Pardon My French: Brussels and Paris 2026 (part six)

On Wednesday, March 25th, Bill and I got up early, packed up our stuff, and had some breakfast. We had a date with the Eurostar train, which would take us from the Brussels Midi train station to the Paris Gare du Nord station. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Eurostar train took over Thalys, which was the French and Belgian train company that used to handle trips between a network of cities in France and Belgium, along with a few places in Germany and the Netherlands.

Bill and I used Thalys when we took our trip to Brussels in 2008. I remembered it to be a comfortable train system, if not a bit less modern than the Deutsche Bahn trains. Our trip from Brussels to Paris would be fairly brief, and included a meal, since we were sitting in “Premier”, which is their version of first class.

Our stay at Le Fleur de Ville was prepaid, and we only had one drink each at their bar. We settled up and made our way to a taxi, which would spirit us to the big train station in Brussels. I wasn’t sorry to be leaving Brussels, although we did have a nice time. I was ready for a change of scenery, especially since the weather had turned cold and rainy.

The cab driver in Brussels was very kind and honest. I can’t remember what Bill paid for the fare, but the guy rounded down for us. I mention this because of what happened when we got to Paris. But we’ll get there. 😏

Thanks to our Premier tickets, we were allowed to use Eurostar’s lounge, which was in a building across a courtyard from the train station. The person who checked us in invited us to enjoy complimentary beverages and snacks, as well as plush seating in the lounge area. They played jazzy music and had handy screens available for monitoring the status of the trains. I think use of the lounge is the best reason for booking first class seats. It’s nice to be able to wait in a quiet place with seating, instead of milling around the train station.

Below are a couple of photos from the lounge. It has a bar, although it was too early in the day for it to be manned. There are also restrooms, although they needed to be stocked with toilet paper during our visit. Several people were doing work on their computers during our hourlong stay.

When it got close to our departure time, Bill and I walked to the Midi train station and found our way to the right track. We happened to get there just as our train was emptying out with passengers who had come to Brussels from Paris. After a brief wait, we boarded the train. I recognized the plush red seats– same ones I remembered from 2008. I looked up and saw the old Thalys branding. We didn’t find places to store our luggage between cars, so Bill and I had to hoist our suitcases onto the racks above our seats.

The train ride itself wasn’t very eventful, except for when I needed to use the toilet. For the life of me, I could not find the flusher! I looked all over for it and finally gave up. Thankfully, I only had to pee, and it seemed to go down the hole, anyway. Bill later said he found it, but it was in an obscure place. Maybe it was a foot pedal?

As I mentioned before, we got a meal included on our trip to Paris. I didn’t remember liking the food on Thalys in 2008. The same could be said for Eurostar’s offering in 2026. Bill said he did like the food. In our case, it was cold chicken breast with some exotic sides, cheeses, and dessert, as well as a beverage. I had champagne, which Bill had red wine. A vegetarian option was also offered. It wasn’t terrible, but I didn’t eat much of it, and I probably wouldn’t have ordered it on my own. Luckily, Bill was happy to eat my cheese course, because I don’t typically eat cheese unless it’s been melted and is very mild.

It was early afternoon when we arrived in Paris. As we made our way up the escalator at the busy Gare du Nord station, we made a rookie mistake. There were a bunch of people standing near the escalators, some of whom were holding up signs for arriving passengers. I had just muttered, “Now to find a taxi.” I didn’t think I’d said it very loudly, but maybe I did, because a friendly, but assertive man asked us if we needed a taxi.

Although it was against my better judgment, I found myself following the guy and Bill, who for some reason, agreed to use this man’s “services” to get us into the city. Paris transportation hubs are notoriously PLAGUED by scammers– especially when it comes to taxis. They pick up clueless tourists and rip them off. I wrote about this in the main blog, so if you want the story in detail, click here. I warn that I tend to be a lot more profane on the main blog.

Suffice to say, this guy who picked us up was an “unlicensed” driver. He did the usual con, claiming he didn’t have a working credit card machine, so he’d need cash. And he charged us way more than a licensed taxi driver would have. It was very annoying to be ripped off in that way, especially since the guy had the nerve to offer me unsolicited advice on avoiding being pickpocketed in Paris. 😡 But, on the positive side, he did get us to our hotel safely and quickly, and he didn’t try to rip us off for as much as I’ve read in some horror stories. And it’s unlikely we’ll ever make that mistake again, now that we know more about French law regarding taxis. At least we had euros, and didn’t miss the money as much as we might have when we were younger and poorer.

I booked us four nights in the Sapphire Suite at the Hotel L’ Eldorado, located in the Montmartre area of the city. The last time we were in Paris, back in 2009, Bill and I stayed at Hotel Le Six, which is in Montparnasse. We liked Hotel Le Six, but wanted to experience a different neighborhood. I also visited Paris in 1997, but I don’t remember where my sister and I stayed. I think we were in a no frills hotel somewhat close to the Eiffel Tower. I remember it was owned by Indians, and was quite nice, especially for the price. But that was a very long time ago.

In any case, when we checked in, Bill reminded the receptionist that we had reservations for dinner in the hotel’s restaurant. They confirmed our reservations, and then informed us that the elevator was out of order. The Sapphire Suite, which is one of the best rooms in the hotel, was on the fifth floor. Sigh…

Alas, I am not as young, fit, or thin as I once was. I am capable of climbing stairs, but it’s not my favorite thing to do. I do get a bit winded. I also hate it when I lead the way, because I feel pressure to go faster than I should. But we got to the room, which was covered in dark green, patterned velvet– the curtains, bed dressings, and walls were all done in the same funky style. I liked it, but I imagine it might cause sensory overload for some people.

The room had a sitting room connected by a hall to the compact bedroom. There were double doors that closed off the bedroom from the sitting room, which were a bit of a pain to deal with at night, when going to the potty.

There was a green marble bathroom with a sauna in it and a nice shower, as well as a separate water closet. The receptionist didn’t show us how to use the sauna, nor were there any printed instructions. I might have liked to try it out, but maybe it’s better that I didn’t. This was the second French hotel I’ve stayed in that had a sauna in the room. The other one was in Sessenheim, in rural Alsace.

I did like that the room had two balconies. One faced the little hidden garden at the back of the hotel. The other faced out into the street, and if you stood on it and looked East, you could see the Eiffel Tower. I took a photo, but zoomed in a lot… We were maybe a three to four mile walk from the Eiffel Tower, which we did undertake on Thursday.

