* cababarant *

Sunday, July 25, 2004

Just back from Brugge (or Bruges as the English and French speaking worlds call it), that favorite Belgian destination. It's popular for good reason: it's such a well-preserved medieval city that it has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is really pretty, and the hordes of tourists are really concentrated in a matter of a few blocks; go outside of the main Markt and Burg, and you literally have the winding little streets all to yourself. Of course the reason we went was not for the lovely town, but for bonbons and waffles! Okay, we went for those things, in addition to admiring the lovely town. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed in Belgian chocolates-- I think my favorite Dutch chocolatiers have much better bonbons than the ones I sampled.

So, Topic of the Day: Dutch chocolates: unfairly underrated? Try Westerbeek in Den Haag and Puccini Bomboni in Amsterdam, and let me know if you agree. :) Everyone who has visited us has flipped out over the off-the-hook bonbons at Westerbeek, which, good or bad, is right down the street from our house.

Food-obsession #2: What about those waffles? It's a shame we didn't get to go to Brussels (too busy, etc. you know how it goes), but a necessary fact for those who are shamelessly food-obsessed (like myself) is that there are two kinds of Belgian waffles (or wafels, or gaufres): Brusselse wafels, and Luikse wafels, which hail from Lieges. Luikse wafels are dense, and have crystallized sugar in the middle giving it a sweet crunch. Brusselse wafels are really, really light and not as sweet, but are often topped with something sweet, such as powdered sugar (Luikse wafels are topped with sweets as well). I prefer the Brusselse wafels not just because they are excellent and made to order (at least where I got them), but because I can eat like, three of them in one sitting. I am determined to recreate them back home in my little waffle iron.

Here are some pictures from our excursion:

The canal near Gouden-Handrei

Sof, Kyle and Mom at Rozenhoedkaai

Those famous Belgian chocolates

Sof with some light-as-air Brusselse wafels (which, if you're ever in Belgium, beat Luikse wafels hands-down!)

posted by sheryl | 10:27 PM | comments (0)

Friday, July 23, 2004

Land of "-je"
Mom is here visiting, so it has been fun and hectic. Here are some pics from today at Madurodam, Holland's miniature city. It doesn't surprise me that Holland has a miniature city; this is really a place of diminuitives. I really noticed the difference in scale when we've been to Paris: Paris is filled with enormous monuments, while, in Holland, even the Palace Noordeinde here in the Hague is practically a rowhouse. When I first got here, I had walked past it before Kyle pointed out that, "Hey, that's the palace where Queen Beatrix works." Everything is small, and there is a language 'tic' in Dutch-- a lot of words end in "-je", which is the Dutch form of "little", kind of like the Spanish suffix "-ito". So a little beer is a biertje, a little sandwich is a broodje, a little coffee is a kopje koffie. Then there are things that are just little by default, like poffertjes. Aww, how cute!

Dar with Grandma at Madurodam

Sofia checking out the Rijksmuseum

Me, standing behind Amsterdam's Westerkerk

Help! That enormous baby will devour us all!

posted by sheryl | 10:57 PM | comments (0)

Friday, July 09, 2004

Right now, the Classic American Film, you know, Planes, Trains and Automobiles is on TV. Whatever happened to John Hughes anyway? Of course, this one has one of the best lines ever ("Those aren't pillows!!"). Damn, he made the best movies in the eighties! I'm getting old.

The part where the train breaks down just came on and reminded me of our German ICE train experience to Duesseldorf...

posted by sheryl | 10:14 PM | comments (0)

Language learning books are so funny. I have a Dutch grammer book that tells you how to say "Je nieuwe bril is mooi," which is "Your new glasses are beautiful." I don't know about you, but have you ever said that to anybody in English? I haven't. Of course, this was on the same page as a phrase that translates to "My trousers are too long." I'm sure that comes in handy too, just as small talk with people on the street. :) Anyway, what was really funny is that Soleil liked "Je nieuwe bril is mooi" so much that she turned it into a catchy little tune. Little singer-songwriter of the future. Look out Norah Jones!

posted by sheryl | 9:35 PM | comments (0)

Bon jour!
So, we just got back earlier in the week from another trip to Paris. It was great fun, with Trish and Soleil in tow, and pictures are coming soon! This reminds me though, that I never posted pics from our last trip there-- so here are some from mid-May. :)

Chocolat chaud with a pistache saint-honore griotte at Laduree Tea Room.
Look out, because this is The Best Hot Chocolate Ever. And I have the recipe, thanks to my fave food writer, Mr. Jeffrey Steingarten!

Sofia was soooo excited to eat her very favorite food again, Vietnamese pho. She got to eat some at one of the many Vietnamese restaurants in the 11th arrondissement, near where we stayed.

Luxembourg Garden on a lovely sunny day.

A polar bear at our favorite taxidermy shop in the 7th.

posted by sheryl | 9:17 PM | comments (0)