Paris, Paris, Paris, Paris ... How Many Times Must I Type It to Show I Love It?

So all I've been hearing since I've moved to Brussels is: "Paris is only an hour twenty on the train." Clearly, everyone here in Brussels great appreciates its strategic traveling location, just as I do. With Sheelah here to visit, we decided it would be a good idea to hop on the Thalys and head to Paris for the weekend.

Beautiful sculpture and flowers in the Jardin du Luxembourg on the Left Bank

After enjoying the free wine and food on the first class train (summer sale ... actually cheaper than second), we arrived to a gorgeous Friday afternoon in Paris. Lovely, warm, sunny ... so much nicer than we expected. Once we checked into our hotel on the Left Bank, we strolled through the Jardin du Luxembourg and then headed to Notre Dame to meet Jim, my fancy-schmancy friend who just happened to be spending an entire week in Paris for work (I am seriously jealous of him and his work travel, if you must know. Next stop - Croatia!). We met Jim and headed toward the Centre Pompidou to sit at a cafe and people watch. I didn't take any pictures, but trust me, if you are in Paris, go there to people watch. It is great. Also, we had this awesome smoked salmon on pancakes with creme fresh. It may sound odd but it was delicious. The Parisian version of bagels and lox.

Their future is so bright, they've gotta wear shades. Does anyone else remember that episode of Head of the Class where they made a music video to that song? I always think of that when I hear that song.

And then came my favorite part of the day ... the most awesome Parisian celebrity sighting ever. Yes, when we were over in the Left Bank having drinks and dinner, I looked up and saw Julie Delpy walk by. I love Julie Delpy. I love Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. I love 2 Days in Paris. And as Amanda knows, I love Killing Zoe. I couldn't think of a better celebrity sighting to have in Paris. Maybe Carla Bruni? But really, I love Julie Delpy so I was super excited.

Bonjour, Julie! If only you were still dating the Hebrew Hammer ... dare to dream.

So what to do after dinner in Paris? Visit the Eiffel Tower, of course! La Tour was beautiful, lit up to celebrate the EU (Sarko is really enjoying the EU French Presidency). We took pics, had a lovely after dinner drink in the Trocadero, and made our way home to prepare for a full Saturday in Paris. The pics didn't come out super well, so I can't show you La Tour. But here is a pic of me and Sheelah.

So the rest of the weekend was fun, but also a comedy of errors. We saw a cool exhibit of Richard Avedon photos; had drinks at Le Fumoir with my colleague James and his girlfriend Sabine (she lives in Paris ... again, jealous); and had one of the best meals I've ever had at a tiny little bistro near Place des Vosges. I also ran into a poll while reading a map and have the most disgusting bruise ever; was allergic to the sheets on my bed and had to sleep on the floor to stop itching; and had a panic attack on the ferris wheel in the Tuilleries (note to self: ferris wheels scare you to death ... DO NOT RIDE). But other than that, Paris is great fun. Can't wait to go back to meet my Mom and Dad there in two and half weeks! I leave you with my favorite statue in Jardin du Luxembourg.

If I am so pretty, why am I made of stone?

A Cultural Tradition: The Flower Carpet

On Thursday, Sheelah arrived for a week-long visit from NYC. And she was just in time to see one of the most famous events in Brussels ... the Flower Carpet. Every other year, for one weekend only, they cover the Grand Place in this amazing carpet of flowers.

On the night it opens (which was this past Thursday), there is a big "opening ceremony." We missed the fireworks display, but we were there to see the light show synchronized with classical music. It was pretty cool ... and pretty lucky that it happened this year so that we were able to see it.

We were trying to figure out how all the flowers remain in place, but when you look closer, you see that it is petals, not full flowers. But again, still no clue how it stays down. That doesn't matter though ... it is still pretty impressive.

The Benefits of Winning a Gold for Belarus

From this morning's European Voice:

Athletes who get their hand on Olympic medals will get rewards, often financial ones, when they come back to their respective home countries. The Belarusian athletes who return back from Beijing with a gold medal around their necks can also expect a life-time supply of sausages, according to a Belarusian meat company. “We haven’t really figured out how we will solve it practically but I suppose that we have to send them a package of sausages once or twice a month, said the CEO of the company. He also added that they will listen to the gold medallists’ specific demands on sausage flavours. Belarus claimed two Olympic gold medals in the 2004 Olympics.

Lex aux Bruxelles

Well, my first official visitor arrived on Sunday, August 10th ... and she stayed for a mere 24 hours. Yes ladies and gentlemen, the lovely Ms. Alexious Butler stopped in Brussels on her way to Liberia to spend the day with me. We drank Belgian beer, walked around, drank Belgian beer, saw Manneken Pis, drank Belgian beer, took a nap, drank champagne and went out to dinner. It was fantastic to see her.

Here's Lex with the Hotel de Ville in the background.

And here she is enjoying a glass of wine at my apartment! Yay!

Belgium: The Most "Successful 'Failed-State' of All Time"

It is a bit difficult for a foreigner to understand just how much the Flemish and Wallonians dislike each other here in Belgium, but this article from Monday's New York Times does a pretty good job of shedding light on the struggle over language, identity and culture taking place here.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/04/arts/04abro.html?ex=1218513600&en=87dd9c6ad139530b&ei=5070&emc=eta1

Can't they all just get along?

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 ...