Tag Archives: food

Tuesday in Boston (9/23/25)

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We had a typical lazy start to the day. I get rather antsy, but Dan has things he wants and probably needs to do on his iPad (photo things, maybe?) so I busy myself by playing a few games (Wordl, Sudoku, along with a few others) just to kill time) and starting today’s blog.

The weather outside looks lovely, despite the rain forecasts we’d seen earlier, and that forecast has, thankfully, changed. We can deal with rain, of course, but if we don’t have to were are just fine with that!

So here I am, at 9:12AM, dressed, things put away, and ready to go. Now I wait …

At 10:00 we did make our way to the very slow elevator. Of course the elevator that looks to be the one we should be using is out of order. I seem to recall a review criticized that which makes me think it will never be repaired. But what I assume might be the service elevator works: it’s just extremely slow.

We went to a different — and much better — place for coffee and food: Dan had a rather small muffin, and I had yogurt and fruit. I have missed our yogurt and while what I got was fine, our home made yogurt is much better and I look forward to making it when we get home!

We decided we should do the remainder of the Freedom Trail, which meant heading again past the park.

We continued to walk, and we passed a restaurant whose signs just crack me up. I thought they should at least have on item that is second best or maybe even third. But nope!


Then it was over the bridge.

And then we were in Charlestown.

With a short walk we made our way to the Bunker Hill Monument.

We could have taken the 429 stairs up to the top, but we both agreed we weren’t up for that, so we enjoyed the view from below. It’s been so interesting reading about the Revolutionary war: it’s been eons since I learned about it and I never did pay much attention to history back then.

From Bunker Hill we went to the USS Constitution. Sadly we couldn’t board the boat as it is being worked on. We’d rather counted on spending a good amount of time on that. Another more modern ship was there as well but it, too, was closed. So much for that! But we walked around and I took some record shots so I could put them up here.

Then it was lunch time. We had said it was to be a two meal day, but so much for that! I ordered a cup of corn and clam chowder so that was fairly small. Dan ordered a club sandwich and that was huge so I was a very helpful wife and ate a fourth of it.

We could have walked back over the bridge but instead we opted for taking a ferry. It took us a bit of time, along with some help from another ferry rider, to figure out how to buy tickets on my phone, and for some reason I couldn’t find the senior price there so we ended up paying full price, but I suppose we can afford the slightly over $7 it cost us.

Then it was a random ramble. We really had nothing more planned until dinner. I did tell Dan I think we could have done one less day here as we are running out of things we want to do. Maybe tomorrow we’ll investigate some museums, though.

After growing weary of walking we stopped in at a beer garden and had a beer. Mostly it was just to kill time, to be honest.

Getting near 5:00 we walked past a the City Hall (I think!).

And then over to La Famiglia Giorgio for dinner. I’m glad we went so early because by the time we left people were waiting to get in. The food was good, but oh my do they fill the plate. My dish could easily have fed a family of four and I think Dan’s could have as well. I could barely put a dent in the dish, and we both asked to have things boxed up.

We had originally thought we’d get a car home, having walked about eight miles so far, but with the food we decided we’d walk and hand the (very heavy) bag to someone who looked like they needed it. Sure enough, while on our walk, a couple who appeared to be living on the streets were sitting on the sidewalk and Dan asked if they were hungry and handed the bag to them. I do hope they enjoyed the feast.

It was a lovely evening walk!

We reached our hotel and I checked my watch: 10.18 miles today. Not bad! Of course, as I reminded Dan, if we were ever to do the Camino de Santiago we’d have about seven miles to go on some days. Hm. Can we really manage that walk? I wonder!

Oh, and about shoes: I am wearing some All Birds which I really do like, but clearly my Altra shoes are better for lengthy walks when my feet tend to swell a bit. I think I will save the All Birds for hanging out in and shorter than six mile neighborhood walks. I realize that is incredibly exciting information you couldn’t live without!

Tomorrow might be rainy. But then today was originally going to be rainy and it was a lovely, albeit somewhat humid, day. We shall see!

Hello Boston! (9/21/25)

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After packing Dan, Carolyn, and I drove to the coffee shop we’d been at on our first morning in Bennington. There we met up with Jameson and Meghan, and enjoyed muffins, coffee or tea, and conversation. I was sorry to miss out on seeing Brandon and Lia once more, but they were staying further away and couldn’t make it down.

We said our goodbyes and then got back into the rental car (since when did a Toyota Corolla go from being a compact to a midsize car?) and made our way to the Boston airport. We had chosen no toll roads so toward the end of the drive it was pretty crazy. Prior to that the drive was a wee bit colorful at times (we are thinking the color will arrive early this year but perhaps not be as stunning as some years), but really rather boring. Still, since our drive to Bennington was in the dark I enjoyed seeing the route we took albeit in the opposite direction.

We dropped Carolyn off at the terminal, filled the car with gas, returned it, and grabbed (not literally) a Lyft. I simply wasn’t up for figuring out public transportation by then. Our driver was one of those aggressive sorts who manages to squeeze in front of cars even if they don’t want to let him in. He wasn’t so kind to the cars that tried to do the same to him. Go figure!

