Alvilda was a little concerned that Ivana, her friend from her studies at Fletcher over a decade ago who now also lives in Brussels, and I might be two too many alpha females to get along well, but that worry proved unfounded. Ivana is Croatian, and like Alvilda, is interested in international social justice issues. I liked her immediately.

We spent Saturday shopping in Brussels, but mostly window shopping. After the swank shops of Avenue Louise, we wandered over towards the area of the Grand Place, first stopping to pay homage to the Mannekin Pis (Little Boy Peeing), a several hundred year old fountain, and much-beloved symbol of Brussels. We got lucky, as some kind of odd civic ceremony was taking place, lead by the Friends of Mannekin Pis. The statue was dressed up, though of course provisions are made to allow his stream to freely flow. A town from Northern Spain had sent Gigante figures and folk dancers, who were all posing for photos in front of Mannekin Pis, with much arranging and ordering around being done by grumpy older gentlemen wearing official green jackets, and the Friends’ characteristic ribbon of offocialdom, featuring a reproduction of Mannekin Pis dangling from a ribbon (remember, this is a statue of a pissing boy).

After this, Ivana wisely guided us towards a bar she remembered nearby. It had once been a theater and featured a heavenly quiet courtyard–ruled by the most magnficent black cat. I ordered my new favorite beer, Triple Karmeliet, which has complex flavors, including something that reminds me of the toasted rice flavor of hojicha. Alvilda had Chimay Blue, and Ivana a white wine.

We shared a cheese plate, all of which was cubes of gouda.

~Wei Ming Dariotis