Carly's Visit

This is, I’m sad to say, probably going to be a long post so bear with me. [Then again, it could always be a lot longer....]

Two months into my research trip in Brussels, Carly came for a visit. She flew in on Halloween and left the following Sunday, so we had a week to explore Brussels and do a bit of travel. It was great having her here, showing her “my city,” and bringing another part of my life – my relationship – with me to Brussels. I love my work and I’m focused on it, but it was nice to take a break and just enjoy my new home with some one dear to me, rather than on my own.

Brussels
Of course, since I live in Brussels, we had to do the usual sights: Grand Place, the Royal Palace, the little boy peeing, waffles, fries, and the like. The weather was eh, so we made the most of the sun that we could. Carly was a trooper on the first day. After a short nap, she was ready to explore the city. We had a beer on Grand Place – something I’ll never tire of – and took in the usual sights. One evening we found our way to a great little restaurant near where Audrey Hepburn was born. It’s called Les Brassins and it’s one of those places you’d never find unless you already knew about it. (Thank you New York Times’ 36-hours in Brussels.)

Les Brassins is an unassuming little restaurant that serves good, traditional, Low Country food at a good price. Carly had a beef stew that’s made with dark brown beer and I had stoemp, a dish of mashed potatoes mixed with a vegetable (artichokes this time) served with a fat sausage and think slice of bacon on top. Fantastic. It was also a cold and rainy night so it was the perfect meal.

We also did some chocolate shopping. When Carly arrived I got her some chocolate from Wittamer, one of the two chocolate shops accredited to the Royal Court of Belgium. This stuff was delicious. So, of course, we went back for more. Wittamer is right on the Grand Sablon, my favorite place in Brussels and we spent some time exploring the church there (we attended a beautiful Gregorian Chant mass her first Sunday here) and the park that is opposite the church.

I also gave her my research tour: stopping by where the Germans had their administration during World War I, where the Belgian relief group had their offices, and where the Americans had theirs. I’m not sure how interesting she found that part – most of these places are either gone or transformed into Russian airline offices – but I indulged the tour guides prerogative to point out the inane as well as the Grand….

Grand Place was a constant in the trip. We got fries, of course, and they were up to par. (The second trip to Frites Land wasn’t as good. When the fries are good there, they are good. When they aren’t they aren’t.)

One evening we had dinner at Aux Armes de Bruxelles, an almost 90-year-old establishment on Rue des Bouchers right off Grand Place. We had a nice three-course meal. Among the great dishes, I had a traditional starter plate: endive, wrapped in ham, and baked with cheese and cream. It was, well, delicious. Thankfully, the main course was the famed mussels and fries, which is a bit lighter than many of the other items on the menu.

We ended up having an after dinner drink at Le Roi d’Espagne. An old world café in an old guildhall on Grand Place. Two things of note: the dried and inflated pig bladders that hang from the ceiling and, in the men’s room, pictures of women peering down toward the urinals. What’s with this country and the act of peeing?!

Paris
By high-speed train it’s a 1 and 22 minutes to Paris. We took the high-speed train but, for whatever reason, we had terrible luck with the train. Going there we were delayed 20 minutes for no reason. On the way back they put us on the wrong track so we had to double back to Paris to get things going right. Aside from that Paris….

For Carly’s birthday we went to Paris and walked and walked and walked. It was a rainy day, but we stayed dryish. We went up the Eiffel Tower, visited Notre Dame, and walked along the Seine. The highlight, though, was the Musée Jacquemart André (thanks LW and NR). This place is a little off the beaten track, but well worth it. We had tea and cake in a most beautiful tea room adorned with tapestries depicting the life of Achilles. The museum itself was the home of a 2nd French Empire “upper middle class” couple who instead of having kids, collected art from around the world and held lavish parties. The audio guide was wonderful and gave nice insight into how the favored lived during the time of Napoleon III.

We found a nice little café for dinner and enjoyed being warm for a bit and having some nice French wine. We actually got a cab to get us back to the station and then headed for Brussels.

I really liked Paris, but it has the familiar “big city” feel and we spent a lot of time traveling between places in the city. Next time I go – and I hope there is a next time – I’d like to take one district and really focus on it and explore it.

Antwerp
We decided on Antwerp for our final out of Brussels day trip. Antwerp has an old world feel that is different than Brussels. Only about 500,000 people it’s smaller, too, but has one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world. Of course, having a number of P. P. Rubens on display doesn’t hurt. The magnificent “Descent from the Cross” stands to the right of the main alter and is captivating. It’s one thing to see a painting like this in a museum, but to see it in the church it was designed for and displayed as it is designed to, is just incredible.

It’s a triptych altarpiece for the Arquebusiers whose patron saint is St. Christopher (whose name means “cross bearer.”) Since this is during the counter-Reformation, the main scene could not be of St. Christopher – as the Arquebusiers (early riflemen) wanted – so Rubens creates a triptych that gives his patrons multiple cross bearers as Christ is taken from the cross after his death. It’s simply amazing to see it in person and to see it in the grand and light cathedral.

On the lighter side, there is also a building in Antwerp, for the butcher’s guild, that is designed to look like a rasher of bacon. There are red and white strips of stone that turn it into a bacon building. Well done, Antwerp.

Back in Brussels
All in all I think it was a wonderful trip. Carly surely has more to say and these are just some of the things we saw in Brussels, Antwerp, and Paris. Her visit has really made this trip real since I have now been able to share this place with someone from back home. It’s not the same describing it in an e-mail, or over the phone, or in this blog. I’m glad that she’ll now be able to picture when I say I was at Sablon or on Grand Place or at the supermarket.

Now it’s six weeks until I come home for Christmas. I will, however, get to be here for Belgian Christmas. St. Nicholas and his helpers arrive by boat on 18 November….see David Sedaris for more.