Sunday, February 28th, 2010
Sergio, Joel, Tom and Pat were told that the flight from Louisville to Philadelphia was experiencing problems so the airline decided to drive us to Cincinnati to catch a direct flight from Cincinnati to Paris. Our driver was from North Africa and spoke Arabic and, of course, so did Sergio. We sat in the Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati airport for about three hours. Tom even managed to lose and find his credit card.

Monday, March 1st, 2010
We had lunch in Paris with Sergio's parents at their apartment. By then Tom had stepped on his first dog poop.The French cheeses were some of the best cheese we have ever eaten. The beers included Biere de Garde Blonde, Pelforth Brune, and a Saint Sylvestre 3 Monts. After lunch Sergio drove the three of us around Paris. Our afternoon included a visit to the Sacred Heart Cathedral where we watched some guy juggle and dribble a soccer ball. Joel had a street artist sketch his portrait (which he eventually threw away). Edelweiss Draft, L' Angelus Annoevillein Draft, Affligem Draft. Bosteels Brewers - Triple Karmeliet and Ciney = "See Nay". We spent the first and second nights in Paris at the Hotel de Nemours on Rue de Nemours. Small hotel, small room, extremely small elevator. But it was within a couple of blocks from Sergio's apartment.

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Joel, Tom and I had breakfast on the street outside the hotel. Orange juice and fresh French pastries. Sergio, Joel and I had lunch on the bridge while Tom took a boat ride down the river. It was his dream come true. We toured Versailles. Had dinner with Sergio's parents at a great little restaurant within walking distance from the apartment.

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
St. Bernardus Brewery tour. An Italian visitor once asked our guide "What kind of yeast St. Bernardus used?" The response was "Just yeast. You need to know no more." 5:00 Trappist Westvleteren. Snacks, more trappist cheese and bread. First pub in Brugge. Zot Brugse. We finally located the narrow alley to the pub we were looking for. The DeGarre Bar. The house beer was the Garre Tripple Blonde 11%. Saison DuPont. I think we left this pub because they were getting ready to close. Next pub - 't Poatersgat. Taras Boulba. We talked to a student named Maaike. She said Sergio was drinking a "girl drink". We listened to Janice Joplin and the Doors. Bel Pilsner. Joel had a Straffe Hendrik Tripple and a Noir DeDottignies. Patrick had a Barbar and Sergio had Struise Damnation and Double Damnation. We got back to the Hotel de Medici about 5:00 am. I think this is the day that Sergio spent so much time in the glass store. Sergio, Joel and I had the guys at the beer store ship beer glasses, tee shirts, etc. back to Kentucky. Eventually we went to the Half Moon for a Zot Brugse Dubble (brown) and the Straffe Hendrick tripel - a very good beer. Charlotte ran the small restaurant opposite the beer store. De Ryck Arend Winter. Jupiler Blonde. One of the brothers from the beer store said that he was concerned that Belgium was now 5-10% Muslim. Tom went back to the hotel. Sergio, Joel and I went to Daisey's Pub called ‘t Brugs Beertje. Ostens Belegeringsbier Keyte. A nice bar. Apparently the entire bar beer was kept in the cellar and each time a customer ordered a beer someone had to run to the cellar. I asked Daisey if I could go with her to the cellar just to see how they stored their beer. We never got to see the cellar. The three of us had dinner on the main square where we met the gay waiter Gerd. Can't remember his name. The waiter did "things" to Joel's bottled water.

Thursday, March 4th, 2010
No information available, maybe because Sergio’s pace was torrid. Surely much more sampling of beer, chocolates, great food was had by all.

Friday, March 5th, 2010
We packed the vehicle and left Brugge. One last visit to the Beer Store. We bought chocolates and added them to the crates we had filled the day before. We drove to the Rodenbach Brewery. They were closed on Fridays but Sergio managed to get us invited to join another tour that afternoon. We drove back into town for a quick lunch (a Belgian waffle) and then back to Rodenbach for the 3:00 tour.Toured with Spike (founder of Terrapin) and the ex-Duvel head. I think this is the night we met Rosemary (Brit) She was on her way outside to "have a fag". She invited us to meet her at the Hand & Diamond Pub in Wales. She called the pub a "Free House". She likes to stand on the tables and drink her ale. The three nights at Brussels had us 3 blocks from the main square at the Marriott. Every night we partied late and then partied in our private bar at the hotel lobby.

