Belgium by Bike

Rebecca and I have been talking about buying bikes, so on Thursday night, we went finally did it. I now have a pink and grey 18-speed city bike, reminiscent of my first real bike -- a pink and grey Huffy 10-speed. Either bikes haven't changed that much in 20 years, or I have the same taste as I did when I was a 10 year-old. No, I think the real problem is that I refuse to spend over $500 on a bike so I'm stuck with what is in my price range!

Our motivation to buy bikes was the gorgeous weather we have had this week. We decided that if we bought bikes, we'd bike out to Waterloo this weekend. And that is exactly what we did today. We set off on the 18 km ride (about 11 miles) to Waterloo at about 1 pm. The ride is really nice ... most of it is through la Bois de la Cambre and le Foret de Soignes, two beautiful parks/nature reserves that begin in Brussels and spread out into the suburbs.

Unfortunately, the trip was not without complications. Both of us had some issues with the seats on our bikes, but thanks to Rebecca, we sorted that out after a few stops trying to fix them. The thing we couldn't fix without help though was the flat tire I go half way through the forest. However, we got very lucky and found a great bike shop as soon as we got out of the forest. We had to wait for about an hour ... which we put to good use eating sweets at a bakery across from the bike shop. But for a small fee of 12 euros, my tire was fixed and we continued on our journey.

We finally arrived in Waterloo about 4 hours after we began, but it was well worth it. See that hill in the background? That is the monument to the Battle of Waterloo. It is called the Butte de Lion ... there is a giant lion statue at the top of it.

At the top, you can look out and see the countryside and imagine how the fateful battle ue nfolded. And of course, there are re-enactors! They promised to show us how to load and fire a musket, but they also promised us it took a long time, so after climbing to the top, we decided to head back to Brussels.

So while it took us 4 hours to get there, it only took us just over an hour to get home to Brussels, all bike parts working up to standard.

The trip was fantastic. We had the weird experience of actually being in Belgium while we were riding, stopping at bike shops, and visiting Waterloo. Brussels is just a city ... it could be anywhere ... and with its dual Flemish/French identity, it doesn't have much identity. But being out in Waterloo, which really is just a suburb of Brussels, it really felt like we were in Belgium proper.

I'm so glad we made the trip and now I'm looking forward to planning more bike trips. If the weather is nice next weekend, I think my bike and I will be hopping a train to Oostende to see the Belgian beach.

More Champagne, s'il vous plait!

This was one of the best weekends I've had in Europe so far ... amazing weather, beautiful countryside and lots o' delicious champagne! After renting a car and figuring out how to drive an European version of an automatic transmission, my friend Carson and I were off for a roadtrip to the Champagne region of France.

Champagne is conveniently located 2 and 1/2 hours from Brussels. Our first stop was Reims, where we began the weekend with a tour of the caves at Mumm. A very educational tour and three tastings later (Cramant, Grand Cru and a Rose), I left with a delicious bottle of Grand Cru and great early afternoon buzz.

Next stop was the Cathedral at Reims ... a beautiful Gothic cathedral. They were in the process of cleaning the Cathedral when we were there, so we were able to see the difference. Pretty stunning ...

Also stunning were the Marc Chagall windows above the nave. Chagall is my absolute favorite artist ... it was a real treat to see some of his work in real life.

After a lovely lunch in view of the Cathedral, we headed to Taittinger for a tour and tasting. The term 'nouveau riche" definitely applies to Taittinger. It was trying so hard to be classy and project the 'champagne' image of luxury, it ended up just coming off as clumsy and uninterested in trying to connect with the potential customers coming in to see there caves. Oh well, there are a million other champagne houses to visit. Off we were to Epernay!

Epernay is a drive over the Montange de Reims about 35 minutes. You drive through a nature preserve to get to this gorgeous little village ... really lovely. We spent the evening drinking perhaps too much champagne on a nice little terrace and then at a champagne shop down the road from our hotel. After sleeping off the champagne, we got up bright and early for a tour and tasting at Moet & Chandon.

