Izegem

I have never seen this many people that look like me before.

Yesterday, after we popped back over to Groeningemuseum to pick up a puzzle that I decided I wanted, we got on the road Izegem, the town my mom was born in. The drive wasn’t too long and we were soon pulling into the parking lot of the only hotel in town, where my dad was just leaving, which was very handy since we didn’t really have a solid plan on meeting up. We dropped bags and Dad took us over to the Markt where my mom and sister were prowling the aisles of the market. While not as large as the Ghent market, it looked like some of the trucks were the same, supporting EDP’s theory that the large vendors just drive from market to market. After a quick circuit, we saw my mom’s cousin and her SO, who we were meeting for an aperitif and lunch.

After intros, which included the first widening of the eyes at how much I resemble my mother, we got settled onto a lovely little patio with drinks all around. We learned how to properly say “thank you” in Flemish (I KNEW google was wrong when it said it was “merci'“) and also learned that Flemish doesn’t have a written language! My mom’s cousin explained that kids learn Dutch in school, that Flemish is just something that’s spoken and that when someone from West Flanders is on TV, like on the news, it has to get subtitled because folks in Antwerp won’t understand what they are saying. This was an entirely fascinating learning and explains why I couldn’t get some Flemish basics on duolingo before we left. After our aperitif, we headed just down the road for lunch, where I obviously had cheese croquettes and we had a rousing conversation about croquettes and the potato ones that we used to have on holidays at my mother’s parents’ house.

After lunch, we headed over to the local Coscto equivalent to pick up some snacks for today’s meet-and-greet and then we were dropped off at pétanque facility, where my great-aunt and great-uncle were in a tournament or maybe just enjoying a Saturday afternoon game? I’m not entirely sure. Pétanque was very similar to bocce and we definitely got a glare from one of the players when we cheered my great-aunt on a little too much for her taste. My great-uncle wasn’t playing so we got to chat with him for a bit. My mom had warned us that no one spoke English so we were expecting to mostly just smile & nod for the time we spent with family - but my great-uncle knew more than enough English for us to have a lovely conversation with him. Once the game had ended, my mom and sister and I walked back to the hotel with my great-aunt, while my dad and EDP hitched a ride back with my great-uncle. We got back to the hotel at about the same time, as they stopped to check out my great-uncle’s champagne cellar. Then, it was time for a little nap before heading back out for the evening to celebrate my great-aunt and great-uncle’s 50th wedding anniversary.

And this anniversary dinner…. Whoa. The place we went to was like having a little share of a huge wedding reception. We were in a private room but there were two large rooms (plus several smaller rooms like ours) with tables seating anywhere from 2 to 10 people. Our group, which included my mom’s other cousin, was tucked into our own room where Cava and Kir Royale were constantly flowing. Our waiter was coming around with a frequency that can only be described as almost constant, topping off glasses the moment a sip was gone. Very quickly, I learned to decline when he was at my place because that Kir Royale was delicious and it was dangerously easy to drink more than you thought you were. As everyone filed in, we met my mom’s other cousin and my second cousins. We also learned there isn’t really a word for cousin in Flemish so they say niece or nephew, which led to some momentary confusion later on when my 18-year-old second cousin mentioned her nephew before we remembered she was talking about her cousin! Anyway, soon our orders for the main course were taken and an amuse bouche was brought around. Not long after that, there was a MASSIVE appetizer buffet where I found my precious cheese croquettes plus many other tasty things to try. That’s when the Cava and Kir Royale transitioned to white wine and I finally felt confident that I could enjoy my Kir Royale without fear of it being topped up when I wasn’t looking. Then, it was onto the main course - there were several options, just like at a wedding, and frankly, the cauliflower would have been worth writing home about if it wasn’t for the fact that my family was all right there. Somewhere in there, red wine started circulating and I doubled down on my vigilance to pay attention to my glass because I didn’t want to lose track of how much I had consumed. Lucky for me, dessert soon followed - in buffet form. It was glorious. There was a billion different kinds of mousse, candy, tiny tarts & pies, and ice cream scooped by someone that I’m pretty sure was running afoul of child labour laws. Obviously, I was in heaven. Once all the food cleared away, the dancing started. And let me tell you, the Flemish (maybe all the Belgians?) really love a good line dance. I did get dragged up for one of them, it was some kind of partnered dance that my mom’s cousin insisted I needed to partake in. She didn’t really seem to know it either so we sort of just bumbled along. We were just starting to get the hang of it when the song ended. Anyway, it was hilarious to see the crowds descend on the dance floor whenever one of these line dances started and then clear right away when the dance was over. My great-aunt and great-uncle even got to have a special anniversary dance, which was lovely. It was such a smart idea for a celebration dinner and we had a great time getting to know the family better. It was a very late night, though - I think I fell asleep in the elevator when we got back to the hotel.

