Last day in Brussels

Today we took 2 walking tours which were fantastic! The first was a chocolate tour with a workshop and the other was a dinner/dining tour. We learned a lot about Brussels and really liked both guides.

Tonight is their daylight saving time which means we will do this 2 weekends in a row.

We are leaving in the morning (Sunday) and will be home Sunday evening. See you soon!

Pictures are:

Oldest bar in Brussels
Chocolate workshop
View of the city
Beautiful window
That kid is at it again
In the oldest bar having the world's best beer
Menu of world's best beer

Break Day in Brussels

Today we had no tours or activities. We took a break and we both thought we needed it. We had a leisurely breakfast and then spent 6 hours shopping.

Not much I can say, but here are some photos.

Our lunch - cheeseburger & salad - we could have had fries, but went with the salad
Shopping mall with nothing, but chocolate stores
Chocolate & strawberries on a Belgian waffle
Dinner was a ham & cheese waffle
Yours truly as all my pictures seem to have my coat & scarf - wanted it noted I did have other clothes. I don't believe the coat purchased a round trip ticket. :-)
Grand Place at night
This statue in Brussels is the cause/reason for all the stupid concrete waterfalls in the US - the myth/story is he urinated on a fire to save the city of Brussels - don't know what the outfit is that he was wearing today, but he has over 800 changes of clothing

Ghent & Brugge

Today we took a bus tour to the Belgian towns of Ghent & Brugge.

Ghent was okay, but I see no reason to go back there. Brugge, however, was a different story. I loved Brugge - very beautiful with lots of history. The movie, "Monument Men", was based on the Nazis destroying works of art and the Americans trying to find and save them. In "Monument Men" the Americans are searching for Michelangelo's "Madonna & Child" which was and is currently in the Church of our Lady in Brugge.

We met some Americans on our tour and 4 were from Dallas.

Photos are:

Brugge
Yours truly
Carol's waffle
Brugge
House built in 1500's - check out that brick work
Square in Brugge
Don't know what it is, but thought it was neat
Flemish Stew - have had it twice today and yes, everything comes with fries

Ooh La La

Well, today we took the train to Paris since we had an open day. Our best day, by far! We took a high speed train from Brussels to Paris in 1 hour & 20 minutes. Carol read by car it would take 3 hours. It goes up to 186 miles per hour. This means we have traveled by plane, car, bus, & train on this trip.

As soon as we arrived in Paris we got to the Eiffel Tower ASAP. I was in Paris 10 years ago, but I don't believe you could go to the summit. (They must have been working on it). Oh my gosh!!!!! We were at the very top! Such incredible views!!

We had lunch at a charming place called, Paul's. I was able to get a drink, sandwich, and dessert for $12.00 - such a deal! After that I needed to charge my dead phone, so we went to the best looking Apple store in the world. The store is in an old bank building. Good news is I now have a European iPhone plug for my next trip. :-)

After that we more than completed our 10,000 steps as we hoofed it to Laduree. Such a beautiful place with delicious macarons and beautiful packaging! On my next trip I want to eat in their tea room.

We were not far from the Arc de Triomphe, so we got some great photos. I remembered where I had stayed years ago and it wasn't too far. We decided or rather my feet decided that a drink might be nice. I can officially say I have now paid the most I have ever paid for a Crown & Coke. It was awful in euros, but to covert it to dollars was a kick in the gut. Let's just say I could not afford to be an alcoholic in Paris!

We left our hotel at 6:45 and got home at 10:00 - what a great day!

Photos are:

At the top of the Eiffel Tower (had to get one with Carol so you would know she went)
View of Arc from Eiffel Tower
My lunch
Apple Store
Street level view of Arc de Triomphe

Guess where we are off tomorrow?

The picture is a major hint. There are only 4 people that I think could possibly guess - Jeannie, Scott, Marcie, & a big maybe on Rebekah.

Here is the clue, so let me hear your guesses: (I bought these Christmas ornaments in Amsterdam today - aren't they fabulous?)

