THURSDAY, JUNE 20–It is National Day at the embassy of Luxembourg. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. For those of you who may not know, Luxembourg is a country less than a thousand square miles in area (slightly smaller than Rhode Island) with a population of roughly 440,000. It’s wedged in between Germany, Belgium, and France. And yet despite the nation’s smallness, its embassy in Washington is downright palatial, with high ceilings, oversized mirrors, stone columns, and crystal chandeliers. Plus, an oil painting of past and present royalty in every room–Luxembourg is a Grand Duchy (much like the Kingdom of Zamunda) and its “chief of state” is a grand duke.
Besides the posh surroundings, it had an impressive food spread: An array of delicate hors d’oeuvres, pleasing to both the eyes and the taste-buds. I immediately went for the demitasse of chilled pea soup with a dollop of sour cream and pinch of caviar. Next came succulent shrimp that passed the fresh test with flying colors: You could pluck it whole from its shell without any of it breaking off. And there were soft and crumbly pastries too, each concealing a mild cheese filling, and cantaloupe scoops wrapped in prosciutto and resting on toast points–this was rather problematic as prosciutto is quite difficult to tear apart with teeth and I ended up inhaling the snack in one enormous mouthful. But before I could sample more of this exquisite Luxembourg cuisine, I needed to find out what really matters: Who were the diplomats rooting for in tomorrow’s World Cup match, the United States or Germany?