Saturday, March 6th, 2010
We drove to Westmalle. I took some photos of a small chapel on the grounds of the monestary. Drove to Baarle-Hertog the Belgian enclave in The Netherlands. Baarle is one village consisting of two different municipalities; the Dutch municipality of Baarle-Nassau and the Belgian municipality of Baarle-Hertog. The Belgian Baarle-Hertog consist of 22 enclaves completely surrounded by the Dutch territory of Baarle-Nassau. Damn cold. We spent only a few minutes there because the place Sergio wanted to visit was closed. We drove to Sint-Niklaas. The Zythos Beer Festival - Van Eecke Blonde Tripple 10%. Zonderik Belgische Tripple 8%. Malheur Blonde Ale 10% (very good). Tom and I met some guys from Norway. They gave us their beer glass holders. I had on a shirt from Norway and it seemed to attract every Norwegian in Belgium. Each night we returned to the hotel with several beers to sample. Saturday night when we returned we discovered that the hotel bar was left unattended and none of the taps had been turned off. We had the place to ourselves. What is Bierre Leon at the hotel bar?

Sunday, March 7th, 2010
We had Lambic Gueuze for breakfast at Cantillon. They are closed Sundays, but the guy knew Sergio, so we met the family and he again got all this free stuff. What is Beersel Castle? This medieval castle guards the entrance to the lambic area of Beersel and Drie Fonteinen.(Three Fountains.) I had a Lambic and an Oude Geuze '97. Sergio and Joel had a Faro Lambic. I had shrimp scampi and frites with someone's bernaise sauce. (The only way to eat frites.) Since I had no Euro's left I put lunch on my credit card. Ghent - Castle and river pictures. Bar on the river Named Waterhuis Aan De Bierkant. I had a DeKoninck - Amber Ale. We crossed the river to a glass and souvenir shop but made no purchases. Back to Zythos. Last night of the Festival - some of the brewers couldn't give stuff away fast enough - especially if they were giving it to Sergio. Coasters, signs, glasses, beer and even six packs. Sergio could barely carry all of his accumulated crap. De Ryck Arend Tripple. Saint-Monon Tripple 8%. Van Steenberge - Gentse Tripple 8%. Dubuisson - Cuvee des Trolls. It was great to renew friendships and meet new brewers and beer geeks.

Monday, March 8th, 2010
Durbuy Hotel Des Sangliers and Wine Cellar. A grand old hotel; I didn't get many pictures (got to get some pictures from Joel especially the wine cellar.) I went back upstairs and asked one of the staff if he could unlock the wine cellar so that we could take a couple of pictures - "no problem". Fa What is Soy? The small village where the Fantome brewery is located. Couldn't get into Fantome the guy was on his way to lunch. Sergio got some Trappist cheese, salami, jambon des Ardennes and some baguettes and we had lunch at a picnic table beside the street near Fantome. With the snow on the table Patrick devised a system to chill his glass of beer. We had beer with our lunch. Fantome is a very small brewery. The brewer and a female employee were working. She was bottling and removing (by hand) two bottles at a time from the bottler. He was corking one bottle at a time. A third guy was there but he wasn't involved in the bottling process. I think he was helping with some repairs. We took a tour of the facility (which took about ten minutes) and had a couple of beers and salami with the brewer Dany Prignon and his help. While we listened to Ray Charles sing "What'd I Say". I didn't write down the names of the beers.The Fantome Chocolat was flowing from the tap. Our next stop that afternoon was at LaChouffe. They were closed but somehow we did a brewery tour. Joel bought a post card and the guy gave Sergio the other 49 post cards and a ton of free shit. Biere Blonde d'Ardenne. Spent the night at Chimay. Since it is not open to the public, Sergio had been given the code to get in. After 30 minutes of trying the code, blowing the horn, throwing coins at the dimly lit window, a miracle happened. The 20 degree was escaped by the door letting us in to a room full of Chimays. Thank-you someone up there.

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
Guided tour of Abbaye Notre-Dame de Scourmont-Chimay.At the sight of us, the monks seemed speechless. Or is it that vow of silence? Tasting room - there are only thirteen bottles of 1996 Chimay Bleu left at Chimay. We accepted an invitation to drink one of those bottles; an excellent beer. And aged very well in the bottle. We also sampled a bottle of the Gold Cap Chimay which is made exclusively for the monks there at the Abbaye. The Gold Cap was only 4.8%. According to our personal guide Sales Manager Fabrice Bordon, it takes nine liters of water to make one liter of Chimay (including the clean-up). All of their water comes from the same well. There is a back-up well nearby. Both are on the property of the Abbaye. Lunch started with fresh trout (caught in the stream across the street from the restaurant) covered in a sweet sauce and a plate of Chimay cheese. Then their own (the restaurants) liver pate. And finally the entrée – we had rabbit cooked in Chimay, entrecote with a creamy mushroom sauce. Actually two rabbits because they were small. The food was fantastic - there was just too much of it. After lunch - eau-de-villee (a digestive). After our trip to Chimay Sergio (who did all of the driving) drove us to Mariembourg to the Brasserie des Fagnes.

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
Philadelphia Airport - Yards Brewing Company – Brawler, Sly Fox - Phoenix Pale Ale, and a Dock Street - Rye IPA.

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
Europe Trip #2