Our hotel is in a great section of Boston: we are staying at the Copley Square Hotel. When I was planning this trip I learned that Boston is just horrifically expensive. But so it goes — it’s our first trip here and who knows, it may very well be the one and only trip, so we just decided to deal with the cost. We were told the first elevator — one that looked to me like it was for guests — was out of order. The other (service elevator perhaps?) was what we were to use. My goodness it was slow!

Getting to our room … it looks just fine. The bathroom door, however, really need work! We had to pull it VERY hard to get the door to shut!

Our room and the view from the room:

We sat in our room for a bit (thankfully it was ready well before the 3:00 check in time) and relaxed with our iPads in hand. Then it was time to start exploring!

We are just a few short blocks away from the popular Newbury street: it’s full of brownstones most of which are now stores in the lower floors. Many of the clothing stores seemed to be high end and/or boutique places. For Sunday they close off a lot of the street, although cross traffic still is allowed through. Booths are set up as well — people selling a variety of things. The street was quite full of people, many of whom looked like they were in their twenties so Dan and I fit right in.


When we had first arrived at Newbury I saw people at the corner having what looked like light snacks and drinks, so I mentioned to Dan that that looked tempting. Sure enough, we did wind up there after a bit of walking. We ordered the mezze platter for two, I had a Last Word cocktail and Dan, being the good boy that he is, had a Nanegroni (an alcohol free drink). The mezze plate turned out to be more food than we had expected and was delicious.

We had a nice chat with our server. She had asked where we were from and we told her, saying it was our first time in Boston. She told us she’d been here for three years, and came from Uraguay, a place I confess I’m totally clueless about. She was very kind, and then surprised us with this dessert as a sort of “welcome to Boston” treat! How sweet (literally and figuratively!).


From there we did more walking, heading the other direction of Newbury. When it ended we turned right and walked to the Charles river.

Then it was time to head back. We went up (or is it down?) a different street and saw more beautiful buildings.

We both agreed we hardly needed to get dinner so we wound up back in our room We did munch on some chips we had from a little goody bag Sara and Ben had gifted people who stayed at the Vervana Hotel, and that was all we really needed. (Okay, we really didn’t even need those. But they were there, and we heard them calling our names.)

I then did a few puzzles (Yeah, I know, I do too many!), and read more of the Camino book I’ve started. We are really hoping to do that in the spring of 2027 (if not the fall of 2026) and I want to know what we are in for.

So This Is It

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Yes, our last day in NYC, and our last full day of this trip. It flew by. It seems like we’ve been on it forever. Funny how that goes!

I didn’t wake up until 7:00! (Well, okay, I was up three other times, but that is sort of the norm for me.) We lazed around a bit (since Dan has a cold he’s taking it easy for sure, and I’m happy to be lazy as we wind things down), and eventually I went down to pick up some croissants for breakfast. Angelina Bakery has been our go-to for those. It was cloudy outside, and some people were holding umbrellas although I felt no drops. Some of the taller buildings were hidden by clouds, though. I dropped our yummy croissants off at our room and went up to floor 27 here at the hotel to get our coffees: decaf espresso for Dan, caffeinated cappuccino for me. Yes, you really do need to know these things: when we get home I just might write up a quiz called, “What did D&P do on their trip?” Please have your number 2 pencils ready.

We have a table in our room so we just ate there.

Then, while Dan did what Dan does (computer, shower, whatever) I started to search for a place to eat dinner. It’s a challenge when there may be six of us and some choices were out of the question. Contacting Brandon he suggested maybe we should try something different than the bar food we’ve been having so I found a Japanese restaurant. I suspect that will be quite refreshing after eating so many fries!

It was drizzling out (according to our often incorrect watches anyway) — we were in no rush to get outside. In addition, the last day of our trips tend to be rather slow. It’s as if we allow ourselves to finally let go of the required energy needed for travel, knowing the trip is nearly over. But eventually out we went.

For food. Because … well … it’s the last day to be indulgent!

And it was bagels.

Since the restaurant I’d reserved was very close to the bagel stop we walked by. Ummmm … wellllll … no ambience and I can’t figure out how they’d even seat the six of us! I guess we’d have three tables for two, the restaurant was so small and narrow. So we decided to walk back to the hotel and redo our evening plans. On the way I had to stop for a couple of photos because this blog entry is looking to be extremely boring unless I do that. No one needs to hear me (okay, read me) rattle on and on. You need New York photos! Right?

Back at the hotel I texted with Brandon and Jameson, and another restaurant was chosen (thanks for the suggestion, Brandon), and a reservation was made. While at the room a man came by to make sure all was well here — he wasn’t the housekeeping person so I’m not sure why he came. But it was handy because I could tell him all was fine except we needed more of the Nespresso coffee pods. Later on another man came by with a bag FULL of them. Maybe they will come in handy at another hotel sometime. We shall see.

