Confessions of a Chocoholic: Eating (and Drinking) our Way Through Belgium in Two Days

I do not like Brussels. I don’t. Of all the quaint, charming cities in Europe, it wouldn’t rank high on my go-to list.

So, when my friends decided that is where they wanted to go on our weekend together when they were visiting from the States, I was less than impressed.

But, I have a confession to make: I HAD THE BEST WEEKEND!

Two of my closest friends, Jaime and Zack, came to visit me in Amsterdam. They flew in Friday – and we had just enough time for a fantastic dinner at Pikoteo – before we were off to Belgium on Saturday morning.

After a brief train transfer in Brussels, we were off to the medieval city of Bruges, arriving in the city just after midday. I just knew they would love Bruges! The city has an amazing charm. Untouched by WW2, there’s history at every twist and turn with buildings standing strong from the 11^th and 12^th centuries (and probably even before).

And, you can’t go wrong in a city that has become a hub for all the best Belgium has to offer: frites, waffles, beer and CHOCOLATE!

This was my third time in Bruges, but the first time in the summer season. And although we hit it during a heat wave, it was by far my favorite visit. The city is so picturesque! And the great company helped too :)

We started our day with a light chocolate appetizer. You know, just a light rush of sugar to get the blood flowing. We then made a real effort to follow the to do list throughout the rest of the day: chocolate, frites, waffles beer, boat ride, repeat.

We got through round 1 with no problem. Onto round 2…Chocolate…ice cream...

Ice cream? We got completely side tracked by two gelaterias, and in 28°C heat (82°F), who could blame us? After carefully selecting a place called Oyya, we taste tested a few flavours before settling  on our final picks.

As an ice cream connoisseur, I can confidently tell you I chose well: original chocolate (seriously) and mint chip. I’ll go on record saying this was the best ice cream I’ve ever had. So much so that on the way back to Brussels I Googled where else in the world Oyya exists, because I have to go there next. The good news is there is an Oyya #2. It’s located on the east side of Belgium in a town called Hasselt. Let’s take bets on where I’m going next...

Anyway, after a day of loading up on zero sustenance, we happily jumped on the train to Brussels. We quickly checked into our hotel, freshened up, and went to hit the town to check out the dinner and nightlife in the city.  

Dinner did not disappoint: mussels and waterzooi chicken. As touristy as you could get. And just as delicious as I wanted it to be. No regrets here.

Post-dinner we wandered a few blocks over to A La Mort Subite, a historic bar in Brussels that bears the same name as our craft brand, Mort Subite. In fact, as the story goes, the name of the beer comes from this exact pub where the game Pietjesbak was played. The final throw of the game was called ‘Mort Subite’ or sudden death, to mark the end of the game.

 

I had the opportunity to visit the brewery in a town called Asse outside of Brussels last summer. It’s a great craft brewery and I particularly enjoy the flavored beers they produce, like kriek (cherry) and peche (peach).

After our drinks we explored the side streets of the (surprisingly?) bustling city. It was certainly livelier on a Saturday night than I would’ve expected. 1 more point for Brussels.

The next day we were booked bright and early on  a 9am chocolate walking tour. Yes, let me repeat. CHOCOLATE walking tour. I don’t care if I lost a few of you to the ‘tourist’ eye roll. This was by far one of the best things I have done in any city, and is the reason why Brussels is back on the map for 
me.

We met our tour guide, an ex-business man who left the rat race after an encounter with monks who cured an illness he had with a piece of dark chocolate (true story, or so he says...), in front of the Godiva in Grand Place. Ok, I know I just lost respect from half of you. Don’t worry though. We didn’t ACTUALLY go to Godiva. I would’ve lost respect for myself there too…

Our guide, named Marc, from Global Enterprises, explained to us how to identify where to go/not to go in Brussels when it comes to chocolate. Pro tip #1: If the shop has lots of colors, lots going on, sells things other than chocolates (e.g., gummy candies and marshmallows) avoid at all costs. Stick to the shops that have one, or simpler and organized color palates.

