Last month was my birthday and the past few years, I spent it in Belgium. Each time I have visited, it’s never been long enough, and I still leave with so much I wish to see. This year I kept my base the same but mixed up the hotel and visited two new towns called Leuven and Namur. In this post I’ll share some brief highlights of my recent trip.
First up since I was in Brussels I went and visited the peeing boy who still did not get dressed for my arrival. I seem to be unfortunate enough to have never seen him clothed and so I think I’ll take a trip later in the year to see whether I can have a change of luck.
Mont des Arts is always a great visit because of the picturesque view above the formal garden.
This year I noticed that couples have started placing locks on the rails there. I find this quite sweet since it has their initials engraved. Although this is much like the bridge in Bruges and many others across the world, it made a cute photo.
I originally wanted to visit Belgium to understand the world famous mussels. It was something my mum always used to tell me about. She would always talk about the “mussels from Brussels”. I had thought it must have been one of her favourite places since, Jean-Claude Van Damme also ‘happened’ to be one of her favourite actors.
But when I arrived, I realized it was the Belgium frites which were world famous. As a self proclaimed connoisseur, this was equally exciting. Belgium frites are a little thicker than the French fries yet still retain that fluffy centre. They are somewhere between the French frites and chunky UK hand-cut chips. An important step to the process is that they are triple fried. When this goes well, you get the perfect Belgium frite which, I can say is from La Friterie located in Brussels grand place. I had some and they were everything I was told, crunchy on the outside then you get fluffy potato filling, delectable! The first order, I kept it plain and simple experience but, of course, that wasn’t my only time and I quickly returned. The real fun is in the condiment list, it’s extensive! Truffle mayonnaise was my guilty pleasure and it was totally worth it.
Since I have been a few times, I’ve actually tried a familiar cafe, Paul. This was a shock to me as this is nothing like Paul in the UK at all (not even their cup lids were the same when you have a coffee to go). It was also a wonderful experience since I grabbed a sandwich and it was served on a generous plate of fresh salad.
This year was also all about the pasta for me. There are so many local restaurants to try them and you really don’t need anything other than the sauce. My favourite was the white summer truffle pasta I had for my birthday dinner however, white truffle happens to also be in season making it the perfect one to try. Also I tried several more and there was not a single one I wouldn’t try again. Also, I was regularly served baguette and this was nothing like UK bread it was light and crispy on the outside but not to the point it cut my mouth, like I often experience in the UK. I was really sad I couldn’t fit bread in my suitcase to take home but I will definitely do so next time.
So now, I have visited Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, Leuven, and Namur. My blogging recently has been slow however I’ll be sharing my Belgium highlights along with regular content so be sure to be subscribed.
Bisous xx
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