Non-Art Museums and Chocolate

Tuesday was a non-art museum day in Brussels for me and the girls. I made an American-style breakfast of scrambled eggs. So far it seems to take we three girls quite a while to get ready and out of the house each morning, as we did not actually depart until 11:05am. We wanted to expand our sample size of Belgian chocolates so we started back at the Grand-Place with some purchases. Right off the plaza is the Museum of Cocoa and Chocolate, which just had to be good. Kids were free as is often the case here, and right at the front desk there were samples a plenty of little nuggets of different types of chocolate (white, milk, then dark from 40% to 80%). As we headed to the noon demonstration in the back, a nice lady handed us each a biscuit that had been dipped in warm chocolate - seriously good. The man giving the demo did not speak much English yet we somehow we managed to learn how he made the filled style chocolates. At the end of the demo, more samples (Julia got 3; must be because she's small and cute). We walked upstairs and learned about the growing and harvesting of cocoa beans in the tropics, the benefits of chocolate (which of course are many, including psychological), and the history of chocolate production in the world and in Belgium specifically. Of course there were more samples.

We actually needed some non-chocolate nutrition at that point, so we found a market and got yogurts for a little lunch, then picked up macaroons to add to our chocolate-palooza for dessert at home that evening. I've tasted some delicious macaroons, particularly from a French pastry chef at the Bethesda Central Farmers Market, but the ones at Jean-Phillipe Darcis, just off Grand-Place, are out of this world good. OK back to the sights. We walked over to the cathedral and spent about 45 minutes sketching. We all experienced some frustrations and challenges. Lucy had the most success by focusing only on the main door section. I only ended up roughly sketching half of it. Yet with practice I think our drawing will improve. It was getting chilly and threatening rain, so we headed across the street to the Museum of the National Bank of Belgium.

Dry as it may sound, it was quite interesting, plus during July and August it is free for everyone. We learned a lot about the history of money across the globe, dating back to B.C. centuries, and they had an impressive collection of coins and bills. We also learned about various financial and currency crises in Belgium, particularly during the two World Wars, and their transition from Belgian Francs to Euros; the last francs were printed in 2002. Dinner of rosemary-roasted red potatoes and salad was followed by the chocolate course. Brian wished he had taken pictures of all of our faces as we savored every nibble of decadent Belgian delicacies. Seriously, I'm not sure I'll be able to eat a regular American chocolate bar again. Julia did say at the chocolate museum that she had already learned some of the information during their visit over spring break to Hershey, PA, with Pop Pop Bob and Grandma Joyce. The richness and depth of taste in these Belgian pralines and truffles just cannot be compared, though.