Abbey Notre-Dame d’Orval – The modern abbey
Most people know that Belgium is famous for its many beers. What many people don’t know is the beer-making tradition was started by monks in the many abbeys scattered about the country.
This summer, Andrew and I decided to take the opportunity to visit several of these abbeys. The Abbey d’Orval, famous in Belgium for both its Trappist beers and its cheeses, was one of the places we visited.
It’s not hard to find English reading material in Brussels. In fact, most of the French and Dutch bookstores carry a range of English best-sellers. But where do you go if you are looking for something besides the latest Dan Brown thriller?
Belgium has a reputation for being a boring little country, but that is wrong. Here are 40 fun facts about Belgium you probably don’t know.
One of the things that really surprised me when I started to explore Brussels was how many beautiful green spaces exist in the city. In typical Belgian fashion, English information about many of these parks is scarce, so I thought I would start a series of my favourite green spaces here on CheeseWeb.
Despite Brussels’ reputation for having excellent seafood, one thing I miss most from my Canadian home is lobster. Say what you will about Maine, Irish or Caribbean lobster, but for me, the best of the best has to be Atlantic Canadian Lobster.
Just when I was lamenting the lack of things to write about, I suddenly find myself with a whole hat full of things to tell you. I’ll begin by posting about our Sunday outing to the Japanese Garden in Hasselt.
Frequent visits to the Asian grocery are one of the perks of living in our new loft in Brussels. I’ve just returned from such a trip with two full bags of goodies for 30 euro. Mostly though it’s the fun of exploring the aisles that I enjoy. I never know quite what I’m going to find.
Andrew and I are opposites in many ways.
Fortunately though, we have a few loves in common. A few weeks ago, we discovered a new way to share two of our passions.
It was just under a year ago that Andrew and I had our first spa experience in Belgium. After a wonderfully relaxing day, we vowed that it would not be our last. In fact, The Grimbergen Spa has become a regular haunt for us. Usually initiated by Andrew, (although I admittedly don’t put up much objection), our spa trips have become a monthly ritual.