Author: Ella

Two traditional Liege folk characters, Tchantchès and Nanesse, pilot the plane called Le Petit Avion. The pilots are sculpted as portrayed by the Belgian comic artist François Walthéry.  Tchantchès is cheeky, irreverent “everyman” who represents the spirit of the city. He’s traditionally a puppet character and there’s even a puppet museum dedicated to him in…

I mentioned we stepped into St. Paul’s Cathedral and Grubb has written a post on the hidden statue of Lucifer. I was more taken with the cloister, which was entered through a massive wooden door and might easily be missed if weren’t standing ajar with a view down the beautiful Gothic ogival arched hallway. In…

A boulet is a  meat ball made from minced pork or beef or a mixture of the two. Liege style boulets are large with a serving consisting of only one or two meatballs.  Smaller than a baseball, bigger than a golf ball. The boulets are simmered in a rich gravy made with onions, beef broth, and sirop…

Today we tried to get a sense of Liege. With a population of 200,000 (630,000 in the metro area), Liege comes in as Belgium’s third largest city and is also the economic capital of Wallonia (Grubb will explain all things Wallonne). This is a French speaking region and very few people we’ve met speak more than…

A bit of a project, getting to our place in Liege but we are here with a beautiful view from the apartment. Rotterdam -> Brussels Nord -> Liege Gullimins -> Liege St. Lambert -> Rue de Saint Gilles, Liege. The trains were fine but the last bit was a local bus. The transit workers were…

The FENIX gives homage to the birds amongst us. Migrants Who Don’t Give a Fuck, 2019 Kiluanji Kia Henda (Angola, 1979) “Towering walls, complicated visa procedures and lengthy asylum processes can make migration impossible. Kiluanji Kia Henda’s flamboyant flamingos defy such barriers. These pink birds, which refuse to be fenced in, symbolise freedom of movement.”

There will come a time, beyond a moon flyby, beyond The Martin, beyond Project Hail Mary…yes, it’s Space migration! Refugee Astronaut IX, 2024 Yinka Shonibare CBE (United Kingdom, 1962) “A lone figure carries a net bulging with belongings – a teapot, Dominoes, a lamp – hastily gathered. The nomadic astronaut is in search of a…

At the FENIX, items must be carefully cleaned. 

Rotterdam. At the FENIX, a spiraling staircase encased in a shiny, wavy, silvery tube gives the feeling of being swirled up into the eye of a storm. 

Last night after our not-so-great Surinamese dinner, we wandered a bit. Here are some photos. Above: Maybe the “grands” live here?

Rotterdam, according to some sources, is one of the best places in the world for Surinamese food. Outside of Suriname I suppose. Surinamese food reflects a mix of North African, Indonesian, Indian, Chinese, and a hint of Dutch (Suriname was a Dutch colony at one time). Grubb had a yen to try. We tracked down…

Our time at the FENIX was so poignant that it will take a few posts to describe. And by the way, gratitude to our friend Esther for telling us about the museum. The FENIX opened just one year ago. It was inaugurated by the queen of the Netherlands, Queen Máxima. FENIX is an art museum…

Today (Monday), a slow day, a chilly day with a bit of rain.

Last night (Sunday)…A fish place with a different concept” is how they bill themselves.  The maître d’ handed us an oval tin of sardines with our table number written in sharpie on the top. “Would you like to start with a glass of cava?” she asked. “Well sure” I said as Grubb shook his head…