As it was, Wednesday evening, Bill had an online class at the Jung Institute. That’s why we decided to have dinner in the hotel. It was good that we made reservations, although to be honest, I didn’t love what I ordered. Bill loved his dish. He had duck leg confit with beans. I had a sirloin faux filet with frites. My filet was cooked medium, but the meat was a bit tough.

Bill and I also had to trade starters, because I ordered soft set egg Meurette style, and it had mushrooms in it (I should have Googled before ordering). He ordered butternut squash and chestnut velouté, which was mushroom free. Again, not something I necessarily would have ordered for myself, but it was okay. We also enjoyed a lovely French wine, fresh bread, and champagne aperitifs. For dessert, I had profiteroles, and Bill had a red berry crumble with ice cream. Our waiter was very pleasant, but didn’t seem to speak English well. This became a problem at breakfast, later in the week. More on that in a subsequent post.

After dinner, we were both pretty tired, so we decided to go to bed. By the time we finished eating, the elevator was working again. I think the mood was kind of spoiled by the scammer and the broken elevator, but we figured a good night’s sleep would fix that issue.

Thursday was a big day for us, so I’ll write about that in the next post!

adventure, BeNeLux, Brussels, Champagne Bucket trips, YouTube

Pardon My French: Brussels and Paris 2026 (part five)

Tuesday, March 24th, was to be our last full day in Brussels. We decided to visit the Atomium on that day, a place we missed during our 2008 visit. I knew nothing about the Atomium, but I had seen pictures of it and thought it was really cool looking. So we did very basic research, and after breakfast, decided to make our way to the structure, which was initially built for the 1958 World’s Far in Brussels.

While we were having breakfast, I noticed the bees carved on the door to the restaurant. And when Bill wasn’t looking, I decided I didn’t want a piece of bacon and slipped it on his place. I told him the “Speck Fairy” (Speck is the German word for bacon) had visited him. 🤭

We decided to use Brussels’ metro system to get to the Atomium. It took some time to get there that way, and it required changing trains. This is where things got a little annoying. We spent some time waiting on the wrong track at the station where we changed trains. Getting to the right track involved going up and down stairs, which isn’t as easy for me as it used to be. Nevertheless, we did finally make it on the correct metro line, and got to the Atomium in the mid morning. Below are a few photos from downtown Brussels, in the area where we picked up the metro.

The complex where the Atomium is located is a huge exhibition venue. There are several things to do there, like visit a planetarium and see Mini-Europe, a unique theme park near the structure. The Atomium is easily seen from the metro as it pulls into the Heizel stop. But once you get off the train, you have a ten to fifteen minute walk to the exhibit. And if you haven’t booked tickets online, you’ll need to get them from the ticket counter, which is in a separate building.

Once you get your tickets, you go into the Atomium and wait for the elevator to the top, where you can observe Brussels. It was a little hazy on the day of our visit, but I still managed to get some photos. The elevator operator, who spoke French and English, told us that when the elevator was installed in 1958, it was the fastest in Europe. It’s no longer the fastest, but it was still an impressive, if pretty crowded, ride to the top of this very cool looking iconic structure, which stands 335 feet (102 meters) tall, and is currently one of Belgium’s tallest structures. There’s also a restaurant at the top of the Atomium. We weren’t tempted to eat there, although maybe it would have been fun.

*Mini Europe from the top of the Atomium.*

When you finish gazing at Brussels, you go back to the bottom of the Atomium, and take an escalator to the next level, where there’s more information about the structure’s history. There are a lot of interesting exhibits in this part of the Atomium, which explain the history of the structure. It served as the main pavilion of the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair (Expo 58). The Atomium was designed by André Waterkeyn and the architects André and Jean Polak. Meant as a tribute to scientific progress, it also symbolized Belgian engineering skills in the 1950s.

The Atomium depicts an iron unit cell. It was only supposed to last through the 1958 World’s Fair, but was so popular that it was left standing. It was fully refurbished from 2004-06, after it had been closed because it had fallen into disrepair. The nine orbs were once covered in aluminium, but were replaced with stainless steel, which doesn’t lose its shine.

Once you finish on the museum level, it’s time to see the exhibition, which I thought was very, very cool. It involves lights, music, and watching in awe as the creativity of artists, engineers, and musicians come to fruition and put on a great show for the senses. I recorded a few minutes of the show– up and down the escalators, and a fragment of the actual light shows that were designed for the current exhibition. This is really just a tiny taste of how very cool the Atomium actually is…

This was a surprisingly fascinating place.

I hadn’t known what to expect when we planned to go to the Atomium. I just thought it looked like an interesting place to visit. I had no idea that there would be a light and music show. I really enjoyed that part of the experience. All it required was sitting back and relaxing, enjoying the incredible vision brought together by very creative geniuses. It blew me away! Below are some still photos from the light show, which was done in three of the spheres. The others appeared to be used for booking business meetings and other revenue generating purposes.

Once we were finished visiting the Atomium, we had to go through the gift shop to leave, so we picked up a few more presents for the grandchildren. We had opted not to have our picture taken when we entered the Atomium, so we didn’t have to deal with that horror. I hate it when I visit a place, and they immediately ambush me and want to take my picture, which I’m then supposed to purchase. I don’t like having my photo taken, especially by people who don’t know me and manage to catch all my chins and muffin top. Bill also hates it when random people want to take his photo.

I did laugh at the cashier in the gift shop, who yelled in French at some kids who were horse playing on the escalator on the way up to the exhibits. He really got his point across, especially with the expression on his face, and the sternness of his French. I’m not even sure if the teens were from Belgium, but they sure got the message!

There are public restrooms in the Atomium, but Bill neglected to visit one before we left. Fortunately, there was a public toilet outside of the Atomium– one of those gross ones available all through Europe. I’ve learned the Belgian public toilets, especially on the side of the road, can be particularly horrifying. Nevertheless, Bill decided to brave it, and swung wide of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who had set up their display next to the potty. We ran into a number of JWs during this visit to Belgium and France!

Below are a few more Atomium photos, mostly taken with the artsy setting on my fancy Canon digital camera…

We decided to head back to downtown Brussels for lunch. There are a few places where one might find food near the Atomium, including the restaurant at the top, and a snack bar on the grounds. But we were in the mood for something a bit more satisfying. What we ended up finding turned out to be that and much more… Our journey back to the city involved changing trains, and once again, Bill got us on the wrong track. 🤨 Consequently, I was a little annoyed when we arrived at our destination.