Today was another big day. We started the day off with our mummy-daughter book club - we normally meet in November but with all of us travelling in different directions at different times, we figured we’d make the most of being in the same spot. As per usual, we spent approximately 3.8 minutes talking about the book before moving on to talking about anything else under the sun - in this case, mostly the anniversary dinner. Then, EDP and I went for a bit of a walk to get some fresh air before we all headed over to my great-aunt and great-uncle’s house for a visit to the champagne cellar and an apertif before going to lunch at a spot my mom’s cousin told us about where they had some very special ham, which was very delicious, as were my cheese croquettes. What?! This was our last proper day in Belgium, I had to get them!

Then, it was on to the meet-and-greet. We had sort of a pub-like place, with a bar and lots of tables. It came pre-decorated with lights and was just the right size for my apparently enormous family. So both of my parents are immigrants - both came over as young kids with their parents. On my dad’s side, my gran & grandpa were the only ones who came to Canada but their sisters & brothers scattered all over the place so our family is spread wide & far, though much of it is still in Scotland. But our family in Canada is small. And on my mom’s side, her father & his brother (and wives) came to Canada so my Canadian family on my mom’s side is also small. But their remaining 3 siblings plus the 10 remaining siblings of my mother’s mother are all still in Belgium. All of those tantes and nonkels were invited plus all of their kids and all of their kids’ kids. And a LOT of them came - everyone who was able to, which was almost everyone!

Now, it is no secret that I look like my mom. There are photos of her that I have mistaken for me. When I was young, our neighbour didn’t know my name, so he just called me by my mother’s name. My mother will NEVER be able to deny that I am hers. My sister, on the other hand, looks like my father’s side. There are photos of my aunt that you would swear were of my sister. So each of us strongly resemble family but the opposite sides (and yes, on more than one occasion, we’ve had to answer the question of whether or not we’re sure we’re sisters. We’re sure.) And with this being the first time we’ve met any of my mother’s family, we were introduced to everyone as they came and. And I swear on the stack of boxes of chocolate in my suitcase, it went the exact same with every single person we met…

Mom: This is Tante so-and-so, and her husband such-and-such and they are my insert-relationship-I-forget-two-seconds-after-it-is-out-of-my-mother’s-mouth-because-there-were-too-many-to-remember.
Still Mom: This is my daughter and my other daughter!
Tante so-and-so: AHHHHHH!!!!!
Tante-so-and-so’s eyes widen points at my mother, points at me, points at my mother
Mom: Yes, she looks like me.

Every. Single. Time. Because I look a LOT like my mom. Who looks a LOT like her mother’s side of the family. And it turns out, by the properties of association, that means I look like almost every single tante in the place. It was so weird. I know exactly what my genetic future holds. I think it creeped my sister out a bit, how eerily I looked like everyone else.

