Pre-California Report

One of the perennial favourites

Such a busy week in retrospect! The usual activities and a concert, with A Big Plus; three grandsons with joined-at-the-hip girl friends, and my son in his birthday week; from Thursday to Monday, various combinations of family here with the main battalion from Friday to Sunday. What seems to be establishing itself as a tradition, they were all here ostensibly to celebrate Dad’s birthday but in reality, the visit is also because they love Brugge and the Christmas market and most especially, the beer! I pondered what great fun the weekend had been as I wearily washed, dried and ironed what seemed almost countless sheets, pillowcases and towels, though of course, the latter were most definitely NOT ironed. 

Tom's Diner

We had the chance to eat at Tom’s Diner, a tapas plus bar nearby, which was great; terrific atmosphere in a large and incredibly busy space in a back street. Food, excellent. Then on Saturday, we ate at Cezar on the corner of Carmeersstraat and Jerusalemstraat where I had eaten before on a much quieter day than the Saturday evening of the first weekend of the Christmas Market when everywhere seemed to be booked up. I hadn’t known how delightful the upstairs space is chez Cezar, and almost private, given the busy, busy nature of the evening with the totally full restaurant downstairs. Needless to say, the traditional Flemish beef stew in beer, chosen by six of us, was wonderful comfort food!

Sunday morning proved difficult to kick-start as the young people had been carousing half the night and were almost truculent at

Misty Brugge

Blackbird en fete

being disturbed around 9.15 a.m! But I was treating them to Blackbird for breakfast and that was the only booking for eight that could be managed. So, amid gentle persuasion and iron determination, eight of us managed to make the deadline but the torpor and disgruntlement vanished as the wonderful breakfast proceeded and the experience, relished!! Before the group, minus son et moi, went shopping, we all walked back to my apartment for the youngsters’ disturbed sleep to be resumed for an hour or two, while he and I treated ourselves to a gentle, misty canal-side wander. Different ages, different pleasures.

Cezar

And now, off to California to spend Christmas with the other two thirds of the family.

We had the chance to eat at Tom’s Diner, a tapas plus bar nearby, which was great; terrific

atmosphere in a large and incredibly busy space in a back street. Food, excellent. Then on Saturday, we ate at Cezar on the corner of Carmeersstraat and Jerusalemstraat where I had eaten before on a much quieter day than the Saturday evening of the first weekend of the Christmas Market when everywhere seemed to be booked up. I hadn’t known how delightful the upstairs space is chez Cezar, and almost private, given the busy, busy nature of the evening with the totally full restaurant downstairs. Needless to say, the traditional Flemish beef stew in beer, chosen by six of us, was wonderful comfort food!

Sunday morning proved difficult to kick-start as the young people had been carousing half the night and were almost truculent at being disturbed around 9.15 a.m! But I was treating them to Blackbird for breakfast and that was the only booking for eight that could be managed. So, amid gentle persuasion and iron determination, eight of us managed to make the deadline but the torpor and disgruntlement vanished as the wonderful breakfast proceeded and the experience, relished!! Before the group, minus son et moi, went shopping, we all walked back to my apartment for the youngsters’ disturbed sleep to be resumed for an hour or two, while he and I treated ourselves to a gentle canal-side wander. Different ages, different pleasures.