Sunday, January 21, 2007
New Location for Pictures
I have a new spot for pictures via Picasa. If you haven't tried Picasa, I recommend checking it out as it allow viewers to see a larger picture. It also allowed me to put pictures directly into my blog which is a nice ease of use feature.
Cheers!
http://picasaweb.google.com/hellokittyinlondon
Cheers!
http://picasaweb.google.com/hellokittyinlondon
Me in Brussels
Mannequin pis in Brussels
Chocolate, French, Beer, Seafood, Coffee, and Waffles (not necessarily in that order)
Another weekend away and another country. This weekend it was Belgium (12JAN)…Brussels to be exact. Just a hop away from London and you are in the land of chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. Of course, it probably helped that Annette, my travel partner for the weekend, is a bit of a chocaholic. Our 40 minute flight from London and we were in the Siru Hotel in Brussels after a full day of work. We had very small but comfortable room in the major hotel district just outside of the centre of Brussels. We dropped off our stuff in our room and went out. The hotel desk was quite helpful with a free map and several suggestions.
We were tired and hungry and headed off towards the Grand Plas. Drug Opera, what a name for a giant pub! I had my first Chimay (blue label) in Belgium and they had 4 different types. As a bottle fermented beer, it allows other taste opportunities and higher alcohol content than is achieved in cask or barrel ale. Annette had a lovely Croquette Monsieur and I had a nice Parma ham pizza.
Saturday morning brought our hotel breakfast which was generous and adequate but nothing special. Of course for £150 for the flight, 2 nights hotel, and breakfast, we could not complain much. We didn’t have to walk too far until we started to see the chocolate shops…many, many, many Belgium chocolate shops with piles of fabulous looking chocolate in all shapes and sizes in the many windows.
As we wandered around in the city we stumbled upon an Umpa Band, probably not what it is called but what it sounded like to me, polka type music with lots of horns. We noticed everyone gathered around a statue, many with cups in their hands. The statue was the Mannequin Pis which is a small boy standing naked and peeing. It is a very famous statue and most of us have likely seen images of it at one time or another. As we learned the following day at the museum, the statue gets lots of attention in Brussels. The story goes that a young boy was lost in the city and his father was desperately searching for him. When he finally found him, he was in the position of the statue, taking a pee. In the museum we saw the hundreds of costumes that have been donated to the city for the statue and he is frequently dressed in them. On this day he was dressed similar to the folks in the band. They had set a special contraption so beer was coming out of the statue. In this case it was a red colour to which Annette and I immediately likened to hematuria or blood in the urine. Medical humour, we nurses can’t resist. Everyone certainly seemed to be enjoying the beer.
The main square is really lovely with incredibly ornate buildings, one of which is the castle where the monarchs lived at one time. We also saw the very old St. Catherine’s church which seems to be a Greek Orthodox church at the present time.
Saturday afternoon we sampled some delicious Belgium beers in an area recommended by our hotel reception. The suggestions turned out to be great and we enjoyed the less touristy areas very much. We learned that double beers are light and triples are dark and somewhat sweet. The vast amount of variation in Belgian beer is not possible to learn in a weekend and there are many varieties. A lot of the beer is bottle fermented so you don’t see the variation in beer available from the cask like you do in the UK. Annette has a fantastic natural French accent and it was really fun to hear her talk to folks in French. I think the weekend has inspired her to study French again.
Our waiter told us about the Pierre Marcolini Chocolatier, winner of the world’s best chocolate in 2006, which was a 15 min walk from the center of town. Of course we had to go and when we arrived it seemed to be more like a art gallery than a chocolatier. It really is the best chocolate I have ever tasted. They had 5 or 6 different types of dark chocolate with cocoa beans from various places around the world. Even with a super high cocoa content (72%), it is the smoothest and most delicious chocolate I have ever tasted. My favourite purchase was the sea shells…fantastic white chocolate filled with delicate caramel and hazelnut. YUM!!! The white chocolate is also the best I have ever tasted. Although not “officially” chocolate it does have a huge cocoa butter content so that is why it is named as such. White chocolate that does not have cocoa butter is not allowed to be called white chocolate.