Anyway. It was overwhelming to meet so many new relatives at once - we couldn’t keep track of who was who. Luckily, while my mom tried to catch up with everyone, my dad would explain how everyone all fit together, where he could remember. I did draw myself a little family tree at one point because it was too confusing to keep track of. And while most of the tantes and nonkels didn’t speak English, everyone who was under 45 had a very good grasp on English so we were able to have proper conversations and get to know our family better. I know it’s normal for most folks to have big family gatherings but we’ve just never had a lot of family around so it was such a weird and crazy experience for my sister & I. My mom was worried EDP might have been overwhelmed but his family is so big, the second cousins don’t get invited to stuff anymore so it felt nice & cozy to him. But, it was amazing to meet everyone and start to get to know some of them. The time flew by and soon, we were saying good-byes as folks filed out.

We ended our day with a light dinner at a local pub, just a handful of us. After a last drink, we headed back the hotel, saying our goodbyes and promising to come back again soon. Tomorrow, my parents and sister head off to Brussels for a couple of days and then my sister will head off for Antwerp, Ghent and Amsterdam while my parents go back to France for a few days with my great-aunt and great-uncle. EDP and I are heading into Luxembourg tomorrow. It’s a good thing there’s a long drive in the morning. I think I’m going to need to sleep for about three days to recover from the last two. It’s been a very special couple of days and I’m so grateful they happened.

Ghent

Today, we jumped on a train and headed over to Ghent.

It was raining when we left the hotel but since the train station really wasn’t that far away, we figured we’d still just walk over. With the directions plugged into EDP’s phone, we were soon standing in front of something that seemed suspiciously like the train station, except the phone said we still had 7 minutes to walk. So we went inside. And then we were standing inside something that looked suspiciously like a train station. So we bought ourselves some tickets and headed towards what we figured were tracks. We were right - and quickly realised the official entrance for the train station was way on the other side, hence why the phone thought we should keep walking.

We had just missed a train to Ghent by a couple of minutes so we had time to go and get the world’s most disappointing hot chocolate (from a mix! THE SHAME!) and okay-ish croissants before finding ourselves on a train. After only about 20 minutes, we were making our way out of the Ghent train station, towards our sites for the day.

We started at Sint-Baafskathedraal, with it’s stunning stained glass. Annoyingly, people were completely ignoring the multiple signs showing no photos so I got pretty grumpy pretty quickly. I don’t understand why people insist on so blatantly ignoring such a simple request - so disrespectful. I left my grump behind as we headed over to the Belfort to see the views of the city. We took the long way up, climbing the stairs (only 350!), stopping to learn more about the history of the tower on the way up. I particularly enjoyed getting to see one of the old weathervanes. The tower is always topped with a dragon (that can shoot REAL fire - last time it went off was 2018, though) and one of the old dragons was on display. It was incredibly windy at the top and I’m a chicken at the best of times so I didn’t last very long.

Then, it was on to find Vrijdagmarkt, the Friday market. We arrived as some of the non-food vendors were starting to pack up but the food vendors were all still in full force. That’s likely because they weren’t set up with tables and tents but rather enormous trucks that they just needed to drop the sides down and roll on outta there. The cheese and meat and seafood and produce was everywhere and looked SO good. We grabbed a couple of pastries (a large custard danish for me and what appeared to be the world’s best Boston Cream donut for EDP) and then wandered up and down the market aisles watching vendors close up shop for the day. I long for this kind of market to go to every week in Canada. St. Jacobs comes close but it’s almost too large. This market was the perfect size - a couple of different choices for each of the things you’d need to pick up and everything looking amazing.

With the afternoon’s rain still holding off, we opted to head to Gravensteen next and hold off on lunch for a bit. Gravensteen was delightful. We were given “family friendly” audio guides to take us through the castle but both EDP and I wondered if kids were getting a different version because ours didn’t shy away from some pretty adult language & themes. The castle had been almost entirely restored and we got lots of great detail about the Count who built it (Philip), his first wife (Elisabeth), the death of her lover (see - adult themes!), their deaths, etc, and got to see the first chimney in Belgium!

