A Taste of Belgium

We awoke to a breakfast table including this (quick–cover your keyboard to avoid shorting it out from drool):A bowl full of chocolate croissants!I love this country.Also, we were offered some of this Belgian bread:We had some of both, of course, because you know what they say…when in Belgium, eat as the Belgians eat.Shortly after, we saw yet another pleasant sight:The luggage arrived! Merci beaucoups “Euro-Sprinters,” for the timely delivery. Just the right moment for us to have clothes to change into for a little driving tour of the area near The Belgian Wonder’s sister’s house.We saw some old buildings, like this church:It’s not that spectacular, especially with the construction in the foreground, except that it holds the distinction of being the oldest church in Belgium. History buffs, knock yourselves out:Here’s a shot of the crypt mentioned in the information placard:It was dark and cool in the crypt, as a crypt should be. It also included this piece of art depicting, I assume, Saint Ursmer:Outside the church, The Belgian Wonder and I looked down and realized that a shot of the cobblestones might be nice for the blog. Here we are in our very American shoes. Are you proud of me for painting my toenails?I feel bad for cute shoes, after being such faithful traveling companions. They were left at home.He and I also agreed that this random doorway was very typical of Belgian homes:Not far from the church were the ruins of an old monastery:And you know what monasteries (abbeys) are known for?*hic*Even though beer-making monks aren’t as plentiful as they used to be, did you know that there are still over 450 varieties of beers in Belgium? This particular abbey is known for its cherry-flavored beer:Here’s a random view, very pretty:Here I am blocking the view:Speaking of views, here’s the view from the room where we shower at The Belgian Wonder’s sister’s house:It has everything–the Belgian rooftops, the little courtyard. The only thing missing today was the typical Belgian rain, which we didn’t miss at all.Stopped by a grocery store to pick up some items for dinner and saw this:Dreamy….The weird thing? The smaller jar costs no less than the same-sized jar at Super-Target in the U.S.Back at the house, we made a salad from Belgian endives (known as “chicon,” which sounds kind of like: “she-cone”): Here’s The Belgian Wonder’s niece, who gave me permission to post her picture, chopping chicon:I know you foodies are wondering about the Belgian endive salad. Okay, chop it lengthwise [EDITED: sorry, I wrote that wrong–not lengthwise, but the other, short, direction] so that it forms little rings, but don’t use the hard part in the interior. If you start at the tip, it’s about 2/3rds of the way toward the bottom of the stem. You can pick off the exterior leaves, however, as you near that core, and still chop the entire leaf.Then add a can of corn (drained), some mandarin oranges (the sweetness cuts the bitterness of the endives), and a dressing made of mayonnaise (she added some no-fat creme fraiche, to cut calories and fat, so in the States we could use yogurt or no-fat sour cream, I suppose), a bit of lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a bit of curry powder. Toss. Serve. Taste a little bit of Belgium.It’s time for bed.Bonne nuit.