When we got off the metro in the familiar surroundings of downtown Brussels, we started looking around for a place to have lunch. Nothing seemed to really jump out at us as an ideal place. We crossed the street, and Bill spotted a brasserie called La Lunette. The place actually gets pretty terrible reviews on TripAdvisor, so I’m glad I didn’t look at them before we visited. Otherwise, I would have missed out on meeting our waiter, who happened to be from… YEREVAN, ARMENIA!

When we entered La Lunette, he immediately greeted us, and sat us at a table right by the window, which gave us a nice view of the patio. They were running a special. If you chose one of the daily menu items, they’d throw in dessert. Since we hadn’t had any dessert in Brussels, and we weren’t in a hurry, I decided to order the cheeseburger, which was one of the daily “plat du jour” items. Bill opted for pasta, which wasn’t one of the specials, but the waiter, who spoke excellent, unaccented English, said he’d throw in the dessert for him, anyway.

While we were waiting for lunch, the waiter mentioned that he was Armenian. I perked up and told him about how I’d lived in Yerevan from 1995-97, while teaching English as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He was shocked, because that time in Armenia was very difficult. It was during an energy crisis, so there was a shortage of electricity and running water. It was also just after the Soviet Union fell apart.

The waiter probably wasn’t born during the time I lived in his homeland, but he knew all about it… and he was absolutely delighted when I spoke in his mother tongue to him! He said it made his day! I’m sure he doesn’t get a lot of guests who can speak a word of Armenian, especially blonde ones. At first, he thought we were Germans, because we said we lived there. I guess I can take that as a compliment. I’m no longer an obvious American, I guess.

I can’t say I loved the cheeseburger, mainly because they had mixed in greens with the meat. I shouldn’t have been surprised, since that’s a common thing in Armenia, and the waiter said the owner of the restaurant is also Armenian. However, the desserts were absolutely delicious! I had carrot cake, and Bill had a different cake– He just brought them out; we didn’t choose them. I probably wouldn’t have ordered carrot cake on my own, but I really enjoyed the piece I had at La Lunette! I wouldn’t be surprised if the waiter knew my former student Stepan’s daughter, Susi, who has been studying in Belgium.

*The patio… I think this is a place where a lot of people stop for a quick drink.*

After lunch, we walked the two blocks back to the hotel for a rest. Then later, we went out for one last visit to a bar… A La Mort Subite. This historic place is another bar we visited for the first time in 2008, just after seeing Zane Lamprey highlight it on Three Sheets. It was pretty quiet when we went there in 2008, but it was busy on the evening of March 24th. It turned out to be the perfect place to enjoy our last night in Brussels.

We chose a battered table on the right side of the bar room. It gave me a good view of the locals, enjoying after work libations and light food. I decided to have Quiche Lorraine, while Bill went with a sandwich. We enjoyed a couple of the bar’s own brews, while taking in the historic, yet cozy beauty of this classic bar that dates from 1910.

*It was just around the corner from our hotel!*

I enjoyed our waiter, who was one of the younger servers, but appeared to be approaching middle age. He was unflappable and slightly sullen as he brought beers and food to the people who had stopped by. I finally saw him crack a smile when Bill gave him a tip.

We left A La Mort Subite at a reasonable hour, as we had to rise on Wednesday morning and prepare for our onward journey to Paris! I’ll write about that journey in the next post.

adventure, BeNeLux, booze tourism, Brussels, Champagne Bucket trips

Pardon My French: Brussels and Paris 2026 (part four)

Featured photo is probably my favorite thing about the Choco-Story chocolate museum in Brussels…

Monday morning, we woke up in our grand Brussels suite at Le Fleur de Ville, and headed down to breakfast. I thought we would be having it in the lounge again, but a kitchen worker overheard me tell Bill he’d hit the wrong button on the elevator and said that breakfast was back in the restaurant. I was glad for that, because not only was the restaurant logistically a better location for eating breakfast than the lounge was, it was also a very beautiful setting for our morning repast.

The same couple who had given us the side eye in the lounge on Sunday morning were there on Monday. I was enjoying the music that was playing, which was better than the dance music in the lobby. Below are some beautiful pastries from what appeared to be a very special bakery in Brussels. People were lining up around the corner for these freshly baked buns and meringues.

After breakfast, we headed into the narrow streets of Brussels and headed close to the beer museum. I thought maybe we’d visit the church there. Fate had different plans, as when we went to the door, we saw a sign that said visits were not allowed because of a “celebration”. I stepped to the side, and suddenly, the door to the church opened. I peeked inside, and saw pallbearers bringing a coffin down the center aisle. The pastor, in his purple robe, was leading the way. The mourners were clapping, which was something I had never seen at a funeral. Then Bill noticed the van parked in front of the church, and realized it was the hearse.

I didn’t know a single thing about the deceased, but as I stood there watching, tears sprang to my eyes. I realized that many of the people who were mourning were young. I was moved by their sadness, even as a drunk stood nearby and shouted at everyone. I wrote more about this surreal scene on my main blog, just after it happened. It was that special of an event that I wanted to make sure I didn’t forget anything about what I saw on that Monday morning.

As I wiped away tears for a person I never even knew, it occurred to me that I happened to be there to see them being sent off by friends and family. It seemed very poignant to me.

*A cool looking building near the church.*

We decided we needed to chill out after taking in the funeral scene, so we walked to the famous Mannekin Pis sculpture. Bill and I had seen it before, back in 2008…

*Mannekin Pis was naked when we visited in 2008…*

In 2026, Mannekin Pis was wearing a cute little outfit… I got a few shots from different angles.

Looking at Mannekin Pis doesn’t take much time at all, so we followed up our visit to see the famous peeing boy statue with a trip to the Friet Museum. I didn’t have especially high expectations for this potato focused museum, which is just across the street from the chocolate museum, Choco-Story Brussels. The Friet Museum and the Choco-Story Museum are affiliated, so we bought combination tickets for both attractions. Had we visited the previous day, we could have combined our tickets with the Belgian Beer Experience, too.

