French friends in Luxembourg recommended this casual, popular regional restaurant to us. It is a specific type of eatery, an esaminet, which is a traditional Flemish restaurant with wooden tables and rafters and antiques galore. We were advised to have the well-known specialty, the Welch, which is a heavy potato, cheese, ham, beer and cream […]
About dawn
Dawn Spaulding is a writer and photographer who lives in Luxembourg and New York City with her husband, Angelo.
Le Lion Bossu
When my husband and I travel together, we spend a lot of time searching for food. Sometimes we’re trying to find a specific place someone recommended, other times we want the perfect reservation, but most of the time we’re wandering and seeing what looks good. When we wander, most of the meals are okay to […]
Tombée du Ciel, Lille, France
It was a treat to stumble upon French artist Jean-François Fourtou’s art installation, “Tombée du Ciel”, or “Fallen From the Sky”, which is based on his grandparents’ house. It’s a truly bizarre experience inside! The entrance is through a second-story window, and once inside, all the fixtures and furniture are overhead.
Gallery Dog, Lille, France
On a frigid day, this friendly dog guarded the doorway to a painter’s atelier.
Aux Merveilleux
Watching this pastry chef create Lillois treat Aux Merveilleux made my mouth water. Aux Merveilleux, a native of northern France and Flanders, are meringue (strong on the outside and undercooked on the inside) and buttercream sandwiches, encased in a layer of buttercream. They come in three varieties: the Classic chocolate, the Incroyable speculoos and white […]
Le Mariage
Few things are more French than a hearty protest or strike and the latest social issue, same-sex marriage and adoption rights, has roused people to the winter streets. After the disgusting anti-gay marriage demonstration in Paris last weekend, I was glad to see a pro-gay rights parade here in Lille, ridiculous cold weather be damned!
Rue Faidherbe, Lille
When we arrived in Lille after a 2-1/2 hour drive, the first thing we saw was this spectacular street.
Luxembourg Snow
This week, the skies opened up and dumped on Luxembourg! One thing that’s great about a small city is the pockets where the snow remains relatively undisturbed. It’s pretty magical to look over the valleys and see the snow.
Kubuswoningen, or Cube Houses
One of Rotterdam’s wonders is kubuswoningen, or cube houses. When the city of Rotterdam asked architect Piet Blom to design housing on top of a pedestrian bridge, Blom designed abstract trees by turning traditional houses 45-degrees and resting them atop hexagonal pylons. The forest of homes was built in the 1980s. The houses are 100 […]
