Yesterday morning, I met up with three girlfriends and we drove out of the city to Vieux-Genappe, a village I’d never heard of in the Belgian countryside by Waterloo. Our destination was La Ferme du Hameau du Roy, a small farm with an amazing bakery and a small cafe.
It was a grey, miserable day but that meant that the staff had lit the fire in the grate, so we chose the table right next to it, and ordered their “Imperial” breakfast for all four of us. It included freshly squeezed orange juice, hot coffee or tea, light fluffy scrambled eggs from the farm hens, little pots of jams and chocolate spread, also all home-made, and the most delicious assortment of their hand-baked breads and pastries. Delicious!
It was such a delicious brunch, and we devoured it all in no time, and then kept chatting and snacking on more bread until we were dangerously full! There’s really nothing quite like having brunch with friends. I feel like it should be a much more common occurrence. This was also special because our friend Sarah who used to live here was just back visiting for a week, so we had to make the most of every moment…
After we’d finished brunch, we walked back through the farm shop to see all the wonderful breads, cookies, marzipan sweets and tarts on display. They were already prepared for Christmas, and especially for Sinterklaas on 6 December, which is an important holiday here in Belgium.
It’s sad that I’m only discovering this wonderful place a few weeks before I leave. But then it does provide a great excuse to come back and visit – maybe they’ll insist on taking me out for a great brunch too 🙂
