Wednesday morning in Mons started much like Tuesday did. Bill and I got up and went to breakfast, ate the same mediocre chow, and kissed each other goodbye. I went back to bed for awhile, and then got up for a walk around Mons. We had some rare sunshine on Wednesday, so that was a nice thing.

The sunny weather led me to the Belfry of Mons, which I hadn’t known anything about before our arrival. My German friend had mentioned it to me, but I thought it was in the church on the main drag. Not so… this is a tower that you can pay 9 euros to ascend. It even has an elevator that will take you most of the way up. I didn’t want to go up the tower without Bill, so I decided to put off a visit. Of course, on Friday, when Bill was free, it was cloudy again. Shucks. Well, maybe we can visit again and go up the tower then. I did read reviews of the Belfry and they indicated that at no point are visitors able to take in views outside.

I kept walking and wound up at another church… one that was even more beautiful to me than St. Elisabeth’s. Sainte Waudru Collegiate Church is a very impressive gothic church that dates from the 15th century. It’s currently undergoing some refurbishment, but it’s open for visitors. I was feeling prayerful again, so I sat for awhile and took in the awesome beauty inspired by faith in God. I even lit a few candles, although I’m not Catholic. It helped lightened my purse. Who knows? Maybe God heard my pleas… er prayers… Someday, I’m going to make a video of all of the beautiful churches we’ve seen since we’ve been in Europe.

Below are some photos from Wednesday’s walk…

After a couple of hours of walking, it was soon lunchtime. I thought about where I might like to have lunch, but then realized I needed to go to the grocery store for some hair conditioner. The shampoo in the hotel was irritating my scalp and drying out my hair.

So I walked to the Delhaize, which looked very familiar to me with its lion logo. You see, I am from the southeastern United States– Virginia to be precise– and there, we had many Food Lion stores. Food Lion used to be called Food Town, but in 1983, they changed the name. Well… as I research this blog post, I have discovered that Food Lion is, in fact, owned by Delhaize, and has been since 1974. Aha!

I never liked shopping at Food Lion, although I will admit that it’s been quite some time since my last visit. To me, it was always a very no frills grocery store with bright lighting that was too sterile for my eyes. Of course, when you’re broke, as I was when I was single and for a good portion of my marriage, it’s a good place to get groceries. But I have alway preferred shopping at fancier places. I see that Ahold Delhaize also owns Giant, which is a store I used to go to a lot when I lived in the northern Virginia area.

Anyway, Delhaize is a Belgian company, and they have Delhaize stores in Belgium. I didn’t find shopping there to be like going to Food Lion, except for the lion logo. The lighting wasn’t as harsh, for one thing. When I went into the store, I noticed that it was very busy, as a lot of students from the high school were there getting lunch. That’s what I decided to do, too. I bought some sushi, sparkling water, and a beer– a Kwak Rouge, which is a kriek (cherry lambic). Then I got some conditioner and deodorant, since I couldn’t find the deodorant I thought I’d packed. I actually did pack deodorant, but it was buried deeply in the recesses of my Red Oxx bag. I had a brief moment of disorientation as the Delhaize payment system involves putting cash and change in a machine, rather than giving it to a cashier.

I went back to the hotel and had lunch as I watched Little House on the Prairie in French. The sushi wasn’t great, but it got me through the afternoon. Then I did some reading and napping as I waited for Bill to come back after his conference. Later, we went out to dinner at a little Tunisian place called the La Petite Couscoussiere. We noticed it on our first night in Mons, and it was consistently busy. Fortunately, they had room for us on that Wednesday night. I know Bill loves going to ethnic restaurants.

Below are some photos from our visit to the little Tunisian place… I’ve actually been to Tunisia, but it was over New Year’s 1977/78. I have fond memories of our visit to Sousse, when I was a little blonde five year old. The Tunisians spoiled me with candy and fruit! I’d love to visit there again, now that I’m blonde again.

We enjoyed the Tunisian place, except for the fact that the woman sitting behind me was a bit drunk. She hung her purse on the back of my chair and kept staggering around. At one point, she hugged a woman at another table. I assume they knew each other, although she was clearly tipsy. I didn’t notice it, because my back was to her, but Bill said she was sitting with two guys. One appeared to be her date. The other appeared to be a friend of the guy, and it was clear that he was a bit annoyed with her. So was I. Hang your purse on your own chair, lady!

After dinner, we visited a bar called Le Central for a nightcap… We just had one, though, because it was clear the barkeep was wanting to close up as he pulled all the shades an hour before the posted closing time. It was no big deal, since Thursday was a work day, anyway.

After our nightcap, we walked back to the hotel for another night of rest. The next day, we would discover a great local spot for dinner… and hear a very obnoxious American guy embarrass us among Belgians. Stay tuned for the next installment.