Let me just state upfront– the Friet Museum didn’t disappoint! It is a very cute museum, and the best part was at the end. There, once you turn in your audio guide, you get to try a sample of delicious Belgian fried potatoes, cooked in either beef tallow or vegetable oil. You also get to try the many different exotic sauces, all of which made ketchup and mayo seem positively boring in comparison. You do need the audio guide, by the way. It gives you information in 11 languages, but it also allows you to try the interactive exhibits. You only get one “go”, too, which was sad for me, because I wanted to try the pinball machine again. I guess that makes it fair when the museum is very crowded. Otherwise, people would play pinball all day and no one else would get a chance to play!

The Friet Museum has a great gift shop, and we were able to load up on lots of presents for Bill’s grandchildren. I also enjoyed the many games and interactive exhibits this museum offers. It’s wonderful and educational for kids, but it’s also a lot of fun for adults who are big kids, like I am. I learned everything from the origin of potatoes, diseases that affect them, legends about potatoes, and how “French Fries” got their name, to all about fry sauces, cooking methods, and consumption habits. It was a very entertaining attraction for me! I love potatoes! I did, however, feel a little like I was on the set of the old Nickelodeon kids’ game show, Double Dare.

Below are some photos:

*I only got one play on this. It was fun!*

After we visited the Friet Museum, we decided to cross the street and visit Choco-Story Brussels. This museum was much like the Friet Museum in many ways, although it was more crowded. I didn’t enjoy the chocolate museum as much, as it didn’t offer as many fun activities, humorous exhibits, or interactive displays. We were also there with a big group of Spanish high school students who weren’t the most considerate. The silver lining is that, again, there were samples given, and they had a good gift shop. I liked the sculpture of the kid peeing in the restroom, too. See the featured photo.

Below are photos from Choco-Story Brussels:

After we visited the museums, we decided to go have lunch. On the way there, I took a few more photos…

I kept noticing this big eatery called Drug Opera (and no, I don’t know why it’s called that– I would assume maybe it’s located in a former pharmacy). I was curious about it, so that’s where we had our lunch. It reminded me of themed US based restaurants in the 80s. The atmosphere was fun, and the place was huge. However, I didn’t really love my lunch much… I had cordon bleu, which wasn’t really prepared in the way I expected. Luckily, there was plenty of good beer and fun 70s era music. They were playing a lot of Bee Gees!

*This was drenched in cheesy sauce, which isn’t my preference.*

After a very leisurely and filling lunch, we went back to the hotel for a rest. My ankle was bothering me from my fall the previous day, and I wanted to blog about that funeral experience we had in the morning.

When it came time for dinner, we decided to head over the the Delirium Tremens “Village”. Delirium Tremens is a famous and delicious Belgian beer which, strangely enough, we didn’t drink any of on this visit to Brussels. When we visited Brussels in 2008, they just had the Delirium Cafe, which was a rather small place that boasted a huge selection of beers. It was showcased on Three Sheets, the US cable drinking show starring Zane Lamprey, that we used to watch on iTunes when we lived in Germany the first time… We even sat at the same seats where Zane Lamprey sat, when he was showcasing the Delirium Cafe bar.

Below are photos from our 2008 visit.

Since 2008, the Delirium “Village” has really expanded. They now have multiple bars and other venues featuring all sorts of different libations. We ended up at the huge Taproom, which offered a large selection of excellent beers on draft. They played good music, too. The only thing I didn’t enjoy about our visit was the restroom I visited, which was not very clean or well stocked, and it didn’t smell pleasant. It wasn’t until we were about done for the evening that I noticed there was one closer to where we were sitting. But at least I got a few pictures of Jeanneke Pis– a female version of the more famous male statue, located in the Delirium Village. And this time, she wasn’t “behind bars.”

I think we skipped eating dinner on that night, although we got plenty of calories from beer… and I got a few more photos before we turned in for the evening.

*I would have liked to have tried this place.*

We decided to turn in, after a full day of visiting Brussels. The next day, which was Tuesday, our last full day in Brussels, we visited the famous Atomium. I’ll write about that experience in the next post!

BeNeLux, booze tourism, Brussels, YouTube

Pardon My French: Brussels and Paris 2026 (part three)

Featured photo is from the Toone Bar… which is also a historic puppet theater.

Sunday morning, Bill and I woke up, got dressed, and had breakfast in the hotel lobby. We were under the impression that we’d be having breakfast in the lobby all week, since the receptionist had told us the restaurant was under renovation. But it turned out the lounge breakfast was only to occur on Sunday. I was glad of that, since it wasn’t an ideal location.

Because we got there at 8:00 AM, there wasn’t a lot of seating in the lounge. We ended up sitting at a very low table, right next to the drink station. Bill fought with the Nespresso type coffee machine, which wasn’t properly set up. We got the side eye from a European couple, who happened to be at breakfast on three out of the four mornings we were at the hotel. I did fall in love with the marvelous pastries, though… It’s good that I don’t have access to them every day!

After breakfast, we decided to take a walk around and see what we could find in Brussels. It didn’t take us long before we wound up at the Belgian Beer World. This fantastic and very modern museum is in a huge, beautiful, surprisingly ornate building. We thought maybe the museum would be one tenant in the massive location, but it took up the entire edifice, with a cafe, brasserie, rooftop bar, and interactive exhibits on several floors.

We happened to be there at 10:30 AM, which was when the museum opened for the day. And, we were also the first ones to explore the museum on that Sunday morning. Tickets were 21,50€ for adults, but because Bill is 61 years old, he got a senior discount, and only had to pay 19,50€. He took it with good humor!

Below are a few photos from the walk to the Beer World, which was very close to Le Fleur de Ville, our hotel. One thing I love about Belgium is the quirky, and sometimes a bit off-color humor that is often on display there. They don’t take themselves too seriously!

*These kinds of comical murals are on a number of buildings around Brussels.*

And below are a few outside photos of the massive Belgian Beer World, which is an impressive place to explore Belgium’s national drink. As a beer lover, I can confirm it’s a fun place to visit, even for children. There are lots of interactive and multimedia exhibits there, presented in several languages.

We walked up the steps and into the massive foyer… I got more photos of the very ornate interior of this building, called La Bourse… This was just the first floor! Until 1996, this historic building was home to Belgium’s financial markets. Now, it’s been renovated to house a fun and fascinating museum dedicated to beer! What could be a better use for such a grand address? 🤭 La Bourse was designed by the Belgian architect, Léon-Pierre Suys between 1868 and 1873. It is now thought to be “a true marvel of 19th century neoclassical style.”

