Neuhaus' factory shop

After having read this post, I became really curious about visiting Neuhaus' factory shop. It is located in Anderlecht, very close to the metro station Erasme (10 minutes maximum walking distance), so you can easily reach it with public transportation. Inside you'll find all types of Neuhaus' chocolates, being sold for a reduced price. In their regular gift boxes, you don't see that much of a difference in the prices, only in case their expiry date is close (we saw a box of 500g of truffles being sold for 10€, because it would expire in 15 days).

What is really worthy is the called "lucky corner", where you'll find 1kg boxes filled with all types of chocolates (each box only has one kind of chocolate, though, but you have a lot of variety to choose from). Each box currently costs 25€, but if you buy 3 of them you pay only 50€. These are cardboard boxes filled with chocolate (well accommodated with layers and plastic shelves) and you can taste each of them before buying (in fact, everything sold in the shop can be tasted for free, as there are plates with samples in front of each product, so even if you end up deciding not to buy anything, you can still have pieces of some finest Belgian chocolate for free).

I went with a friend and we bought together one of those 1kg boxes. We then split its content half-half (so I got 500g), which I then divided into 5 plastic bags, that I bought in HEMA (10 of these bags are sold for approximately 1,50€, they come with a piece for closing and they have them in several designs). 

So, in the end, I had these 5 little bags to offer as a souvenir to my friends and family, not in one of Neuhaus' classic packages, but with one made on my own and for a much lower price than if I had bought them in a regular shop or at the airport. If you want to offer even a larger portion, it may be worthy to go with a friend with the same idea and buy the 3 boxes for 50€, because then the discount would be even greater. Nevertheless, pay also attention to the expiry date of these boxes, as some have a long period, but others were also finishing in just one month.

Neuhaus Outlet

Postweg 2, 1602 Vlezenbeek, Belgium

Tel: 02-568-23-10

Hours: Mon. – Fri. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. | Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

The outlet is open during the lunch hour.

All major credit cards accepted

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!

Margueritte Couture

This is the most extraordinary thing of having a blog: being able to, through it, meet extraordinary people and come across projects that you would never know otherwise. That's why I want you to meet Felicia Teleuca and her story.

Felicia is from Romania, but she lives in Brussels for 5 years now. She has studied and learnt the crafts of designing and sewing from a young age, but has passed several years of her live working in other areas, until she rediscovered her passion for dress making here in Brussels. She has a beautiful atelier, the one you see in this pictures, from where she manages her own brand: Margueritte Couture.

She's been making personalized dresses for her clients (or shall I say friends?) for some years now, both wedding dresses, cocktail dresses and evening dresses. She pays attention to every little detail and takes into account the personality and style of her client before proposing her a dress, which she then makes with much love and care. The quality standard is then very high, as you'll have an unique dress made with the best materials, your own measurements, carefully crafted just for you.

I had the opportunity of meeting her as she kindly offered to make myself a dress for the Hungarian Ball I am attending next weekend. We have already had a first meeting to discuss the model she's going to make (it's not the one pictured in these sketches!), to take my measurements and by the end of the week she will have it finished (made in only one week without compromising quality, that's a challenge!). It will be my pleasure to attend this event dressed in a gown made by Felicia and an honor to have met this brave woman, who wasn't afraid to follow her dreams and doing what she loves and who, being an expat herself, showed a great amount of generosity and kindness to receive me in her atelier and offer me her services. If you ever need a ball gown, an evening or cocktail dress, or even a wedding dress, be sure to talk to Felicia and I am certain you won't be disappointed! As she mentioned herself, her work is so emotive and time consuming, that it's hard to see a dress go away in the hands of a client. But the recognition she has from her work and the pride of seeing it being worn in a special occasion, are the motivation she needs to continue to do what she loves.

Felicia Teleuca

Couturière Independante

sales@margueritte.be

www.margueritte.be

+32 475 42 48 22

Rue Auguste Heene 10/1

1190 Bruxelles

Jip & Janneke

Jip and Janneke is a series of children's books in the Netherlands, written by Annie M.G. Schmidt and illustrated by Fiep Westendorp. The series is known for its simplicity and wit and started in the '50s. In order to commemorate their 60th brithday, HEMA launched this cute set of a plate, a bowl and a mug for 11€. I couldn't resist to buy yet this other souvenir, even though a Dutch one, but whose cartoons and books were famous in Belgium as well, because of the language.

HEMA

This week I have been to HEMA, which is a great shop for everything house related. The prices are similar to IKEA, but you don't have furniture, yet other things are available (like clothing, food, beauty products). Indeed, you have a great variety of stuff for very nice prices. Just to give you an example, I bought a toaster there for 11€. It is worth taking a look, as everything is very lovely and sweet. If you need just little stuff for your house, it is also more convinient to go there, as it is located in the center of the city (I went to the one next to Port de Namur, it is very close to the metro station).

