Monday 16 April 2007

Let's have a drink

There are no drinking restrictions in this country. Well, not really. You cannot drive under the influence but you can drink when you like. You can buy booze in the supermarket. You can have a drink anytime you wish. After a swim in the local swimming pool, at the tennis club, at the railway station waiting for your commuter train. Most places sell wine and beer. Not any old beer but strong Belgian stuff like Trappist (brewed by Trappist monks) for instance. The other day I took visiting relatives to the Grand Place. It was a beautiful spring morning and the cafes were in full swing. Most of the people on the terraces were having a beer, not coffee I noticed.
Well, this culture applies to dogs too, it would seem. I took Belle to our local park across the street from our house and the park warden had put a nice bleu bucket of water outside his little hut with "Bar pour les chiens" written on it.

3 comments:

I, Like The View said...

oooh

I went to the Grand Place last year

it was lovely

(I drank coffee tho, as I don't like the taste of beer)

am liking the idea of the Bar Du Chiens - or whatever it was - we don't want to leave our four legged friends out, do we?!

I bet murph would have something to say about this - did you see his petition to No 10 along similar lines?

Anonymous said...

I actually like the Grand Place as well- I stayed in a hotel there about 20 years ago called Hotel L'Auberge or some such thing. We had beer for breakfast!

jmb said...

Very civilized too, those drinking laws.
One of the nice things I've noticed in my city is many shop owners seem to put out containers with water for dogs outside their stores. It's only happened in the last few years but I think it's a nice idea.
Regards
jmb