Yesterday I flew from California to Belgium. Hello. From Belgium.
My best friend turns 50 Saturday. She lives here. Her husband decided to fly me out for a surprise visit.
San Francisco, May 11, 5:30am.
Philadelphia, May 11, 4:30pm. Did you know they have rocking chairs in the Philadelphia airport? I did not rock.
Brussels, Belgium, May 12, 9:00am. Gateway to Europe.
Small Town, Belgium, May 12, 1:00pm
Apparently bread is Very Important here. We are planning a trip to Antwerp, and then Paris for one day. Home Monday. Extended coverage to come. Now must wander around delirious with jet lag until dinner and bed. Hope you are well.
46 Responses
Thanks for the welcome to the Bay Area… I can't wait until we finally get to move out there… only 9 weeks left… we're going house hunting in a few weeks…
Wow! Belgium… have so much fun! I love your progression of airport pictures… what a great idea… so often traveling does just feel like one airport after another!
Ooohh… and enjoy all that bread! Delicious!
Oh how fabulous!!! Can hardly wait to read all about your trip. Say "bonjour" to Paris for me and tell la ville I miss her….
Oh, but you DO rock!!
Ooooh pictures please! We spent only one or two days in Belgium on my 3-week European tour with the American Musical Ambassadors (hehe) but I thought it was amazing. We mostly toured Bruges, and I would cut off my left arm to go back. Have a wonderful trip!
Have a great visit! :)
How fabulous! I hope you have a great time!! I am stewing with jealousy haha… Enjoy Paris for me :)
Wow! That's a whirlwind visit — what fun! And rather a surprise to spring on your readers — quite upstages my weekend visit to Seattle ;-)
Have a wonderful time with your good friend — show her how great this sixth decade can be!
Be sure to check out the Dries van Noten store in Antwerp!
Jealous of your access to some fine Belgian Ales….
Stay away from the frites dipped in mayo however….still cannot get in line with that….
Fabulous fun!
Cannot wait to get all the scoop! You really can transport us on your journeys!
Hi "neighbour" … Germany is not that far from you now :-) and yes, Bread is even more important and diverse in Germany. I got a shock when I was in US in 2005 and found only so few different tastes, brands, ways of bread…
After getting rid of the jetlag enjoy your visit – and treat yourself to some of the FAMOUS Belgian Pralinées – preferably of the brands "Leonidas" – they come filled with the utmost sumptuous and rewarding buttery cream vanilla fillings. Take one of each and no bad conscious please ! They are THE treat…
And Belgian French Fries ! And Belgian waffles….
kind regards, Martina ( drooling, sorry)
How fabulous! Enjoy your trip and take lots of photos.
Also, I agree with Chatelaine about the Leonidas chocolates…they are the best.
Lucky you! I loved Brussels when I was there for a few days many years ago. Beautiful architecture. Enjoy yourself…
I much prefer Neuhaus to Leonidas. Chacun a son gout, I guess. (Sorry about the missing accents. And should it be "chacune"?) Have fun.
Fun!
They have rocking chairs in a South Carolina aiport too.
What a cool husband! I can't wait to see more photos.
Have a wonderful trip and visit with your Best Friend! The Boston airport has rocking chairs too!!!
Wow! You gave us no hint of this trip ! it will be interesting to read your experiences in Europe! Have a wonderful time!
Have a fantastic trip, LPC.
Points to Mr LPC :-)
SSG xxx
Ok, so the chairs at Logan Airport in Boston were mentioned – that's where I believe the whole white-rockers-in-airports thing started, something to do with the Kennedy compound. One can buy such white chairs from Logan.
And whyyyy did someone have to mention fri(t)es with mayo? We get some here that are served with aioli, and oh my they are quite tasty…now I'll have to get some.
Have a lovely time LPC!
Oh my, what fun, what fun! Enjoy your trip.
Jealous! Have a great time!!!
glad you made it safely and have toooooooo much fun!
PS- I've rocked in those chairs!
xoox
kHm
I'm well.
Jealous, but well.
Seriously, though – I hope you have a wonderful time with your friend.
How wonderful! What a nice husband! Have a blast…and toast us all while in gay Paris!
Brussels is so beautiful, make sure you sample the sublime Belgian chocolate!
x Haidi (long-time reader, first-time commenter)
What a nice gift for your friend! I'm looking forward to hearing about your adventures!
WOW. I would so love to visit Belgium. For the love of Dries Van Noten! Go to his store! Also look for Sophie D'hoore and Ann Demeulemeester.(Ann's a bit avante garde) The Belgians are The Best. Also love the blogger Belgian Waffle. Have a fabulous time. xo,jools
Fabulous!!! Bread and Chocolate. I think Belgium is the most perfect country!
Wow! Enjoy the bread, no carb counting this week, eh?
Have a most wonderful time catching up with your best friend! :)
nice one! i'm so jealous!!! hope you'll have a great trip and happy birthday to your friend. enjoy!
~ash's mum
Have fun!!
This will be fun! I've been to Belgium once for work, but Bill has never been. We're all set to go on holiday in Italy, but if volcanic ash interferes we can get a ferry from just about the bottom of our street over to Amsterdam. And from there we thought we'd hop on a train to Brussels and Bruges. I didn't see much, but remember a grand old square in Brussels that was breathtaking. Shall look forward to your pictures!
Take snaps of all the mussels and fries you eat, buy some chocs too x
What a wonderful birthday gift!
Can't wait to hear more.
What s lovely trip. I hope you enjoy your stay and also your friend's birthday.
Eat, drink and Van Noten! Enjoy every second with your friend and tell us all about it!
Lisa, have a wonderful time. Sometime soon, we need to rendez-vous. Preferably in a divine location. How much fun would that be?
Safe travels and big adventures!
Queenie
Hi everyone. Thank you for the words of encouragement. Sorry I gave you no heads up, but this was to be a surprise for my friend, who occasionally reads the blog. Today we went to Antwerp. Everything was closed, as it's Ascension Day, but I saw some things from the outside. To Paris tomorrow. Talk to you all soon.
This is so, so cool Miss Privilege, we can't wait to hear your friend's reaction. And the rocking chairs? Excellent.
Smiles at you, and a hope you have tons of fun,
tp
Oh my goodness – I am so excited for you LPC – have a really fabulous time. Great Belgium Designers – Sarah Pacini, Martin Margiela (sp?) and a host of others too… I think the Belgium fashion scene rocks….
Don't forget to eat "mussels in Brussels."
And remember the ironic general opinion that:
FRENCH fries are better in BELGIUM and
BELGIUM waffles are better in FRANCE.
Belgian label NATAN (by Edouard Vermeulen) is a fabulous designer and has two stores in Brussels. Have fun!!
Oops… that should be BELGIAN waffles.
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