Marc warned us we were in for it. His four hour tour took us through main streets and back-alleys, by tourist sites and residential areas, into bars with local beers and by authentic waffle and frites shops. He told us where to eat, where to buy, where to avoid. It was fantastic.

And boy, were we in for it. We made stops at SEVEN chocolate shops, which included tasting 10 chocolates, 1 hot chocolate, 1 chocolate sorbet AND making an assortment of our own chocolates to boot. We tasted white chocolate and dark chocolate. Pralines and caramels. Earl grey infused chocolates with cocoa beans from Madagascar, and pink champagne chocolates made from pink cocoa beans from Brasil. You name it, we tried it.

 

 

This chocoholic was in heaven. Pure heaven.

 

 

Then, as if that wasn't enough, we made our own chocolates. We rolled up our sleeves and got our hands dirty trying to perfect the chocolate-making craft. My lack of art skills didn't help, but hey, who cares what it looks like when it tastes the same!

 

 

Our bellies fully, and hearts happy, we wandered back over to A La Becasse, a bar from the early 1900s that had local lambic beer, to wash down all that sugar.

And I can’t forget, our delicious last meal at Noordzee, a local seafood counter with fresh fish and a line around the block. It’s self-proclaimed as ‘Fish for Foodies.’ A phrase I absolutely love. We chowed down on a lunch of fish soup, shrimp croquettes, cod and seabass.

 

 

 

Our last few hours in Brussels was spent basking in the sun with some beverages in an outdoor café, because when it’s 27°, the sun is shining and you’re in the middle of a major European capital, there’s actually no better thing in the world to do.

Our tour de food wouldn’t be complete without paying a visit to Friterie Tabora, a highly recommended frites stand in the centre of the city that serves fresh, hand-cut frites, with a wide assortment of dipping sauces. C’est magnifique!

 

So, there you have it. A weekend of chocolate, frites, beer, waffle and good friends.

And now back to Amsterdam where Jaime and Zack get to explore the next few days. How lucky are they?! Unfortunately for me it’s back to work, but only for a few more days! I leave for Portugal in a week from Tuesday with my next visitors: Rachel and Gillian, and I absolutely cannot wait for this next adventure!

Thirty, Flirty and Thriving…

…Or so the saying goes. But actually, this statement could not be more accurate to describe where I currently am in my life.

We spend so much time in our 20s going through drastic change: the transition from the teenage years to the young adult years. Finishing the university years. First jobs, first loves. Gaining friends, losing friends. Gaining weight, losing weight. Second jobs. And third. Moves to different cities. Moves to different apartments. Moves to different countries.

I spent the last 8 years waiting to turn 30. This does not mean I didn’t enjoy my 20s to the fullest, because believe me, I did. It just means that, to me, 30 seemed to be that age where your life really begins. And for mostly professional reasons, I couldn’t wait to no longer be the ‘youngest one in the room.’ (Although looking back, I realize just how grateful I am to have been given so many opportunities at a young age professionally to be the youngest one in the room…way more on that at another time).  

Like the crazy over-planner that I am, when I started my first job at Emanate, I made a list. I set  goals. Professional and personal. I gave myself until the age of 30 to accomplish them. And then I did what any overachiever would do. I accomplished (most of) them between the ages of 26-28.  

But, there are two goals that remain unaccomplished. One personal and one professional. Twenty-something Dayna would be distraught right now. How could I have failed…especially when I had 8 years?! But grown-up Dayna is laughing.

I am laughing because I know myself, and I know these goals will definitely be accomplished. But the change is, I know they will not be accomplished right now. One day. I’m laughing because I can hear the voices of mentors, friends, and family who have been telling me over the last 8 years that it’s ok to slow down, that some things are going to take longer to achieve, and that there is no timeline for certain things. There have been many who have taught me that along the way. Many of those people who let me be in the room, and again, for that I am grateful.

