There’s a lot of family history behind chocolatier G. Bastin’s delicious pralines, which makes them even more special. The story: In 1908, Theofiel Adriaenssens opens the shop. He tires of it by 1918 and passes it to his sister, Leonie. Leonie marries Raymond Bastin, they have a son, Gilbert. Raymond dies when Gilbert is 18 […]
Museum Rockoxhuis, Antwerp
I have a love-hate relationship with museum-houses. On the positive side, they are stunningly elaborate, masterpiece-filled, lovingly preserved time machines that evoke the days of yore. On the negative side, their grandeur, opulence and contained artwork provoke a crippling case of real estate envy. Luckily/unluckily for me, Antwerp is chock-full of museum-houses. Museum Rockoxhuis is […]
Place de la Liberátion
This was taken peeking down a narrow street radiating off Place de la Liberátion, the major public square directly across from the Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne. The morning light cast alluring shadows on the walls. Incidentally, Place de la Liberátion was designed in the 17th century by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, whose other […]
Dijon Houses
Part of Dijon’s charm is its many wood-frame merchants’ houses from the 15th and 16th centuries.
La chocolatière de Roger
A visit to France (or anywhere, really) would not be complete without sampling at least one chocolate shop. Patrick Roger, an award-winning chocolatier, turns out pralines, ganaches and a “best of”, which consists of seven varieties of cocoa. There are also delectable pastries, macarons and crusty loaves of bread. We discovered this by accident. During […]
Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne
Burgundy’s dukes used to call this showboat home. Now, it houses city hall and all its requisite administrative offices in the west wing and the Musée des Beaux-Arts in the east wing. The structure was originally built as a simple fortress built in the 9th century. Philippe the Bold rebuilt the ducal dwelling place in […]
Église St-Michel
This church started off in 889 as a small wooden chapel before the abbot of St. Stephen insisted on upgrading it in the 1000’s. By the 15th century, the church could barely contain its parishioners, so the choir was expanded. The Renaissance façade depicts biblical and mythological themes. The two 17th century towers are topped […]
Le Petit Roi de la Lune
Le Petit Roi de la Lune‘s interesting French-with-a-twist menu caught our eye as we wandered aimlessly around town seeking dinner. We had just passed up our targeted first-choice venue for being too stuffy but still wanted local cuisine. Le Petit Roi de la Lune was just what we were looking for: a casual, fashionable place […]
Église Notre Dame
This church has one of the liveliest facades I’ve ever seen. Look up and you’ll see three rows of animated gargoyles frolicking and leering down at you. Église Notre Dame was built between 1220-1240 and restored in the late 1800’s. The interior has a collection of 13th century stained glass windows supplemented with a number […]
