What a load of waffle!

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Waffles liegeois in LiegeSome people may have problems placing Belgium (“I have a friend who lives in Belgium” “Where?”, “Luxembourg”… or the best, “Belgium, isn’t that somewhere close to Brussels?”), but there’s one thing has put Belgium on the map, at least in culinary terms, and that’s waffles.

Munched as an afternoon snack rather than a breakfast bite, the vanilla scent of freshly cooked Liegeois waffles which are sweeter, chewier and smaller than the Bruxelles version, linger on the street corners and packed pavements of the city. Continue reading »

Floods of Italian wines..

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As autumn draws in, floods are expected in Brussels the month – and luckily it’s floods of Italian wines..

Following in the heels Marche from the hills to the seaof the Chianti Classico producers that held their event on 17th October, the next group to arrive in town will be from the Marches region. On 15th November the Istituto Marchigiano di Tutela Vini which represents the majority of the wine producers in the beautiful region of central Italy, will arrive with 20 of its member wineries. Continue reading »

Down under in Wallonia

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A Belgian friend of mine recently referred to Wallonia as “Down Under”. In literal terms, the french-speaking region of Belgium is hardly the other side of the world (despite the recent political situation) and in only just over an hour, we were really down under…

.. in Blegny mine. A working mine up until 1980, it was then converted into a tourist attraction giving everyone the chance to experience the rather grim conditions of coal mining. Continue reading »

Accessible Art..

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If you’ve been looking to dress your walls to impress, take a trip to Brussels Accessible Art Fair this weekend.

The BAAF Art Boutique showcases over 50 young artists from across the globe each with a range of their very distinct styles tion of their work – photography, paintings, and sculpture. The event which aims to make art accessible (prices start below 100 euro but you can easily part with a several thousands if you want to) ironically is held in the most exclusive hotel in the city, the Conrad.

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Bordeaux kicks off its slippers with Apero Vintage..

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Apero Vintage - giving a hip image to BordeauxBordeaux is kicking off its red slippers and showing us what it’s really about. Synonym of “expensive”, “red” and “store in cellar for X years”, the agency promoting Bordeaux wines has decided to roll out its Apero Vintage events to Belgium this autumn to dispel the myth that the most famous appellation in the world, only dresses in red …

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On a supermarket wine sweep..

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With almost 1 million bottles of wine drunk a day in Belgium I was starting to wonder where all these wines were sold. Yet every autumn, Belgian’s are treated to wine fairs in their local supermarkets and hypermarkets : Carrefour, Makro, Delhaize, Colruyt all hold autumn wine fairs in September / October offering shoppers the chance to stock up on a huge range of wines at reduced prices. Continue reading »

Men are like mushrooms, you never know until it’s too late..

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Mushrooms could be akin to men – what may appear as most inocuous could in fact have the power to knock you for six a few hours, days or weeks down the line… Once upon a time, mushrooms for me were of only one species. Bright white with little more taste than rainwater, they got thrown into salads to add a touch of the exotic to a dull day. That was a couple of decades ago, and nowadays, even the local corner-shop can offer you more than a usual button. What I didn’t expect to find however whilst strolling through Brussels was a shop dedicated to mushrooms of every provenance, in sizes which looked almost surreal. Champigros, Rue Sainte Catherine 36,  is a mushroom-lovers heaven. Continue reading »

I have wheels.. importing a car to Belgium..

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As a follow on from my last post regarding personal registration, I really feel the need to share my experience in registering a foreign car in Belgium. Now this is not a post for the faint hearted and definitely not one to bother with if you don’t have to go through this..

Importing a car is a long and gruelling road..

In theory it’s not such a difficult task but combining Belgian paperwork with Italian paperwork in my case, I am ready for claiming it to be one of life’s highest achievements.. Continue reading »

Off your Rioja …

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A quick trip to Spain’s most famous wine producing region and you’ll find amazing architecture, history, great food and some of the country’s best wines.

Just as the Frank Gehry‘s Guggenheim museum brought life to a run down Bilbao, his stunning Hotel Marques de Riscal brought an extra touch of glamour to the sleepy and picturesque village of ElciegoContinue reading »

The Best Pinchos in the Basque lands

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Pinchos and Sangria Pintxos (pronounced pin-chos) will be one of my found memories of the Basque lands. Accustomed to the Aperitivo Milanese culture which forces bars to set up more and more lavish spreads in the hope of attracting the ape crowd (religiously Spritz Aperol!), the Basque culture of Pinchos was a different experience. The men, women, old, young, children, grandparents, friends, colleagues and neighbours, Continue reading »

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