1920's typical vegetable cleaver

From the 1900's on until the early 1960's, these strange vegetable cleavers could be found in many kitchens in South West-Flanders and French Flanders. I've a few for sale, see HERE and HERE

Rural remains in Bruges.

                                                               Colourful backdoor. Saint- Gilles, Bruges

Some parts of Bruges remained very rural until the second half of the 19th century. But the upcoming industry needed more and more labourers hence fields and meadows were replaced by rows of identical little houses. Old country roads and farmsteads remind us of a pastoral past.

Old farm buildings, Saint-Gilles

Bonne-Chière windmill, 1844.

St-Janshuis windmill, 1770

Old farmstead, Snaggaardstraat.

French ironstone transferware plates with railroad cartoons, set of three. 1890s railroadiana, H. Boulenger & Cie faïencerie.

60,- Eu

Buy on Etsy

Set of three 1890s French transferware ironstone plates, depicting railroad cartoons. Produced by the well known H. Boulenger company in Choisy-le-Roi, France. These plates were part of a set of twelve "assiettes parlantes" (or talking plates), as plates with illustrations and text were called.
Faïence de Choisy-le-Roi or Terre de Fer is a kind of fine ceramic, imitating porcelain.
HB & Cie is also known as the producer of the classic white/blue tiles in the Paris Metro.
"Assiettes parlantes" were very popular during the 19th century and are still very collectible.
Condition: very good but with chips at the back, see pictures.
Dimensions: 20cms/7.90inches diameter.
Actual plates are the numbers II, IV and XII

Belgian Art Deco. Living in style.

Gorgeous silver plated set of two one cup dripolaters from the late thirties.

They come with a tray and cookie jar. Still fully functional. Set comes with instructions.

Produced by Wiskemann Brussels, glasses provided by Durobor (one spare glass included).

Condition: very good but used vintage condition. Normal signs of use. The cookie jar seems not an original part of the set, and has a bit of a dent on the lid.

Dimensions:

Dripolators: height: 20cms/8inches

diameter: 7cms/2.75inches

cookie jar: height: 5.5cms/2.15inches

diameter: 11cms/4.30inches

tray: lenght: 32.5cms/12.80inches

width: 23.5cms/9.25inches

For sale on Etsy

STOP!!! Happy painter in Ferrol.

Very Spanish, very Galician and very vivid; Ferrol!!!

Street life in Ferrol (and the whole of Spain) is always very picturesque.

Fun and food: kookeet 2015

Lovely, happy people: the"Weinebrugge" staff.

Dominique Persoone and Fabienne ("The Chocolate Line") created a sweet hospital with chocolate treatments of the finest quality!

Kookeet 2015

Three Michelin stars restaurant "De Karmeliet" presented a heavenly dish of smoked ale and foie gras. (picture: Geert Van Hecke, De Karmeliet, and Louis Van Hecke, Bistro Refter.)

Barrio Cantina, street food public!

To the Barrio Cantina website

Barrio Cantina, Bruges' food truck festival 1915.

Food trucks and street food! 
Mastelle & co on facebook

Potatolicious' website

ginsonline.be

Kookeet 2014, a culinary experience II

It's nice to live in a regio with a gastronomy that belongs to the absolute world top. And every year it may show off its level during Kookeet, a festival of flavour and taste in the center of Bruges.
This year Kookeet found a new location on 't Zand, the ideal setting.

Several chefs, whether three stars or upcoming talent, gave -the often young- public the opportunity to enjoy their creations. And that for little money, compaired to what one normally pays in their restaurants.

Keeping some cutlery at hand!

Kookeet 2014, a culinary experience!

Sabine Goethals, well known from several popular food-and-cooking tv shows, hosted the cooking demonstrations.  Here together with Olivier Monbailliu from restaurant La Tâche, during a mostly funny and much appreciated demonstration. The Sicilian cannelloni were superb! Thank you, Olivier!
restaurant La Tâche

Fiesta in Ghent!

They are finished, the "Gentse Feesten", one of the biggest fiestas in Europe. Often spectacular, but more spontaneous and much sweeter in those side streets forgotten by the mainstream public.

Barrio de Canido

Belgium-Russia: 1-0!

Not being very interested in soccer, we decided anyway to enjoy the "ambiance" on 't Zand, a square were they had a giant screen and 12.000 very enthousiast soccer fans. The winning goal was made in the last minutes and we all partied into the night!

Summerboys

People enjoying sunny spring weather in a public parc. Ostend.

A little American house in Flanders fields.

One can find this little treasure at the Memorial Museum in Zonnebeke; one of the many little prefab houses donated by the United States to help those who lost their home due to the war. I think it dates from the early twenties, and it got even severly damaged during a wwii bombing. 

Memorial Museum Passchendale

The Great War

Reconstructed trenches, Memorial Museum Passchendaele, Zonnebeke.

Memorial Museum Passchendaele

The Great War started a 100 years ago and is still very present in the- nowadays- peaceful Flemish landscape. The memorials and museums are for the moment full of tourists, many of them had a grandfather or great grandfather enlisted during the war. I'm a bit jealous when I see how well prepared British children are when they visit the area, and how well they understand the importance and impact of the Great War. Alas, in West-Flanders itself one can only notice a rapidly diminishing interest amongst local youngsters. We need more projects like this: "James Joins Up"

El "Mercator"

Uno de los mayores atractivos del puerto de Ostende es el bergantín "Mercator", que previamente fué buque escuela de la flota mercante de Bélgica. Fué diseñado por el explorador belga de la Antártida Adrien de Gerlache, y recebió su nombre del famoso cartógrafo flamenco Gheeraert Mercator y fué construido en Escocia en 1932.
Sirvió de buque escuela hasta 1960 y es museo desde 1961. Aparte de ser un buque escuela se utilizó también en expediciones científicas.
Su viaje más famoso tuvo lugar en 1936 y se dirigió a Molokai para traer de vuelta los restos del padre Damián.
Hoy en día domina orgulloso la marina de Ostende y merece ciertamente una visita.

El "Mercator"