Tag Archives: frites

BeNeLux, Luxury

A massive lodging upgrade in The Netherlands… (part six)

We arrived in the village of Nistelrode, North Brabant in The Netherlands at some point around lunchtime. Because we didn’t know much about the policies at our next stop, we decided to have lunch at a little restaurant in Nistelrode called De Eeterij (The Eatery). It was pretty novel, because it had its own parking lot with free parking!

We went into the place and had a rather large lunch, coupled with tiny Dutch beers. Seriously, it was interesting to come from Belgium to The Netherlands, where draft beers are served in much smaller glasses. But it’s probably just as well, since I ended up drinking Heineken. I used to like Heineken when I was younger and less of a beer snob. Now, I find it pretty skunky.

I had spare ribs with fabulous frites. Bill had chicken satay, which seemed to be a common offering in The Netherlands. The only thing that would have made my dish better, is if they’d offered ketchup for the fries, instead of mayo. I remember in the early 90s, meeting a Belgian guy who played tuba for the “Boogie Band” at Busch Gardens. He ate mayo with his fries, and everyone thought it was so weird! Of course, over here, a lot of people think eating ketchup is weird. I will admit, it does have a lot of sugar… but if you grew up on it, it’s definitely a comfort!

I was amused by the faucets in the bathrooms. They had installed what looked like Heineken beer taps as faucets! However, the rest of the bathroom looked like it could use refurbishing. A new toilet seat would be a step up, at the very least.

Bill went to pay the check, but his Visa cards didn’t work. It turns out that many businesses in The Netherlands don’t take Visa. They prefer MasterCard. Fortunately, he had enough euros to pay for the meal. The lady who took the money asked him if he was sure when he told her to keep the change (about 2,50). Tipping doesn’t seem to be a big thing in The Netherlands.

After we ate, it was closer to the customary check in time. We decided to head to our next lodging, the magnificent golfing resort called The Duke Suites. I found this wonderful spot on Facebook, of all places. I got an ad for it while I was looking for places for us to stay for our anniversary. Although Bill and I are not interested in golf at all, I was intrigued by how beautiful the place looked. It appeared to be a perfect spot for a short (and expensive) rest.

I sent a booking request weeks ago, and it was promptly answered. I didn’t even have to submit a credit card, although the rate was a princely 550 euros per night– more than the monthly rent on my first US based apartment. But, for that, we got a gorgeous room, butler service, included minibar, and a bathroom a person could live in.

A couple of days before we arrived at The Duke Suites, I got an email asking for final details, such as when we would be arriving. I had also booked us a couples’ massage in their spa, and The Charles Experience, which is a six course tasting menu in their restaurant, offered only from Wednesday to Saturday each week. It was lucky that our anniversary fell on Saturday. The email also had instructions about what to do when we arrived. We pulled up to the covered area by the entrance and were met by Marco, who was our butler for most of our stay.

Bill and I are not fancy people, but we do like to splurge sometimes. We once stayed in another golf property, in Hilton Head, South Carolina, back in February 2012. I remember it distinctly, because it was when Whitney Houston died, and she was all over the news. That property also offered butlers, but I don’t remember them doing anything but checking us in. The room we stayed in was beautiful, but it was very much an American resort in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The experience we had at The Duke Suites was very different… and vastly superior.

Marco offered us coffee, tea, or champagne. We had some champagne, since it was our anniversary, and because I am a lush. He showed us our room, explained almost everything (he forgot to tell us the bed was adjustable), and left us there, mouths agape, as we took in the absolutely beautiful accommodations. Then he offered us more champagne, which we declined, since we would be having a lot of wine at dinner. Below are some photos:

Charming Nistelrode.
The road leading to The Duke Estates.
The lobby at The Duke Suites.
Checking in.
A welcome snack with fizz.
The bed.
I loved the fireplace.
The curtains were remote controlled!
I loved these chairs. So comfortable, and wide enough for my butt.
Our terrace!
Bathroom and dressing area.
Huge tub. I never got to try it.
Minibar. It was included in the room rate and stocked with a bottle of red, white, champagne, and beer…
I want one of these wine fridges for my house!S
Shower

We’ve stayed in some very beautiful hotels, but this one just might be in a class by itself. There were very few people there during our stay, so we pretty much got the place to ourselves. The staff was absolutely wonderful and low key. We never felt awkward or weird, even though we aren’t used to such great service.

