Botaniq

Yesterday River Song and myself went to lovely restaurant in Leuven; I said earlier in the first blog post that much of these posts would be focused on food, so we might as well kick off early with food. So to kick it all off we went to somewhere called Botaniq, which is right next to the botanical gardens in Leuven. The restaurant was lovely, and the staff really warm and friendly, with the chef a real character.

The food was a set menu of four courses; and we had the wine flight to go with it (and of course a G&T to start, with a Dutch gin). The highlight of the food was the tuna and foie gras, which was a delightful combination, closely followed by various different cuts of veal. 

However, what was really outstanding was the wine flight. One often goes to restaurants where they try to match the wine with the food, and it is usually (IMHO) a disappointment. But the four wines we had were excellent. First was a lovely fruity light wight wine, then we had a quite contrasting oakey white (a type I would not normally go for, but which went well with the tuna and foie gras). The veal was accompanied by a nice red. The desert wine was also a red, from the French side of the Pyrenees. It was almost like a port wine, but lighter and less sweet. Even better, upon leaving the restaurant, the waiter through in a free bottle of this desert wine; so we can enjoy it at home.

The Start of a New Adventure

So am leaving Blighty to start a new era in Belgium; moving from Bristol to Leuven and joining the Brexodus. The point of this blog is to chart this new adventure and the observations I make upon the way. Also recording different things about the move, what is annoying, what is better, and what I miss and do not miss. 

So why the move in the first place? Well essentially three reasons.

1. My girlfriend is Belgian and lives in Leuven. For the purposes of this blog she will be called River Song. This is because I think stetsons are cool and she always calls me "Sweetie". Now River Song has a similar love of good food, so I suspect a lot of this blog is going to end up being the about the restaurants we visit. She also, like me, likes to travel a lot. In the last year we have had time away in Mexico, Italy, Paris (twice), and Le Touquet; so I suspect the blog will also centre around the places we visit.
2. The second reason is that I have been in my current job at the University in Bristol for nearly 18 years now, and in Bristol for over 20. So a change is needed; having been there, done that, and bought a few hundred T-shirts in the process. Leuven University is kind of cool, a step up in terms of world rankings, a great bunch of staff, and I am joining the world leading group in my area. So should be fun and a challenge (well a Brit learning another language is always a challenge).
3. The third reason is the disaster called Brexit. As a Brit I have become utterly embarrassed by the country which I am meant to call home. But as our PM thinks people like me are "citizens of nowhere", I thought it time to go "somewhere" else. This is especially because I employ a lot of people from the EU and have found it hard to recruit people now that the UK has become unwelcoming to non-Brits. Also being a researcher, the majority of the funding I use, and the collaborations I need, are on an EU wide basis.

So hopefully the blog will not be too dull, and will be interesting to at least some people. Mainly I am writing it for myself so as to record my thoughts over time. And having thought of the name "Moules et Brit" it seemed too good a name to waste.