Beginning with dinner accompanied by a few of Jim's co-workers.
This was the entree' - pigeon. Cooked rare. Of course not - to answer the obvious question. Vital traded his tiramisu for my pigeon. I know, I know, he got the short end of the stick, but it was his idea.
Did you know pigeons are the oldest domesticated bird? Pigeon is also a common item on menus around here. I learned at this dinner that pigeon racing is very popular as well as serious business in Belgium. Trained racing pigeons are released and will return to their homes no matter where it is.
There's only one starting line, but thousands of finish lines. Races are generally a distance around 500 - 700 miles! They wear a leg band and the distance and time are carefully measured to determine which one returned at the highest speed. Oh, and they can win a lot of money for it too.
Belgium is the pioneer of this sport beginning in the mid 19th century. Belgian pigeon fanciers developed a breed of pigeons called Voyageurs that could fly fast and far. The sport then spread to the rest of the world.
In case you're wondering, these pigeons are not the ones you'll see on a menu.
I would have never guessed that pigeons were so popular!
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