Finally, we stopped for some lunch - for some reason, I was put in charge of picking somewhere and frankly, I did a terrible job. I’m pretty sure I’m banned from restaurant selection for a while. While we were tucked away in the restaurant, it began raining, which put an end to our canal tour plans, so instead, we started heading back to the train station where we definitely got caught in some pretty heavy rain. We were able to duck into an entryway for the worst of it so it wasn’t too bad but it was still nice to get a hot chocolate once back in Bruges - both to warm up and to forget about the first one of the day.

With such a late lunch, we held off on dinner for quite some time, finally deciding to just grab a waffle from our new fav, House of Waffles. They were already closed up for the night but we were able to get one from the window, having a delightful conversation with the fella who ran the place. He got very excited when we said we were from Canada, telling us he really wanted to go to Canada one day and see the Mounties. But it’s hard for him to get time away from the restaurant so it probably won’t be for a while still. The waffle wasn’t quite enough for EDP so we went on a bit of a quest to find some good fries, finally getting to a place called the Potato Bar, where EDP got some very tasty fries and a little croquette.

Now, we’re all packed up and ready to head off to Izegem tomorrow morning to start our time with my mom’s side of the family!

Bruges

It didn’t rain today! Okay, it rained for a few minutes but we were at breakfast.

We started our day at That’s Toast, a very popular breakfast place that EDP warned would be very busy. Even with a walk through Markt to get some better photos of the belfry now that it wasn’t raining, we got there about ten minutes before opening and there were no lines (three cheers for not travelling during peak season!) Even if there had been a line, it would have been worth it, my French toast was excellent. When we emerged, it definitely had been raining and I was worried I had been a little too optimistic with just wearing a sweater but the day did end up warming up a bit.

With where the restaurant was, it made sense to re-jig our plans for the day so we headed over to Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk, which had a lot of restoration work being done to it but we were still able to see most of it. The church houses the only piece by Michelangelo to leave Italy during his lifetime, the Madonna and Child. When we left the church, we wandered into a courtyard that EDP had poked into while I got our tickets for the church. Happily, he had found the Bridge of Love (real name - Bonifacius Bridge), the most picturesque bridge I think I’ve ever seen. And even more happily, it took us right to the Groeningemuseum, a gallery featuring a number of impressive Flemish Primitive and Renaissance works. I really enjoyed a room of portraits, including one by Kinsoen (neither Primitive nor Renaissance, I’m afraid) of a French opera singer.

Then, it was over to Choco-Story, wandering along the canal and through Markt, until we reached the chocolate museum. Billed as an informative history of chocolate with tastings, I was really looking forward to this. When we arrived, we were handed a laminated page to guide us around and two small, plain milk chocolate bars before being sent on our way. The museum was a bit hokey, feeling like it had been thrown together with stuff found in a flea market. There were “samples” of a few kinds of chocolate throughout but they were wafers you dispensed out of a large container as opposed to a sampling with any insight. There was a delightful demonstration at the end that was almost worth the price of admission just in itself and certainly the highlight of our visit. I think it’s maybe not quite meant for a chocolate aficionado, such as myself, but rather someone who just dabbles in chocolate.

Then, after a quick stop at the hotel to grab a jacket, we headed off on a canal tour. We learned some pretty interesting facts - like that the holes in all the houses were for mail pigeons and all the bricked up windows are because people didn’t want to pay the window tax and that you get more time in prison for killing a swan than you do your mother-in-law. EDP made friends with some folks from Niagara Falls who had just ended a barge-biking tour from Amsterdam to Bruges, which has made me far more interested in biking in the region (they said the food on the boat was amazing and there were lots of stops for drinks) Then, after finally figuring out where the waffle truck we saw from the belfry, I got another Liege waffle (not as good as House of Waffles) and we headed off to a pizza place in Simon Stevinplein for lunch, where they definitely thought we were French after EDP said bonjour when we walked in - good thing we can read a French menu. That was topped off with some chocolat chaud as we headed back to the hotel to rest after clearly eating too much before heading back out for Greek just down the street from the hotel. Such good moussaka, plus we had fried feta with sesame seeds and honey that was fantastic. I think this was my first dinner without croquettes. I hope no one finds out.