Saturday night we went to a seafood restaurant where I had a delicious whole lobster. Annette and I tried to enjoy the escargot offered as a starter for free but we struggled a bit. The escargot were served in a brine of some sort and just wasn’t our thing. We did notice how everyone in the restaurant gobbled them up when served. If I am going to eat snails they need to be drowned in garlic and butter.
Sunday we enjoyed a Catholic Mass in French in a very old and gorgeous church in the centre of town. Annette has a good understanding of French and a enormous understanding of Catholic services so definitely absorbed more than I did. The service was interrupted by a Muslim protestor of some sort which was the first time I had ever seen anything like that. We certainly didn’t feel at risk but it was odd.
After church we set out for waffles. I had one with chocolate, bananas, and whipped cream. I had a lovely espresso to accompany it as well. The espresso in Belgium is milder than in other countried on the continent. It has almost no bitter taste at all.
We were able to take the train back to the airport and save quite a bit of money over a taxi. Before we knew it were back in London Sunday evening. We had a bit of a delay on the Heathrow Express and it ended up taking longer to get from Heathrow to Paddington than it took to get from Brussels to London. Funny how things happen.
I will enjoy the chocolate and beer I brought back and would definitely like to explore Belgium again.
We were tired and hungry and headed off towards the Grand Plas. Drug Opera, what a name for a giant pub! I had my first Chimay (blue label) in Belgium and they had 4 different types. As a bottle fermented beer, it allows other taste opportunities and higher alcohol content than is achieved in cask or barrel ale. Annette had a lovely Croquette Monsieur and I had a nice Parma ham pizza.
Saturday morning brought our hotel breakfast which was generous and adequate but nothing special. Of course for £150 for the flight, 2 nights hotel, and breakfast, we could not complain much. We didn’t have to walk too far until we started to see the chocolate shops…many, many, many Belgium chocolate shops with piles of fabulous looking chocolate in all shapes and sizes in the many windows.
As we wandered around in the city we stumbled upon an Umpa Band, probably not what it is called but what it sounded like to me, polka type music with lots of horns. We noticed everyone gathered around a statue, many with cups in their hands. The statue was the Mannequin Pis which is a small boy standing naked and peeing. It is a very famous statue and most of us have likely seen images of it at one time or another. As we learned the following day at the museum, the statue gets lots of attention in Brussels. The story goes that a young boy was lost in the city and his father was desperately searching for him. When he finally found him, he was in the position of the statue, taking a pee. In the museum we saw the hundreds of costumes that have been donated to the city for the statue and he is frequently dressed in them. On this day he was dressed similar to the folks in the band. They had set a special contraption so beer was coming out of the statue. In this case it was a red colour to which Annette and I immediately likened to hematuria or blood in the urine. Medical humour, we nurses can’t resist. Everyone certainly seemed to be enjoying the beer.
The main square is really lovely with incredibly ornate buildings, one of which is the castle where the monarchs lived at one time. We also saw the very old St. Catherine’s church which seems to be a Greek Orthodox church at the present time.
Saturday afternoon we sampled some delicious Belgium beers in an area recommended by our hotel reception. The suggestions turned out to be great and we enjoyed the less touristy areas very much. We learned that double beers are light and triples are dark and somewhat sweet. The vast amount of variation in Belgian beer is not possible to learn in a weekend and there are many varieties. A lot of the beer is bottle fermented so you don’t see the variation in beer available from the cask like you do in the UK. Annette has a fantastic natural French accent and it was really fun to hear her talk to folks in French. I think the weekend has inspired her to study French again.
Our waiter told us about the Pierre Marcolini Chocolatier, winner of the world’s best chocolate in 2006, which was a 15 min walk from the center of town. Of course we had to go and when we arrived it seemed to be more like a art gallery than a chocolatier. It really is the best chocolate I have ever tasted. They had 5 or 6 different types of dark chocolate with cocoa beans from various places around the world. Even with a super high cocoa content (72%), it is the smoothest and most delicious chocolate I have ever tasted. My favourite purchase was the sea shells…fantastic white chocolate filled with delicate caramel and hazelnut. YUM!!! The white chocolate is also the best I have ever tasted. Although not “officially” chocolate it does have a huge cocoa butter content so that is why it is named as such. White chocolate that does not have cocoa butter is not allowed to be called white chocolate.