We continued our lazing around for quite a while, but eventually we opted to go out for a casual walk, having no real agenda in mind. Dan did suggest, though, that we head toward Central Park. While heading across 45th we walked past the restaurant we chose for tonight after canceling the other. It’s a whopping seven minute walk.

And now I’ll just post the photos I took, as well as one video:

On our way back we picked up a couple of cannoli. Big yum, but I actually couldn’t finish mine so Dan kindly helped me out. As you can see, there was only health food in the case.

Eventually we met up with Jameson, since he was in the area earlier than our dinner reservation. We walked to a spot where he could get iced coffee … we sat and yakked and then it was time to get to the restaurant.

We met Lia at Sozai, and Brandon showed up shortly after. I have decided Lia is the Queen of Ordering and she magically remembered all the things we wanted. (Thanks, Lia!) The food was absolutely wonderful. I was sorry Meghan couldn’t be there with us, but she had so much work she said it just wasn’t possible. (Sorry Meghan … we missed you!) I took a few (bad) photos. It was really the best I could do as the light was low and some things weren’t easy to photograph. So it goes. Just trust me: everything was delicious!

We said goodbye to Lia and Brandon, and Jameson walked with us back to our place since his bus would be a bit further down the street. Then a quick hug to him, and back up to our room we went. I’m nearly packed (just need to get pjs and toiletries in the pack tomorrow morning), and odds are we’ll grab coffee upstairs and then get a car to Newark. (We’ve been informed that saying “EWR” is not the norm here so I am going to have to change my ways. Hah!) After the pain of taking New Jersey Transit in to Manhattan we’ve decided we’d prefer a Lyft back. Besides, we have money in our Lyft account so why not?

But now? Time to attempt to sleep. I’m better it will be a restless night what with tomorrow being a travel day, but I can dream, right? Or maybe I can’t dream since I might not sleep. Time will tell.

Ciao for now!

I Like The Isle Of Manhattan

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Needless to say, I’m sure, we woke very early. It’s to be expected as we adjust to the time change, but at least the difference isn’t as great as it would have been had we flown straight home.

We could spend the morning in a leisurely fashion: nothing was on the agenda and we assume the rest of the family will want the morning to themselves. After showers we went to the top floor for coffee. It’s a huge area (I had been there before, when I did my solo trip) and I’m surprised they don’t try to get us to purchase breakfasts there, but I guess that must be too much trouble. But free coffee or tea? Sure, we’ll take that! The views from the 27th floor are not bad either.



We’ve been to New York enough to not worry much about missing something. I suspect we will do our typical wandering about. And eating.

Side Note: Foolish me made my annual medical appointment shortly after we return. I highly suspect I’ll be told my cholesterol level is too high. Oops!

When we were ready to go out, we first went a short distance to get a bite. No photos. Just a croissant for Dan and a cream cheese pastry for me. Then it was time to get catch a train.

We landed close to the Met and we made our way there. There were some sprinkles so the umbrellas came out. There was a line to get into the Met so we were trying to buy tickets online as we stood in said line, but didn’t manage to get things to work properly. After going through security (where I was stopped and had to open my daypack and camera bag while Dan walked straight through) we purchased our tickets. (The Met isn’t cheap.) Then inside we went.

Dan was interested in a American photography exhibit showing at the moment, and I always enjoy seeing some art there. This time we wound up in an area with Chinese art which isn’t something we have spent a lot of time viewing. I do find it amazing to read how old some of the objects are. And hey, they make me feel pretty darn young! (So I guess I don’t qualify for the museum. Yet.)

Eventually Jameson arrived, and we went to grab lunch there (gotta love those museum prices). Hey … I ate too much. Such a familiar tune, right? We saw a few things both on the way into the cafeteria and out of it.

Then we viewed the photography. It was all very early American photography and I confess it wasn’t of great interest to me. I could see that others were fascinated, though.

Brandon had written to say he was nearing the museum so we agreed to meet. He suggested we meet outside.

And then it started to pour. I mean really pour. The kind of downpour that means a ton of people started flowing into the museum. But Brandon had found a spot with scaffolding right across the street so we finally decided to meet up there. The rain had started to dwindle enough that we opted to walk to Orsay for drinks and a snack.

Lia arrived a bit later, and Meghan shortly after that.

While it was rather early for dinner, we decided that we’d go find dinner nearby rather than do anything that was too far away: we are, after all, still adjusting to the time change. So off we went, and a nearby place, JG Melon, could take us all so in we went. Again, no photos of food, or even of people. Somehow when I’m with family I forget to take photos I guess.

Then we said goodbye to Meghan and Jameson, and Lia and Brandon walked with us down to our hotel. As we walked we looked to the right and Brandon said something about rain coming. Sure enough, shortly after, it again began to rain. We had gotten our umbrellas ready, so our heads stayed dry, but this rain was coming at an angle that mean the back of our pants did get wet. No harm done. Just damp pants.

Finally we got back to our room. It was (and is) on the early side, but it’s fairly clear that we are winding down both in terms of time on the road and energy. I’m hopeful we will be adjusted to New York time by tomorrow. I know it will help us adjust to California time when we leave for home.