We ended our day with a little walk around the Markt area, enjoying seeing the belfry all lit up. Tomorrow, it’s off to Ghent!

Antwerp-ish

What a rainy day.

We packed the car up and headed out of Antwerp towards Mechelen to see St. Romboutskathedraal, a massive cathedral that took a really long time to build - so long that by the time the church was finally consecrated, part of the building was unstable. The tower was also never completed because it was thought that it couldn’t take any more weight so there is no spire, which makes it look quite different than most cathedrals. With it being rainy, we didn’t consider heading up the tower but stayed safely on the ground, instead, peaking inside and then touring around the main square in Mechelen for a few minutes.

Then it was on to Lier, to see Zimmertoren and the Begijnhof. It was rainy so we didn’t stay long and I’m not entirely sure we saw the whole Begijnhof? It also wasn’t quite what I expected, I thought it would be similar to the Santa Catalina monastery in Arequipa - but it really was just like most of the streets we’ve seen. We debated about whether or not we should skip the Begijnhof in Turnhout but the guidebook said it was very pretty so we headed off. It was much more in line with what we were expecting so I’m happy we didn’t cut it, though it would have been nice if the rain had gone away.

Then, it was time to head to Bruges. The drive was slow back through Antwerp but even with the slow traffic, it didn’t take long. What did take a while was getting through the throngs of tourists to get to the hotel. So many people, even with it being low tourist season. We splurged on a canal view room for our three nights here and we do have a really great view!

We have a full day tomorrow so since we got here a bit early, we decided to try to get up the belfry today. It was still rainy but it’s just around the corner from the hotel so off we went. We were able to get in before it closed to tickets and headed up the 350+ steps. Happily, there were several rooms to stop in on the way up, learning a bit more about how the belfry works. Once up at the top, we got some pretty good views of Bruges but the rain and wind didn’t encourage a lot of thoughtful gazing out over the city. EDP had seen a waffle truck from the top that he was interested in finding but we couldn’t figure out where it was, each way we went proved to be the wrong way. So we gave up and popped into the House of Waffles to get a Liege waffle (something that eluded me in Brussels) and it was DELICIOUS. As recommended, we got it plain. And as promised, it was slightly chewy and caramelized and wonderful from the first bite to the last. FAR superior to the Brussels waffle (what we know in North America as a Belgian waffle) and perfect in every way.

We ended our day with a little restaurant not far from the hotel for more croquettes, of course. I just can’t get enough of them! I could live on a steady diet of cheese croquettes and Liege waffles. Tomorrow, we’ll explore more of Bruges and the weather is looking a little better!

Antwerp

Antwerp is really not very far from Brussels.

Okay, so I know Belgium is a small country. But I didn’t appreciate how small? We were up and back at the airport by 7:30 this morning, picking up our car and on our way out of Brussels in no time. Even with rush hour traffic, we were only about 45 minutes to get Antwerp. Which was good because Antwerp was the day I worried the most about not having enough time to see everything. But we got the car parked near the hotel and managed to get the train station and entryway to the zoo in before anything really opened. And yes, I wanted to see the train station and the entry to the zoo. The Antwerp train station is pretty consistently ranked as one of the most beautiful train station in the world. It lived up to the expectations. The main part of the station was stunning but even the tracks were nice. The tracks stack on top of each other instead of spreading out - so the bottom level was the metro and then there was floor above that with tracks, then a floor that looked like it was just shopping and then a very top floor, which looked like it had the international trains? Regardless, it was really, really nice. And so was the entry to the zoo.

From there, we went to Rubenhuis, the house of Rubens. You often hear about famous artists dying penniless (Rembrandt, Vermeer, Cezanne…) but Rubens clearly did just fine while he was alive. His house was enormous. It started as just a normal house but then he kept buying the properties around him to expand his house. He was a fan of Italy and created a big Italian-style garden, which was lovely. I think we were through Rembrandt’s house in about 20 minutes when we visited it a few years back but Rubens’ took us much longer.

