December 3 -- Eating Well in Belgium

Be sure to check out "Dubby's" blog: http://debbiebf.blogspot.com for some news about our trip to Antwerp this week, and be sure to click on the play button under the picture to the right of me and Liliane for a quick 2-second movie of her flaming creme brulee. Debbie was right: lunch was terrific. In fact, all of our meals here have been terrific: the evening with Jim Kelly and Liliane at Estro Armonico (Tunisian) on Thursday; with the Halling Family at the Grote Ganz (medieval) on Friday; with the Staepels (Belgian gourmet) on Saturday; with the Schiltz (Oriental) on Sunday; and today with Liliane (university club, Belgian described on Debbie's post for today). On this trip, we've also had our obligatory Doner Kebap with Frites, and for Sunday lunch, I cooked some kip-schnitzel with balsamic rice and veggies. I've also had pancakes and kip ginger soup. Debbie had her omelet-with-vegetables, and some asparagus soup. I've been making my fresh-squeezed orange juice, since we were able to buy 14 huge navel oranges for 2 euro at the vogelmarkt Saturday morning. The Schiltz's gave us some wonderful Clementines which are so sweet they melt in your mouth. (If you don't know what a Clementine is, you're missing a lot. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clementine They are deliciously sweet and not even a hint of the sourness y0u'd expect from a citrus.) It has drizzled here almost every day. Can you imagine? Drizzle in Belgium?!? Tomorrow it's dinner with the Boegart's: we'll take the train to Mechelen, just outside of Brussels, and spend the day walking around the canals and 15th-century architecture of Mechelen (pronounced Meck' eh len), including its gothic cathedral. Then it's home to the states Wednesday morning. We've really enjoyed this trip. No JMU duties (to speak of), no surprises, none of the last minute emergencies to handle, no 16-hour workdays... just relaxing and enjoying Antwerp and our friends. Soooo nice.