TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

My late lunch and early dinner =) Helaas, I can’t eat too much otherwise I would feel pain on my sides. And of course I ordered seafood. If only I can eat seafood every day I would be a happy camper. This is however a very interesting Salade Nicoise, because the presentation is quite different -- the greens were set aside from the tuna. Well I guess I am in gastronomy haven Belgium, I should not expect less. But it bothered me that the tuna was coated in creamy mayo. I cannot stand a heapful serving of mayo on my dish. Maybe on patat (fries) but definitely not on a Salade Nicoise? Rating: 4 stars out of 5. This was still good, you just have to set the mayo aside. I cannot however remember the name of the restaurant but this is on the Grote Markt where you can find a long row of restaurants and cafe terraces. To sum this all up, it was a lovely lunchiner (my combined lunch and dinner) with equally lovely views of the Sint Romboutskathedraal, the town hall and the guild houses ...

The 15th century St. Romboutstoren is very popular in Mechelen and my goal was to climb the 514 steps to see the breathtaking views of the city. Sometimes I like torturing myself haha. The climb was fine but I had to rest every time I reach a level. There are 6 levels in the tower which are 6 rooms and these are: 1. Kraankamer (crane room) 2. Smidsekamer (forge room) 3. Klokkenkamer (bell chamber) 4. Uurwerkenkamer (clock room) 5. Beiaardkamer (carillon room) 6. Askelder. At the top of the tower is the Skywalk, a glass platform for visitors to walk on and view Mechelen on panorama and peek down to the busy Grote Markt. Honestly, I find the Skyway a disappointment. The walkway is not built high enough that you can enjoy the panorama effortlessly without the towers and its buttresses obstructing the view. I am not really sure if I enjoyed this tower visit except for the exercise I got from it that I thought was healthy. I don’t think I would recommend this quickly to others unl...

Mechelen, a city of 80,000 inhabitants in the Flemish region is a feast during Saturdays. I was so happy when I strolled down Ijzerenleen and saw the lively outdoor market in the middle of the street extending to the Grote Markt (main market square). Dutch is the official language in Mechelen. Their Dutch though is purer and they use different words. I have to listen carefully in order to understand them. Mechelen Saturday Market I am always after for a nice food market visit. I like to sample local stuff when travelling. In Mechelen I found out that ‘witlof’ (chicory) is a local forte. They have many recipes for this vegetable and one stand was selling witlof soup. I must admit that I was tempted to try the specialty but that morning I was hankering for some waffles. Witlof though is a leafy vegetable that I always generously use for my salads, and I prefer to eat them raw. There were many waffle stands and it was a bit difficult to choose from which to buy. Eventually I end...

Because of my Fine Arts degree (I secretly wished I finished Economics or Business Management) I am appreciative of art and architecture. I love creativity. During my elementary and high school years I used to be the artist of the class but nowadays I dabble in IT sales-marketing-promotion-incentive types of creativity for work. Not really the same but creativity is in the mind, in the personality and character of the person. One cannot argue that it’s in the DNA. A creative person will make creativity happen. So anyway, while walking around Mechelen, I quickly noticed the lovely guild buildings on Ijzerenleen. They really stand out and I must take pictures of them. Belgian (and Dutch) architecture is based on Gothic Renaissance architectural character. Belgian architecture though has more Baroque influence than the Dutch and one can see it clearly on its facade details. Later, I found out that the locals dubbed Ijzerenleen street as the ‘Champs Elysees of Mechelen’. Hah cool!...