Phew. Finished the whole thread. Amazing resource; thanks to all who have contributed.
My rough itinerary is:
4/30: Arrive around noon. Scope out the city, eat a good dinner w/ party, prepare for Quintessence.
5/1: Quintessence and associated frivolity w/ friends. (wife, sister in law, kids to zoo in Antwerp for the day)
5/2: Sitter day. Car rental w/ day trip to Fantome (assuming I can coordinate) w/ wife and friends. Maybe Tilquin since I'll have a car? Possibly Ought @ Botanique that night.
5/3: up for grabs. Probably Bruges or Gent w/ the family (friends head to Amsterdam)
5/4: Head to London
5/8: Return to Brussels to fly out 5/9 am.
A few questions, and I also welcome any tips/advice not specifically solicited:
(1) I will have 4 empty checked bags available for bottle stocking. Per the good advice from some TBers in the Quintessence thread, I plan to stash those in a locker while visiting London. I am not concerned about bringing whales home. I'd just love to accumulate some lambic (and tomes) while I can take advantage of checked bags. I gather to-go bottles from the sources will be the best bet here, but what impact does Quintessence (and NoGT) have on this? It would be a bummer to not be able to make use of those bags. I could always make my rounds on 5/8 when I return if those few days would make a difference?
(2) Not much discussion of Fantome visits. Can anyone suggest any restaurants for lunch/dinner on that trip? It looks like Hotton is probably the closest area with multiple options? Rochefort seems reasonably close?
(3) Almost no discussion of Tilquin. It's a bit inconvenient compared to other options, but maybe it will be worth a stop since I will have a car that one day? Any impressions of whether it'd be worth the stop?
Thanks in advance!