Happy, happy 2014!!

I am ready for the celebrations tonight. I decided to go with the bubbly of Madame Carol Duval-Leroy, the Belgian CEO of a great champagne company.
I wish all of you TiB readers an exquisite and sparkling New Year!

Merry, merry Christmas!

Stonemanor

My Christmas menu took me to Stonemanor, the British store in Everberg,  about 15 km outside of Brussels. It is a great shop with an abundant choice but I admit that had I know the crowds I was going to face, I would have changed my menu and gone for a traditional Belgian feast.
Stonemanor saw the light in 1982 when Roger George founded a business dedicated to the import of British product in order to serve the expat community in the Brussels area.
http://www.stonemanor.uk.com/page18.html

Street treasures

Delighted you enjoyed the treasures of the Louvain town hall in the previous post. However, as you see here,  it is not necessary to climb a narrow staircase to an attic to find and discover them. In Belgium, as you see,  treasures are all over the place. 

Treasures in the attic

 

 Would you believe me if i told you that I took advantage of the inviting open door to sneak into Louvain's town hall? High up in the attic I discovered this treasure of a zillions statutes which must have adorned the facade at one time or other.

Decorations at the designers shops

A look at how the big Antwerp fashion names attract the end of year shopper. 
Above, Dries van Noten, Modepaleis, Antwerp.

Jesuit Church, Brussels

 

The Gesù church, constructed in 1860 by Jesuit Priests, is located across the street from the Botanique, one of Brussels' great cultural temples.  In recent years the church itself was used for cultural events, exhibitions and concerts. A few weeks ago, it made the news; a group of homeless people were driven away by police.  I just noticed driving by there yesterday a man's pleading for a more suitable and permanent solution for the city's homeless.

Spreading the Cheer, from Belgium to Texas

The Texas Bar Journal in Recess published an article " Spreading the cheer, how an Austin solo attorney brought good (read: Belgian)  beer to town in the late 1970s and continues to help the local brewing industry thrive".
Jim Houchins' special relationship with Belgium began in 1976 when, after finishing law school at the University of Texas, he spent a year studying International Law in Brussels. The rest of the story you can read in the article above. 
Unfortunately because of the size of Blogger's template, I did not succeed in getting the whole article reproduced here in one go, hence the copy/paste of screenshots and a link to the original text below.
Jim has been back in Belgium on business many times and I have done some reporting on one of his previous visits here: http://whatisbelgium.blogspot.be/2012/03/belgian-beer.html
http://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Table_of_Contents&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=24628

Celebrating St Nicholas with Dauwe and Bries

Dauwe and Bries, sons of my friend Katleen, have found a splendid way around controversy regarding Saint Nicholas' helpers. 
According to the legends, the good old man sends his helpers from the roof tops down the chimneys at night to deliver presents right into the good children's homes. These manoevers explain of course the helpers' faces.  There are many other versions. 
Suffice it to say that December 6 is a fun day for the kids in Belgium who all wake up earlier than usual,  curious to see what the Saint had brought them. 
I wish all of them a very happy Sinterklaas/Saint Nicolas!
I have written about the Saint Nic celebrations on December 6 before

http://whatisbelgium.blogspot.be/2011/12/saint-nicolas-sinterklaas.html

Grandiose Interior

 
I was so much in awe with the stunning Art Nouveau interior at the Buca di Bacco restaurant in Schaerbeek (Brussels) that I forgot to take photographs of the food. 
Honestly, the restaurant is relatively small and it offers food for all one's senses.
http://www.buca-di-bacco.be/accueil.html

Bozar, the public

 

 I confess that I could not resist taking a few people's shot at the Bartoli concert in Bozar.

La Bartoli at Bozar in Brussels

  

"Bozar" refers to several artistic departments of the Beaux Arts museums in Brussels.  It is home to the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Société Philharmonique/Philharmonische Vereniging which invites the world's major orchestras and performers to appear in the Le Boeuf Hall, with its oval shape and interesting architecture.  The pictures were taken on the occasion of Cecilia Bartoli's concert a week ago.
http://www.bozar.be/activity.php?id=13316