Over the last year I’ve learned to appreciate the ride. And while enjoying the ride wasn’t always top of mind until more recently, thinking back over the last decade, what a ride it has been!

There’s a million things I could list, but here’s a brief look at 30 top memories from the last 10 years…

1.       Interning in London at the ripe age of 20. My favorite memory? It’s a toss-up between the completely insane night where we met three gentleman in red velvet top hats in a sketchy Chinese restaurant at 1am in Leicester Square and then willingly followed them back to their South Kensington town house to go swimming in their indoor swimming pool OR meeting another sketchy character – whom we shall call Big Al – in Ireland. Ask me the story privately if you want to hear more. Ohhh to be young and carefree. #sorrymom

2.       Spending the summer of 2008 appearing in every TV show filmed in NYC.

3.       Going back to Chapel Hill after London: rushing Franklin Street after the Tar Heels won the National Title, living on Noble Street with my best friends, eating alllll the Franklin Street Pizza & Pasta I wanted, working at Top O, many, many nights out, and of course, graduating from UNC’s Journalism school. I’ll never forget packing up my car to make the trek back to NY for the last time in May 2010. It was one of the saddest moments of my life.

4.       Accepting my first job at Emanate – albeit under extremely strange interview circumstances that ranged from being called the wrong name even to this day (don’t worry MB, I’m sort of over it) to my interviewers being late, to the office being a ghost town because everyone was in a conference room eulogizing the office pet frog. Or frogs? Who knows. It was weird, and for some weirder reason, I accepted the job. Turns out to have been one of the best decisions of my life. Not only will Emanate hold a special place in my heart for helping me launch a career in PR, it also introduced me to several life-long friends. Some of which have become family.

5.       After much searching, finding and living in the perfect West Village apartment with Emily. It truly was perfect. Perfect until the mice moved in, at least. But we were in the heart of the West Village, had exposed brick in a recently renovated apartment, two bedrooms AND a dishwasher. We still relied on our parents to get our groceries. And do our laundry. We were living large.

6.       Bopping around NYC with Steph…after she learned how to make it from Penn Station to my apartment in 2010 ;-) In all seriousness, when she finally moved back to NY in 2012, it was amazing having my best friend right up the street. Countless dinner/shopping/movie/gym dates – and of course, exchanging date night stories

7.       DC reunions each MLK weekend with my UNC girls and trips to Deep Creek (well, in the early days, before we completely destroyed Casey’s parents’ house and became uninvited…)

8.       Watching the Tar Heels win 2 (almost 3) National Titles. Traveling straight from Japan to meet my sister in Houston in 2015 (calling my boss mid-way to say after almost two weeks of holiday in Japan, I wouldn’t be making it to work on Monday. What’s one more day?!) only to witness the heartbreak of Villanova winning in the last fraction of a second.

9.       Celebrating 4 (or 5?) amazing birthdays at the Boat Basin in NYC. Hearing from everyone it’s going to be too cold, and then beating the odds with picture perfect springtime NYC weather each and every time (except for the one minor downpour)

10.   Traveling to 30+ countries – including beyond epic trips to Australia, Thailand, Greece, Turkey and Japan with my childhood besties Rachel and Gillian. There’s absolutely no one else I’d rather do all of the below with than with my twin best friends from K-garden. Truly meant it when I told my fam on day 1 “I met twins, and I like them”: Bushwalking and feeding kangaroos in Australia, getting trapped on a boat in Thailand in the middle of water, cooking authentic Thai food in Chang Mai and riding elephants through the jungle, getting coerced into buying Turkish rugs in Kusadsi, spending 5 hours freezing and eating dumplings in the Beijing airport, and then almost missing our connecting flight back to the States…also in Beijing, seeing the cherry blossoms in Japan and so much more…  

11.   Meeting and becoming work soul sistas with Carolyn (see #4). Couldn’t have survived without this girl, who was right there next to me making a list of goals at the ripe age of 22. All the late nights at the office. Frequenting the sushi and Italian places on 2^nd avenue right near the office. And our epic news recording of Hurricane Sandy, live from the Upper West Side.

