A day trip Liege : Le Vaudrée
Crossing Belgium in a hurry one Saturday afternoon early in the 2000s, I was taken to Le Vaudrée at Angleur, a suburb of Liege. This pub famously then, never closed. It also sells a magnificent range of Bier. A day trip to Liege was there conceived just to visit this pub. This was a day when Craig would be permitted to put his feet firmly under the table.
To celebrate the moment when I first tasted La Chouffe, and on draught, I made this my aperitif. Kwak was the concluding drink. By now I am realising that I am not really trying anything outlandish, there is still lots of time.
Dr Stan, knowledgeable as ever despite this being his first trip here, strode off to Le Petit Vaudrée along the end of the same street. The company was split, Jonathan and Neil joined him. We caught up and the party began again. Karmeliet Tripel was the Bier of choice for Les Autres, my turn to try it, wonderful. Another Blond, Judas became the partner, it was a pity we felt the need to move on.
I hate when one is just getting in the mood and someone suggests we have to move on, oh, that was me.
Back in the city
Le Vaudrée 2 is in what may be downtown Liege, I had never set foot anywhere in Liege apart from Angleur prior to today. The first taxi of the trip took the seven of us. Two had already ventured onwards and awaited our presence. Spag Bol was the main event here, we needed to eat. Another draught Karmeliet Tripel was the accompaniment.
Hector’s tours come into their own, at last
With a closed Cantillon and the Airport Transfer cock-up, this was the first day that everything had gone to plan. We needed a train back to Liege St Guillemins to guarantee our connection back to Namur. We were two stops down the line and so jumped on the first train back. Alighting at the main station, we looked at the board, we had just got off our train, perfect. Back on. Songs should be sung about this.
There is a distinct lack of photos for this day, this puzzle is one yet to be solved.
Meanwhile back in Namur
Le Chapitre
This proved to be the best of the three pubs of Namur that were on the recommended list. Occasional loud music, a decent barman and a good range of Bier.
Hector struggled with a small draught La Chouffe, the Spag Bol was doing its job. Robin, Craig and Yvonne went back to the hotel, or walkabout as we discovered later. David arrived and kept Jonathan company through the small hours. The nightcap was a very easy to put away Boon Kriek. Howard and Hector took the direct route back to the Ibis.
Liege Bars
Le Vaudrée ,109 rue du Val Benoit, Angleur, Liege, Belgium 4031
Le Petit Vaudrée, 182, Rue Vaudrée 4031 Angleur (Liège)
Le Vaudrée 2, Rue Saint-Gilles, 149, Liège, 4000