Oui to Huy

“How do you say the name of this town?” one of the ladies in the car asked the group.

“Hoo-eee?” “Hoo-EEE?” “Hoy?” “Who?” “…Let’s ask someone today.”

Jenn organized an outing to this city we could not pronounce because it started with an H. She assigns each month a letter and tries to explore cities that start with the letter of the month, and that is how five mildly adventurous American ladies found themselves in Huy on a recent Friday.

We walked across one of the many bridges spanning the Meuse River, circled the cathedral, visited the tourist information center for a map, admired the Grand Place, sipped coffee, found a very cute shop, explored winding medieval streets, and still forgot to ask anyone how to pronounce the city name.

Huy, near Liege, is an ancient Roman settlement and was evangelized by Saint Domitian, the bishop of Tongeren, in the 6th century. It’s the first spot north of the Alps to get an official city charter, back in 1066. Peter the Hermit harassed the locals into joining the First Crusade. The town thrived on cloth when the cloth trade was strong. But wars and the French wore the city down over time. The locals dismantled their beloved but tempting castle, and a century later the Dutch built a fortress in the same spot. Shockingly, none of the ladies suggested visiting the citadel.

We had lunch along the river at Pampa, a tapas restaurant on the docs with a sign on the bathroom that reads, “interdiction de laver les chiens dans ce local” (Forbidden to wash dogs here). The dining room was beautiful and the food was interesting and delicious! Yet STILL we forgot to ask how to pronounce the name of the city.

As we walked down a sunny path along the river back to the car, we spotted three teenagers picnicking in the grass. “Bonjour!” we said. They responded warmly, so we asked: How do you pronounce the name of this town?

“Oui!” “…Oui?” “Oui!” “Oui?” “Oui!”

“Hui et Oui…se sont les memes?” They are the same?

“Oui!” Yes!

“Ah! Merci!”

Did we have a lovely morning in Huy? Oui!