Pierre Marcolini

Pierre Marcolini is a haute chocolaterie maker from Belgium. They have a great shop in le Sablon where you can see for yourself their wonderful and tasteful creations. 

The prices are not exactly trainee-friendly, but the shop is worth a visit just to look at their creations, which are original and made with very detail and care.

Chocolaterie Duval

Yesterday I was in Chocolaterie Duval, on a visit organized by the Stage Committee. This is a family owned business, working for 20 years in Brussels, specialized on the fine art of making chocolates for companies. Indeed, they are known for making great chocolate with the companies' logos, or with any design they request, which are then used in parties and events. The chocolate is produced in another factory, with their very own recipe and then on this chocolaterie they mold it into the shapes they want. The visit was very interesting, with a great explanation on the process of making chocolate (and live viewing of it!), including some very generous tasting in between.

It ended up with space for people to ask questions and we learnt a lof of things, namely:

• A chocolate bonbon with filling is called a praline;
• A praline whose filling is of hazelnut and chocolate is called a praliné;
• You should not keep your chocolate in the fridge;
• The white chocolate is not really chocolate, as it has no cocoa, only cocoa butter;
• There are dark chocolates with 85% of cocoa, when the normal average would be 40%;
• When chocolate was first introduced in Europe, it used to be drank, not eaten;
• The 5 things Belgium is famous for are chocolate (that we had figured out already, yum!), beer, waffles, moules and frites.

In the end, we could explore the factory shop and bring some of their marvellous delights home (they have some exquisite and exclusive ones, like beer praline!). If you're interested, check out their website for more information on organizing visits, opening times or to know how to contact them. It is definitely a must-do while in Brussels!

Dress code

One of the things you'll probably start thinking as the beggining of your traineeship approaches (specially women) is: what will I wear? Many of the trainees have recently completed their studies and have little to none professional experience, so they wonder how they should dress in order to be appropriately presented in this new corporate world.

As mentioned in the FAQ's the EC provides for the selected trainees, there is no official dress code, however, you are expected to dress adequately. Well, this leaves us in the same point as we started: what does adequately means? There is no general formula to apply on this (even though, on one of the first presentations given for the trainees, they mention that men shall never wear white socks and women's skirts shall stay under their knees when seated), but I am going to give you a few tips which hopefuly will help you stuff the right clothes when packing.

The dress code for the Commission (and, from what I have seen so far, this applies to the other European Institutions) is described as smart casual. Which means you don't have to dress up in a very formal way, but you're also not supposed to come up with shorts and sneakers. Although I have seen people wearing jeans or leggings with short sweaters (and we all know leggings are not pants!) and of course no-one will say anything to them, but I personally do not find it work appropriate and would not appear here dressed that way. Usually women wear straight-legged pants or pencil skirts with a shirt and a cardigan or a blazer on top. Not too bright colors, everything in the tones of black, blue, brown, grey, cream, white and then maybe one piece or accessory a bit more colorful to top it up. Most women wear boots, flats or shoes, but some of them dare to come up in high-heels (a minority, though). Here are some examples of the type of clothes I see people wearing around here:



All outfits are from Mango. I had some difficulty finding clothes appropriate for the cold weather that we still have right now here in Brussels, as all shops already have their Spring/Summer collection on, but I think from these you can see the style I was talking about (even if now they are all topped up with warm coats, scarves and gloves).

As you can see, it is not a very formal style (you don't have to wear black pants with a matching blazer and a white shirt all days), but it is still not the type of clothes you would probably wear on a weekend or on holidays. For those of you who already had previous work experiences in the corporate world (in companies, enterprises, consultancy firms, law firms, banks, etc), you'll just have to keep the style you were used to and you'll probably be able to bring the clothes you were already used to wear and do not have to buy new ones. I am one of the people who just kept the style she was used to, as the dress code here is pretty much the same as of the law firm where I worked.

Bear in mind, however, that you should wear something more formal in the days you have special events (like a meeting with someone important, or a public conference you'll have to attend). You'll notice that the higher the people are in the internal hierarchy, the more formal they dress (it is completely different to be a Head of Unit or a Director who has meetings and events all days, or a secretary or a trainee who stays in the office most of the time). It also depends on the DG and Unit you work on, I guess. In mine, most people are lawyers, so they dress up in the style I have mentioned... I suppose that in some DGs where most people are engineers, journalists, human resources people, the style can be more informal and seeing people in jeans could be more frequent.

As for men, there's not much to suggest: all of them here wear suits, but during the office hours they hardly ever wear ties. Nevertheless, they have some ties saved in the office in case they have to leave for a meeting or a conference and, in those occasions, they always wear them. In the end, it will be up to you to understand what style you should adopt here and what is appropriate in the context of the work you'll be performing.