I can’t go to sleep yet — it’s only 19:47 or 7:47 PM. You choose! — so I have to work hard on staying up later. We’ll see what I can manage.

Goodnight!

Final Full Day in Brussels

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Yes, it was our final full day here. Not only in Brussels. Not only in Belgium. But all of Europe. Am I sad? A bit. Could I have spent more time in Europe? Absolutely! I could easily become a full time traveler. But that can’t be, and so it goes.

I haven’t yet reported on any mishaps, primarily because nothing of note has really happened. Yes, there was a train strike, but that was easily taken care of. Yes, we had to switch from train to bus partway through a ride, but that, too, was easy to do (even though I think they should refund some money due to the train being late and paying for better seats. But our electric toothbrush did stop working. That was annoying. And — horrors! — I ran out of dental floss. But gee, guess what you can buy in Europe if necessary? We bought our little travel toothbrushes which will get us through the remainder of the trip, and Dan says I can use some of his floss, generous man that he is.

Anyway (note, NO “anyways” from yours truly) we woke, readied ourselves, checked the weather ahead of time, donned our rain jackets, and went out. First on our agenda was breakfast, but we just figured we’d get that as we walked out of this area. We were headed to a park. Parc du Cinquantenaire to be precise. It was a decent walk away (the man at the hotel desk had said we could take the Metro, but we much prefer walking when possible). Out we went, and into one place that, as it turned out, only had larger breakfasts than we wanted. So onward! We did find a place on the outskirts of the center, touristy area, and had our rolls and coffee.

Then more walking. We went past a ton of construction, and also past familiar spots like the park from two days ago and some important looking buildings.

And then the rain came. First it was just sprinkles and I wasn’t concerned. (My Woolx pants dry quickly, and with my hood up I was fine: Dan wasn’t as certain for his clothing.) However we did agree the park was probably a bad idea (who likes a soggy park?), and figured we’d go elsewhere. And then the rain came down more. We huddled under a protected space and checked out where another destination of the day was, because it was something indoors. Ah, how convenient! The Metro was right in front of us and it would take us nearby that spot. So down we went and, using our watches, the gate opened, unlike the other day when we tried.

We got out at the Midi station (which is where we’ll need to be tomorrow to catch our train) and at that point the rain had subsided so we could easily walk. The area was clearly not as nice: lots of garbage around, so much run down, and I wondered if we should have checked about the safety of the area, but things I’d read said our next stop was not to be missed.

And then we arrived: it was the Cantillon Brewery & Museum. For a mere 8€ each we could take the self-guided tour. What fun it was! Now, for those of you not at all interested in beer, you might want to skip the next (very numerous) photos. But some may find it interesting.

First we did the tour:

Then we got a tasting of three beers. Very small pours, which was fine by us. And very tasty! The beers (“Lambic” beers) were quite interesting — the first seemed like a cider to me, the second a beer but different than anything I’ve had before, and the third, a raspberry flavor but not overwhelming and awful like the things we’ve had in the states. All were enjoyed, but sadly we couldn’t purchase anything as we have no room in our checked bags for such things.

On the way out I took photos of the bottled beers that I saw.

Then it was time to leave.

When we exited the building the weather was nice so we opted to walk back to lunch, figuring we’d eat somewhere near to the hotel.

We did fairly well, not spending too much or eating too much. That’s two days in a row. Award time.

We walked a bit more after lunch (and by that time the rain was back, but not a ton of it), saw another church as well as other things.

A bit more of a walk.

Then the “award” for our good behavior.

Back at the hotel we enjoyed our treats, and did blogging and reading. Research for dinner was also done by one of us because she likes to plan. We thought a Belgian meal might be the way to go for our final night here: I am not sure we will be able to return in our lifetime, so it just seemed right.

First, though, I packed up as much as I was able to pack. I want to have a very easy time of it when we wake far too early tomorrow morning. We have a 7:17 train to catch, which means a ride to the train station prior to that. Our train ride isn’t long, but it takes us to an airport where we catch our flight.

Then it was time for our whopping one minute walk to dinner. Our reservation was for 19:00, and we walked in the door at 19:00. For me that is just perfection! I had already decided I wanted moules-frites for dinner, but that didn’t stop me from thinking maybe I wanted chicken or fish instead. Thankfully Dan reminded me of what I said only an hour prior and yes, I had the mussels. First was the appetizer and pictured below is Dan’s meal as well. The mussels were quite yummy and now I have had my fill.

After dinner we went to a little shop for a short visit, and then back to the hotel. Dan has suggested a 5;15 wake up call. Works for me, the worrier that we will be late, so 5:15 it is!

Tomorrow night we will be in a different country. Tonight we will attempt sleep.

Goodnight!

Tuesday in Brussels

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So with no plans at all, we woke and sat around for a bit on our various devices before going in search of a light breakfast. (I still can’t quite wrap my head around the difference in a breakfast in Belgium and a breakfast in Spain or Portugal: it’s more than twice as much here — it’s more like the US.)

Um … did I say light breakfast? Oops.