Saturday night we went to a seafood restaurant where I had a delicious whole lobster. Annette and I tried to enjoy the escargot offered as a starter for free but we struggled a bit. The escargot were served in a brine of some sort and just wasn’t our thing. We did notice how everyone in the restaurant gobbled them up when served. If I am going to eat snails they need to be drowned in garlic and butter.
Sunday we enjoyed a Catholic Mass in French in a very old and gorgeous church in the centre of town. Annette has a good understanding of French and a enormous understanding of Catholic services so definitely absorbed more than I did. The service was interrupted by a Muslim protestor of some sort which was the first time I had ever seen anything like that. We certainly didn’t feel at risk but it was odd.
After church we set out for waffles. I had one with chocolate, bananas, and whipped cream. I had a lovely espresso to accompany it as well. The espresso in Belgium is milder than in other countried on the continent. It has almost no bitter taste at all.
We were able to take the train back to the airport and save quite a bit of money over a taxi. Before we knew it were back in London Sunday evening. We had a bit of a delay on the Heathrow Express and it ended up taking longer to get from Heathrow to Paddington than it took to get from Brussels to London. Funny how things happen.
I will enjoy the chocolate and beer I brought back and would definitely like to explore Belgium again.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Spamalot
Oops!!! Never mentioned Spamalot. Ruthie, Jim and I went to see Spamalot when they visited in October. It was a HOOT! If you like Monty Python, you must go see it. It is very entertaining and will remind you of all those mindless hours spent in front of a TV watching Monty Python back in the 70's and 80's.
I did notice quite a few young people (20s or younger) in the audience who seemed to be enjoying the show so perhaps a recollection of the all the silliness of Monty Python isn't required for entertainment.
Cheers!
I did notice quite a few young people (20s or younger) in the audience who seemed to be enjoying the show so perhaps a recollection of the all the silliness of Monty Python isn't required for entertainment.
Cheers!
Happy New Year!
2007…wow! The time has passed so quickly in the last nine months, it is hard to believe.
I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the music I have enjoyed lately in the UK. I mentioned the Nutcracker in my last post but failed to mention a couple other music events I have attended recently. BTW, the Nutcracker music was extra enjoyable as the arrangement was different than I have heard before and seemed to have additional parts of music added in that were really lovely.
Towards the end of November I attended the last day of the London Jazz Festival and the Royal Festival Hall overlooking the Thames. This is a huge festival over 9 days at about 10 venues around London. I saw this amazing group called Cascade that included a fiddle, saxophone, concertina, percussion, and sitar. Each member of the group is a highly accomplished musician in their own right. The music was fascinating and the mix of sounds very pleasing.
At the beginning of December I went to Islington Academy to see the Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars. They were fantastic! They played a combination of reggae mixed with other world music sounds. They all seemed to be so engrossed in the music, it was a true joy to watch them, particularly knowing their very difficult start. As the name suggests, they are all survivors of the Sierra Leone civil war and were discovered in a refugee camp in the Republic of Guinea.
Last night I went to St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square to hear the Festive Orchestra of London perform JS Bach, Pachelbel, Mozart, and Vivaldi on period instruments. The setting was in the church and was illuminated by candles. There were 7 violins. 2 violas, 2 celli, a bass, and a harpsichord. The music was exceptional and the acoustics in the church seemed to improve the sound if that was possible. It was really inspiring and great way to start 2007.
My holiday season included some much needed time off for rest and relaxation. I didn’t realise how much I needed a little time off without running around the city, country or continent. I went to the famous Borough market on Dec. 23 and picked up all kinds of yummy things to enjoy during my days at home over the holidays. I had some fabulous sea scallops and prawns from Scotland. I also bought some of the famous Aunt Alice’s Christmas pudding with brandy cream. It was very rich and delicious. Contrary to what some people think, Christmas pudding is not anything like fruit cake, in my opinion. It is mostly raisins, sultanas, nuts, and LOTS of brandy with a little flour to hold it all together. YUM!