After a couple of hours of enjoying the much improved lodging, it was time for dinner. We got showered and changed and called Marco, who escorted us to The Charles Restaurant, which is the club’s “fancy” restaurant in the Clubhouse. The Clubhouse is actually in another building, but The Duke Suites and the Clubhouse are connected by an underground tunnel that make them seem like the same building. If you look at the buildings from the outside, you don’t know that they’re linked, and when you are moving between them, it doesn’t seem like they’re separate. But we later found out that the Clubhouse has been around longer than The Duke Suites. After a couple of days, we realized that a lot of people go there to make business deals. 😉

The Charles Restaurant was a wonderful treat, and to be honest, I don’t know if I can name everything we ate. They did give us cards with the names of the food… You can see it all below. Dinner went on for four hours, but each course was small, so we weren’t stuffed. I think there were three or four other couples there besides us. Fortunately, some of the staff spoke English, so they could describe everything. The only low point of the meal was the foie gras… but I understand that some people love it. Bill opted for a cheese course instead of dessert.

Foie gras!

The price for The Charles Experience with wine was 300 euros for both of us. It was expensive, but not the most expensive meal we’ve ever had. And I’m really glad we got to try it, because they even gave us a little cake for our anniversary, which we enjoyed the next day. There was also a little glass of fruit cocktail waiting for us at our bedsides each night… We were way too full to eat it on Saturday night, but it made a nice prelude before breakfast on Sunday.

Each night, they left us fruit before bed!

To say we were delighted by The Duke Suites’ first impressions is an understatement. It really was wonderful. More on how wonderful it was in the next post!

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BeNeLux

Work in Belgium, play in The Netherlands! (part one)

Yesterday, Bill and I got home from our latest trip. This journey was different from our usual trips, because most of it involved a conference Bill attended in Mons, Belgium. Some weeks ago, Bill told me about this trip and asked me if I wanted to go with him, since it was happening just before our 22nd wedding anniversary. I said yes, because I enjoy Belgium very much. I love most things about it– the chocolate, the beer, the frites, and the irreverent humor, especially!

After the conference, Bill agreed that we would go somewhere more luxurious to celebrate our marriage. He got permission to drive our personal vehicle so we could make that happen. Normally, when Bill goes on work trips, he has to rent a car or fly. Fortunately, his bosses were fine with letting him drive our Volvo.

We didn’t have much choice over where we would spend our days in Belgium. I think Bill had a choice of several hotels that fell within the rates allowed by his company. By the time he was ready to book, a lot of the hotels were already full. Consequently, we ended up at the B&B Hotel Mons Centre, along with a lot of other military types from around Europe.

It was a Facebook ad that led me to book our wonderful accommodations in Nistelrode, Holland (The Netherlands). I wanted a place that was quiet, luxurious, and comfortable, and when I saw The Duke Suites showcased on my Facebook feed, I was immediately curious. The only thing that gave me a moment’s pause was the fact that the place is part of a golf club. Bill and I are not golfers, nor do we aspire to become golfers. However, I did used to work at a country club when I lived in South Carolina, so I am familiar with golfing. Even though the nightly rate was pretty steep, I decided to book it.

With our plans set and Noyzi and Charlie safely boarded at their usual Hundepension, we headed west on November 11th. The drive to Belgium was fairly uneventful. We did stop at a McDonald’s for lunch. That was a regrettable decision, especially since their toilets were closed. They did have port-a-lets outside of the restaurant, but we decided to hold on until we encountered the next Autohof.

Nuns on the run…
Nukes! (my German friend says Germany has gotten rid of its nuclear power plants… this photo was taken in Germany, though.)
I remember when I liked McDonald’s. Now it’s a recipe for indigestion. We should have held out for something better.