But hey, we will just skip lunch. That will make up for the yummy breakfasts we had. Besides, it was 10:40 by the time we ate, so lunch wouldn’t be needed. Right?

After that we went to check out a few of the “must sees” we had on a list. I will end this group of photos with the first of those. We arrived at the fountain to find tour groups there, and when they left some people just had to get their photo taken with the little guy (Manneken-Pis) Funny the things that become tourist attractions, don’t you think?

Our walk continued. I saw another marker for a Camino. (From here to Santiago de Compostela is one very long Camino!)

Right after that we heard music. There was piano. There was saxophone. I’m not sure if the video will catch the music much but we’ll see after I post it!

And then it was … well duh! Look where we are! Heh.

We continued our walk until we reached Église Notre-Dame au Sablon (Church of Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon).

We went inside and of course I took a lot of photos.

From there we walked through Egmont Park and over to the Palace.

And then we saw a changing of the guard. (Posting more than you might care to see, but I won’t know you skipped some so you’re off the hook. Breathe easy! But darn, I can’t turn you in the the palace police!)

When we walked through the park across the street there were tons of students and most were sitting around eating, but some were filling out something in a little booklet. I suspect they were all out doing some sort of assignment. I’m just guessing, though. Maybe they were writing poetry. Maybe they were reporting on pesky tourists.


It was windy, and we both were hit hard by our allergies. (Later on I got a closer look at a tree in bloom and my guess is that was the culprit.)

The walk continued, and we reached a viewpoint right near what we believe to be a police headquarters or some such thing. We walked along the side of the building, thinking it would take us to the street. Nope. Dead end. I told Dan the people in the building probably get a laugh at all of us tourists thinking that goes out to the street and we all have to turn back, retracing our steps (the final photo in this collection).

We walked by a botanical garden, or so it seemed. Going inside though, I read something that said it was no longer a botanical garden, which had moved elsewhere, because of the damage due to so much construction in the area. (It did appear to be nearly surrounded by construction.)

I had seen a church in the distance so I suggested we walk there. As we walked we saw wasn’t in the most lovely part of town. There was more garbage, and it was just rather dirty. Arriving at the church we found it wasn’t even open. I suppose I should have looked it up before walking all that way!

At that point Dan set up his map so that we’d make it back to our hotel, and off we went.

No lunch, of course, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have frites and beer, right?

In addition we had been such good children all day long — no whining about the distance we’d walked, no saying, “Are we there yet?!” — we decided a treat was in order. Or maybe it’s just that we had had one kind of waffle in Bruges and we wondered what these ones (in the Brussels style) would be like. Obviously they were extremely nutritious because there is banana on them. For the record I did not order mine with cream, but some guy sitting across from me shared his.

We came back to our hotel room for a bit. I managed to blog and even get photos up. I still puzzle over the whole issue with photos: sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. I’m not sure if it’s a WordPress issue, a connection issue, or an iCloud issue. I’m sure that is incredibly interesting to all readers. Or maybe not.

We already had figured out where we’d eat dinner tonight, believe it or not. It wasn’t your typical Belgian dinner, but instead we went for Thai food. I’d seen a good review for this spot, and it was nice and close. When we got there it was easy to get a seat inside, so I’m sure it was meant to be! The food was good, and it was nice to have a change of flavors. And yes, I took a photo of my dish: I liked the elephants, and I wonder if the other part that looks like wrinkled skin is deliberate or just an old plate. It does look like elephant skin to me.

Back to our hotel we went. The crowds were certainly out at this point!

I still had three pieces of chocolate from yesterday’s purchase, so I shared with Dan and that sufficed for our dessert. Truth is, one piece of this rich chocolate is often all I can handle!

Tomorrow we very well may take a day trip somewhere. We have two options, and I think I know what we have chosen, but I’m not absolutely certain. Stay tuned!

Goodnight for now!

Off We Go (Again)!

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We are (soon to be were) staying in a place with no blackout curtains and, in fact, the room is incredibly bright in the morning because the white, rather cheap, blinds seem to bring in tons of light. I love light, but the light wakes us up earlier than we are currently used to. I think this hotel could use blackout drapes or they could put a curtain up between the sleeping area and the living area and all would be well. It’s not a huge issue, but I’m surprised they haven’t thought of that! I think they should hire me. My only requirement is that payment would be a week’s stay. That’s not asking too much, right?

But so our day began … earlier than usual, but that doesn’t mean we got dressed and went out earlier. Nothing is open, after all, so we couldn’t get any coffee aside from the coffee provided in our room. ​

While we waited to get out for our morning breakfast Dan worked on his computer (I’m assuming he was updating his journal) and I packed. I just like to be ready incredibly early, as you must know by now. I also did a few of my games (the Wordle steak continues, and I have a mini-streak with Connections). While all this was going on the dove’s cooing had an addition: somewhere close by construction is going on. Loudly. That’s one way to get us out of the room! Dan just had a few things to do (he doesn’t seem to want to go out in his pjs), and then out we went.

