Delectations

PLEASURES SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL

Among the things that make Belgium so appealing is the possibility of combining the pleasures of the spirit with those of the flesh (or vice versa, depending on your temperament) with great ease, and for not much money. This became clear to me last May, in Bruges, where I witnessed the extraordinary and unforgettable Procession du Saint Sang, which by tradition is held annually on the first Monday after the second of May. The procession commemorates the coming of the Holy Blood of Our Lord to Bruges, brought by Count Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders, on his return from Jerusalem after the Second Crusade, around 1150. Joseph of Ari- mathea had gathered the Holy Blood from Our Lord’s wounds, and a few drops of it are contained in a vial and housed in a beautiful gold reliquary which in its turn is kept in a lovely Renaissance chapel. The procession was followed by a memorable dinner at the Duc de Bourgogne, a restaurant fitted into a charming Renaissance house where the dining room hangs over a canal framed in the green of the weeping willows. This was followed by a visit to the Memling paintings in the Hôpital de Saint Jean, which has been in continuous operation since 1188. And this was followed by a supper of Belgium’s national dish, moules et frites, mussels and French fries which really should be called Belgian fries. They are small, crisp and always freshly made, at street stalls or restaurants.

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Nika Hazelton

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PLEASURES SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL

Among the things that make Belgium so appealing is the possibility of combining the pleasures of the spirit with those of the flesh (or vice versa, depending on your temperament) with great ease, and for not much money. This became clear to me last May, in Bruges, where I witnessed the extraordinary and unforgettable Procession du Saint Sang, which by tradition is held annually on the first Monday after the second of May. The procession commemorates the coming of the Holy Blood of Our Lord to Bruges, brought by Count Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders, on his return from Jerusalem after the Second Crusade, around 1150. Joseph of Ari- mathea had gathered the Holy Blood from Our Lord’s wounds, and a few drops of it are contained in a vial and housed in a beautiful gold reliquary which in its turn is kept in a lovely Renaissance chapel. The procession was followed by a memorable dinner at the Duc de Bourgogne, a restaurant fitted into a charming Renaissance house where the dining room hangs over a canal framed in the green of the weeping willows. This was followed by a visit to the Memling paintings in the Hôpital de Saint Jean, which has been in continuous operation since 1188. And this was followed by a supper of Belgium’s national dish, moules et frites, mussels and French fries which really should be called Belgian fries. They are small, crisp and always freshly made, at street stalls or restaurants.