When we arrived in Mons, it was already dark. The hotel has a good location, within walking distance of the Grand Place in Mons. However, Bill was challenged by parking, as the hotel has a parking garage, but it’s easy to miss and has a very narrow opening. We didn’t check it out for ourselves, but the parking garage is also reportedly deep, making it a challenge to get in and out of. Someone also parked in front of the door on the first morning and got their car towed! Fortunately, after some repeated circling around the block, Bill managed to find some free street parking. He left our Volvo unbothered in that spot all week.

When we checked in, we were initially given room 156, which was supposedly a “boutique room”. Indeed, it was a large room with chairs and a table, as well as the usual bed. But then when we went into the bathroom, which had a shower stall, I noticed that the toilet seat was not fully connected to the seat. Since I’ve had my share of dealings with half-assed toilet seats, I asked Bill to see if he could get us a room with a better toilet seat. He was successful, and we were moved to room 358.

Below are some photos from room 156…

That green background was a bit depressing.
We didn’t have the chairs in our second room.
Looks like some water warping.
I didn’t want to deal with that seat…
Shower stall.
I probably would have preferred that shower, though.

Below are some photos from our second room. It was smaller, but in better condition. At least the backdrop was less depressing.

That carpet was a bit busy.
I’d rather have a shower stall than a tub…

Once we checked in, Bill and I decided to hunt for some food. As I mentioned up post, the best thing about the B&B Mons Centre Hotel is that it’s very close to the heart of the city. It takes about ten minutes to get to the action on foot. It’s also very close to a large grocery store, which came in handy for us a couple of times.

We didn’t realize it when we arrived in Mons, but there was some kind of carnival going on. It was kind of surreal walking downtown and being confronted by bright rides, games, and street food in the Grand Place. The weather was cool and misty– probably unseasonably warm by local standards. Lots of people were out and about, enjoying the November festivities. This carnival was going on the whole time we were in Mons. No, we didn’t get on any of the rides!

We ended up having dinner at a restaurant called La Grillade, which is a Greek place. They were fairly busy, but they had room for us in the back room. This turned out to be a good choice for dinner, as the back room was nice and quiet, and the food was delicious. I especially appreciated the excellent frites! I had salmon filet, and it was cooked perfectly. Bill had a lamb skewer that he said was most satisfactory. We split a bottle of wine and enjoyed watching a group of men at a nearby table bonding over friendship and good food. The food was good enough that we even had dessert.

The salmon was excellent. The Béarnaise sauce came in handy!
Tiramisu
Chocolate mousse!
Quite an impressive body…
This is the front of the restaurant, but there’s a glare on the sign.

After dinner, we headed back to our hotel. Bill had work in the morning, and I was tentatively planning my first day of exploration around Mons… I know some Americans live there because of SHAPE Headquarters. I don’t think I’d mind living there myself. It’s a very nice town.

So ends the first installment of this series. I’ll be back soon with the next part.

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BeNeLux

Our pet friendly Belgian Labor Day Adventure… Part four

On Saturday morning, Bill and I woke up, had our croissants and coffee, and decided to take a short road trip.  Originally, I said I thought we should see what is in Rochefort, since that is where we had originally intended to go.  Rochefort is a mostly pleasant forty minute drive from Durbuy.  I loved watching the scenery, seeing the little signs for friteries, and passing small towns where excellent Belgian beers are made.

When we got to Rochefort, we found what appeared to be a nice looking town with very little parking.  They were setting up for a little fair, so it was hard to find a good place to land.  Since Rochefort was pretty quiet when we passed through it, I mentioned that I thought we should visit Dinant, which had been suggested by an obnoxious Italian friend of mine who happens to live on the border of Belgium and Germany.

Dinant was probably another forty minutes away, so we drove through some more pretty countryside.  I got a kick out of all the Belgian draft horses I saw grazing in impossibly green pastures.  I was very horse crazy as a kid and still hope to have horses again once we finally settle somewhere and stop renting.