12.   Forming the Codell family (See #4 again). This absolutely absurd crew that is also one of the most amazing things that happened to me (thank you, Emanate….and Dawn Ray!!!).

13.   Falling in love with do-it-yourself frozen yogurt and sharing this love with two best friends, Jaime and Steph  

14.   Visiting Jaime in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania when doing her residency and experiencing Hershey as an adult (and the AMAZING Turkey Hill ice cream factory. You can make your own ice cream! Seriously, the best). As fun as that was, I was so glad when you moved back to NYC so we could resume our Tuesday night Dance Mom + Italian/Chinese food dinner dates, shopping sprees, yogurt-runs-in-blizzards

15.   Long Island summers… in the Hamptons with Em and Amanda and Dix Hills with Steph

16.   Standing alongside Casey and Clay as they got married. Watching them buy their first home in DC…and so much more!  

17.   So much pride watching my friends grow alongside me. My friends are seriously awesome! From journalists to psychologists to social workers to architects to actors to fellow PR practioners and probably the profession I have the most respect for – teachers – I enjoy watching my friends absolutely kill it in whatever they have decided to do

18.   Skipping around the fountain from the Sound of Music in Salzberg, Austria singing Do-Re-Mi with Amanda.

19.   Moving to my very own apartment on the Upper East Side.

20.   Being the maid-of-honor at my sister and brother-in-law’s wedding and being a part of the day. I have never been in a room filled with so much love. It was incredibly special!

21.   Dinner dates at every diner in NYC with Diana! Our catch-ups that didn’t happen often enough, but were always the highlight of my week when they did happen. Watching her fall in love with Matt, and then watching them get married.

22.   Getting to participate in the Nudge Global Leadership Challenge in Amsterdam in 2015. You can only have so many life-changing experiences in your lifetime. This was one of them.

23.   Broadway shows with my family or Em! And Em and I taking our love of theatre to the next level by subscribing to every single discount tix outlet the city has to offer. Getting tickets to Hamilton. Yes, I’ve seen Hamilton in New York ;-)  

24.   Or just casually watching your friend on Broadway – such a special treat to see Blair as Nicola in Kinky Boots! (Also in the Blair bucket from this decade: Your beautiful wedding and watching you and Adam raise the most adorable child!)  

25.   Traveling the world with my mom – from summer trips throughout New England, to trips to Florida to see my grandparents, to England, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands (before I moved!), Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Switzerland, Monaco, Greece, Croatia, and Austria (I think that’s it?) all in one decade.

26.   Celebrating the 90^th birthdays of my nana and papa. And the countless trips to Florida not just in the last decade, but my whole life, to spend time with them.

27.   The birth of my niece and watching her grow into the smart, adorable, French-speaking toddler she is today.

28.   The “Miami WhatsApp Chain”. Not a day doesn’t go by that I wake up hoping there’s something absurd waiting to be read in the group chat.  

29.   My Florida “cousins”. Jackie’s amazing cooking for the Jewish holidays, babysitting Sebastian, shopping sprees in NYC and Florida, watching Jackie/Zach, Matt/Lara, Amanda/Jeff and Melanie/Adam get married.

30.   My move to Amsterdam. The scariest, yet hands-down most rewarding thing I did this decade.

31.   (I get one for good luck, right?!) Last, but not least, cooking a full Thanksgiving dinner for my colleagues in Amsterdam. Introducing everyone to the gloriousness that is sweet potatoes with [American] marshmallows and making 13 non-Americans go around the table and saying what they are grateful for J

And so, so much more. I absolutely cannot wait to see what this next decade has in store!