New York, USA - October 2006

My first time in New York....An experience I shall never forget. I've always been fascinated by american cities. My friends describe me as a discover and discovering is surely what I did while I stayed in New York for those wonderful 5 days... Let me first begin with my hotel, the Washington Jefferson hotel, located at 318 West 51 st, between 8th and 9th avenues, one block away from Broadway and amazingly close to the Rockefeller center and Times Square. Let's face it: the room was tiny and the price not that cheap, but its location was perfect, it was very clean and the personel was nice and helpful. Each day, I had breakfast at the Cosmic dinner on 52nd street and 8th avenue: good food, nice atmosphere and very good pancakes...not to mention the very nice pieces of paintings on the walls...Across the 51st street, opposite to the hotel, there is a french bistro called the "Tout va Bien" (i.e. all is good), which has been operating in the Big Apple since 1949. I went there once, had snails and one boeuf Bourguignon which I'm going to remember for a long time. The Chef definitely knows what he's talking about...Jean-Pierre, the host, comes from Brittany and he's got the tricks to make you feel comfortable in a second ( glasses of Lillet do indeed help also)...At the bar, I met one sommelier of the Cruiseship "France", who now works in NYC. He had so many stories to tell...A very nice experience during my New York trip. One place I strongly advise!!!

On my first evening, I went to Ellen's Stardust dinner, on Broadway and 51st street. The food there is similar to any other dinner (though I really enjoyed drinking a roots beer once again)...what makes the trip is the waiters singing live in front of you Broadway hits and 60s standards. The place is rather packed but it is definitely worth waiting. A scene to go to while in NYC! Next to Ellen's dinner, go to the Iridium Jazz bar , one of the most famous and broadly acclaimed jazz clubs in the entire NYC. Walk further down on broadway toward Times Square and you'll find the Bubba Gump restaurant....remember the movie "Forrest Gump"? The all-you-can-cook-with-shrimp scene? Well, they've launched a restaurant: the Bubba Gump Shrimp co.. Try their cocktails...and if you happen to sit with a nice view on Broadway, check the news on the opposite building: that's where I learnt about North Korea's first nuclear test. Since I've already spent so much time about food, let me then finish with that topic by mentioning:

the very good French Culinary Institute and their restaurant "L'Ecole". Your food is prepared by their students and I wish I could cook like them!!!!!

I had the best NY style cheesecake at Lindys on 7th avenue and 53rd street.

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Antwerpen Anders...Anvers autrement - September 2006

The Belgica club of the European Patent Office in The Hague organized a day trip to Antwerp in Belgium on September 30th. The day was sunny and all conditions were gathered to make this day a fruitful one, from a cultural and gastronomical point of view.
We started our tour at the train station of Berchem (those of you travelling from the Netherlands to Paris with the TGV know this station very well) with english-, french- or flemish-speaking guides (tours can be booked here ), and began walking through the Zurenborg neighborhood.
During the reign of Leopold II, wealthy Antwerpers favoured domestic architectural styles displaying their prosperity. In the Zurenborg district, around Cogels-Osylei, the houses show how individualistic they were. Said houses display a variety of styles: neo-renaissance and neo-flemish traditional houses stand among neo-romanesque and neo-florentine ones, which a dash of Art-Nouveau. The imposing exteriors made quite an impression on me. You are far from imagining that such houses can be found in Antwerp.
We stopped for lunch at the brewery Huisbrouwerij 't Pakhuis , located in the town quarter of "Het Zuid". This quarter boasts with fashion designers, offers museums and galleries as well as many cafes and restaurants.
After lunch, we boarded a boat for an hour-long trip which took us upstream along renovated neighborhoods of the Schelde river, through the old town.
The city tour then continued and led us into the Eilandje-St. Jansplein district. There, during the past 25 years, warehouses and industrial buildings have been restored and converted to luxurious and spacious living accomodations.
After walking so much, we enjoyed a well-deserved dinner at the Zuiderterras restaurant , overlooking the Schelde river. Antwerp definitely has much more to offer than just chocolate and diamonds...

You can see the pictures of this day here .

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