Yvan Seth's Hole in the Internet

It's been a couple of weeks since our little weekender in Namur, Belgium. As usual getting straight into work, especially with a big beta release coming up, meant getting on with writing an entry was somewhat delayed. I put together some notes while returning on the Eurostar train and rather than attempt to write anything detailed about the trip I'll stick to these few snippets and some photos – with such a plan perhaps I will actually finish this!

Citadelle of Namur

We arrived in Namur on the evening of Friday May 14th and settled into our hotel, Les Tanneurs de Namur, taking a few moments to admire our room. Rarely do I have the opportunity to describe a hotel room as sumptuous, as I usually book hotels with the mindset of just wanting somewhere simple, but clean, to sleep. In this case the hotel was somewhat more expensive than I'd usually bother with. This was because I'd thought two weeks was reasonable notice for booking a hotel but hadn't realised that quite a large festival was taking place in Namur over the weekend of our visit! C'est la vie! The room even had a lamp with built in speakers and iPhone dock, most convenient since I had forgotten my iPhone cable!

Samedi

The photos I took on Saturday morning attest somewhat to the quality of the accommodation. In the bathroom, behind the dark glass door, there is a sauna! We never used it, but were impressed all the same (I'd prefer a spa bath personally.)

Room 206 - Bedroom

Room 206 - Bathroom

On Saturday we were in the knowledgeable hands of a friend who lives in Namur. We had a bit of a wander, along the river and around the city. A highlight for me, as usual, was the town's excellent Saturday street market. A splendid array of produce was on display, from fresh herbs and vegetables to stinky ripe cheeses. In the UK only the best markets of London can really compare to the street market of even a small mainland city like Namur. We obtained a selection of goodies for lunch later in the day. We also drank a couple of beers, and watched some street theatre. There was a lot going on, as a huge arts festival, Namur en Mai, was taking place that week.

Enjoying a beer

One of the many installations around the old town consisted of human forms made from sellotape. These were positioned on stairs, up lamp posts, and in all kinds of other places. A troop of people would grab bystanders and, with much flourish, encase them in tape. Finally this was deftly cut off with some rather concerning use of box cutters. These human cocoons were then used to create the installation pieces.

Making of a Sellotape Sculpture 1

Making of a Sellotape Sculpture 2

Making of a Sellotape Sculpture 3

Later that evening I'd booked us a table at the restaurant in our hotel, L'Espièglerie. It was highly recommended, and I in turn would recommend it to others. We booked a set 7, or thereabouts, course menu titled "Menu Découverte" (Discovery menu). It was quite excellent, though a little unusual in some cases. All very fashionable and decorative too, complete with cubes of jelly and streaks of purée.

Waiting for the next course

Below are photos of each course of the meal. If you click through to the album I've put a little more detail into the descriptions there.

Salmon

Prawn and melon

Lobster

Red Mullet

Cod and Goose Liver

Squab

Tartiflette

Passionfruit Sorbet

Passionfruit Soufflé

Final Dessert

Dimanche

Sunday's activities were not decided until we saw how the weather looked in the morning – clement weather meant time for a cycle! About 4 hours casual cycling, not including a lunchtime pit-stop, took us up the River Meuse from Namur to Dinant. Along the way were great sights of amazing greenery and a mixture of architecture from the quaint to the grand. Much of it reminded me of flicking through model train books in my youth. The houses looked just like the models, the trees like bright shades of green flock stuck to twigs. At Dinant we had a beer, an excellent gueuze in my case, probably the stand-out beer of the trip for me. Unfortunately I have no idea what it was! Soon it was time to head back to Namur on the train – just in time to drop off our hire cycles.

Mansion, Rowers, Sailors

Quarry beside the Meuse

Model Railway

Kat on a Bike

Dinant

After a short rest, Sunday evening saw us eating an excellent dinner at a small local restaurant. Kat certainly enjoyed her steak tartare, and my braised rabbit was eminently enjoyable. After dessert, beer for me, and the entertainment of an almighty row in the kitchen we packed it in for the evening.

Lundi

Our final day in Namur… we slept in a bit before packing up and checking out of the hotel. In the morning we did some shopping, picking up a few goodies to take back to the UK with us. Just a little cheese, some sweets for the office, and a few bottles of beer of course!

We had lunch with our friend in an amazing university canteen converted from an old arsenal. Then dropped our bags off in her office and trekked around the mountain-top citadel to while away the afternoon. The rambling paths, walls, embankments, and tiers of the citadel are impressive. The whole top of the hill is essentially a man-made structure.

This is a Cheese Shop!

This is a Cafeteria!

This is a river boat!

This is a wall!

This is a bar!

Then it was back to trains; first to Brussels, then to London, then, finally, on to Hitchin and home. A most excellent weekend over.

As usual there are several more photos in the full photo album from our Namur trip. Most of which I have captioned.