According to the Beer World’s Web site: La Bourse was the site of heroic action: during the First World War, the Bourse district of the city was the epicenter of the clandestine press, a symbol of the Belgian resistance against the occupier.

Besides housing Belgian Beer World, it also serves as a place for hosting temporary exhibits and events. Below are a few photos of the interior:

After we got our tickets to the museum, we climbed up some steps, and took a journey into Belgian beer and the history surrounding it. Below is a photo dump of all the pictures I got at this place, which entertained us for a good while. We learned that beer, at least back in the days before sanitation, was quite literally a lifesaver!

At this point, we had the chance to taste a couple of Belgian styles. We had a brown beer and a lambic… and once again, I ran into someone who badly needed a breath mint. Fortunately, that was the last occurrence of shocking halitosis on this trip.

After tasting the beer, we climbed another flight of stairs and encountered a truly funny exhibit… The Yeast Theatre! This exhibit involved sitting in a closed theatre, as if we were in a glass of beer, and an animated yeast told us the story of fermentation. I even got some video of it! The show happens continuously every ten minutes or so. You go in and sit down; the doors close, and then the fun begins.

Learning about Belgian beer production through a fun exhibit.

After the Yeast Theatre, there’s more to see in the museum, until it’s time to choose which beer you want to sample in the rooftop bar…

A short video showing how we were recommended “free” beers to try in the rooftop bar…

There were several of these interactive virtual barkeep people, “helping” us decide which beer to try.

After we got coasters with the names of the beers that were suggested for our tastes (we both got the same suggestions), we went to the rooftop bar. This was a great culmination after spending the morning learning about Belgian beers. I had a Blanche de Brussels Rosee, which is one I’d never tried before. Bill’s choice was a bit more run of the mill, although I can’t remember which beer he chose. He did say it was kind of ordinary, which is too bad.

We could have stayed and purchased more beer, if we’d wanted to. They offer “flights” at the museum. But we decided to move on and find some lunch. I got some more photos of the bar and the rooftop terrace, which offered lovely views of Brussels. It was a nice day, with just slightly chilly temperatures. We also could have visited the Archeo Site under La Bourse, Bruxella 1238, which unfortunately, we completely forgot about after trying the beer. I wish we’d remembered to check it out. Maybe we’ll get there next time, if we manage another Brussels visit. I’d definitely be up for another trip to Belgian Beer World.

I had noticed that a bar that we visited in 2008, at the Theatre Royal de Toone, was not going to be open on Monday or Tuesday. I definitely wanted to go there again, since we had such a memorable experience the last time we visited Brussels. So we left the Belgian Beer World, and had lunch at a place called Bier Central Brussels. Once again, I had croquettes, which I think kind of put me over the edge. I love them in small doses, though. Bill had sausage with mashed potatoes and bacon… a Belgian version of “bangers and mash”, if you like.

*Ahhh… the Duchesse… one of my favorites!*

After lunch, we headed for the Toone Bar…

If you’re thinking we drink a lot of beer, you’re right. Ordinarily, we probably would not have followed our beer soaked lunch with a visit to a bar, but I really wanted to visit the Toone Bar, which I discovered very much by accident in 2008. I remember we had taken a day trip to Bruges, and came back to the city, looking for something to do on our last day in Brussels. We were walking around, dodging the restaurant row barkers, when just at the right time, I looked to my left, and saw this sign…

*One of two entrances to the Toone Bar and marionette theater, circa 2008.*

If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you might know that I love to explore alleys and alcoves. I’ve found some of our most memorable and quirky restaurants, bars, and shops that way. The Toone Theatre is a historic site in Brussels, but in 2008, I found it completely by chance. It seemed like no one else knew about it, either, because it was fairly empty on that Sunday afternoon. I remember enjoying several beers there, while the barkeep played awesome 60s and 70s era rock music. I also remember someone smoking in there during our visit. In 2026, that is no longer allowed!

I wanted to visit the bar again, but didn’t remember exactly where it was. So I used the GPS function on my phone, which was kind of worthless. We did eventually find our way to the bar, although this time, we entered through the other side from where we entered in 2008. I got lots of pictures, and we drank several beers. Unfortunately, the music wasn’t as good this time, and it was definitely not deserted… But the beers were still excellent, and the ambiance was just as quirky and fun!

Here’s a big photo dump… One thing to know about this bar is that the toilets are up some old steps. You get to the men’s room before the ladies’ room, and it reeks a bit of stale urine. One of the ladies’ stalls is extremely small and narrow, though long. The other is not as narrow, but a bit shorter. I hope one day, we can go back to this bar and actually watch one of the marionette shows! It is, after all, a puppet theater, first and foremost!

As you might have suspected, by the time we were finished at the Toone Bar, I was a bit loaded. We decided to go back to the hotel so we could process the Belgian beers. On our way there, we walked through The Grand Place. Unfortunately, this was where I wiped out on loose cobblestone. A shocked waiter witnessed my spill, which resulted in a twisted ankle and sprained finger, both of which are mostly healed now… I wrote about my fall in my main blog. If you are really interested in reading my thoughts right after it happened, you can click here for the story when it was fresh.

*People were lined up at this bakery, which was selling wonderful breads.*

After my fall, I was understandably in kind of a bad mood. We ate dinner in our hotel room, which we picked up from a Syrian restaurant just across the street from Le Fleur de Ville.

*Sometimes it’s handy to book a suite… I drank Coke at dinner time!*

That about does it for our very “beery” Sunday in Brussels. In the next part, I’ll write about our visit to Mannekin Pis, the Friet Museum, and the Chocolate Museum, as well as a restaurant called Drug Opera. You don’t want to miss that, 😏, so stay tuned!

adventure, BeNeLux, booze tourism, Brussels, Champagne Bucket trips

Pardon My French: Brussels and Paris 2026 (part two)

The featured photo was taken in September 2008… It’s too cool not to share.

I don’t know what I was expecting when we arrived in Brussels on a Saturday night. The weather was pleasant. The sun was out, and the temperature wasn’t too chilly. Naturally, lots of people were out and about, including plenty of people who observe the Islamic faith. Ramadan just ended, so they were enjoying life! Bill and I walked around The Grand Place (or Grote Markt), which was teeming with people… tourists, families, children chasing huge bubbles… there were probably some scammers out there, too.

