Mussels from Brussels

A couple of days after Christmas, we drove just over two hours to the outskirts of Brussels, to visit dear friends we knew in Japan. They have just recently moved to Europe. Can you believe they are living in part of a carriage house on this estate? It's every bit as amazing as it looks!

We enjoyed catching up around their big open fireplace. All the kids showed off their fire-tending skills.

A metro station is just a few minutes' drive from their house. On our second day there, we all took the metro into the city and immediately stopped off at a fantastic international Christmas market. We couldn't stop gawking at this incredibly-creative carousel there.

This little girl appeared very pensive as she rode atop the ship. I hope she enjoyed herself more than she let on.

We lingered in the market for quite some time, in large part due to the fact that we managed to stop for something to eat from a different little hut about every five minutes. Here are the mussels we shared--they were fragrant and full of garlicky flavor. Notice the glove and mittens on the table--it was cold, cold! That didn't stop our five kids from going ice-skating in the outdoor rink, though. 

We finally made it to the famous Grand Place, the large square in the center of town. Our friends bought some chocolate from this Neuhaus shop and were generous enough to share with us. Hooray for Belgian chocolate!

Look closely.

So many kinds of mussels, so little time!

You didn't think we'd go to Brussels sans intrepid canine companion, did you? Hopefully we'll visit again soon!