BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - SIDEWALK CAFE

Sidewalk dining in Brussels, just off the Grand Place.

Pic of the Day: CHOCOLATE!

There are certain cities in which is it absolutely unforgivable not to seek out and sample the local chocolatiers: Paris (La Maison du Chocolat); New York (Jacques Torres); Portland (Moonstruck): San Francisco (Ghirardelli); Santa Fe's Chocolate Trail, etc. Many of these names became chains, but the original store, and the quality, remain.

Perhaps the Grand Dame of them all can be found in Brussels' Grand Place: Godiva's original store, opened in 1926.

The Visit Brussels website says this: "When Pierre Draps created his first pralines in Brussels, Belgium, in 1926, he established the foundations of sophistication, innovation, purity and passion which became the Godiva Chocolatier. Under the name borrowed from Lady Godiva, whose legendary ride on horseback symbolises style, sensuality and daring, Godiva’s craftsmen still decorate their chocolates by hand."

Mmmmm.