Tag Archives: Carrefour

BeNeLux

The last full day in Mons (part five)

On Friday morning, Bill told me he would probably be finished early and would come back to the hotel at some point after noon. So, instead of walking around Mons on Friday, I decided to wait for Bill to come back to the hotel. I put the “do not disturb” sign on the door and waited for a private message. I finally got one indicating that he’d be back in the early afternoon.

I got a little bored waiting for him, so I made another talking video for YouTube. It was about our experience at the restaurant the night before, listening to the blowhard talk about his vast experiences as a foodie. I mainly made the video to pass the time, since I find typing on my laptop somewhat difficult. If you know where to look, you can find my video, but I don’t think I’ll post it here. I like to keep the travel blog somewhat PG rated. 😉

When Bill got back to the hotel, I told him about La Fontaine, the charming little brasserie I’d noticed the day before. I looked them up on Google, and saw that they were open for lunch. So we headed over there, and found that yes, indeed, La Fontaine is a local gem in Mons. It was bustling with business! They had room for us, though, so we took a seat and waited a bit for them to get to us. There were a couple of boisterous parties there for lunch that were taking up their attention.

The waitress who helped us didn’t speak perfect English, but she spoke enough to answer when I asked if the lasagna had mushrooms. It didn’t, so I ordered that. Bill had pork loin with mashed potatoes and gravy. Both dishes were excellent, and we washed them down with local beers. I couldn’t help but notice the friendly, convivial air in the restaurant. I could see why it was so busy, and I was very glad I’d found it. Bill and I agreed it was our favorite place of all the restaurants we tried in Mons. And there are many more we didn’t get a chance to try.

I really liked the lasagna because it was such a nice change of pace. Somehow, I managed to eat the whole thing! The waitress told me that usually, they do make it with mushrooms. I’m glad I asked before I ordered it. It was delicious!

A little amuse…
He appeared to be a local character. I was struck by his sartorial savvy.
They gave us a house digestive of homemade brandy after we paid.

By the time we finished lunch, it was late afternoon. Bill and I had a feeling we might be too full to go out again, so we stopped by the Delhaize on the way back to the hotel to pick up some snacks and wine. It’s so weird to see the lion logo, which looks so much like Food Lion. Now that I know Food Lion is owned by the same company, it makes sense!

That’s pretty much all I have to write about Friday, as we basically hung out in the hotel room, talked, drank wine, and maybe watched a little TV? I don’t even know… I did buy some hamburger flavored Lays Potato Chips because I was curious. They mostly tasted like pickles. We got some Belgian chocolate bars and long chips, which are kind of like Pringles, but in long, rectangular strips.

22 years of bliss…
He’s so good to me…

We went to bed early, and on Saturday morning, woke up to our 22nd wedding anniversary. Bill gave me one of his trademark mushy cards, which I really appreciated. He said he’d actually bought the card for another occasion, but misplaced it. This year, there was no time for him to find a new one, so he used the one above when he happened to find it.

I’ve been feeling a bit out of sorts, depressed, and anxious since Election Day. Bill’s card was a real morale booster. We had breakfast, loaded up the car, checked out of the Belgian hotel, and made our way north to The Netherlands. I will write about that in the next post.

Before we got on the road, though, we stopped at the enormous Carrefour store at a huge shopping center, just outside of Mons, and picked up some beer to bring back to Germany. I’ve been enjoying our haul all week. Feast your eyes! Maybe we should take a day trip back into Belgium for another beer run. Why not? I really enjoyed Mons and would happily go back, although next time, I would prefer a different hotel. I also wish we’d remembered to buy some chocolate… but then, maybe it’s better that we didn’t.

The drive up to The Netherlands was pretty boring. It was cloudy and grey outside, and there wasn’t much to see on the drive. I didn’t take any pictures, so now is a good time to stop until the next posting. Stay tuned, because the next post will be a big one.

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My Belgian birthday! Part three

On our first morning, Bill headed into the very small town and picked up some croissants from one of the two local bakeries.  He also bought a loaf of very fresh farmhouse bread, which we didn’t end up finishing.  It was huge!

As we enjoyed eggs from Marianne’s chickens and milk from the farm next door, we discussed what our plans were for the day.  Although I hadn’t expressly planned it, our location put us very close to the beach.  Since I grew up near the beach and miss the water, I decided we should head there for lunch and a stroll along the shore.  It turns out Koksidje, located on the North Sea, is maybe about a half hour’s drive from Alveringem.  I was impressed by the beach.  The sand was really nice and the water was warm and inviting.  I wished I’d brought a bathing suit!

The tide was way out when we visited.

Bill checks out the long walk to the water.

I thought this was a crack pipe at first.  Gotta stop watching cop shows.

I took a picture of this house because it was cool looking.

We found a parking spot in a shopping area right next to the beach, took a short stroll around the neighborhood, and stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Rimini.  There was plenty of outdoor seating, but I preferred an inside table.  I like to spare my skin from too much sun if I can .

Bill looking severe.  I’m not sure why.

 

The menu was in French and Dutch, but our waiter spoke perfect English.

I took a picture of this so I wouldn’t forget the name of the restaurant.

I decided to have shrimp croquettes.  It turns out croquettes are very popular in this part of Belgium.  I saw them offered everywhere.  These reminded me of crabcakes.  I have never been a fan of crabcakes, but I did enjoy the shrimp croquettes.  They were very flavorful and kind of moist.  I’m not sure if they were going for moist, but it wasn’t a bad thing.

Naturally, we also had frites.  Frites are everywhere in Belgium!

Bill had a skewer of grilled shrimp seasoned with curry and served with tartar sauce.  He really enjoyed the shrimp, but I think I liked my moist croquettes more.

I saved room for dessert.  This was called the Grand Dame.  It was bourbon vanilla ice cream with warm chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and a waffle cookie.  How Belgian can you get?  I usually don’t have ice cream for dessert, but I had a craving.  This hit the spot nicely.

Bill had chocolate mousse, which was also very satisfactory.

After we finished eating, we encountered the first of many unisex public restrooms in Belgium.  I actually found that kind of refreshing.  I mean, the stalls were totally private, so it was no big deal.  Of course, I made a mistake and accidentally used the men’s stall.  I guess the urinal should have given me a clue.

Outside of the restaurant.

 

Bill was concerned about our two hour parking limit, but I was dying to walk on the sand and test the water.  I convinced him no parking authorities would come running out to ticket him if I took a few minutes to enjoy the beach.  He relented and I went down to the water, which had very gentle surf and was pleasantly warm.  I could have stayed there all day.  It was just lovely.  The sand was lovely, too… no pebbles or rocks.

On the way back to the car, we got mooned by a statue.

The Hokey Pokey perhaps?

One last shot of the sand.  I think we may have to come back and do this beach properly.

On the way back to the house, we stopped by the Carrefour.  It’s a very nice place to shop with high quality groceries and home goods.  I liked it because it had a public restroom and nice lighting.  And if I had wanted to, I could have bought a bike.  Like their northern Dutch neighbors, Belgians in Flanders are very partial to biking.  Bikes are everywhere!  And I saw everything from tandem bikes to tricycles!

They even had an electric bike for sale.

You’d never guess this picture was taken next to the Carrefour.  It’s a very pretty area.

 

Although it was only mid afternoon, it was hot out and Bill and I felt like hanging out with the dogs and drinking beer.  So that’s what we did.  We went back to the house and watched American TV on Belgian cable, drank some excellent Belgian brews, and hung out with Zane and Arran.  Bill cooked dinner and we turned in early with big plans to visit Bruges on Sunday.

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