Then, it was off to Museum Plantin-Moretus, which was freaking awesome. Plantin was a book printer, at one point, the largest in the world - the museum was his family home and printing office. He was wildly successful and the business stayed in the family for 300+ years. We saw some of the oldest printing presses in the world, along with the type cases where all the letters were held (including the font that would eventually become Times New Roman!) plus the most amazing books. We saw a 36-line Gutenberg bible, one of 14 remaining in the world, and the first atlas. It was so incredible, it’s easily been my favourite part of the trip and one of the highlights of all of our travels.

After that, it was on to Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, a cathedral that has nothing to do with St. Catherine, no matter how much EDP tries to insist otherwise. It held some early Rubens and had a small area where you could see the foundation of the first of the churches that were on the spot. After lunch, we headed to St-Jacobskerk, which is mostly closed for renovations & restorations but we were still able to see some it, including Rubens’ tomb with the painting he did specifically for it.

Our final stop for the day was De Ruien, a walking tour in the city’s original sewers. Antwerp, like Bruges, originally had canals, which fed drinking water to the residents. But they also used it to get rid of their waste so after a while, everyone started dying of cholera and they thought maybe they should end the practice. So the canals were covered! And we took a walk in them. The tour was 90 minutes and about 1.5 km long but it really didn’t need to be. When we did the underground in Naples, we saw lots of different types of tunnels and rooms and I had high hopes for something similar here. But it was just all the same. Had we realized, we probably would have passed.

With our sights all seen, we headed to our hotel for a few minutes, where I left EDP to dash over to the Chocolate Line, as recommended by Charlotte. I was fairly restrained, as by now, my suitcase is 90% chocolate. But I am pretty excited for what appears to be the world’s most expensive gourmet Twix bar.

Our final stop for the day was dinner, just steps down the street from the hotel at a charming little place called de Arme Duivel. I had cheese croquettes (duh…) and EDP had boar. Both were incredible. I ended with a dame Blanche, which is basically just an ice cream sundae but it’s on the menu EVERYWHERE so I figured I should have at least one. It was a pretty good ice cream sundae.

Tomorrow, we make our way to Bruges, stopping in a few little towns along the way. It’s supposed to rain all day, so a good day to be in the car.

Brussels

Hello from the land of the praline, my one true love.

We landed in Brussels yesterday, early in the morning, and after dropping our bags off at the hotel, we headed towards Grand-Place to start exploring. Grand-Place was amazing, lined with these beautiful buildings, all decked out in gold, glittering in the sun, which we now know are all the guild halls. The town hall - still used as the town hall today - was on one side with its asymmetrical features while the gothic building with its perfect symmetry mocked it from across the square. We wandered around for a few minutes before deciding to take the Sandeman’s city walking tour with Tom. Despite sounding like he was from a cornfield in Nebraska (his description, not ours) Tom was an excellent guide and took us around the city, telling us some pretty tall tales (and now I understand where my love of making up ridiculous explanations comes from…) We got to see lots of things we hadn’t planned on visiting - like Manneken Pis - and had a delicious hot chocolate halfway through the tour, too!

Then it was on to some museums. We originally planned on doing the Musée Oldmasters yesterday and Musée Magritte today. Turns out, they are in the same building and right by where our tour ended. So we did both of them, along with the Musée Fin-de-Siècle. We saw some amazing works by Rubens and Bruegel - and of course, Magritte. All three museums were a great way to spend a few hours and we were happy we were able to see them, since the Oldmasters isn’t open on Mondays.

