This morning I woke up thinking Chocolate & Champagne is a very dangerous combination. lol! It took me a good 20 minutes to get out of bed this morning. I guess that's what happens when you drink way too much champagne. ;) But it was worth it.
The party started early as my girlfriends & I sipped Tahitian Ginger & Pineapple liquor (from a trip Peace Corp girl brought back from Tahiti) on the train ride to Brussels. It was much too cold; we needed something to warm us up.
Before heading to the Sablon area we stopped by the Grand Platz which was completely lit up. It looked gorgeous with the Christmas tree twinkling in blue lights. They also finished renovating some of the buildings so it really looked magical. As we walked to the Sablon district we saw some people in horse carriages. The cold weather, Christmas lights & candles, horse ride carriages... it was all so enchanting.
All the shops along the Sablon district were alive with people. You could see people inside the antique shops talking & sipping champagne. Before we went to Pierre Marcolini we stopped by Godiva. Outside the shop they had a 6 to 7 ft. statue of St. Nicholas made of dark chocolate.
We decided to make Pierre Marcolini our first stop. And guess who greeted us? Pierre Marcolini himself! So cool to meet the man behind this fine chocolate. As much as I would have loved to take a photo of me & Pierre I felt a little weird. I didn't want to seem like a crazed American. Inside the Pierre Marcolini which by the way looks like a jewelry store except behind the glass cases are the most sinful chocolates. Everyone in the store was eating chocolate and sipping lovely drinks. I made my way to the counter and was given a delicious strawberry~hibiscus drink. Along the way P.M. reps were handing out champagne truffles and a new chocolate created exclusively for Pierre Marcolini in Brazil. Letting these delicious treats melt in my mouth was like going to heaven. As we made our way to the second floor we noticed the P.M. reps were letting a few people into the3rd floor. Last year when Peace Corp girl went to the Sablon nights she mentioned they were invited to a private party but at the time their Belgian friend had been with them who of course spoke French. We all wanted to make our way up to the 3rd floor but weren't sure how to go about getting in. By chance one of my girlfriends overheard someone say "Facture" (bill) before the rep opened the gold rope. So of course we made Peace Corp girl go first and she said, "Facture" and voila we were in! Upstairs they were serving all the champagne, chocolate, and Beaujolais you could possibly desire. It was fabulous! After we bought some chocolates we left and were handed a nice goodie bag with some Pierre Marcolini chocolates and we said "Au revoir" to Pierre.
We wondered around the Sablon district for a while longer and sipped more champagne and ate more chocolates at the Wittamer pastry shop. We also stopped by the Dandoy Biscuiterie and picked up some buttery speculoos cookies shaped like St. Nicholas. It was a night I definitely won't forget.