Leuven Kermis.....

The following day when Tim set off for his class I got dressed and  stepped out of our hotel to find myself in the middle of what is  called Leuven Kermis (Leuven Fair) that takes  place  each year. It was traditionally a  time when farmers would  bring their livestock into town and down the streets to  be sold.  Over the years it has evolved to offer every kind  of  product you can imagine. There was rumor that they still trade livestock in town and so I set out  to find that part of the fair. After a long walk that I hadn't planned on I still  hadn't found it and was getting annoyed. So I headed back into the city center and made myself  sit down and have a Kriek. Ok, so this is major. Kriek is one of the many beers for which Belgium is  famous. And I like it. I like it enough to seek it out and drink  it.  Over the years  I've tried  so many different kinds of  beer that I've lost count. And  until  now I wasn't able to find one that I actually wanted to  drink.  Now  Timmy will tell  you that  Kriek isn't really  beer  but what he calls "near beer". Considering everything this was a big surprise for  me; I guess, even for people who aren't  beer  enthusiasts you can find beer you like in Belgium.  :) After lounging,  enjoying the beautiful weather and listening to the other  languages  buzzing around me I decided  to  amble on and explore the  goods  offered at the market. I kid you not there was  everything.  All kinds of food stuffs: fruits and vegetables,  candies, cheeses, meats, nuts  and chocolates  of course! There were  also gardening tools, stuff for washing your car, household cleaning products, in addition to stall after stall of clothing  of every variety and shoes, belts, purses and wallets.

Still a  little unsettled  about the  'non-English' nature of  things I decided  to push myself. We all know that Belgium is  famous for  its waffles and I wanted to try one so  I made my way  to  one of  many waffle vendors and ordered  one  waffle.  I've  found that if you can show the  person how many you want the rest is downhill  from there. :) The  kind  gentleman handed  over the waffle and it was delicious! It had some kind of crystallized sugar that made it  crunchy to  complement the  warm soft inside. Yum.

Later  I went  back to the hotel  and did some searching  because I was determined to  find the livestock  section of the fair! It's famous, happens only once a year and I was going to see it! Turns out I had virtually walked right  passed it when I was out earlier. I couldn't believe it or understand why I hadn't seen it or  heard it or smelled it. I followed the Google Maps directions and walked right to it in about seven minutes. By now it was late afternoon and I had surely missed the majority of the craziness but there were still cows and  horses that you could walk up to and, if you were so inclined, purchase.

 

 

All in  all you have to love a fair where you can buy your knock  off designer hand bag, a block of cheese along with a waffle and a horse. Talk about your one-stop shopping. :)