Pineapple Dream: Belgium, Biscoff and a Book
I once had a garage sale prompt a move to Belgium.
It wasn’t a conversation with a person at the garage sale that instilled a fire within me to imagine an adventure overseas I never knew to dream, it was a book; a red hardback by Frances Mossiker that was missing its decorative sleeve. But on the ruby red spine in gold lettering were two names: Napoleon and Josephine. I’d never been interested in French royals, but there was something about the physical beauty of this book that demanded I spend the dollar and take it home.
It sat on my nightstand for weeks, because I thought it looked pretty under the soft glow of my lamp. One night while nursing a newborn, unable to fall back asleep, I curled up onto the rocking chair by my bed and opened Napoleon and Jospehine: The Biography of a Marriage. I imagined it would bore me to sleep, it did the opposite. It was an awakening.
At the time, my husband and I were humming along in suburbia; more like going through the motions. We had what society told us would make for a happy life: house with a yard, healthy kids and an 8-5 job with health benefits. And while those things made us grateful, it felt mundane.
And so my husband decided to begin applying to jobs overseas. It had been a decade, but we had met overseas in Germany. Because Germany was familiar to both of us, that’s where he chose to disperse his resume. In one of his interviews, the interviewer told him he wasn’t a fit for the job he’d just interviewed for, but he did have a job that matched his skillset in Belgium.
When my husband got off the phone he walked into the room where I was sitting and said the job didn’t work out, then mumbled something jokingly about “He only had something in Belgium.”
I was still reeling from the tumultuous love story of Napoleon and Josephine. I asked my husband where in Belgium, again he didn’t seem interested and replied, a place called Mons. I ran to Google Mons and do you know what popped up down the road? Waterloo.
It was where Napoleon lost his famous battle, but I took this as a sign; not one of loss, but of opportunity. My husband couldn’t believe I was excited and eager to jump across the Atlantic and live in a country I’d never been to, much less thought of going to. But because of the book I discovered, the random opportunity felt like destiny knocking.
We spent three years in Mons, Belgium. I walked the grounds where the Battle of Waterloo took place on a number of occasions. More dramatic than the battlefield was driving three hours to Malmaison, the home of the famous French couple. I saw the red silk bedding where Josephine took her last breath (without Napoleon), the bedding and walls were a similar shade to the book that unfurled a wondrous unforgettable chapter in my own life.
Random tidbit: Josephine’s orangery at Malmaison housed over 300 pineapple plants. After writing this I had fun creating a Josephine inspired dessert. I’m calling it “Josephine’s Pineapple Dream”. It includes her beloved pineapples along with a Belgian staple, the Lotus Biscoff cookie.
