Assymestrical nostrils and a class belgian brew or two

Today's beers: Duvel and Villers Trippel

I have had this hacking cough for the past few days so I went to the Belgie doctor. I call my doctor the Belgie doctor because he is our family doctor here in Brussels. Unlike in the US where you have to go sit in a waiting room, wait to be called and then wait 12 thousand hours to be seen, medicine is very relaxed here. Everyone just sits in the waiting room, no nurse, no receptionist, no sign in. It is just you and the baby next to you with the snotty nose. The doctor then opens his office door and almost instinctively the next patient walks in. In the two hundred times I have been there, I have never ever seen a scuffle between the waiting patients. Could Belgians be the polite people of Europe? To make a long diatribe short, the doctor asks me a couple of standard questions and then looks into my nose and tells me I have assymetrical nostrils. Frankly, I was shocked. I always prided myself on my nose. No point in dwelling on my facial imperfections when there are beers to sample.....

Duvel, just saying the name brings a smile to my face. Duvel was one of the first Belgian beers I ever tried. I don't remember the whens and wheres but chances are it was in France, while I was living there. It was the first beer that I was able to truly appreciate. Made from barley and not corn (like some American brews) with a foam that looks like a fluffy cloud, its bitterness goes so well with salty nibblies. Its golden hue looks as sunny as the rare Belgian sun. Its whopping 8.5% alcohol is not for an empty stomach. The bottle says it should be served at 6 degrees celsius (that is just semantics). Duvel has always been a favorite of mine and whenever I shop for food here in Belgium I always toss a bottle or two in my basket. Check out the website http://www.duvel.be/ if you want to learn more about this Belgian classic.

My dining partner tonight decided to take a Villers Triple out of the fridge. According to the bottle, it is "brewed according the ancient abbey recipes." This is a direct quote; obviously the Villers abbey does not a native English speaker to proof their label. However, an ever better quote on the bottle is "A BEER BREWED WITH LOVE, IS DRUNK IN THE RIGHT MIND." This is a direct quote, I kid you not. I am wondering if this is a drunk Confucian Monk talking. I hereby offer the Villers abbey or any other beer abbey, if you need someone to proof your labels, contact me. I would not charge all that much, hell I am not even allowed to work here in Belgium! My identity card is somewhere in Ixelles 1050, our local commune. However, my baby and husband are legally allowed to work so they would accept the money. Not me.... just them (sorry for that rant). Back to the beer, Villers is a pretty good blond slighlty cloudy beer with a bitter finish. My dining partner would definitely drink it again. I noticed that it had a bit of a bite in the back of tongue. There is no website so if you if were looking for an excuse to visit Brussels, you may have found it!!!