Four Seasons of October

October arrived with summer-like temperatures in the 80s but has since seen winter-like weather (at least for this California girl), spring-like rain with the last flowers in bloom and lastly, autumn leaves just beginning to change color. Last weekend was sunny but near freezing - it would've been a shame not to make the most of the clear blue skies (not that rain stops Belgians from being outside). So, armed in three layers of clothing, we walked to the impressive Porte de Hal/Hallepoort tower. It's in a bustling area, between the Midi train station and busy Avenue Louise, yet it appears that few people notice this historic monument. Porte de Hal/Hallepoort is the last remaining gateway of the city's 14th century second perimeter wall. It was later used as a prison and now as a museum dedicated to fortifications and medieval cities. Although the sun was shining outside, we took our own sweet time inside, enjoying the comfortably warm museum!

Home Sweet (temporary) Home

Home will always be Northern California but it didn't take me long to feel welcome in Brussels. Take, for example, the baker around the corner who doesn't seem to mind that I'm barely able to spit out the words to order a baguette (so much for my high school French). She smiles at me as I walk in saying, "Bonjour, je prendrai... " (pointing to what I want). She then gives me a mini French lesson as I direct her attention to the raisin snails, which I'm pretty sure are not called escargot de raisin sec. She says "couque Suisse", I repeat "couque Suisse", she smiles, I smile, I pay her and I walk out with my raisin snail (I mean couque Suisse). Yesterday I walked in and what did my eyes behold but a beautiful rainbow of colorful tarts. Before I knew it, I blurted out, "Bonjour, je prendrai toutes les tartes colorées"! I'm starting to fit in pretty well here!  

Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark

October's here and, it appears, so is summer! Today was one of those days when all of Brussels was outdoors, very befitting for a day at Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark. This park and palace were built in 1880, under King Leopold II's reign, for the Golden Jubilee in celebration of Belgian's independence. It took another 50 years to complete the grounds and triumphal arch between the two large exhibition halls. The halls held trade fairs, horse races and stored homing pigeons while the grounds were used to grow vegetables during the war. Fast forward to 2011... Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark is a beautiful place to enjoy a picnic, visit Autoworld (one of the world's best collections of cars), Musées Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, Musée Royal de l'Armée et d'Histoire Militaire and the Great Mosque of Brussels. Today we found sunbathers, the finish line for the Brussels Marathon, flowers in full bloom and even Snow White! What a memorable day!      

Finished in 1905, this arch was based on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris

Quick! Heads Up!

I've come up with four reasons why most Brusseleers don't look up when they walk along the city streets:
1) They'll step in dog mess.
2) They'll trip over piles of carefully wrapped and color-coded recycling garbage bags (there are no residential and not many commercial garbage cans in the heart of the city).
3) They're not tourists with cameras and/or money wallets hanging around their necks.
4) They'll stumble on the cobblestones (that was me)!
But if you look up every now and then, you're bound to see the most amazing architecture, colorful window flower boxes, larger than life cartoon murals and of course, the Belgian flag (among others) blowing in the wind. Just be forewarned - there are a LOT of dogs in this city!

Colorful Chocolatiers

Everyone knows Belgium is world famous for its finest and most delectable chocolate! Although chocolate comes in just two shades of brown and one shade of white, the shops they're sold in are beautifully colorful and always a delight to enter. Shop owners and chocolate companies probably don't need to work so hard when it comes to selling their goods but I'm always impressed by their attractive displays. I'll take this opportunity to recommend my friend Arturo's favorite chocolatier, Leonidas, proudly serving chocolate since 1913. Whether you have the pleasure of visiting one of the 1400 shops worldwide or ordering via email, finicky chocoholics (an oxymoron?) can choose from: decorative ballotins, butter creams, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, pralines, nougats, cream liquors, truffles, fruit-flavored jellies, Napolitains, Manon blanc/cafés, orangettes, Gianduja and Giantinas, mendiants, marzipan, assorted chocolate bars, confectioneries, chocolate subscriptions/gift cards and party favors. If you're like me, not finicky whatsoever, you'll simply take one of each, thank you very much :-)

A Day at the Zoo

A rare opportunity presented itself one day last summer when the kids and I were visiting my husband in Brussels: my teenagers didn't roll their eyes, run OR hide when I suggested we spend a day at the zoo! This, on top of being seen with me in public, was too good to be true so... we hit the road before they had a chance to change their mind! By "hit the road" I mean we drove over 30 minutes to Planckendael, a.k.a. The Brussels Zoo. Although The Brussels Zoo isn't technically in Brussels, it's being included in my Colors of Brussels blog. Someone from the legal department at my husband's company informed him that it's not technically a zoo either (excusez-moi, the "real" zoo is in Antwerp). Bottom line is unless you're fortunate enough to see these exotic animals in their natural habitat, where else can you find such beautiful, colorful creatures? Modern day zoos are also an excellent source of information, even for teenagers who think they know everything ;-)

Bongos have striking reddish-brown coats with black & white markings

Seeing Red

On this particular day I was "seeing red" because after a long, wet walk to and from the Grand Place, in part because I'm always curious to see what Manneken Pis is wearing (more on him in a future post), we discovered our neighborhood bistro had just closed for summer vacation. Since our two back-up bistros were also closed, this meant we had more walking to do for my daily verre de vin blanc and my husband's other blonde (Leffe beer!). When you hear European cities practically shut down in August, it's sadly true for those left behind. No matter, I appreciate that businesses care about the well-being of their employees and not just in making a profit... and we love the colorful neighborhood of Châtelain! After just a few blocks, on Avenue Louise, I was "seeing red" again, this time literally. It's one of my favorite colors and has a way of popping-out at you, doesn't it?