Below are a few photos from near our hotel.

And a few photos from the amazing Grand Place, which is just as gilded as I remembered it… I got a little carried away getting photos of the kids and the bubbles. The mood was very festive!

Naturally, with all of these folks out and about, finding a place to eat was a bit of a challenge. I don’t like eating in really crowded restaurants, and it seemed like everywhere we looked, there were crowds. Bill and I walked around a bit more, including through Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, which we remembered from our first visit in 2008. It was packed with people! We also walked past La Mort Subite, a bar we first became aware of by watching Three Sheets, a cable show about drinking hosted by Zane Lamprey. We visited there in 2008, too.

*One of Brussels’ famous shopping galleries…*

Fortunately, I’m pretty good at finding hidden gems. We turned left from Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, and I spotted what looked like a cute restaurant. We went closer and Bill poked his head in. The proprietor asked if we had reservations. We didn’t, but luckily, he had a spot for us in a cozy alcove at the back of his little restaurant, which apparently has two names– O Bifanas (Chez Sebastiao). The menus say Chez Sebastio, but the Web site and door outside say O Bifanas.

Now… the proprietor at this little Portuguese restaurant is one I’ll never forget. Why? Because the man has TWO moustaches. He’s got one in the usual place, and another on his chin. I had never seen anything like that before– it was hard not to stare at it. The edges of the moustaches were curled in a very distinctive and obvious way. It brought a smile to my face. I like people who aren’t afraid to be a little eccentric in their appearances. If you Google “double moustache”, you’ll see exactly what I mean… I guess it’s a Portuguese thing. On the other hand, Google says that double moustaches are the “latest trend.” Now that I’ve seen one once, I’ll probably see them everywhere. Below is one random example I found…

*Sebastiao managed to pull off his double moustache look better than this guy does…*

I took a seat facing toward the front door, while Bill faced me. Pretty soon, the tiny dining room was full of a mostly local crowd. Sebastiao brought out some bread, butter, and olives, and we ordered wine. I decided on shrimp croquettes and salmon filet for dinner. Bill had shrimp as a starter, and a rice and shellfish stew for his entree. Both entrees were so huge that we had leftovers.

The pace of dinner was very… leisurely. We arrived at the restaurant at about 7:00 or so, and we were still there at 10:00… and we didn’t have dessert. Still, it was an enjoyable evening. The double moustache alone was worth the trip. I particularly enjoyed seeing Bill in his “bib”, which was really necessary, since he had so many shellfish to crack. I noticed a few more tables in the upstairs, where the toilets were. I don’t know how often they are open, since it looked like Sebastiao was working alone.

I don’t remember how much we paid for this super lengthy Portuguese feast, but we must have pleased Sebastiao, because he was smiling broadly and gave us big hugs as we were leaving. I’ve seen mixed reviews for his restaurant. One person even claimed he was “very rude”. I suppose anyone can have a bad day, but he was very nice to us, even if he was a little slow. On the other hand, there’s something to be said for a man who sets the pace of his restaurant. I enjoyed eating there. We didn’t have anywhere else to go, anyway. The food was good, and we weren’t hungry when we waited for it. However… I think we ended up ordering more wine, because it took so long to get our main courses that we ran out of it. 🤭

We walked back to the hotel and found that the turndown fairies had visited. They put down the shade on the one window in the room and left us a little treat on the nightstand. I also noticed the welcome cookies. That made a nice dessert.

After a quick shower in the generously sized shower, with the loose temperature knob, Bill and I turned in for the night. We were warned that the restaurant in the Fleur de Ville was under renovations, so we would be having breakfast in the lounge. More on that in the next post…

Below are a few “artsy” photos from my fancy camera… I carried it, so I might as well share a few shots!

And a few more shots I took back in September 2008… Seems like the gold is more polished in 2026. Or maybe I just have a nicer camera.

adventure, BeNeLux, Brussels, Champagne Bucket trips, Cologne

Pardon My French: Brussels and Paris 2026… (part one)

Well, hello out there in Internetland. Long time, no read. It’s been over two whole weeks since my last travel post. We didn’t even do anything special for St. Patrick’s Day this year… although since that’s the day we lost our sweet beagle, Arran (in 2023), March 17th is now sort of a “day of infamy”.

The good news is, Bill and I just got back from our latest trip, so this blog is about to “spring” back to life. Well, it’s good news if you like reading about other people’s vacations, I guess. For me, it gives me something to remember when I can’t do this kind of stuff anymore. As our world gets more complicated, that day could come sooner, rather than later.

If you follow my main blog, you might remember that we had a really hard time deciding where to go for this trip. In fact, I even “lost” a family member over planning this vacation. That’s a really stupid story– how I got publicly “disowned” by my cousin over our decision to go to Belgium and France– so I’ll spare you the details here. If you really want to read about it, follow the link. My main blog needs the love.

I think I wrote at least three posts about the ridiculous fight I had with my alcoholic cousin over planning our spring vacation. 🙄 Yes, I know it’s “personal business”, but sometimes people enjoy reading about that kind of shit. If you don’t, though, no worries. I’ll understand completely!

Anyway, on with my story about Brussels and Paris, 2026!

This trip to Brussels and Paris was decided by a “champagne bucket drawing”. Regular followers of my blog might know that many times, Bill and I decide on where to go for our vacations by drawing slips of paper from our champagne bucket.

For this trip, we had initially drawn Croatia, which would have been amazing! But I didn’t think we had enough time to do what I really want to do in Croatia. So, we drew again, and picked Belgium. I was cool with Belgium, because I always have a good time there. I remembered how much fun we had in Brussels, when we went there in 2008. I wanted to go back there for more beer, frites, and chocolate. We added Paris, because we also enjoyed that city, last time we went there in 2009.

Although we often drive when we take our European trips, for this one, we decided to go by train. The main reason we opted for trains this time is because driving in European capital cities can be a huge, expensive, pain in the ass. The trains in Europe are usually very efficient and comfortable, especially in first class. However, using trains can also be problematic, our personal story of which I’ll get to in the course of writing this series.

