The next day, after a mediocre breakfast at the
hotel, we successfully navigated the Brussels subway headed to a large flea
market called the Marolles Marche aux Puces (French for Flea Market) which is
located in Place du Jeu de Balles in a section of the city called Quartier
Marolles. The market dates back to 1873
and was a fun and eclectic outdoor market held on an old cobblestone square.
| As you can imagine, Jane was in Flea Market Heaven! |
| Beaucoup Stuff! |
Close
encounters of the smelly kind
It was there that Chris had her next high point of
the trip – being snogged by a homeless guy.
(snogged – see ‘Paris – the Send Off’ in my blog). Jane had gone her own way in the flea market
- as Jane is wont to when antiquing – and left me to stroll the myriad lanes of
the market alone.
I walked past a table where a merchant displayed old
weaponry of various sorts, and I noticed a man checking out an old fencing type
sword. He was sandy haired, with a
wildish beard and a hat that made me think of Robin Hood. As he was flexing the sword in a carefree
sort of way, he caught my eye and, being a nice American, I gave him a friendly
smile. So a few feet farther down the
aisle, next thing I know this fellow is beside me chatting me up in
French. Then he puts his arm around my
shoulder, all comradey at such, still chatting away – I’m still thinking he’s
Robin Hood or something. Next thing I
know he gives me this smooch on the cheek.
That’s when I notice the distinctive odor of someone who hasn’t been
paying proper attention to personal hygiene – for quite some time. I then realize he’s not Robin Hood after all,
and I certainly had no intention of being Maid Marion. So I politely said, in my best French, that I
didn’t speak French, je regret, and went off to find Jane.
“Mom TOLD us not to leave one another,” I admonished
her when I found her. “And now look what
happened! I got smooched by a homeless
guy!”
I did manage to buy some beautiful strands of
crystal beads afterward, and for a great price. So I wasn’t as scarred by the experience as
one might imagine. Sigh............
Other than the Marche aux Puces, the notable place
we saw in Quartier Marolles was Port de Hal.
It is a 14th c tower and the only remaining part of the city’s
2nd perimeter wall. The
reason it survived at all is that it was used as a prison in the 18th
c and later as a museum.
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| This is from a plaque in front of the Port de Hal and shows the original layout of the city wall. For those of you who speak French, you can read more about it. |
Stepping
back in time
After another successful negotiation of the city’s
subway back to our hotel, we decided to spend the rest of our day shopping for
lace and chocolates before heading to the train station for our return to
Paris.
Shortly after we set out we had what was to be the
next high point of the trip – making a spur of the moment side trip down what
looked for all the world like Diagon Alley (muggle readers won’t
understand). At the end of the alley was
a small, but intriguingly inviting sign, and we just felt compelled to go inside.
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| Entrance to Impasse St. Nicholas, aka Diagon Alley |
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| Olivander's straight ahead on left |
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| Look, isn't that Hermione Granger? |
 |
| Now where is Borgin and Burkes again? |
The place turned out to be a very old and quite
small pub called Au Bon Vieux Temps, or The Good Old Days. In business since 1695 (can you even imagine?),
it has gorgeous stained glass windows
and a unique piece of equipment in front of the fire place that we learned is a
Leuven Stove from the 1700’s. A web site
called ‘The Best Pour’, devoted to reviews of bars for grownups, has this to
say about the place, “This is an absolutely stunning bar located on an alley in
the old town of Brussels. It is almost a
religious experience to enter this small bar and have a beer.” I quite agree! There is something special about the
place.
When Jane and I were there we were the only
customers and were able to have a nice long talk with the owner, Madam Triest, who gave us a history of the place that I wish I had written down. We so thoroughly enjoyed our visit that when
we left, we both looked at each other and said in unison, ‘Well!” Upon which we laughed at ourselves heartily.
If you got to Brussels, DO make a point of visiting
Au Bon Vieux Temps and think of us while you sip your brew.
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| Entrance to Au Bon Vieux Temps |
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| Their most captivating stained glass window, IMHO |
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| Wondering how I might make something like this someday. |
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| What happens in Brussels, stays in Brussels |
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| Owner Madam Triest and her bartender whose name, alas, I did not write down |
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| Their charming fireplace and Leuven stove |
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| Jane engaged in an animated discussion with M. Triest |
La
Tour Noir
Another medieval structure that caught my eye was la
Tour Noir, or the Black Tower, which was very near our hotel. It’s a remnant of the first ring of city
walls build to protect Brussels in the 12 c.
It stirs the romantic fancies in my head when I see things like this -
chivalry and knights and dragons and such.
 |
| Medieval meets Modern |
Fancies
and Chocolates
There are many, and I mean many chocolates shops and
lace shops around the Grand Place. Where
to start? Well, we got lucky. Because in the first lace shop we entered,
Maison Antoine, we were greeted by the owner who is a lace maker herself. She spent a good deal of time with us explaining
different ways of lace making and some of the history of lace and its
importance in Belgian history and economics.
Looking at some of the lace and getting a glimpse of what is involved
with making bobbin lace, especially, I decided it required brain connections I
don’t have. Holy smokes, how
intricate! We both bought several pieces
as gifts and some for ourselves. I
bought a small round piece the owner, herself, made using the bobbin method. It’s a work of art, really, and hangs in a frame in
my kitchen today.
Trivia
Here’s what I didn’t know about Maison Antoine that I just learned from
Frommers on-line – the building is a former guild house where Victor Hugo lived
in 1852
We asked the
proprietor for suggestions on where to get chocolates and she recommended Neuhaus
which is right next door to her shop.
Again, we hit gold and bought lots of gifts as well as some for
ourselves. Yummy, beautiful Belgian chocolates!
Brussels Fairwell
We treated ourselves to one last order of Frites, picked up
a variety of Belgian beers for gifts back home and headed back to the train
station for our return to Paris. What a
thoroughly lovely city, and what a great time we had! I think a longer trip is in order – perhaps
including Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp and maybe Holland as well. Maybe a river cruise. Hmmmmm……..
I leave day 8 with some final pictures of the Grand Place.
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