour. While it wasn't totally my thing, it was a cool experience (especially when our French tour guide tried to blame Kerry and I as the Americans on the tour for ruining the Camembert industry) that I'm happy to have been a part of. Glad Kerry got to do Rungis.




As it was her birthday, I wanted to make sure Kerry and I did something memorable in Paris. So I booked us a table at the Moulin Rouge.

If you've never been, do yourself a favor and go. Not because the dancing is so great. And not because the girls are scantily clad (if you are into that sort of thing). Go for the live ponies. Seriously people, they bring live ponies on stage during one of the numbers. It is awesome. Plus, they have these bizarre intermission acts with bad ventriloquists, poor magicians, and the best acrobats you've ever seen in your life. The half bottle of champagne you get helps with enjoyment of the show. But really, Moulin Rouge is awesome. Definitely something to see ... and not that bullshit movie with Nicole Kidman and Ewan MacGregor I've fallen asleep during three times.

In addition to Rungis and Moulin Rouge, I had a great time during my last weekend in Paris. Galleries Lafayette and Le Printemps already had done there windows up for Christmas. I shopped all day in the 5th, bought a lovely coat and contemplated (but wisely decided against) buying something at Catherine Malandrino. And on Sunday, I hung out in a cool flea market and the Marais. Ate a delcious strudel-type thing from one of the Jewish bakeries and generally fell in love with Paris all over again.

Warning to everyone who cares ... I am definitely moving to Paris.

The World's Biggest Beer Festival

Oktoberfest ... for people who like to party, it is a must-do. The drinking starts at sunrise, the beers are huge and nobody bats an eyelash if you take a nap at the beer hall.

Even the Germans take a break from their beer for a few minutes.

Oktoberfest was actually much different than I expected. If you are from the Midwest, you've probably been to your fair share of county or state fairs, and that is pretty much what Oktoberfest is like. There are lots of rides, midway games ... oh, and gigantic beer "tents" where thousands of people are drinking liters of beer, eating sausages and pretzels and singing drinking songs.

Me and Mandy at Oktoberfest!

I'm a bit late in writing this recap so instead of giving you a play-by-play, I'll let you know the key takeaways my trip to Oktoberfest with Mandy, Molly and Nicole left me with. In no particular order ...

1. "Spaetzel" and "pretzel" sound very similar to a waiter whose native language is German. Don't be surpised when you get one when you think you've ordered the other.

2. There is a reason that Hofbrau House is the most famous beer hall in the world. It is one of the most fun places I've ever been.

3. Amanda Gaeta Shields is the funniest person I know. I already knew this, having been friends with her for 15 years, but this trip just reconfirmed it.

Mandy G-S, playing coy with the camera

4. It is perfectly acceptable to drink (drink, not eat) at a Hard Rock Cafe in a foreign country if all other bars are closed.

5. Clooney wins 99.9% of the time in a game of "Would You Rather." (This may not hold true in a game dominated by 20 year olds ... but it is true of the 30 and over set.)

6. Molly Monentaro does a GREAT Irish accent. Also, it is astounding how many f-bombs an Irish man will drop in a conversation. But since "feckin" isn't a bad word in American English, you start to overlook it after a while.

Mother of two and champion beer drinker.

7. Italian men like two things -- shiny shirts and making an entrance.

8. Sometimes there really are only two choices ... chicken or duck.

9. It is perfectly acceptable to have inappropriate thoughts about men in lederhosen. In fact, it is expected at Oktoberfest.

10. Never drinks 3 liters of beer on an empty stomache!

Show us how it's done, Nicole.

Bottom line, if you ever have the opportunity to roadtrip to Munich for Oktoberfest with 3 of your best friends from college, do it.

Return to Champagne

This past week saw the arrival of my girlfriends from college. After a few cancelled flights and lost luggage, Amanda, Molly and Nicole were prepared to take Europe by storm. Their itinerary was a harrowing one for one week -- Brussels, Paris, Champagne and the coup d'etat, a road trip from Brussels to Munich to experience the one and only Oktoberfest.

As I only have so many vacation days left, my plan was to see the girls off on their day trips to Paris and Champagne and then join them for Oktoberfest. But who am I kidding? I may be able to resist another trip to Paris, but if you dangle Champagne in front of me, my will power collapses. On Wednesday morning, we set off for Champagne to tour a couple of champagne houses and most importantly for me, purchase more bottles from the petit maisons of the region to experience all Champagne has to offer.

Me, Nicole, Amanda and Molly sampling the goods at Pommery

We didn't get on the road as early as expected (a combination of jet lag and wine tasting that warranted extra sleep) so we only had the chance to visit one champagne house -- Pommery. While I am a big fan of Pommery (especially their Bland de Noir), the tour can best be described as odd. Apparently, Madame Pommery was quite the art enthusiast. Therefore, they've turned the cellars into an extensive modern art exhibit. Pommery = short on detailed information about the champagne-making process, long on progressive, interactive art pieces. If the tour represented Madame Pommery's life, I can't help but believe it was pretty idyllic.

