A bottle of champagne,on the house!

We did as we said, we went back to the little French place we that Dennis, Greg and I ate at last night, but along came JD, Laura and steve. The owner, being a good restaurateur, recognized us immediately, shook my hand and we chose an outside table as the evening was still warm, overcast, but pleasant. As we sat down, he said in his very thick French accent, what would you like to drink, its on the house, and suggested champagne, so we drank a bottle of a nice, smooth and light champagne and then proceeded to order a ton of appetizers all groaning with epicurean delight as we went through a sardine tart, monk fish carpacio, foirse gras, calamari in a sea of olive oil with a tart herb and an Andalusian sausage cooked just long enough to warm it up with boiled potatoes. It was sheer heaven. We passed the plates around as the tables were small and we couldn't be bothered with individual appetizer plates. The decision was made then and there to come back tomorrow night. Yes, there are many fine eateries, but our time is limited, and considering that not a single thing we had in 2 nights was bad, this place seems to fit the bill. Oh the pain of knowing that we must at some point soon leave this fine dinning experience and head back to over sized portions of processed slosh. The dairy products in Brussels are just as good as in Russia, and a million times better than home. Why is that we think things like skim milk and over pasteurized sour cream are good for us? It really boggles the mind I tell you.

The main course, after several glasses of chimay, consisted for me, of Duck Confit on a bed of greens with thinly sliced and pan fried potatoes with bacon; JD had the same. Laura had a beef stew with a huge shank sheared and stuffed with marrow, that I happily spooned out, mixed with mustard and ate to my heart's content. Steve ordered sweet breads and was floored by the holindaise which was rich beyond compare, and generous in a small bucket size. Dennis had a sea bass that was magnificent and Greg had the duck breast in a reduction sauce. This was no ordinary meal, this was a feast and a slow dinning experience that included a round of deserts randing from ice cream stuffed crepes, to something like zabiligioni, to caramelized bananas and JD's rum soaked coffee ice cream wih melted Belgian chocolate. To top it off and add a little acid we had double espressos with lemon. As we were finishing up along came another, somewhat more sauced group of MAAWGers that we convinced to sit and eat, we ran into one of them later that had a great smile across his face. I have a feeling that when we go back tomorrow, we'll have two bottles of champagne.

From there we headed to the hotel, to Le Bar, yeah folks, its really called Le Bar, but it was packed and quiet as everyone sat transfixed on the Italy vs. France game, which France won 3 to 1. We decided were far too boisterous for this venue and headed up Waterloo to People that had pumping techno music coming out smoking cuban cigars that we bought in Le Bar. Partagas is a fine smoke in the montechristo size, a good one hour puff really. We had a bear and watched as the alchemists behind the bar mixed a concoction of shaved ice, cranberry juice 2 different kinds of vodka, passion juice and something else. Greg decided we were all going to have one, and ordered a round. We took our fruity beverages outside and sat on the street taking pictures and talking. Glorious... glorious.

From there it was back to Le Bar, which was now half filled with Return Path personnel that we sat next two and bought us a round of drinks, however we didn't know that at the time. Dennis ordered a 30 year McCalmon which was out of this world once you got the fire out your mouth and felt the burn of age, oak and hand crafted glory. It was more pictures at the bar and then finally we parted paths.

The panels and discussions today were ok, seems to be a different vibe here than in Montreal or SF. I'm slowly making my way through the crowd and identifying the representatives from the ISPs. I'm passing out cards in hopes of scoring some good connections here in Europe, or at least collecting names and numbers that I can try and start a dialogue with when I get home. I was thrown onto a panel with Habeus and Return Path this morning. I wasn't ready, very sleepy, and although I lobbed one salvo at them, it wasn't nearly as sassy as if Kate had been here. I have a feeling that might've started an all out brawl. Damn it, we need Kate here! Still it was odd and kind of fun sitting up there discussion reputation and accreditation services in the bulk mail space. I basically called their numbers anecdotal, they were quick to defend. Funny how JF basically agreed with everything that George said.

Tomorrow start the joint sessions of the APWG and MAAWG, I may skip the morning and do a bit of work and then take a walk down to the grand platz for breakfast. There's nothing particularly interesting, the afternoon will be better.

Thursday I leave for Amsterdam for one night of cafes, van gogh and walk abouts. Foy is taking the train with me up to Amsterdam, lawrd have mercy on our souls. I'm staying at a hotel around the corner from Anne Franke's house. I hear its pretty much in the middle of things. I'm not looking forward to the train ride, three hours without a smoke, but at the same time, I could spend 3 days on that train staring out the window and taking pictures.

Photos are up from our first night of fun... more soon.

Adieu!

-L