When I was in my 30’s I decided to go backpacking in  Europe with a friend.  Although backpacking only described my luggage of choice (I stayed in hotels and ate well!)

One stop on our adventure was Bruges,  Belgium. We stayed in a quaint Bed and Breakfast with a couple that only spoke Flemmish.  In playing charades to try and communicate, they pointed to 2 bicycles and then in the direction of town.

It was dusk as we rode under the Large Arc of the city gate.  It was like something out of an American Express commercial.  We were entering a different time and place.  The cobblestone streets were lined with buildings and churches from the 12^thcentury.  I realized nothing I would ever see at home would seem old again!

We found a restaurant that all the locals were heading to for dinner.  The line was nuts, we were gathering from the group that it was at least a 2 hour wait.

Then something cool happened.  The owner, a big, boisterous man that was also the chef came over to us and pointed to a table in the middle of the open air restaurant.

He was cooking in what looked like a huge fire place.   The waiter came over with a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and every time a table was served, all the waiters and the owners seemed to cheer and take a drink.  This was a very happy and tipsy staff!

Since we were just enjoying the experience, we decided to go with the flow.  The chef would cut a piece of everything he was cooking for various patrons, and put it in front of us.   To this day, I can’t tell you what we ate, but everything was amazing.

The food, the wine, but best of all the experience shared by us, the owner, and the other patrons was once in a lifetime.  All these years later, I think of this night every time I have a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.