In any case, on the morning of Saturday, March 21st, Bill took our dogs, Noyzi and Charlie, to their favorite Hundepension. Then, that afternoon, we took a taxi to the Frankfurt Airport train station to catch a mid afternoon high speed Inter-City Express Train (ICE) to Brussels. The taxi driver remembered Bill from a previous booking. I think he’s a local guy! He wanted us to book him for a ride back to our house yesterday… and kept talking about how he could drive us to Brussels. After what happened yesterday, maybe we should have considered doing that. But again, I’ll get to that part of the story later.

The taxi driver dropped us at the Frankfurt Airport train station and, as usual, we were pretty early. So we stopped for a coffee break… something I very rarely do.

*I had a caramel macchiato… first time for me, I think!*

The first time we went to Brussels, back in September 2008, Bill and I took an ICE train from Stuttgart to Cologne (Köln), then quickly caught a French/Belgian Thalys train from Cologne to Brussels. Thalys, as a brand, is now defunct; it’s since been merged with Eurostar, the folks responsible for the English Channel Tunnel (Chunnel).

Because we used Deutsche Bahn’s ICE train, we were able to take a train directly from the Frankfurt Airport station to the Brussels Nord station. Our convenient jaunt ran for just under three hours and included stops in Cologne, Aachen, and Liege before arriving at the Brussels Nord station at about 5:00 PM. Bill booked us first class seats at a four top table, with seats facing each other. He did that so that I would be assured of not having to ride backwards. My husband is remarkably considerate. 🤭

Below are some photos from the ride. It was a little bit rainy, and I was on the wrong side of the train for the best photos… I took these at the Cologne stop, which is where we were joined by a very tall man who was apparently a hacker. He kept looking at what I was doing on my iPad. I don’t know why the guy sat next to us. The car had plenty of empty seats, as well as a totally unclaimed “four top” at the front of the car. But he sat next to me and typed away while we made our way to Brussels.

*I wish we’d gotten one of these “two tops”… He was too slow on the draw.*

We have been to Cologne ourselves a couple of times. It’s a great city! I wouldn’t mind going back there someday, if the fates allow. It’s not a long trip from the Frankfurt Airport station, but it has a different feel… plus, I enjoy their local beer.

As we passed the Aachen station, I was feeling a little wistful. I’d actually considered booking a hotel in Aachen, because we’ve never been there, and I have heard it’s an interesting city. But it had been so long since we last left Germany for any reason, and I was eager to go somewhere that felt different. Although our last trip to Belgium was in the fall of 2024, our last trip to France was in March 2022! We were way overdue for a visit!

I didn’t take pictures of the Aachen or Liege stations, because I didn’t see anything worth photographing from the train. However, both cities are places I hope to visit someday.

We arrived in Brussels right on time, and made our way out of the Nord station to find a taxi to our hotel, Le Fleur de Ville. This hotel happened to be a block away from The Dominican, the hotel we stayed in when we visited Brussels in 2008. I remember really liking The Dominican, which is a former abbey turned into a “design hotel”. I also remember watching Barack Obama and John McCain debating on the television in our suite… Wow… those were the days!

*We stayed here for Labor Day weekend in 2008.*

I decided not to book The Dominican again, though, because I wanted to try a different place. Hotel Le Fleur fit the bill nicely, although we didn’t get the greatest first impression. The hotel itself is in a very beautiful building: according to it’s official Web site– it was once the “Caisse Générale d’Epargne et de Retraite, an 1850s national savings bank.” But when we arrived in the late afternoon of March 21st, we found the front desk completely unmanned. We waited several minutes before two swarthy men in suits arrived to check us in. Unfortunately, one of them also really needed a breath mint. Sorry… I know that’s kind of a rude observation, but it did make an impression.

I booked us in a room they called The Beyaert Suite, which was on the fourth floor. It was a very large and well appointed room. Below are some photos from the hotel lobby and our suite, which offered everything but a great view. The window was too high up to see out of, but that was okay. We weren’t in a particularly scenic area, anyway.

We were very happy with the room, although it wasn’t cheap. I think for four nights, we paid roughly 2,000 euros, which I’ll admit is a lot of money. But that’s still not as much as what we paid in Paris. I’ll get to that part later. 😬

I know some people would be shocked by the price of the hotel lodging. We certainly didn’t need such a grand room. But when I go on vacation, especially now that I’m well into my 50s, I like to spoil myself a bit. We’ve spent many years staying in inexpensive places, so I figure we deserve a splurge now and then. We also really needed a proper vacation, since our most recent travels were for specific things like visiting our dentist, getting Bill into the Jung Institute, and traveling places for Bill’s work. Our last pleasure trip was in June 2025… which I know is more recent than a lot of people’s most recent pleasure trip has been.

Anyway, enough disclaimers and explanations from me. I do want to state for the record, though, that there are cheaper rooms at this property. And it is a very lovely hotel, convenient to Brussel’s most popular tourist sites.

After we got settled in our extravagant room at the hotel, we went for a walk around The Grand Place, and got some dinner. That story is going to be a lengthy one, so I’ll put that in part two.

Brussels, Champagne Bucket trips, chocolate, trip planning

A champagne drawing and a coin flip later…

Featured photo is Bill when we were younger and cuter… trying a flight of beers in Brussels, back in September 2008.

So… after a VERY dramatic weekend (detailed on my main blog), Bill and I finally figured out where we will be going on our next vacation. Although it’s not usually difficult for us to decide where to travel, this time it was really hard to make our choices. A lot has to do with what’s going on in the world right now. We wanted to avoid risk and hassles, yet still have fun.

For this vacation, which starts on March 21st, we considered Croatia, Albania, Poland, The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Italy, and Austria. I didn’t really want to go to Italy, because we went there a year ago. I love Italy, but I wanted to go somewhere different. However, I had it in mind that I wanted to go to a nice spa, and a lot of the best ones are in South Tyrol, which is in Italy.

My mind started changing about the appeal of the spa hotels when I realized that a lot of them are resorts. Sometimes I enjoy the resorts, which usually come with half board. But they do have a drawback, because sometimes having included food means that we don’t try as many restaurants or get off the resort’s property as much as we should. Sometimes resorts can be noisy and crowded.

Also, some resorts kind of have a cruise ship feel, which I didn’t think I’d enjoy right now. We went to a resort hotel in the South Tyrol back in 2020– during the height of the pandemic– and we got the side eye from so many people because we were Americans in Europe at a time when Americans weren’t supposed to be in Europe. Now, our dumbass POTUS has taken us to war with Iran. The last thing I want to deal with is people blaming me personally for what Trump does, especially when I am on vacation.