We also drove past a strange sight.  It looked like some kind of Belgian military memorial service.  A whole lot of cars were parked on the side of the two lane road.  I also saw the blue flashing lights of a police car.  As we approached, we saw what appeared to be elderly men and women dressed in regalia that suggested some kind of military memorial.  A few of them gave us peevish looks as we passed.  Had we known that was going on, maybe we would have altered our route.

As a music lover, I am really happy we decided to visit Dinant.  Not only is it a charming town, it’s also the birthplace of Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone!  I did not know this little fact before we visited Dinant, as I had not done any reading about the town.  What clued me in were all the references to saxophones in Dinant.  There are saxophones on a bridge that crosses the river Meuse, which runs through the town.  There are little brass “footsteps” through the main drag with the names of famous sax playing musicians inscribed on them.  There’s a park bench with a statue of Adolphe Sax sitting on it, and a museum, of course.

Dinant also has a fortress on a clifftop, river cruises, a gorgeous cathedral, and lots of restaurants!  Perhaps one of the coolest parts of our visit was driving through a massive rock formation called the Rocher Bayard.  Basically, it looks like a mountain split in two and just large enough for a car to drive through.  It’s said that the rock was split by the massive hoof of a giant horse named Bayard, who carried the four sons of Aymon on their flight from Charlemagne through the Ardennes.

We lucked into a parking spot in a free lot just before the main drag into town.  We parked the car and started walking through the city, which was bustling with people… many of whom were also walking dogs!

We stopped in a green area to have a look at a statue…

Check out these hard, sweet biscuits imprinted by moulds.  These confections are native to the city.  They’re called Couque de Dinant.  I did not know about these cookies before our arrival.  I just noticed them and thought they looked pretty cool.  Turns out, they are special to Dinant.

The first brass footprint I spotted… Glenn Miller!

Those who are so inclined can walk the stairs up to the Citadel of Dinant, which overlooks the city.  We didn’t do it because of the dogs and the fact that we’re old and pudgy.  I also saw a funicular available for those who would rather ride.

Part of Dinant’s massive and impressive cathedral.

Famous sax player John Coltraine’s footprint.

Adolphe Sax’s monument.  Now, every time I hear a song with a saxophone in it, I will say a silent thanks to Adolphe Sax of Dinant, Belgium.

Another sax monument.

The above pictures aren’t so good because of the construction.  If you look closely, you might be able to see the saxophones across the bridge.

 

It was about noon when we decided to stop for lunch.  We chose to sit outside at what looked like a small restaurant overlooking the river.  It turned out the restaurant had a large inside dining room and is pretty well known in Dinant for its mussels and frites.  The place was called Chez Bouboule Le Roi des Moules.  I didn’t sit down there thinking I wanted mussels, though I do enjoy them.  What I was looking for was a quiet spot for the dogs.  When we sat down at noon, that’s what the outside terrace was.  The waitress helpfully brought out a big bowl of water for the dogs.  It was much appreciated!

Bill peruses the menu.  We both decided to have moules with frites.

Bill got his with white wine and garlic…

I had mine prepared with the above beer.

Can’t forget the frites!

I poured the last third of the beer over the mussels…  Both of us were served mussels in small Le Creuset pots.  I managed to finish about two-thirds before I had to stop.  The dogs were loving the mussels, too.

 

By the time we finished lunch, Le Roi des Moules was packed with people.  Zane and Arran behaved beautifully, except when a Belgian Malinois walked past.  Zane had to tell us and the big dog what was what.

Almost finished!  Gasp!  For the longest time, Bill wouldn’t try mussels because he thought they were gross.  I finally got him to relent when we visited France the first time back in 2009.  He is now a fan.

More shots of the city.

These three shots are of Rocher Bayard.  Click the link for better shots.

 

Although Dinant was a bit bustling for us with our two pooches, it does appear to be a very dog friendly town.  There also seems to be a lot to do.  If we ever go back to Belgium with our dogs, I might have to look into finding a place close to this city and checking it out more closely.  The fact that it has such a tie to music is enough of a reason to go.

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