Travel News - Summer 2005 - Travel Ideas

Adpatti AMBASSADOR Visits BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

Fall into Belgium! 

Adpatti thought she would veer off the Yellow Brick Road and tell you about the European Hospitality adventure circuit she had recently. It is exciting to leave the USA and go overseas. But, hospitality is hospitality and wherever you go it is good to analyze how it is done in other countries…. .So here goes to….Belgium.  

Left Baltimore and taxi’d down to Dulles Airport with Gary Day’s AMERICAN LIMOUSINE Services to catch the red eye headed to BELGIUM. Took 1^st Class on UNITED AIRLINES. The first stop on the itinerary is Brussels, which excites adpatti as it is a mixture of Flemish and French, so my 8 years of schooling of French comes in very handy. Incidentally, each street has both a French and a Flemish name attached to it. BELGIUM is known for: beer, chocolate (adpatti is a chocoholic), waffles (yes, Belgium waffles), mussels & snails, lace, French fries & mayo (McDonald’s are better!), wonderful seafood and pralines. 

Arrived @ Brussels International @ 6:30 am. And settled in to the SHERATON Brussels Hotel & Towers in a lovely room on the Club Floor, had a Traditional continental breakfast, including a warm crepe with powdered sugar and drizzle of syrup, chocolate brioche and about 7 cups of delicious coffee. The staff was so accommodating and kind and I they had a Clef D’Or Concierge like Marie Gullard and Gwen Stevenson @ Harbor Court Hotel. He actually looked them up in his Les Clefs d'Or special directory!  

I explored Brussels City center on a quiet Sunday morning in this most walkable and friendly town. Saw the sites around the GRAND PLACE including the most popular statute in Brussels, MANNEKEN PIS (Statute of a little boy wee-weeing into a fountain!). This is the mascot of this medieval town such a cheeky little chap. I took in the magnificent buildings in and around The Grand Place and a number of area markets selling flowers, local arts & crafts and a large live music festival winding down. 

Brussels is a city full of green parks and beautiful fountains and statutes. Such notables as Rodin, Peter Paul Reubens, Victor Hugo, Jacques Brels made Brussels their home. Three main languages are spoken, French, English and Flanders. I have used my French schooling a lot here and it is very helpful to parler-francais here! Shopped on the Rodeo Drive/Madison Avenue of Brussels seeing the worlds top couturiers on the Avenue Louise, saw a Rodin exhibit where one could buy an authentic bronze reproduction at affordable prices. Drank some authentic Belgian Summer ale with peach and raspberry flavors while while enjoying the free outdoor city music festival that was taking place all over the city center with gorgeous old buildings and churches acting as the stage backdrops.

Ate dinner @ one of the restaurants affiliated with Les Grands Tables du Monde (like CITRONELLE in DC or The INN AT LITTLE WASHINGTON in VA or LE BEC FIN in Philadelphia) and the #1 gastronomic spot in Brussels, COMME CHEZ SOI (“come over our place”). The food and ambiance was phenomenal. The elegant food and service was not at all overlooked by the natural, homelike treatment. The waiters are extremely attentive, not snobby, and return tableside with a little pot to refill empty plates with additional helpings and little French bite-size treats. After dinner, the Maitre D gave me a special tour of their spectacular eat-in kitchen & the wine cellar holding 25,000 bottles of wine and special 40-year collection of CHATEU D’QUIEM is there—oh-la-la. Guests can dine downstairs and join names like PRINCE, Woody Allen, famous international elite. Upon leaving, the owner, a 4^th generation restauranteur, handed me a special book and menu. You can view it or see mine @ www.commechezsoi.be

BRUGES, Belgium was next. This city is know as the Venice of Northern Europe and I settled into the heart of it!

Took the train easily and then our taxi driver gave us a tour of this ever so charming town before settling into the elegant, charming Hotel de Tuilerieen in the heart of the walkable city. The Hotel de Tuilerieen has a refined sense of 18C urban elegance. The front desk staff is as accommodating and lovely as if you were family and best friends. General Manager Patricia set me up in a fabulous, bright and spacious loft room overlooking the canal. A medieval town full of buildings connected that look like ginger bread cookies, immediately I felt as if I was thrown back in time to a Grimms Fairy Tale. Horse drawn carriages gave city tours and cobblestones gave an old time feel.

I visited another hotel as a guest for dinner one evening at the lovely exclusive, DIE SWAENE, located in the center of Bruges close to the famous intimate and fetching square called BURG. Mr. Hoen-Kessels hosted a magnificent 6 course meal, all paired with fabulous wines as we went from champagne-white-red. I cannot thank his enough for the gorgeous hospitality, fine service and time. www.dieswaene-hotel.com. His parents started the hotel and he is now the general manager and his twin runs the local youth hostel

Speaking of which, DANDOY makes the most fabulous biscuits in Belgium, the CHOCOLATE LINE, GODIVA and PLANET CHOCOLATE the finest chocolates and LACE can be found EVERYWHERE. I feel like I had a chocolate on every corner.

Bruges has the oldest bridge dates back 600 years, many swans in the LAKE OF LOVE and canal tours give a fabulous swans view of the area, so romantic. The towering spire of the Church of Our Lady is another key landmark. The church was built over 2 centuries beginning in 1220. This setting surprisingly house a MICHAELANGELO statute of Madonna and Child (1504-5)! Cartoon enthusiasts and dog lovers will love to know that TIN TIN is alive and well in Bruges! We visited the Chocolate Museum, Diamond Houses (so close to Antwerp, thanks to Judy Wilbur/RADISSON!), the 366 steps @ the BELFORT TOWER gave spectacular views….

Listen, I have pictures of it all.

The hospitality was great, towns were clean and saw very few homeless. I wanted for nothing. But then, ah, it was time to return home. Back safely and sound Michael from AMERICAN LIMOS (you can find them @ http://www.citypeek.com/CPBALT.htm picked us up in DULLES as a surprise chauffeur! I am here to say it was lovely to go away and always great to return home. Just wanted to give you a flavor of something different. More about Baltimore/DC happenings soon. NOTE: www.CITYpeek.com has gotten 100,000 hits in just over 3 months. We are growing so quickly and gaining a great following. If you want to link us to your site, just let me know. It should help your traffic to CO-link, so let’s do it. Email: CEO@citypeek.com

EXPERIENCE BALTIMORE, the fabulous feeder market piece is now printing 2x’s/year. Next is October 31—let me know if you can join the other hotels and attractions by advertising. All advertisers will get editorial support. 500,000 (1/2 million) circulation from NY-Virginia! Email: adpatti@aol.com . Thanks for being the best hospitality professionals. Remember to read the current AMBASSADOR Magazine for the local happenings. Visit Baltimore's newest hot spot, THE GREEN OLIVE in Federal Hill! All Concierge are invited for a free meal and drink-tell them Patti sent you and ask for Adam. Oh, radio personality EDDIE APPLEFELD just called me to “subscribe to AMBASSADOR Magazine” as he uses it frequently on his talk show on WCBM Radio. Hotels gobble these magazines up in their rooms and the Baltimore Visitors Center is replenishing them daily—great job BACVA and guest services staffs! More from the fabulous US of A soon.

 Happy Days, Happy Fall Days & Happy New Year. 

I am truly yours,

AMBASSADOR adPatti Neumann

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