Twice Mice

Photo from belgiumtaste.be

I have a soft spot for World’s Fair structures. Seattle has the Space Needle and Paris has the Eiffel Tower, but only Brussels has the Atomium. On a fine day I can see the 102-m tall ball-and-stick model of an iron crystal from our apartment, and it always makes me smile.

Photo by Musely

On Sunday I discovered that Adrian had made secret reservations as surprised me with dinner in the very top atom. The metro line by our door took us all the way out to the site of the 1958 World’s Fair in less than 30 minutes. They had closed the doors to the general public, and one had to be on a very short list to be permitted entrance. Our names were checked and then we were escorted to the elevator for a private ride to the top.

Photo from belgiumtaste.be

We were seated with a view over Mini-Europe, so we could look down at Big Ben and Mount Vesuvius while watching the Thalys on its way to Paris. Most items were circular including the candles and the menus. We were informed that there was a fixed-price menu, and we could choose any three items from the list. The waiter suggested a starter, main, and dessert, but he gave me permission to have one main and two desserts instead. Adrian had the white asparagus, cheese platter, and cheesecake. I chose the chicken risotto, four-layer mouse, and chocolate meringue.

We meandered over our meals, discussing our lives and our plans, and watching the sun slowly set over Belgium. The lights over Atomium were lit by the end of the night, and as we walked back to the metro station it seemed to twinkle at us in farewell.

Photo by Merdichesky

Related posts:

1. The Atom is a synonym of Hope
2. Homeowners

This entry was posted on Friday, May 28th, 2010 at 4:25 pm and is filed under Brussels.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.