T3H Blog

Drug Opera is a unique restaurant in the heart of old Brussels. It derives its name from the former drugstore that used to occupy the building, and of the beautiful La Monnaie Operahouse, nearby. Although they serve a wide range of foods, but what they are best known for is their deserts, especially (no surprise) their Belgian waffles, crepes, and homemade ice cream – diabetic beware!

However, it was worth a stop, and additional insulin, before I took off for Dakar, Senegal.

While in Dakar I had the change to visit Île de Gorée (Gorée Island), a famous destination for people interested in the Atlantic slave trade. In fact, however, relatively few slaves were processed or transported from there. The more important centers for the slave trade from Senegal were north, at Saint-Louis, Senegal or to the south in the Gambia, at the mouths of major rivers for trade.

In late October I was in Brussels for a few days to attend the first two-day PCI (Payment Card Industry) Community Meeting in Europe. (There is no such meeting in Asia, yet.) The five major credit card issuers created a series of mandatory compliance standards to protect consumers and ensure the integrity of all credit card transactions. The Community Meeting explored the impact the newest version (V1.2) of the PCI DSS. On the sideline, participants had opportunities to view, the previous day, and discuss, throughout, various solutions for keeping confidential customer information safe from online predators. If you handle credit cards, you should read more about the PCI Security Standard Council (SSC) by visiting their website at https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/.

Having to walk from my hotel to the conference site every morning, I had to walk through Grand Place, which gave me a change to reacquaint myself with the grandiose beauty of Brussels find architecture of the last 500 years – always something awesome from a Canadian perspective. Of course, I had the chance to stop by Manneken Pis to take a picture of the little guy…

I enjoyed some of the best food in the region by eating at Aux Armes de Bruxelles (my recommendation is the grey shrimps salad and veal scallops), Restaurant Vincent (definitely recommended – Waterzooï de volailles aux petits legumes), and Scheltema (bouillabaisse – a must eat). All three restaurants have a good wine list (red is best) and good beers on tap, and all are near each other and steps away from Grand Place.

PS. The murals in Restaurant Vincent alone are worth a visit.