164 steps to the bottom of the cave. Good thing they only gave us one glass of champagne prior to the tour.

So we toured Pommery, visited the Cathedral at Reims (see my previous post on Champagne for pics), and did a little champagne shopping. I should be able to host a few nice champagne tastings in the coming months.

When leaving Champagne, buckle up for safety! No drink driving allowed!

I'm still alive ... Brussels hasn't done me in yet

A month? Really? It has been a month since my last post? Apologies to those of you who've been following Mogo A Go-Go. Things have been hectic here in cold, rainy northern Europe this September, with lots of visits from family and friends from the States and my general dedication to having as much fun as possible while I'm here. I've been here almost 4 months. Yikes! Only two more to go ...




So where did we leave off? After meeting Mom and Dad in Paris the first weekend of September, I got to host them here in Brussels the following weekend. We had surprisingly good weather (most of the time) for their visit. We did the hop-on, hop-off bus tour of Brussels, visited the medival wonderland of Bruges, and had some really delicious meals everywhere we went. For those of you who've seen In Bruges ... yes, I climbed to the top of the tower in Bruges' town square and lived to tell the tale. Fortunately for me, there were no British gangsters trying to kill each other on the very narrow, very winding staircase up the tower. [Note to those you you haven't seen In Bruges: Put it in your Netflix queue tout de suite. Highly entertaining flick and one of Ralph Fiennes most surprising roles.] Anyways, it was awesome to have my parents come visit and cool to know that they've now gotten to visit Europe!



One of the highlights of September in Belgium is that muscles are now in season. I'm eating them as often as possible. And yes, they're way better here than they are in the U.S. Of course, I am looking forward to re-testing the muscles at Brasserie Beck once I'm back in D.C.

My lovely pot of muscles serves as both dinner and a refreshing steam.

Why is Patsy in Norway?

I am watching a BBC special where Joanna Lumley (aka Patsy Stone) goes to Norway to see the Northern Lights. Why? Britain is seriously starving for people to put on TV. I am moving there and becoming a famous TV presenter. She did just say though, "If there is one word associated with Norway, it is FJORD." I couldn't agree more, Pats.

Go on, have a lovely drink, have a lovely ciggie. It is cold up there!

Mom and Dad in Paris!

For someone who tends to expect the unexpected, I can safely say I never expected for my parents to go on a trip to Europe ... much less to be there to meet them when they got there. But that is exactly what happened on Saturday. After they spent four days in London, I hopped the Thalys (only and hour and 20 minutes from Brussels!) and met them in Paris!!!!

I wish I had pictures ... looks like I am going to have to buy a new camera ... but those will come later once my mom sends me her photos. I arrived at my parent's hotel (about a 10 minute walk to the Eiffel Tower) around 2 and expected them to be waiting. But alas, no sign of the Golgas. So I sat down at the bar and enjoyed a glass of champagne while I waited. I can't tell you how excited I was when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw my dad walk across the hotel lobby. The bartender thought I was crazy when I shrieked and ran out of the bar, all of my stuff still sitting there. It was excellent to see them. Surreal, but excellent. It was too late for lunch so we headed off for a river boat tour of the Seine. The tour was relaxing and the weather was beautiful so we enjoyed it immensely. And after relaxing at the hotel a bit, we had dinner at my favorite restaurant in Paris (thank your Mr. Rosenberg), Le Petit Marche. When I ate there a few weeks ago with Jim and Sheelah, I knew I would have to take my parents there. My mom loves nothing more than a great creme brullee, and I swore it was the best I've ever had. My mom agreed. We had an amazing dinner. The food was splendid; the staff was super friendly and welcoming; and it was great to spend time with my mom and dad in Paris.

My curse of no sleep in Paris marches on though ... last time I was allergic to the bedsheets, this time I was allergic to my mom and dad's snoring. It was a struggle to get out of bed this morning but while mom and dad were out on their bus tour, I walked down the Seine to the Musee d'Orsay, home to the great Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters and sculptures. I always find it odd when tourists take pictures of themselves in front of famous painters but alas, it was very enjoyable. I had a quick lunch with mom and dad before they headed off for a tour of Versailles and then I walked and did a bit of shopping (Brussels does not have a Sephora ... I've got to visit them when I have a chance). One Croque Madame and a beer later, I got on the train and am now back in Brussels. Mom and dad have another day in Paris and then are off to Amsterdam before they come to Brussels next weekend. I've already got lots of stuff planned so I hope it is as fun as I imagine!