We went a different direction, away from the historic center, and had our breakfast in Antoine’s. Surely you know it. Or not. I had my cappuccino as well as carrot cake. Yes. Cake. Don’t judge. (Or is it too late to make that request?) We’ve noticed cake being served at breakfast while on this trip, but this was the first time I tried some. It wasn’t as sweet as our carrot cake at home, and it was quite good.

After breakfast we walked just a bit, investigating this new (to us) area. Nothing remarkable, but I always enjoy a walk.

Then back to our room so Dan could do his journaling — something I thought he was doing earlier. I was wrong — unbelievable, but true. Or maybe too believable. Hm?

Finally it was time to get to the train station. Not that our tickets are for a specific time. Our senior tickets apparently are for any time after 9:00, and if I understand correctly we could even go to our next destination and come back here for the same price as a one way ticket. The price for any senior ticket is 8.50€ which seems like quite the deal. (And did I already write about that? Oh probably ….)

We checked out of the hotel, thanked and said our goodbyes to the owner, and went to the metro station. Dan had done his research: we weren’t about to pay that over 30€ fee again! It was fairly easy to find our (underground) train, and we boarded. Due to Dan’s research we knew we could use our watches to pay. Or so he, and later I, read. We tried a number of times and couldn’t get the machine to read things. I tried my phone. Nope. So we just gave up and figured we’d explain our issue to the person who checks for tickets. That person never came. Whew! But honestly (I mean honestly!) we would have been happy to pay. Dan reread the instructions later on and we did follow them completely! (But maybe this makes up a little bit for the costly taxi ride?)

Reaching the train station we found out what track we needed to reach, and looked a bit for a possible lunch spot, but nothing appealed so we just waited by our track. It wasn’t a long wait in any case.

We got on our train and the ride (probably about forty minutes) went just fine. After we exited the tunnel at the station I noticed it was raining. Of course our weather apps said no rain today. I did see a few young men play the ticket-taker-avoidance game, but that was actually unnecessary: no one ever checked out tickets. A young woman came by at one point, leaving us a card in Dutch. We had the same thing happen on our way to Brugge although that time it was a young man. The card (run through the translation app) says they are from a different country and goes on a bit and of course they want money. Eventually they come back, waiting and hoping for money, and then they take the card back. Here in Belgium we do see people sitting down with signs asking for money, but aside from the two on the train I don’t recall anyone actually coming up to us. Oh … but I may have neglected to correct myself about earlier: I think I wrote that no one came up to us (but was it in Spain, Portugal, or both?) and should have updated that since later some people did get a bit more forward about asking for money. Sad times for so many.

I did take only a few shots before, during, and after the train ride. And yes, I still love trains!

And then we arrived at our final European destination.

Hello Brussels!

We decided we could handle the 1/2 mile walk to the hotel, so we made our way there. So much to see already!

We checked in, and since the room wasn’t ready we dropped off our packs and went to find lunch. We ended up on the Grand-Place, which is a major tourist spot, but of course it’s something one must see. When it began to sprinkle we decided we just had to get in to the nearest decent place and that’s just what we did. The man who seated us (perhaps the owner … he seemed like it) was very nice and quite funny. That seems to be the norm in this country. after lunch we walked some more.

Shorty after these photos we were walking but Dan stopped suddenly because a woman was taking a photo of her friend. Another couple — younger than us, but who isn’t? — ran up to join the photo as a joke. Then Dan pretended he was going to as well and the person taking the photo gestured (I don’t think she spoke English and I’m guessing she spoke a kind of Chinese) as if to say, “join them!” So we both did. I’m sorry, now, that I didn’t think to have her take a photo with my camera a well. Darn!

Just a bit more walking transpired and only a few photos were made.

When we got back to our hotel we could get into our room. It’s a fine room, and while there is noise outside it’s not at all bothersome in the room itself. Oh, and the amenities basket has four “vanity kits” this time. I’m trying not to read anything into that, but I’m vain enough to think it has something to do with me.

But let’s talk about showers, shall we? I can’t tell you how many showers I’ve used that leak water outside the shower on to the bathroom floor. It drives me bonkers. Yes, more bonkers than I already am. Really.

And yes, I took a shower and did a small amount of laundry. Dan napped. Later I continued with today’s entry. (And again we have a problem with loading photos. It’s odd since I do have a good connection at this hotel.) Dan showered. And did some laundry. He even used his little portable clothesline and hung things up in the shower.

That is how exciting we are.

Eventually we decided it was time to do the dinner hunt. We both had looked up restaurants online, but hadn’t decided what we wanted or where we’d land. I just knew I did not want fries again. So off we went. And we saw so many restaurants: Indian, Thai, Italian, French, and the doesn’t-quality-as-decent-food McDonald’s and KFC. Of course there were other places as well. Nothing, as I told Dan, was calling out, “Patty, Patty, Patty”, so we kept walking. (He’s a patient sort, I must admit!)

