Breakfast, Glorious Breakfast!

I've been waiting to write this post for a while just so I had some time to partake of every delicious item served at Hotel Malpertuus' scrumptious breakfast spread. And what a spread it is! Honestly, I don't even know which food group to begin with to describe to you all of the mouthwatering foods I have been discovering, tasting, and daintily eating every morning since we arrived.

I guess I should just start at the beginning. Like I said before, we arrived in Belgium Monday morning and crashed in the hotel room for most of the day. After a Tekin dinner, we found our beds again for the night. The next morning, Adam already has to report to work. Ralph is picking him up at 8am. Adam's moving about the apartment, dressed and ready to leave, so I crawl in the shower, trying to wake up, struggling to fight off the jet lag. So, I'm still in the bathroom, toweling off, when Adam comes in and says to me, "Here, try this. I don't know if I'm just really hungry or if this is just really good." I'm standing there, buck-naked, dripping wet, and he hands me this pre-packaged, half-eaten waffle. And, I'm thinking, "What? It's a waffle in plastic wrap. I came to Belgium for real waffles!" I take a bite, my eyes pop open, staring straight at Adam, and I exclaim, "This is delicious!" And it truly is! This pre-packaged Belgian waffle is so wonderfully sweet with an ever-so-tasty maltiness to it. He tells me that there is a delicious spread of food waiting for me downstairs once I get myself and the kids ready. And then he leaves. I'm awake! Clothes on, hair brushed, kids up (unwillingly); let's go downstairs!

It's beautiful. There are all sorts of fresh fruits: oranges, lemons, bananas, kiwis. A raised basket displays it store of wrapped waffles and honey breads and muffins for folks on the go (this is where Adam found his waffle). Rachael hones in on the chocolate-covered waffle (which, admittedly, is not as good as the other one). I see something familiar, Activia, the yogurt, made by Danon. Well, here, it's Danone. They have Danone Actimel to drink, and another Danone offering: it's also similar to a custard or a pudding, but I don't really like it. However, there are these little Alpro Soya custardy-puddingish cups that come in two flavors. The chocolate tastes like chocolate, and the caramel has a bit of an espresso taste to it: Wow! I love it!

There are so many single-serving size jellies and spreads and cheeses, all foreign to me but so very inviting. These go on the bread-stuffs. I can't even name all of these delicious baked treats. The croissants are huge, flaky, buttery, and another of Rachael's favorites. There are several different varieties of rolls with crusty outsides and smooth, soft insides. The pastries, oh the pastries! They're so flaky and delicious, often filled with fruit or chocolate. There's a donut sprinkled with confectioner's sugar and filled with Nutella. The breads - I know I saw a Boston brown bread, probably a pumpernickel, and several others, begging to be slathered with cream cheese or double-creme (double-creme!) and preserves. The fresh muffins are wrapped in a square paper, so there are four points sticking up around each one like a crown.

The meats and cheeses are such a treat. I've seen five different meats so far, thin slices of salami, prosciutto, ham, chicken/turkey breast, and some sort of patte (yuck!). Always next to the meats is a plate of sliced cheese in a shape that obviously suggests it has come off of a big wheel. A smaller plate with a variety of other cheeses (mostly blues, kinda scary) sits by it, with cute little knives and bowls of walnuts and yellow raisins for garnish. 

The first time we enter the breakfast room I have to ask for a high chair to put Zach in. I get a confused look from the lady working in the room. With the help of some hand gestures and pointing to Zach, she says, "Ah, kinder stool!" and goes to get one from the fancy restaurant across the hall. We are seated at a cute little table, set with knives and forks and tea sets with little spoons. There's a small plate with an array of teas, and another with an array of the previously mentioned spreads and jellies. A bowl of sugar cubes already sits on the table, as well as a small plate of butter and some cream. She asks if I want tea or coffee; I choose tea, and she returns with a small pot of hot water for me.

To be honest, I am a little intimidated. I am trying to wrangle two energetic kids in a place that feels far too fancy to be disrupted by their squealing. I don't know what's expected of their behavior here, as well as my own. I want to be a good example of all Americans while we're over here, and I don't want to screw it up by eating their food the wrong way or doing something they might perceive as rude or uncouth. I unwrap Rachael's chocolate waffle and give it to her. For some unknown reason, Zach actually sits quite nicely in his chair (this, apparently, is not a precedent he will be following in coming days =). I dish up and get some rolls, a slice of meat and a slice of cheese, and some cheesy eggs (delicious!), and sit down, very self-conscious about my every move. I cut into the roll to put some spread on it. It's crusty and crumbs fall all over the place. (Doh!) I would rather roll together my meat and cheese, pick it up, and eat it like that. Instead, I lay one on the other and cut them with my knife and fork as daintily as I can. (I hope I'm doing this right!) My tea - do I take the tea bag out to drink it or leave it in? How many fingers can I use to hold the cup? Oh, I'm so nervous!

A couple comes into the breakfast room and dishes up. I watch them. Their bread crumbles, too, as they cut it! They put their meat and cheese right on their rolls and eat them like a sandwich. They're talking to each other, laughing loudly, having a good time. They smile at me and the kids. Phew! I'm not a barbarian!

As the days go on, I continue coming to breakfast, a highlight of my days stranded in the hotel without any transportation other than Adam and the rented Peugeot. We get to know the owners and workers here. They're wonderful people, so kind, always quick with a smile or an offering to help me in some way. I'm getting more comfortable here, settling in, feeling more at home each day. Yet, we are yearning for a place of our own so very badly. But, I know, when we finally do get it, I will miss these wonderful people and their most delicious breakfast! Ta ta!

[Updated: I tried the cold cereal on Thursday, 12 May. I'm pretty sure it was Kellogg's brand something with flakes and fruit. I'm also sure it would have been something I would have loved. However, I poured the milk on it. This milk was fresh, really fresh! I could almost chew it. I'm sure it is something I could get used to, over time. But today I did not. I couldn't hardly eat it without reflexing a little. I tried. And I probably won't try it again while I'm here. Oh, well! =) ]