When we were finally ready to make a choice, I put my hand in the champagne bucket and pulled out a slip of paper that read… CROATIA! Yea! I love Croatia, and there are a lot of places I want to see there, especially after our visit in 2021. But then I started looking into the logistics of doing what I really wanted to do, and I realized that it would work better as a road trip. We don’t have enough time for a proper road trip for this vacation.

However, March is a good time to go see places like Split and Dubrovnik, because there aren’t so many tourists at this time of year. It’s also not hot right now. Maybe next year, or in the fall, we can do that… if we haven’t been kicked out of Europe.

So, I drew again, and pulled out a slip of paper that read… BELGIUM! Great! It’s funny, because before I started getting totally overwhelmed with choices, I had thought to myself that I wanted to go to Belgium again. We’ve been a few times since we moved back to Germany in 2014, but we have not ventured back to the capital city– Brussels. Bill and I visited Brussels in 2008, when we were a lot younger and poorer. We had an absolute BLAST!

I remember just before we went for Labor Day weekend, Bill was working really hard and putting in a lot of overtime. He sent me a funny email that read, “I want to go to Brussels and see Mannekin Pis.” It was mainly because he was really pissed off! We spent the weekend eating frites, waffles, chocolate, and croissants. We also drank a shitload of excellent beer! And we also took a day trip to Bruges. I don’t think we’ll go to Bruges again this time, since we’ve been back there since our 2008 trip. But I do know of some bars I want to visit again. I have also booked us a very nice looking and rather posh hotel!

Check out these old photos from September 2008!

We last went to the city of Paris in May 2009, for Memorial Day weekend. It was right after Bill learned that we were going to have to leave Europe a year sooner than we planned. I was PISSED. This was something that had been orchestrated by Bill’s narcissistic war boss, who was later very publicly fired. Going back to the US a year early ended up working out for us, in the long run. Still, I was not happy about being yanked a year early, especially when it turned out that the job Bill had been “handpicked for” was just a bullshit billet so that Bill’s ex boss could move a different guy to a more prestigious job. But, as you can see, we got that year back and then some… many times over.

Below are some photos from our 2009 trip to Paris. I went there once before, back in September 1997, right after Princess Diana died. Unfortunately, that trip was with my sister, who was driving me crazy…

We had a great time in Paris. I remember at one point, we went to this very unassuming little brasserie and had the most wonderful lunch. Bill discovered a new favorite wine that we actually found a couple of bottles of in the States. I actually considered going to the the winery that produces that wine, down in Narbonne. I decided not to because, again, the logistics were a bit difficult for the amount of time we have.

We decided to go to Paris after considering going to the Champagne region. I actually wanted to go to Champagne, but realized that it would be a logistical hassle getting back to Frankfurt because we are doing this trip by train, instead of driving. Going to Brussels by train is a snap from Frankfurt. In fact, we went by the now defunct Thalys train in 2008. And going to Paris from Brussels is also easy; I think we’ll be using the Eurostar train, which is what replaced Thalys. Last time we went to Paris, we flew Air France, which was a mistake, mainly because it took FOREVER to get to the city from the airport.

We can still visit Champagne if we want to, as it’s only a 39 minute train ride from Paris. But I have a feeling we’ll just drink bubbly in the City of Lights!

I have found us a lovely hotel in Paris, too… in a different area of the city than where we stayed last time we visited. In 2009, we went to Montparnasse, and stayed in a hotel near the Luxembourg Gardens and a bar where Ernest Hemingway used to frequent. This time, we’ll be in the heart of the city, near the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. Maybe this time, we’ll even go up the Eiffel Tower, which I haven’t done on either of my previous visits. We’re also finally going to visit the Louvre.

Anyway… this adventure starts in twelve days, and will last until March 29th. Hopefully, all will go well, and nothing horrific will happen between now and then. Knock on wood!

Utah

"Dirty art"…

Warning… this post includes photos of naked people depicted in murals and sculptures, all of which were photographed in public places in Europe. If you are offended by artistic nudity, please move on to your next stop on the World Wide Web.

Just a few minutes ago, I was staring at this blog, trying to decide if I wanted to post anything today. I’ve pretty much milked our recent trip for all its worth, after all. And then I visited one of my favorite online hangouts and quickly got inspired.

Someone had posted an article from KSL.com about residents in Coalville, Utah whose city was beautified by a statue called “Leaf Dancer”. Artist Milt Neely had made an abstract sculpture of a woman wearing leaves. Apparently, some of the local residents felt the statue was “immodest”, so they began collecting old clothes, which they then used to dress the statue.

The artist apparently doesn’t mind that his artwork is being altered. He says he wants people to talk about his art; otherwise why do it? I have to admit he has a point… although to me it does seem very disrespectful to take it upon yourself to cover up someone’s else’s artwork.

It then occurred to me that if any of the folks who felt that statue was “immodest” ever went to Florence, Italy, they would be in for a real eyeful. Bill and I toured a museum in Florence that featured works by Michaelangelo… nude statues that displayed the human body in all its naked glory… I have to admit, I’ve been married for ten years and I was a little awestruck by the sight of some of that art.

Two murals we saw in a Florence cathedral… The residents of Coalville would be scandalized!

On the other hand, I guess there is something to be said for having fun with art. Case in point, Mannekin Pis in Brussels, Belgium regularly gets dressed in outfits that come from around the world. Mannekin Pis wasn’t dressed when Bill and I visited him in 2008.

Mannekin Pis

Jeanneke Pis

God bless the Belgians!!

A storefront in Venice. The mannequin is wearing a pair of sparkly undies that says “I love my president…”

I guess if the artist isn’t concerned about it and the community likes it, it’s okay to cover up the “dirty art” in Coalville, Utah. At least they’re doing it with a sense of fun and not shaming the poor artist for being too “immodest” with his vision of his artwork. But it also drives home to me that I would probably hate living in Utah or any other place where people are so squeamish about “modesty”. I think it’s a stretch calling “Leaf Dancer” immodest… and feeling the need to cover up an abstract statue is weird and ridiculous. The female form isn’t nasty and sculptures aren’t actual humans. It’s the same kind of nonsense as the mom I blogged about who complained that her daughter’s Barbie dolls were akin to porn.

A naked statue in Norway.

This sculpture was in Liechtenstein…

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: Brussels