Now Moet & Chandon is like the Microsoft of the champagne industry. They are big, they are bad, and everyone feels like they prevent small maisons from breaking into the marketplace. But really ... we were in Epernay, how could we not go to Moet? The tour ended up being really great. And after three cave tours, I think I have a really firm grasp on how champagne is made and why I like the champagnes I like. My favorite fun fact from Moet & Chandon: their best selling champagne -- the Brut Imperial -- isn't sold in the U.S. Americans don't like it cause it isn't sweet enough, so they make the White Star just for the Amerian market. And the you don't even want to know how much sugar is in the Nectar Imperial (my favorite). I am going to just forget that and continue to enjoy it anyways.

Before we headed home to Brussels (so sad), I made some significant purchases from some local petite maisons de champagne and then we went for an amazing drive through the vineyards. I can't even tell you how gorgeous it was. It was exactly what I wanted from the weekend ... just being out in the country, in the vineyards, and experiencing what Champagne country is all about. We drove through dozens of little villages and saw hundreds of vineyards. It was very cool. And I know I will return ...

Why Belgium Sucks #2: It Isn't France

Even Mary and the Angel on the Cathedral at Reims are in on the joke. They know France is amazing and they are laughing at their good fortune of being trapped there for eternity.

No wonder Belgians have such chips on their shoulders! Wouldn't you if you lived next door to one of the most beautiful countries in the world?

This Is the Best They Can Do?

Today is Belgian National Day. It is July 21, 2008. I wore a turtleneck, raincoat and scarf to the parade. Belgium truly is a summer lover's paradise.

Carson took a break from her studies to accompany me to the parade. Thank god she came with me cause the snark just wouldn't have been as fun solely in my head ... I needed someone to share it with.

The Belgian National Day parade consists of, from what we could tell, the entire Belgian military participating in a parade. It took about 10 minutes. No, really, we saw about 45 minutes of the parade, at which time it appeared they decided to divert the parade route down a different road. Who knows? Maybe we were on the French-speaking route and the second half of the parade had to go down the Flemish-speaking route? Good to keep the separation alive, otherwise they might actually form a functioning government!

So what did we see at the military parade? We saw the Belgian Navy's inflatable speed boat. We saw some military planes fly overhead ... which was actually pretty cool ... especially when a few of the fighters let out yellow, red and black exhaust. (Didn't get a picture, you'll have to look at the helicopters ...)

We saw a dazzling array of military men and women in various colored dickies. I have no idea why, but every order of the Belgian military forces their people to wear a black, white, blue, yellow, white with emblem, etc. dickie.

We also saw some lovely plumed headgear. And because we are everywhere, of course there were was a small American military contigent in the parade. I think someone must have promised them free waffles and frites with real all-American ketchup at the end ... they looked extremely bored.

After trudging home in the cold and rain from the parade, I cooked a lovely dinner, did laundry and discovered my new favorite TV show. On BBC Two, there is a show called "Dragon's Den." This may be my favorite reality show ever. Every day entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to five self-made multimillionaires looking to invest in new products ... and then the multimillionaires either tear the entrepreneurs to shreds or bid against one another to invest in the idea. This is what The Apprentice should be. Instead of a bunch of Trump-indulgent, marketing-focused "challenges," this is as close to reality as you can get to demonstrating the success or failure of entrepreneurs on TV. LOVE it. And of course, love the blunt British manner of the investors.

I Heart Flanders: The Ghent Festival

My lovely friend Rebecca and I headed to Ghent yesterday to visit the Ghent Festival ... also known as "10 Days Off". The city literally shuts down and parties for 10 days. Needless to say, it was fantastic.

Ghent is a gorgeous little university town about 30 minutes by train outside of Brussels. Old stone castles, beautiful rivers, old beautiful guild houses ... you can definitely feel the history walking through the streets. It is in Flanders though so speaking French is a gigantic faux-pas. I spent the entire day not feeling bad about speaking English ... I think that may be a first since I arrived in Europe over a month ago.

