Friday date
night in Belgium for us began with a trip to Maastricht, NL for dinner at
Gaucho's Grill Restaurant with our son ("plus another guy").
It was a
slow drive from home through Liege along the river just after 4 pm and we made
it to Maastricht around 5:30. An earlier dinner meant we could make it to the
movies at Foroxity in Sittard.
This dinner
at Gaucho's was a long time planned and attempted and finally accomplished. The
first and second times we tried to go were in September when I was having
vertigo issues. Thankfully that is a thing of the past and we made it there to
enjoy wonderful Argentinean steaks in a great city. Our son was really looking
forward to the 500 gram steak (about 1.1 pounds) and it was as good as he
remembered. We are never disappointed when we eat there! It's a bit pricey but
the beef is worth every cent.
Out into
the drizzling rain we went crossing the street in front of the restaurant,
dodging bicycles and taxis and down into the parking garage which is
conveniently located under the Vrijthof Square. It's our favorite place to park
when visiting Maastricht. We often go to hear the Zuid Nederland Philharmonie
and the theater is right there. If you want to do some shopping, it's also
right close to the pedestrian shopping area and the outdoor market which is
held on Friday and Saturday. This is the square where they have their Christmas market with a Ferris wheel and ice skating rink which should be added to your list of places to visit! It's a wonderful place to see all year round!
Our GPS
directed us through Geleen to get to the movie theater and, of course, we came
upon road construction. This Fall, it seems like they are digging everywhere in
the Netherlands. There are very few places that we go that aren't affected by
detours. It's really frustrating and it takes longer to get where you're going.
Finally we reached the movie theater and ran in through the rain to get our
tickets to The Martian. We stopped at the snack stand for drinks and candy even
though we were stuffed from our dinner. The choices in Europe are a bit
different than in the States: coffee in china cups, beer in frosty mugs, and
the usual popcorn and candy offerings.
One big
difference in going to the movies here is that they pause halfway through the
movie for intermission -- no matter how
long the movie is -- so that people can go get more snacks and visit the
bathroom... It's definitely a great way for them to make more money... We think
it's crazy but it is wonderful to be able to go to movies in English so it's a
good trade off! Last night though, there was a scene in the movie where the
actors were speaking Chinese and the subtitles were in Dutch so we were pretty
much in the dark. You could guess what
was being said but not exactly. It didn't detract from the movie though because it was a for a minute or two and the movie was really good. I'd definitely see it again!
They showed the preview for
the new Star Wars movie coming at Christmas which we will see with our girl
when she comes home for the holidays! We're really looking forward to that!
Having all of the birdies in the nest is a really good thing!
What did
you do for your Friday date night?
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