Finally, as we were heading back the way we came, I suggested going down a side street. There we did see a place that looked nice (and they had duck!) but I thought it was too expensive. Dan, being wise and all, reminded me that things were just going to cost more here. Belgium is most definitely not Portugal or Spain! So while we walked by the “duck place” we went right back and were taken inside to a table for two. Decision made.

My duck was different than I’m used to. It was between two layers of potato, and there was a sweet sauce around it. And wow … vegetables! I don’t think I’ve had broccoli on this trip before, nor cauliflower. What a treat! Dan had the seared ahi. Here they really cook it through a lot more than at home, but I tasted it and it was yummy. (I took two photos of Dan as well and it is so very odd but they have disappeared! I know I took them … I even showed them to Dan. It’s a mystery, but I guess no one will ever see them. Rats!)

Then, because one must do what one must do, we had to buy chocolate for dessert. From there the walk back to our hotel was quick.

As I type this I see Dan has devoured his. I ate on of mine (I have three left). I’m not sure if that means he won or I did. I’ll have to think on that.

And now it’s getting late and I’m tired. I’m not sure yet what tomorrow will bring, but you can bet I’ll write about it and post our adventures tomorrow night. I’m predictable that way.

Bonne nuit!

Goodbye Bruges

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We began our day with our 7:00 alarm because we were meeting up in Jan and Greg’s room for pastries and coffee (thanks, you two!). They needed to get on the road early, as they had a long drive ahead of them. We then said our goodbyes until next time (which happens to be this coming November, but not in either their neck of the woods — as in Heidelberg — or ours). I’m just so very glad we could meet up for this brief time!

We didn’t yet have our train scheduled, but it appeared easy to figure out (wish I’d investigated this prior to our Brussels to Bruges train because I think we paid quite a bit more than necessary … hindsight!). Dan was (I think) writing in his journal so, since I was packed once we brushed our teeth (I’m the carrier of the toothbrush and toothpaste: it’s a tough job, but I am willing to go the extra mile) I sat around a bit. Dan suggested I go out on a walk while he packed and that sounded like an excellent idea to me.

I went out our hotel door and, for the first time, turned left instead of right. Flowers were there, calling out to the camera, and then I continued on my way. Obviously we didn’t explore nearly anywhere close to the All of It in our area. Ah well. Too late now!

Dan met up with me while I was walking (we use “Find My” to locate each other — it’s very handy on trips like this!), and we walked only small bit more and then went back to the room so we could gather up everything and go to check out. Then we only had to wait for the cab.

The drive to the train station was uneventful, Dan paid the driver (who mentioned a tip, which is the first time we’ve been asked, I think), Dan paid said tip, and then into the station we went.

We had time to spare (very good for my stress level), so we bought lunch there, sat and ate that. Not bad for train station food!

When it was close to time went up to track #9. Shortly after the train arrived, and in we went. We are in second class (gasp!) and it is absolutely fine. I only took a few photos — train photos are just so meh. You’ll see a photo of my backpack between seats. I just wanted to show that and explain that the racks above are frequently incapable of holding our packs (or people’s roller luggage) and I was shown some time ago about putting them between seats. Just a little fyi.

We arrived at our new city …

Hello Antwerp!

Dan said he’d read about the train station: the trains tunnel in so they could keep the old station above. It’s very cool!

We called a cab, having decided we hadn’t quite figured out the tram. That was a costly mistake! For the short ride (but somewhat traffic-filled) we spent over 31€. Ouch! I commented on the expense and the driver (very nice man from Afghanistan — he told us he had worked for the US, British, and Belgians during the war and I’m betting he had no choice but to leave his country. Maybe Dan will clarify if I’m getting this wrong!) showed me the posted notice on the window and explained they raised the price because drivers had been (if I understood him correctly) kind of vying for rides and it was unpleasant. Or something like that. I didn’t tell him that paying 31€ for a short ride in a slow moving machine was unpleasant as well. What good would it do?

And then to our hotel. Or inn. Or whatever this is called. Our room is huge. And nearly everything is just out in the open — the tub, the shower, and it has a mini-kitchen (as if we’d cook). Thankfully the toilet has a solid door. Call me old and boring, but I prefer to have more privacy. I had written to the place when I was figuring out where to stay because the best room, on the top floor, clearly had a toilet that was fully visible by anyone else in the room. No thanks!

We ate our little chocolates that were on our bed — hooray, marzipan! — sat around a bit, and eventually decided it was time to explore. We are just outside the old part of the city and, in fact, Dan says this is the fashion district. I do hope they don’t kick us out! We walked outside and … yikes is it warm here! I’m a fan of upper 50°s and 60°s. But 77°? No thanks! Alas, I will have to cope.

There are some astounding buildings, and the most so is the church near the square, the Cathedral of our Lady. It’s nearly impossible to get a photo it’s so tall. We haven’t gone inside yet, but I’m thinking that might happen tomorrow. We continued our walk until we decided a snack was in order.

From there we ambled our way back to our room. It’s going to take me some time to adjust to this heat, I think.

We took a rest in our room, and eventually decided we should get dinner. In all honesty I could have skipped dinner after our snack, but I know I’m odd that way. As we left the hotel I noticed a man going out was carrying an umbrella. Really?! Well, turns out there actually was a chance of rain, the weather had cooled slightly, and it was pretty comfortable outside.