The festival was really great. You basically just walk the streets and everytime you turn a corner and come to a new square, there is another stage playing great music. The biggest stage ... sponsored by Pole Pole ... was constructed over the river. Rebecca and I had a few (too many) mojitos and danced for a while by this stage.

In addition to listening to music and dancing, we wandered the town, made some great purchases at a very hip boutique that had its own DJ playing Dr. Dre and Rage Against the Machine (I felt like I was back in LA), and sipped homemade spirits at a bar on the river. I had the lychee flavor - yum!

I had one of those "I can't believe I am living in Europe" moments while we were waiting for the train back to Brussels at midnight. The moon was almost full ... the weather had been surprisingly great all day long ... and when a train pulled up heading to Bruges and Oostende, I had this overwhelming feeling to hop the tracks and get on that train. But then I remembered I can go anytime I want cause I am here for another five months! Yay!

Next up ... my friend Carson and I are spending next weekend in Champagne. Look out France!

I live in a country with no government

Literally, no government. The government resigned last night. Apparently, the Flemish speakers and the French speakers like each other less than Simon Cowell likes Ryan Seacrest ... but don't even bother to disguise it behind thinly veiled jokes.

http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/2008/07/1319/belgian-government-resigns/61697.aspx

4th of July in Europe

What better way to spend the 4th of July than in London eating fish, chips and mashy peas? Yes, I shook off the shackles of America's oppressors by enjoying the finest cuisine and beer (not pictured) they have to offer! And shopping and partying, of course!

Before heading to London on the Eurostar (2 hours ... it is ridiculously close) Friday afternoon, my colleagues and I celebrated the 4th of July in Brussels by feasting on burgers and fries at the local American sports bar, Fat Boys. Yes, it is called Fat Boys. The burgers aren't particularly good, but apparently it is the place to watch American football when the season starts so it will probably be fun to go there on Sundays in the Fall and hang out with other Americans.

I went to London to hang out with my friend Justin who is there working for Feds. I would tell you about how amazing his apartment in Marlybone is, but I am still oozing with jealousy and don't think I can bring myself to.

As luck would have it, the weekend I visited was Gay Pride, so we got to see the parade I missed in D.C. The guy in the photo below was my favorite spectator. He had some weird oven mitt he turned into an alligator, fastened on a stick, that he would snap at all the people who went by. It was ridiculous and totally entertaining. At least he was having fun and not hurting anyone.

On Saturday night, Justin and his roommates hosted a birthday party for a friend's 40th birthday (happy b-day Willie!) and it was loads of fun. Lots of fashion people, lots of fabulous gay men, lots of champagne, and me realizing that my tolerance has dramatically decreased and crawling into bed WAY before the party came to an end. C'est la vie!

Sunday, I spent the day wandering London and shopping. I went to Spitalfields market, Brick Lane, walked along the Thames and shopped on the Portobello Road. Yes, I bought some very fab jewelry (which should come as no surprise to anyone) but I mostly bought books (the English language bookshop in Brussels is tres cher). My favorite purchases are a tie between Russell Brand's autobiography and a guide to the wine regions of France. I am laughing my way through "My Booky Wook" and planning my first visit to French wine country. Delightful!

London is such an amazing city. Everyone says Brussels is such an international city ... and it really is ... but there is nowhere more international than London. It is just a crush of people speaking every langauge under the sun, of every nationality, of every class, and of every walk of life. I almost felt out of place speaking English there. I would LOVE to go back to Brick Lane and spend another day at the Sunday market. Brick Lane is known for being the center of Bengal life in London (there is a great novel called "Brick Lane" if you are interested and someone told me they are making it into a movie). Amidst all of the Bengal shops, they've got food stalls with every cuisine you can imagine ... Russian, Japanese, Chinese, French, Turkish ... anything you want. Definitely my kind of place ...