Christmas food

The Christmas Village opened this weekend. As usual, its main function is to provide culinary delights that can usually be obtained cheaper and better elsewhere. But it looks good!

Here's some closeups: Boulets (meatballs in a mushroom, onion and tomato sauce),

Choucroute Garnie (sauerkraut with sausages),

and Tartiflette (potato, bacon strips and Reblochon cheese)

The Lion, the Camera and the Magic Roundabout

One of the lions of the Place de la Cathedrale, photographed in front of a merry-go-round placed there for the christmas season.

And here is a close-up, under a completely different perspective.

Town Hall window

Here's another window picture. This one is from La Salle des Pas Perdus (the Reception Hall) of the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall), looking out on Rue de la Violette.

And here's a direct view of the Hall's ceiling, seen reflected in the window in the previous photo.

Gothica

Beautiful faux-gothic interior decoration in the Grand Poste, the old central post office building. The building will be renovated in the near future. When it's finished it will look like this.

More snow

As the title of this post suggests, it's still snowing...

Here's the snow

The photos I posted yesterday were dark and noisy so the snow was not as obvious as it could have been. Here's a couple of much clearer pictures of snow in Liège city centre: Saint Denis

and the back of the Galeries Saint-Lambert on Place Saint Etienne.

Winter has arrived

As far as I am concerned, winter is now officially here; it snowed today. Here's the proof, two photos of the side of the University main building in the Place du XX Août, taken from inside the Grand Poste, where we went to see the Etnik' Art exhibition. The reflections on the windows come from the works of art in the exhibition.

Passage Lemonnier

The Passage Lemonnier, an old-style, posh shopping arcade, by night.

Enjoying the sunshine

Who said that you need a garden or a balcony in order to enjoy the sunshine?

Moules, Choucroute, Filet Américain

A sign above a city centre restaurant, advertising their specials: Mussels, sauerkraut and 'filet américain'. As any American knows, a filet américain is raw minced beef, served with a raw egg, onions, capers and seasoning. In fact, it's what the French call 'steak tartare'. There is a theory for the etymology of the term filet américain: apparently, Christopher Columbus remarked that the natives of the New World liked to eat heavily spiced raw meat.

Musée de la Vie Wallonne

A rear view of the Museum of Walloon Life in the autumn sun.

Life in the 1950s

There is an exhibition at the Ancienne Eglise Saint André on everyday life in Wallonia. It includes this lovingly set up 1950s classroom

and this 'authentic' 1950s kitchen/dining room.

Update: I've just been told that the exhibition was on until the weekend, it's now finished.

Recycling has a lot to answer for

Here's a great idea: let's make a really ugly and cheap christmas tree and let's place it in the most central part of town, the Place Saint Lambert, in front of the Palace. Nobody will dare complain because it will be made of empty plastic bottles and will, therefore, have a 'message'.

Somebody went ahead and did it. Thankfully, it is not a permanent exhibit...

Cointe

Another photo taking advantage of Calatrava's design for the new train station. The sun shines through the glass roof panels as it lights up the hill of Cointe on an otherwise dark and cloudy day.

A view of the riverside

Not the most beautiful part of town but I liked the light.

Christmas lights going up

It may be mid November but the Christmas lights are already going up in the city centre. I know, I know, in the UK and US this probably happened a month ago...

Most Miserable Square in the World

Place Saint Etienne is definitely the most run down, shabby and miserable square in Liège, possibly the world. Some city bureaucrat decided that it could become a nicer, homelier place, if only there was an inflatable cactus-shaped scarecrow slap bang in the middle of it. Some other city bureaucrats must have agreed with him because they spent money on the conception, manufacture and creation of the said contraption, proudly bearing the emblem of the city. The mind boggles...

Busy being kitsch

Here's another universally valid mathematical equation:
An antique dealer's shop window = a kingdom of bad taste

Autumn has reached the Citadel Hill

The leaves are slowly but surely deserting their trees on the Citadel Hill behind the Musée de la Vie Wallonne (Museum of Walloon Life).

Autumn sun

A late afternoon view down the Place du Marché. Most of the café terraces are empty, and most of the trees have no leaves... it's autumn

L'enfant Jesus miraculeux de Prague

This is the statue of the miraculous child Jesus of Prague from the church of St Dennis.

Another day dawns

Here's a nice Liège sky at sunrise

Les Chiroux et la Tour Kennedy

This is the Chiroux building complex, comprising the provincial library, a cultural centre, provincial government offices and a residential tower. Architectural masterpiece of the 60s. The residential tower is actually called the Kennedy Tower.

Montagne Sainte Walburge

One hill, three ways to get lost in it.

Sunset spider out for a bite

Here's one more Hallowe'en subject. I did something similar a few weeks ago but without the purple sunset.

What's more, this time the spider found a meal...

Belated Happy Hallowe'en

I know it's not Hallowe'en any more but better late than never. Here's a couple of creepy pictures of bats from the Liège Science Museum.