Today I decided to give wandering around Brussels another shot. It's been a few weeks since I last wandered semi-aimlessly around the city. Above you see one of my "discoveries": the
Porte de Hal or
Hallepoort. This is the remnant of one of the gates of medieval Brussels. To make Lori happy I also took a picture of myself in front of said gate.
Wandering was hampered today by typically
schizophrenic Belgian weather. It alternated between dark/cloudy,
thunderstorms, and brightly sunny/hot. During one of the windy phases, I stumbled upon this
bizarre statue:
One thing that I've been disappointed with in Brussels are the much-hyped fries. Virtually all places selling frites are using frozen potatoes of questionable provenance. So I decided to do some advance planning for this venture. Perusing the web, I discovered a strong consensus that Maison Antoine is the best fritur in the city. The hype is much deserved...these fries are properly cooked in beef tallow!!! Sorry vegetarians. This makeshift stand that has gradually metamorphasized into a permanent installation is so popular that I had to stand in line for almost an hour. The frites were fantastic with a meaty essence from the tallow and exellent crunch. I'm not entirely sure they were worth waiting an hour behind an annoying German 6-year old but I couldn't leave Brussels without having the real thing (pictured below with sauce andalouse, a tomato-mayo conconction):
There was a massive outdoor market on the Jourdanplace where Maison Antoine is located. I was really excited because there were all kinds of cheeses, breads, and sausages to try. However, unbeknownst to me, the market began shutting down while I was in line for frites. So I did not get to buy anything afterall. Here you see the vendors taking apart their stalls:
On the walk home through Park Leopold, I spotted some wildlife: cute baby ducks!
And thousands of snails:
Maybe sea turtles are an endangered species because naked Belgian children have been strangling them all?
Today I decided to give wandering around Brussels another shot. It's been a few weeks since I last wandered semi-aimlessly around the city. Above you see one of my "discoveries": the Porte de Hal or Hallepoort. This is the remnant of one of the gates of medieval Brussels. To make Lori happy I also took a picture of myself in front of said gate.
Wandering was hampered today by typically schizophrenic Belgian weather. It alternated between dark/cloudy, thunderstorms, and brightly sunny/hot. During one of the windy phases, I stumbled upon this bizarre statue:
One thing that I've been disappointed with in Brussels are the much-hyped fries. Virtually all places selling frites are using frozen potatoes of questionable provenance. So I decided to do some advance planning for this venture. Perusing the web, I discovered a strong consensus that Maison Antoine is the best fritur in the city. The hype is much deserved...these fries are properly cooked in beef tallow!!! Sorry vegetarians. This makeshift stand that has gradually metamorphasized into a permanent installation is so popular that I had to stand in line for almost an hour. The frites were fantastic with a meaty essence from the tallow and exellent crunch. I'm not entirely sure they were worth waiting an hour behind an annoying German 6-year old but I couldn't leave Brussels without having the real thing (pictured below with sauce andalouse, a tomato-mayo conconction):
There was a massive outdoor market on the Jourdanplace where Maison Antoine is located. I was really excited because there were all kinds of cheeses, breads, and sausages to try. However, unbeknownst to me, the market began shutting down while I was in line for frites. So I did not get to buy anything afterall. Here you see the vendors taking apart their stalls:
On the walk home through Park Leopold, I spotted some wildlife: cute baby ducks!
And thousands of snails:
Maybe sea turtles are an endangered species because naked Belgian children have been strangling them all?
That last pic is disturbing...
ReplyDeleteTell me about it...Brussels is the land of bizarre statues
ReplyDelete