Antwerp, Belgium: Dries Van Noten - Fall Winter 2010/2011 Full Fashion Show

This visit to Antwerp was stunted due to my plans to fly home to the US for unfortunate family circumstances. Having only one day to take in the city before my departure, I made my way to the Dries Van Noten boutique, meeting up with Tony. At one time, years ago, I was an avid fan of the Belgian designer, but more recently have fallen out of touch with his current collections. I figured now was as good a time as any to get reacqauinted.
The collection was beautiful as I expected. Highlighted in the store were the signature well tailored womens wear of classic silhouettes, patterned silk and satin dresses watercolor stained in jewel toned hues and jackets and blouses ornamented with beautiful pewter sequins, beads and embroidery, suggestive hints of ethnic flare. The store was charming and a bit sparse with a winding narrow staircase leading to the second level where the menswear collection was on diplay.



Most noteble was the fragrant scent throughout the store. Tony's inquiry lead us to find that we were succomb by "Portrait of a Lady", the French parfume Frederic Malle. We are now on a quest for the aromatic scent seeing as how it is not offered in stores yet. Our scheduled Paris trip is nearly three weeks away, that said, you know where we'll be. Before closing, Tony made his puchase, a fashionable white polo style tee with navy blue sweater knit sleeves. In all, It was good to have gotten reacquaintanced, Dries Van Noten is here to stay.

Brussels, Belgium: Moules et Frites

Here's a look at our time spent in Brussels, while on our way to Dublin. Having only nine hours to spare, myself and my friends started out to Le Grand Place, a popular square in the city, for photo ops, then had dinner at Le Petit Bruxelles, a restaurant located along one of the small corridors off the square. We enjoyed a candlelight setting, while dining on fresh mussels, assorted shellfish, fries and LOTS of wine. Bon appetit!!!
We carried on to a local pub in the area drinking even more wine and "Kwak", a distinct Belgian beer served in its signature hour-glass shaped glass and held upright in a wooden stand. When in Belgium, drink Belgian, why not! There's rarely a time when we're out socially that we don't have a blast, and this was yet another.