Belgium

Sunday 20 April 2008

The bus ride to Brussels was a bit of a drama. The bus drivers demanded 'compulsory gratuities' for transporting our luggage despite our tickets clearly stating that our luggage was free. We had no choice but to comply. The office in Brussels was disinterested. The ride was long but quite comfortable and we managed to get some sleep.

Monday 21 April 2008

The bus arrived early at 6am. We stored our luggage at Gare de Nord railway station next to the bus station and then headed out to explore the town.Because it was so early we were limited for choice of sights but sought out 'outdoors sights' for our morning exploring.

We visited the Grand Place at sunrise which was beautiful - especially since it was so quiet and empty. We had the whole place to ourselves. We found the Manneken Pis dressed as Spirou, one of Michael's favourite cartoon characters from his childhood in Belgium. We also searched for the lesser known Jeanneken Pis. We hunted around the city for street signs named after cartoon characters and tin tin murals on buildings.

Shopping in the Galleries Royals St Hubert was quite luxurious. The chocolates looked delicious but the clothing was a little strange.

As it was Monday, the museums were closed so out only option was to visit a brewery - darn that! The beer was delicious and the exhibition was interesting for those of us who could speak French or Flemish.

For lunch we did something very special. We went to Chez Leon Restaurant which Michael fondly remembers from when he was young. He ordered his favourite Filet Americain, which is a 'steak' made from raw beef mince and mustard. Barbara enjoyed her favourite Belgian treat of Mussels in white wine and garlic. Mmmmmm!

We continued wandering through the city but Michael couldn't resist a waffle for dessert.

By early afternoon we were exhausted and made our way back to Gare de Nord railway station to collect our luggage and catch the train south to Genval.

Michael's friend Valerie met us at the station and we all worked very hard to cram our luggage into her lovely VW beetle so she could take us back to her house- lucky it was convertible!

Michael played geometry teacher for the evening while Valerie cooked up a storm. It was lovely to meet her husband Mark and children Engerran, Laureline & Roxanne.

Tuesday 22 April 2008

In the morning Valerie took us to one of her favourite places, the parklands at Halle. In these parklands, for only a couple of weeks per year, beautiful flowers bloom all over the valleys. We were lucky enough to be in town at that very time!

Valerie then took us to visit Mark at work. This was a very special treat because Mark makes waffle machines! He showed us around the factory and how they make the machines and taught us how the best waffles are made.

At the end of the day it was temporarily time to say goodbye to Valerie and her lovely family. We were happy to have the opportunity to see them again soon.

It was a brisk train ride back to Brussels where we muddled a meeting with Michael's friend Alexandra (Alex). Alex took us back to her place to met her current/future husband Damien. We were there to visit them before their wedding the following week, but they had actually been married since the civil service the prior week. Damien was just lovely and we were very happy for them both and excited to attend their wedding and it was very special for us to be spending this time with them.

Wednesday 23 April 2008

While Alex & Damien were at work we caught a train to Bruges (or Brugge in Flemish).

Bruges is a lovely city. It is possibly one of the most well preserved old cities we have visited. Despite the thousands of tourists that visit the city every day, it doesn't feel tarnished or overrun. Its cobblestned streets and quaint houses still retain their charm.

We visited the The Begijnhof, a small convent between the station and the city containing beautiful gardens and Basilica of the Holy Blood which is home to a vial said to contain the blood of Christ. Then we wandered around the city, around its canals and on the far side of the city we found the Chocolate Story Museum. The chocolate museum was great. It had interactive displays, chocolate making demonstrations and SAMPLES!!!

Barbara even found a possible outfit to wear to Alex & Damien's wedding although she figured she should check with them first before making a purchase.

When we had exhausted ourselves and sampled plenty of chocolates we caught the train back to Brussels just as a storm hit - perfect timing!

That evening Alex's parents and friend Helen dropped by for dinner. Her parents had recently traveled to Tunisia and brought back a special gift - a wooden snake to hid in their toilet! It was hilarious! It was also very nice for Michael to be able to catch up with Alex's parents, Anne & Tony Newell.

Thursday 24 April 2008

Unfortunately it was time to say goodbye to Alex, Damien, and Belgium but only for a short time. We bid them farewell before the went of to work and then went into the city to shop for some clothes for the wedding and were very successful. We managed to find everything except shoes for Barbara which we would find later in Cologne. We were amazed at how cheap the clothing was, and it was of good quality too! We decided we would need to do internet shopping in the future!

After we had shopped, we headed to the bus station and caught the bus to Dusseldorf......

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