Food & Travel
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Market Day in Bruges – French Pastries
My final stop in Bruges’ Grote Markt area on this wonderful market day, after picking up some delicious chocolate treats at a local artisan chocolate maker, was the elegant French pâtisserie Aux Merveilleux de Fred. I had been eyeing the stunning crystal chandelier and enticing French pastries in their window since I had arrived. My eyes grew even larger as I entered their beautiful boutique. The chandelier twinkled in the summer sun and those pastries, the fluffy Merveilleux, called my name. At this point I had no idea what a Merveilleux was. All I knew from a sign in the window was that they consisted of meringue and whipped cream…
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Market Day in Bruges – Chocolates
After strolling through the farmers’ market in Bruges’ Grote Markt – Market Square – then picking up a few little treasures in the lovely Home Linen, my next stop was Chocolatier Dumon. This lovely chocolate boutique is located in a beautiful, historic building tucked in just behind the restaurants of Market Square. One of its charms is that, upon entering, you immediately go down several steps to get to the main floor of the shop. Another set of steps a little further in takes you to the lower level where you will find a wide array of chocolates and other sweet treats tied up in packages with colourful bows. This…
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Market Day in Bruges – Linens
Having finished my stroll through the farmers’ market in Bruges’ Grote Markt – Market Square – it was time to move on to the surrounding shops. It was opening time as I approached my first – the lovely Home Linen. The proprietress was completing her store-opening tasks as I entered, putting items on display outside to attract customers. As I was her first of the day, I had the place to myself while she wrapped up her chores. As the name suggests, this shop specializes in beautiful, locally handmade, linens for the home. I am a sucker for white linen so I felt like a kid in a candy shop here.…
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Market Day in Bruges – Grote Markt
I had only a few hours left in the gorgeous, medieval, Belgian city of Bruges before I departed for Brussels, my final destination of this European adventure. The previous couple of days had been spent getting re-acquainted with this charming city and exploring the surrounding countryside. I had first visited Bruges over 20 years earlier, in part to take a lace-making course at the Kantcentrum – Lace Centre. This time during my wanderings, I had made mental notes of several shops that I wanted to visit before leaving. There were three in particular that I had in mind and all were located in the vicinity of the Grote Markt –…
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Baking Sweet French Classics at the Ritz
After enjoying a light lunch on the patio of the Ritz’s Bar Vendôme, I was kindly guided down the elegant, toile-adorned staircase to the kitchens of the École Ritz Escoffier. I was on my way to attend their ‘Sweet Classics’ baking class. Earlier in the year, as I was planning this trip to Paris, I had discovered that the Hôtel Ritz had just re-opened after an extensive four-year renovation. Always on the look out for new French baking and cooking class opportunities, I began to wonder whether they might not offer some. Happily, a quick look at their website confirmed that indeed they do. So, of course, I had to…
