Art Fair

Two weeks ago I have been to the Art Fair, thanks to an invitation kindly offered by Alliance Française. It was a huge pavilion filled with spaces for each gallery, where the art pieces were then displayed. It was nice to take a look around and see how this event was made (doors opened at 12h and there were already many art lovers queuing outside!). Although I am not exactly what you could call a fan of contemporary art... but I saw some interesting stuff. It was a good event, very well organized and with a general clean and sober, but cool, look. Go next year if you have the chance! 

El Turco

El Turco is, like the name shows, a Turkish restaurant. Conveniently located in the European Quarter, it offers a very diverse lunch buffet, where you only pay what you eat (your plate is weighted at the end). You can find all kinds of Turkish specialties, starting with the salads and cold dishes to, in the end, the grilled section where you have the meat and the fish.

This is how our plates looked like in the end:

You also have desserts (baklava and sweet rice) and lots of different types of bread to choose from. The restaurant is big and has a lot of place on the inside, but on sunny days you can sit outside in Place Londres.

The food is delicious, so no wonder the place is much searched by those working in the surroundings. However, don't get demotivated by the queue, as it moves quite fast and, like I mentioned, the restaurant has a lot of places to sit. It is a good alternative if you want to vary from the usual canteens and experiment some Turkish flavors in Brussels!

El Turco

Rue du Trone, 73

Place de Londres 6

(the restaurant has these two entries)

1050 Bruxelles

02 / 503 36 48

info@elturco.be

http://www.elturco.be/

Make-up workshops by Make Me Up

Last Sunday I participated in something I had never done before: a make-up workshop! Indeed, I was invited by Make Me Up to participate in two of their make-up workshops, in the beautiful The Hotel. This is a project created by designer Pierre-Antoine Vettorello and make-up artists Sybille De Beuckelaer and Nathalie Peeters. Each month they host a set of 3 make-up workshops in Brussels, always with different themes and teach you the techniques for each of them. Lunch is included and when I arrived to the 26th floor of The Hotel this is what awaited me:

After eating this delicious lunch, we passed on to the "real business": learning how to apply an eyeline technique, to perfect a defined lip, to magnify your eyes with false lashes, to find out which is your face type and all about contouring and highlighting. The workshops I attended were suggestively called "like Marilyn" and "play with light".

Eve Pearl make-up, which allies cosmetics to skincare and you can try during the workshops, is available to buy in the end

Still some goodies to eat during the afternoon and real quality fake lashes to buy

The view from our room

The make-up artists would always apply the technique first on someone from the audience in order to show us how it is done 

... and then we would apply it on ourselves under their supervision and (occasional! *cof cof*) corrections.

Me, playing with our individual mirrors

Me at the end!

I found these workshops very useful and, most of all, fun. You can try a great variety of products you normally wouldn't have access to and create different looks from the usual you're used to make everyday. The artists explain you everything very detailed and help you do it for yourself the right way. Moreover, they advice you on what looks better on you, as there are no absolute rules in make-up that can apply to everyone and it's up to you to see what fits you best. All the workshops are carried out in English, so it's great for the expat community in Brussels. Additionally, they provide you all the products and make-up needed, although you are advised to bring your own products in case you want to learn how to apply those specific ones (as those are the ones you're then going to use at home). If you're looking for a different program for a weekend, to have fun with some friends, or to just adventure yourself in the world of make-up with great professional coaching along the way, I recommend you to sign up for these!

They have open the registrations for their next workshops, to take place in the last weekend of May. Here you have the instructions to book. The first one ("make-up for business success") can be specially interesting for us trainees!

Dress Fitting

Before the ball I went two more times to Felicia's atelier: one to do the first fitting of the dress and the other one to pick it up. With her excellent way of working, she always makes sure to meet once with the client to discuss the model and take their measurements, another time for the first fitting and a last time for the final proof of the dress and for you to take it with you. So, on Saturday afternoon I went to her atelier to finally see my dress.

... and this is what was there waiting for me! When I saw it ready on the model I was stunned! It was really beautiful and so great to see the finished result and realize it was even prettier than what I had hoped for.

Felicia helped me to put it on and I gave it a final try, but of course there was nothing to change as it was perfect and made to measure. I was then ready to go to my ball! Thank you so much again for having made this beautiful dress for me and making my night remarkable (everyone commented on it!).

Les Petits Riens

Les Petits Riens is a company of social economy. They collect goods donated by people and distribute them to others in need, or sell them to use the money for social projects. I casually came across their shop last Saturday in Chatelain, saw the movement of people coming and going and decided to go in to take a look (this is their central shop, but they have many others).

This is a three stores high big shop that sells second hand goods of everything you can imagine: furniture, kitchenware, sports accessories, books, cds, dvds, hi-fi equipment, toys, clothes, you name it. I thought it was particularly interesting for people moving to Brussels, because you can find lots of furniture and things for the house for really low prices. And I believe I saw a poster saying that for large items they can carry them to your house!

Next to it they also have a shop called Bike Paradise, where they sell second hand bikes and have a poster saying "buy a bike when you arrive and we'll buy it back from you when you leave" and then the reference to ask inside for the conditions and info on this. It may be useful for those considering buying a bike here just for a short period of time!

Gare du Midi market

This crazy market takes place every Sunday, from early in the morning until early in the afternoon, next to Gare du Midi. It is huge, it is crowded and it is fun! You'll see all kinds of stuff being sold there: from clothing to shoes, fruits&vegetables, kitchen accessories, rugs, food, bags, you name it. It is all very chaotic, but nice to see this animated market atmosphere and you can save some money on good deals.

The best place to eat when the hunger comes after all the strolling around is this big olives' stand. Here they don't only sell all types of olives, but on the back they also make this delicious pancake with cheese, olives and honey for just 2,50 euros. I cannot give you precise indications on where to find it, giving the big area where the market is spread and the lack of reference points, but just stroll around and look for an olives' stand with a big queue of people on the back, there you'll have found it! But don't worry, because the big queue moves fast and you'll be able to taste your desired pancake very soon.

For the lazy mornings ones, I was told this market finished at 14h, but I left at 13h30 and it was still alive and kicking, full of people and with all the stands on, so I suppose it will last during part of the afternoon as well. Enjoy!

Hungarian Ball

Last Saturday I participated in the so expected Hungarian Ball, organised by arcFAM, a non governmental organisation and whose profit will revert to charity. It took place in Concert Noble and counted with the participation of many important people, including around 40 of us trainees.

The ball room where they had traditional Hungarian dances

My dress, by Margueritte Couture.

My dress, by Margueritte Couture.

My dress, by Margueritte Couture.

A table with typical Hungarian delights

Tombola winners being announced

It was a very nice event to attend, everyone looked gorgeous in their dresses and suits and we danced throughout the night (after the traditional dances there was a band playing and singing more modern songs). There were always things going on and the night flew fast. It was great to have been able to be in this sort of event, not so common for me, here in Brussels.