Amsterdam

Today we took a tour to Amsterdam. The weather was dreary and rainy. I must say I liked Amsterdam much better today than my first visit.

We stopped at a farm on our way to see how cheese is made. The farmer told us that certain kinds of cheese can only be made by the farmers and cannot be exported. I was able to buy 2 kinds - mustard & garlic with chives. He said if we just turn the cheese once a week it would keep unrefrigerated for 10 years. I don't believe I will test his theory. This same farmer also makes wooden shoes.

While our tour guides have been good, they have also been annoying. They give the explanation in English, Spanish, and French. By the time I realize they are back to English they have moved on to Spanish. I am putting that high school Spanish to a little bit of use.

Once we were in Amsterdam we took a boat canal tour. After the boat tour we had free time to shop & eat. There were some really neat shops & brands with not enough time!!

Pictures are:

Cheese at farm
Windmill which was so neat to see, but through a rainy bus window - not so much
Don't know if you can see the weathervane with rooster on top of church - this signals it is a Protestant church
The lunch of champions - there are French fry shops everywhere - I had mine with a garlic sauce while yesterday we had them with a Thai ketchup (the very reason I didn't give my trainer the blog addy!)
Neat
Assume the top plaque means the guy is a dentist?
Beautiful

And the winner is.........

Vicky Morris!!! Congratulations. You won an assortment of 8 Belgian chocolates. Your gift will be delivered upon our return.

Off to Antwerp

This is a FYI for Jules - my fitbit has buzzed me 3 days in a row! You better get your "walk" on! 😰

Today we took a tour to Antwerp. It is the second largest city in Belgium and the 3rd largest port in Europe. Antwerp is a Flemish community and their primary language. Our guide told us that Flemish is their first language, English their second, German their third, & if they feel like it, French is their 4th. 😊 Antwerp is in the north of Belgium. The guide told us the north & south of Belgium don't care for each other. Hmm...that sounds a bit familiar! I was just happy to hear English was their second language. Yesterday when Carol & I were in Bastone, we were all but grunting & pointing since no one in the bakery spoke English. We should have taken that as a sign we didn't need to be eating anything, but we didn't. 😊

Much of our time in Antwerp was visiting the Cathedral of Our Lady. It is a beautiful church and has a collection of 4 Peter Rubens' masterpieces. The Antwerp painter was a proponent of the Baroque style.

Tomorrow we are off to Amsterdam.

Pictures are:

Castle in Antwerp - on the left you can see the old city wall
You can see more of the old city wall with a modern building right next to it
Cathedral of Our Lady
Raising of the Cross by Rubens
Descent of the Cross by Rubens
Cathedral of Our Lady
Building built in 1591 - you can see the year in the building
I love old doors!

Loving it in Luxembourg City

First I would like to thank my TWO (2) friends, Rebekah & Jules, for making a comment on yesterday's post. I guess I'll need to have a drawing for a comment on this post with a deadline being Monday eve., 10:00 pm Brussels time. Remember I am 7 hours ahead of Houston!!

So today we took an all day bus trip to Luxembourg City. The country itself is called Grand Duchy of Luxembourg - I have no idea why, but will have to research this, I'll get back to you. Luxembourg was a very strategic location due to its central area within Europe as early as the Romans. It is very beautiful as you can tell by the photos. I'm only sorry we didn't get to the American Cemetery to see where Patton is buried.

On our way back we stopped in Bastogne, Belgium the site of Battle of the Bulge. This Memorial/Battle site is over 700 miles from Normandy - what a long walk for those young men!

Tomorrow is Antwerp, the diamond center of world importance. I'm hoping for a small or large clear party favor on this tour!😎

Fortress built around old Luxembourg City
We started at the top & walked down, but thankfully took the elevator back up
View while walking across a bridge built in 1300's
Yours truly
And we thought everything was bigger in Texas
Battle of the Bulge Memorial
(Same)