City: Antwerp, Belgium
Soundtrack: Sea Ray - Stars At Noon
Accommodations: Emporer's 48, a two room bed and breakfast run out of the town home of artist and photographer Bart Michielsen and his cat Chance. We stayed here because Bart sounded like an interesting guy and we wanted to try out all sorts of places during our trip and I'm glad we did. Bart's place was lovely and he was a great host. It's a bit off the beaten path, yet only eight or so blocks from the Grote Markt and the waterfront. There were roughly 50 bars within stumbling distance from his place. We went to as many as we could. Each morning Bart serves a fully stocked breakfast and both mornings we stayed there, we got to chat with the couples that were staying in the other room. The only drawbacks with Bart's place is that 1) you have to share a bathroom with whoever is staying in the other room and 2) the rooms are on the fourth floor of a four floor walkup.
Best Bar: There were soooo many is Antwerp, but the best was the last one we went to. The second night we were there, we were a bit restless after dinner and drinks and wandering around trying out different bars. At the end of the night, we decided to have a nightcap on the way home in one of the bars near Bart's place, away from the Grote Markt. Soon we found ourselves in the tiny Cafe Le Kat with seven other patrons, two of which were friends with the bartender. I was overjoyed to find out they had Hoegaarden (pronounced Whogaarden in Belgium - also, Duvel is DOOvel, not duVEL) for the low, low price of Euro 1.70. That was such a good deal that I had three (even though I didn't necessarily need any of them at that point). Best. The bartender was super friendly as well, even though we were obviously tourists in the locals bar. That place had the same vibe and feel as O'Connor's in Park Slope, only with a better ceiling.
Best Meal: Our lunch at Cafe Zuid, near the Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst (Museum of Contemporary Art) was wonderful, but the frites we had later that night at Fritbot Max were to die for (look at all those toppings!). So best. We ate them in a drunken haze outside in the Grote Markt, at the base of the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal church, which was built over the course of about 200 years, starting in 1351. We enjoyed every last bit.
Sights Seen: Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst (lots of Peter Paul Rubens), Mirr Street shopping, waterfront, City Hall, Grote Markt, a slew of bars and cafes.
Best Bit: The whole town. Ms. Smith and I loved Antwerp. It was my favorite city on the whole trip, which is funny because we went there on a whim. I saw that there is a Photo Museum there so I decided we should go and see it, but we never actually made it there because Bart said it wasn't all that (which was fine, because there was no way it could top the World Press Photo Exhibit). Antwerp is basically Manhattan's Soho and Meat Packing Districts thrown together and turned into a city with a bunch of architecture dating back to the 1300's. The people in the city were young and vibrant, and it made going out a lot of fun. There are two big squares at Grote Markt, one in front and another off the back, filled with cafes and bars and since we were in town over a Friday and Saturday and the weather was superb, every place was hopping. There was also this network of back alleys and side streets branching off from the two town squares and they were lined with bars as well. Lets just say there was never a shortage of places to go. I can't recommend Antwerp highly enough. We loved the city and promised each other we'd come back someday.