On Wednesday 27DEC I took the train to Weymouth in County Dorset on the south coast of the UK. As I was born in So Weymouth, Mass I have been curious about Weymouth, UK. It is a much bigger town than I expected and probably as big as Brighton. I hiked the Coast Path for 10 miles on Thursday overlooking the Channel and rolling hills of the south coast. It was a beautiful day and I saw quite a few other hikers with their dogs and families. At the half way point I came upon a lovely little pub and stopped for a drink…in this case a diet Coke. Knowing I had five miles to return to my B&B made me positive I did not want a beer. My B&B was very nice and I had a huge room with a four poster bed and a fireplace. The fireplace had been sealed off but was still lovely with what I imagine to be the original tile work around the edges as well as the cast iron stove portion. On Friday an amazing gale storm moved in and the wind was gusting to 70 miles per hour. I went to the museum and learned about the early days of the town when King George III decided to take a holiday there. Weymouth is also quite famous for being the entry point of the Black Death (plague) in 1348 which wiped out half of the population of the UK over the following two years. I walked all around the old town and the harbour and over the three days had some delicious fish and chips, Italian food, cask ales, and 3 outstanding full English breakfasts. Needless to say I did not go hungry.
My picture posting is a bit behind as I evaluate other options for my pictures. I will have an update soon with a new link to my pictures.
Best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2007!
Namaste.
I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the music I have enjoyed lately in the UK. I mentioned the Nutcracker in my last post but failed to mention a couple other music events I have attended recently. BTW, the Nutcracker music was extra enjoyable as the arrangement was different than I have heard before and seemed to have additional parts of music added in that were really lovely.
Towards the end of November I attended the last day of the London Jazz Festival and the Royal Festival Hall overlooking the Thames. This is a huge festival over 9 days at about 10 venues around London. I saw this amazing group called Cascade that included a fiddle, saxophone, concertina, percussion, and sitar. Each member of the group is a highly accomplished musician in their own right. The music was fascinating and the mix of sounds very pleasing.
At the beginning of December I went to Islington Academy to see the Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars. They were fantastic! They played a combination of reggae mixed with other world music sounds. They all seemed to be so engrossed in the music, it was a true joy to watch them, particularly knowing their very difficult start. As the name suggests, they are all survivors of the Sierra Leone civil war and were discovered in a refugee camp in the Republic of Guinea.
Last night I went to St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square to hear the Festive Orchestra of London perform JS Bach, Pachelbel, Mozart, and Vivaldi on period instruments. The setting was in the church and was illuminated by candles. There were 7 violins. 2 violas, 2 celli, a bass, and a harpsichord. The music was exceptional and the acoustics in the church seemed to improve the sound if that was possible. It was really inspiring and great way to start 2007.
My holiday season included some much needed time off for rest and relaxation. I didn’t realise how much I needed a little time off without running around the city, country or continent. I went to the famous Borough market on Dec. 23 and picked up all kinds of yummy things to enjoy during my days at home over the holidays. I had some fabulous sea scallops and prawns from Scotland. I also bought some of the famous Aunt Alice’s Christmas pudding with brandy cream. It was very rich and delicious. Contrary to what some people think, Christmas pudding is not anything like fruit cake, in my opinion. It is mostly raisins, sultanas, nuts, and LOTS of brandy with a little flour to hold it all together. YUM!
On Wednesday 27DEC I took the train to Weymouth in County Dorset on the south coast of the UK. As I was born in So Weymouth, Mass I have been curious about Weymouth, UK. It is a much bigger town than I expected and probably as big as Brighton. I hiked the Coast Path for 10 miles on Thursday overlooking the Channel and rolling hills of the south coast. It was a beautiful day and I saw quite a few other hikers with their dogs and families. At the half way point I came upon a lovely little pub and stopped for a drink…in this case a diet Coke. Knowing I had five miles to return to my B&B made me positive I did not want a beer. My B&B was very nice and I had a huge room with a four poster bed and a fireplace. The fireplace had been sealed off but was still lovely with what I imagine to be the original tile work around the edges as well as the cast iron stove portion. On Friday an amazing gale storm moved in and the wind was gusting to 70 miles per hour. I went to the museum and learned about the early days of the town when King George III decided to take a holiday there. Weymouth is also quite famous for being the entry point of the Black Death (plague) in 1348 which wiped out half of the population of the UK over the following two years. I walked all around the old town and the harbour and over the three days had some delicious fish and chips, Italian food, cask ales, and 3 outstanding full English breakfasts. Needless to say I did not go hungry.
My picture posting is a bit behind as I evaluate other options for my pictures. I will have an update soon with a new link to my pictures.
Best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2007!
Namaste.
