Classical music 2008-09 season

Brussels offers great opera and classical music concerts at very reasonable prices (starting at EUR 10-20 depending on the performance) compared to other European cities. The 2008-09 seasons for La Monnaie and Bozar were announced some time ago, but tickets will not be available until a couple of weeks from now, so get ready to make your pick now.

Subscriptions for La Monnaie go on sale on June 14 (expect long lines and people standing in line as of 7am and waiting a couple of hours for your turn). Subscriptions for the Bozar season are already available now. Single tickets can be bought as of June 12 (online as well, but last year, there were some glitches…) The Bozar’s Henry Le Boeuf concert hall is great, as the acoustics and view from even the cheapest seats are great, and even the most expensive seats are still a good deal.

Looking at the upcoming season, I would recommend singles tickets in both cases (for La Monnaie, they go on sale about one month before the performance – again, long lines. I would recommend booking online and paying the extra EUR 2-3 fee per ticket).

A couple of highlights for Bozar:

(1) Cecilia Bartoli – Rossiniana – 13.12.2008
(2) Murray Perahia – 02.02.2009

If you’re bored…

… and want to build up your vocabulary with a game that will help provide donations to the UN’s World Food Program, check out the FreeRice site that someone just forwarded to me.

In a nutshell: A game (free) in which you are given a word and you have to pick a synonym among the four choices provided. Of course, there are corporate sponsors behind this, but you can also donate and the game is somewhat entertaining for a few minutes.

(Warning:If you are a language and precision buff this game might annoy you because the options provided are often not accurate or satisfactory enough…)

Thalys tickets to Paris for EUR 39 in first class

As mentioned in a previous post, the Thalys summer season Red Day sales are here.

You will have 48 hours between May 15 and 16, 2008 to buy your first class tickets to Paris online for EUR 39 each way. Of course, there are always a few restrictions: you have to travel on Friday, Saturday or Sunday between May 23 and July 6, 2008.

Last year, Thalys also had similar offers a few times throughout the summer, the main reason being that in the summer the amount of business travel (which accounts for most of the 1st class travelers) decreases considerably, so they have a lot of empty seats they need to fill.

The main difference between first and second class: fewer people, single seats (rather than the two-seat rows in second class) and a so-so meal (often just a cold snack). Still, if you’re planning to travel to Paris, check out the offer as it’s still a better deal than some Mezzo priced tickets in second class.

London for EUR 69 roundtrip

If you’re thinking of a summer escapade across the chunnel this summer, now is the time to book. Through midnight on May 16 (it is not very clear from the website if that means Thursday night 23h59 + 1 minute or Friday night), Eurostar is having a sale on their second class tickets:

A roundtrip Brussels-London for just EUR 69 (or EUR 129 for first class tickets) for travel in June, July or August. This is quite a good deal (the cheapest tickets are usually EUR 80 roundtrip).

With the summer season here, like every year, you can also expect Thalys offers for travel to Paris pretty soon…

Rue du Bailli shopping

There is a lot of hype around the rue du Bailli, right by the Place du Chatelain. But why is this street so popular, and why do people keep on going?

The answer: a street full of restaurants and shops (services like dry cleaning and hair salons, as well as stuff… food, clothes, art, medicine, groceries, and more). So, here is a little highlight of some of the things you can find in this one-street Brussels microcosm:

- Art: Galerie Derapages is on number 98, rue du Bailli. This commercial art gallery carries a lot of art pieces that change often and is sold at different prices (starting at an affordable EUR 49), determined mostly by size. One of the key characteristics of the paintings and photos they sell is that (most of them) come in a square format. Occasionally, they also have evnets with the artists. The next one is tomorrow, May 8 at 19h.

- Food and drinks: Roxi is an Italian-ish bar/restaurant just a bit further down, at 82 rue du Bailli. Nice, young and hip atmosphere, good for people watching and good food at a decent price (EUR 12-16 for main courses). One of the better choices for food or drinks in the area.

- Photo albums and stuff – Mozaik (52, rue du Bailli) sells handmade photo albums, scrapbooks, frames and other stuff of the kind. Merchandise changes from time to time, so you might find at one point that they have very nice stuff and months later find nothing. But it makes for an original gift, and even more so if you are thinking of making a more personalized gift that does not look like it was churned out of a factory.

- Weird interior decor stuff – Try Zao (96, rue du Bailli) for a variety of very random stuff that you might not want in your apartment but might enjoy giving away to others.

- Italian food – Across the street, at about the height of Roxi, you’ll find an small Italian shop that sells groceries, including what is known as “tourist pasta” but is nevertheless good, olive oil, fresh bread, parma ham and other sliced meats, cheese, and other Italian goodies.

Place Lux restaurants: Il Pasticcio

On a side street off the rue du Luxembourg is Il Pasticcio, an unimpressive Italian restaurant from the outside with a cozy atmosphere inside and surprisingly good Italian – real Italian – food, and a nice terrace (in the summer, of course…). Dishes are extremely reasonably priced ranging from EUR 9 to about EUR 14 for main courses.

They have a great selection of daily specials – I have tried about five or six and they were all excellent – and their homemade pasta is really cooked al dente and one of the best I have had outside Italy (and comparable to some Michelin rated restaurants in northern Italy). Food is simple and just good.

Like many other restaurants in the area, Il Pasticcio is closed on weekends. It is open from Monday through Friday from 12h00 to 15h00 and on Wednesday and Friday evenings from 19h00 to 22h00. Reservations highly recommended. (Nice terrace seating in the back when weather permits…)

Address: Rue Marie de Bourgogne, 3, B-1050 Bruxelles. Tel: +32 2 512 62 52.