Christmas Party 2008

Here are a few shots from our Christmas party. We had about 40 guests and it was great to see our friends having a good time. Rick was the personal beer-tender. He spent the entire evening introducing the beer-drinking guests to new beers and making sure that everyone had just the right one.


The menu was varied, but heavily weighted towards Mexican. I thought it would be nice to have some food that is more typically served in America for our European friends to try. My friend, Ali, who loves to bake, made some yummy Christmas cookies, which fit in perfectly with the "American" theme.


I was really busy and, thus, forgot to get the camera out until later on in the evening. I had planned on taking a few shots of the table, food, decorations, etc. However, by the time I finally got around to it, things were looking much different! Oh well, I guess that means that people were having fun.

Open Brewing Day at Vapeur Brewery

This is a really cool event that takes place on the last Saturday of every month. The Vapeur Brewery (vapeur meaning steam in French) allows the public to watch the beer-making process. Vapeur, which is said to be the last steam-powered brewery in the world, is housed in an old, rustic building and the machinery used is very primitive. Our friend, Ali, organized the trip. We went with two other couples and met two couples there.

Halfway through the process, they pass around a huge cup of the "mash" that one can taste if he or she is so inclined. I decided to pass as it looked and smelled kind of scary. However, some of the braver members of our group drank the sludge.

The brewing demonstration is followed by a huge meal (all you can eat) and all the beer you can drink! All of the food is fresh and homemade and much of it is made with beer. The menu consisted of ham, salmon, organic vegetable soup, bread and a gazillion different local cheeses. There was also dessert.

Basically, you sit around and drink beer while the lunch is being prepared. The Vapeur beer was good, but not great and the food was superb. All of this for only 30 Euros!

Oh, in case you are wondering why my husband is playing with a stuffed pig in a couple of the photos...well there are two reasons: One, he is in a state of arrested development and two, it is the Vapeur mascot. They actually name one of their beers after it. It's called the Vapeur Cochonne (pig).

International Bathtub Regetta

Another wacky Belgian event took place this summer in Dinant. The International Bathtub Regatta is an event in which teams create bathtubs and race them on the River Meuse. Here's a blurb from the website:

Surely the wackiest and most entertaining boat race on earth with over 250 participants in a flotilla of original vessels made out of at least one bathtub racing down the river Meuse. Strictly no deliberate sinking of opponents allowed!

"More of a lark than a serious competition, this event is open to seaworthy bath tubs of all classes, from all nations. The exact rules are vague, but vessels can be of any design — seemingly the more bizarre the better — and there must be at least one bath tub providing buoyancy. Motors are strictly forbidden, so is the deliberate sinking of a fellow competitor. Prizes are awarded by an impartial panel of judges for speed, technical endeavour, beauty, novelty, and representation of the town. Even for non-boating visitors, Dinant, with its onion dome tower wedged between the river and a cliff, is sufficiently picturesque to be worth a visit. "La Regate des Baignoires" makes it doubly so ..." (from worldeventsguide.com)

It was pretty entertaining. There were some creative bathtubs and several of the racers had some fun with the crowd by throwing water balloons, splashing, or pooring buckets of water as they passed by. I thought it was quite amusing to watch them try to paddle the boats with various objects as well.

Flower Carpet

Every two years for one weekend in the summer the Grand Place in Brussels is transformed into a carpet of flowers. The carpet is made mostly of begonias and can be viewed from a couple of different balconies on the Grand Place.