Then, it was time for a late lunch - fries! We headed to a place mentioned on the walking tour, Café Georgette, getting two cornets of frites. DELCIOUS! Beef fat really does make the fry. Once full, we headed back to the hotel for a shower, a nap, and a rest before dinner. Dinner wasn’t far from the hotel, EDP got a steak with mushroom sauce and I went for the cheese croquettes. Very cheesy. Followed by a very chocolatey mousse. These Belgians do not mess around when it comes to their chocolate, let me tell you.

Today was one of our most important days in Belgium - chocolate tour day. Because we had already visited the museum that was on the itinerary for this morning, we spent some time finding something else to do before our 3:30 tour. You’d think it wouldn’t be that hard but not much is open on a Monday in Brussels. We finally settled on visiting Mini-Europe, an “amusement park” of Europe’s most famous sites & buildings at 1/25th scale. I was a begrudging participant, at best, particularly since it was outdoors and it was raining. But we really couldn’t find anything else that suited our interest so off to the metro we went, stopping for breakfast on the way. We were soon at Mini-Europe’s door and after forking over what I felt was a completely ridiculous amount of money, we headed in. We saw a rather boring mini-EU parliament building and then the skies opened and it POURED. We took refuge in a gazebo until the worst of it was over before venturing backing out and into the main area. Which I promptly became completely enamoured by, given the cheekiness of the designers. Many of the displays had animations (like a naked woman emerging from a sauna and jumping into the water) or amusing components, like a car crash or a Brexit protest. I found these hilarious and Mini-Europe suddenly became worth every Euro we spent. It was also surprisingly fun to guess what things were before seeing the signs and to add a couple of places to visit to the never-ending list. I will say, though, the gift shop was an incredible disappointment.

Then, we headed back to Grand-Place for a light lunch (wine, cheese and meats) before the chocolate tour - also with Sandemans. Which was fantastic. Our guide, Charlotte, knew a lot about chocolate, telling us about how the Belgian praline was invented - by a guy named Jean Neuhaus who had an ah-ha moment when the medicines he lightly coated in chocolate in his apothecary shop proved a little too popular. He started focusing on chocolates and eventually invented the filled chocolate. His wife invented the box you get chocolates in (the ballotin) when the chocolates were getting crushed in the little bags they came in. Figures a woman had to be the one to say “yo, dude - just put them in a box!” Neuhaus was our first stop where we got to try a vanilla or raspberry praline. Delicious! We also visited Mary’s, the first lady chocolatier, who also was the first to start decorating her ballotin. Her designs are still used today, though are mass-produced instead of hand-painted. All the chocolates are still hand-made, though, which is why you can only get Mary’s chocolates in her shops, not on every corner you see. At Mary’s, we also learned about why white chocolate is still chocolate and got to try a ruby truffle. Our third stop was Corné Port-Royal, started by a fellow whose family thought he was nuts for opening a chocolate shop, until he was wildly successful and then they opened shops with the family name, too, hence the Port-Royal part of the name that Corné tacked on the end to distinguish his shops. There, I had a salted caramel chocolate (delish!) and EDP had a dark chocolate with ganache. Then, it was next door to Galler, where we had a very dark chocolate, which wasn’t as bitter as Charlotte made it sound like it would be. We ended our tour at Frederic Blondeel where EDP had a laurel praline and a rum praline and I had a passion fruit praline and a cinnamon praline. The laurel was a delightful surprise and the cinnamon was wonderful.

When the tour was done, we swung back around to the shops I didn’t get a chance to make a purchase at during the tour - yes, I have now acquired something from every shop. We won’t get into how much - especially since there’s a chocolate shop that Charlotte told us is the best in Belgium that wasn’t on the tour. It has a store in Antwerp so I’m going to try to get it it tomorrow. Anyway. I have a lot of chocolate now. Let’s just say I spent more than I should have but less than you’d expect.

We finished off our day at a little pub around the corner from the hotel with some ciders and a burger for me and meatballs for EDP. Now, we’re packing up for an early start tomorrow. We’re heading to the airport to pick up our car and drive up to Antwerp, where we have a PACKED day ahead of us. Good thing I bought some chocolates to keep us sustained!