Now there are so very many places to eat, but us being us, we really couldn’t figure out where to go. Being in the tourist section so much is overpriced, and other things are rated poorly. Eventually we just decided to go to a burger place called Manhattn (yes, really), and have chicken burgers. Believe it or not I’ve had so many fries I opted for the cole slaw instead! I’m hoping that tomorrow we choose something a little more interesting, but I think a train ride and a cab ride and just being a bit out of it meant we had little energy to really get creative or adventurous.

Back to the hotel we went. You can barely notice the door to this place, and yes, there are stairs, but there is also an elevator. We are superior in case you are wondering. (Deluxe costs more.) I like being superior in my humble sort of way. The last photo below is looking down from our floor. Just because.

It’s now only a bit after 21:00, and as I’m rather full I’ll have to try and stay up longer or I’ll not sleep well at all. I’ll sign off here, though.

Goodnight!

Thursday in Bruges

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(Note: slow internet may mean some photos aren’t working at this point. I will try to fix things when the connection is better.)

Once we got moving (long after Greg had already gone out and investigated) we went to find breakfast. Not much was alive at this time of day, on a holiday in Bruges. It’s Ascension Day, and later today there would be the Heilig Bloedprocessie or Procession of the Holy Blood. Many places were closed, and they were setting up a huge stands in the market square and putting up barricades for the whole route. But we walked, found the place Greg had seen earlier, and bought our pastries and coffees. Goodbye low prices. Belgium is not cheap! But the pastries were delicious, and our server was quite delightful, very friendly and ready to joke around with us. No food photos below, but just some from our walk and yes, there is a Tupperware store here.

Then we walked. And walked. It wasn’t a sunny day in Bruges and, eventually, it was misty enough that one might call it rain. My glasses certainly thought so, and I neglected to wear a raincoat or hat, nor did I bring my umbrella. Ah well. At least it wasn’t freezing.

One thing you have to learn in each city is whether a pedestrian has a right of way or a vehicle. Here it appears the vehicles do, so one has to be a bit careful when out walking.

We did find a special little spot for the boys. (HAH!)

Someone had written that the church where we saw this (St. Anne’s) was the “strangest in the city”. Hm. We couldn’t enter so if it was about the inside we didn’t see it, but maybe it was because of the “facilities” for the men attached to it? Dunno!

More walking …

We finally thought it was getting wet enough that we wanted to find a lunch spot. After wandering through extremely tourist centered places we got to a place Greg had remembered from earlier (maybe yesterday?) and it was really nice inside, warm, and the food was tasty, although there was much to much of it and they made it clear on the menu that there was no sharing! Still, it was good to be inside, we finally got some nice photos of each other, and it was a relaxing, though rather expensive, time. When we went to pay I suggested we put it on two cards, splitting it in half, and the guy we were going to pay said, “No splitting. Welcome to Belgium!” I couldn’t tell if he was being blunt or funny, but it was clear that we are in a different country and the thought of splitting or sharing was now out of the question. At least in some places. I am having to readjust due to the expense of it all. And to think we go from this to New York, where it will, most likely, cost even more! I think I’d rather move in the opposite directions so I wonder if I need to think of that when planning the next trip. Hmmm.

We went back to the hotel for a bit of a rest, and since it had been cleaned I could grab a photo or two of our room.

Then it was out to see if we could catch some of Heilig Bloedprocessie. And, indeed, we could. From start to finish, in fact. It is a fairly amazing thing to see, and you can read about it, if you are interested. It begins with police, but soon moves to various Biblical events, starting with Adam and Eve, and ending with the resurrection. Eventually it moves to other things, including various dignitaries and priests and more. It is a fascinating thing to watch, and the number of people, instrumentalists, animals, costumes … well, let’s just say I was rather amazed. I took gobs of photos and videos.

I could add more, but I suppose that’s enough for now.

We decided to go back to our rooms to freshen up for a very brief moment. Since the room had been cleaned I finally remember to grab a few photos.

Soon it was to to go to dinner. We’d been warned that this particular day could mean difficulty in finding a spot to eat so I had made reservations a few days ago at a place called Breydel DeConinc. What a wonderful meal it was! I would say I ate too much but that’s getting boring so I won’t tell you I ate too much even though I did. You’re welcome.

Taking a small bit of time we looked at the nearby square.

Shortly after the detour, we walked back to the hotel, and enjoyed some wine at Jan and Greg’s premier room. (Ours is simply too plain, small, and humbling so we dare not offer to serve glasses here. 😉 ) I mean REALLY … this room …

I’m not sure what’s up for tomorrow. A canal boat ride? Some churches? Something else? Who knows? This is a fun city just to roam in, so that works too.

Bonne nuit!

Final Full Day in Bilbao

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We woke at our rather typical late time. It’s so funny, because Dan simply can’t sleep in at home (I can) but here? No problem! He did a bit of laundry and I contemplated my luggage: aside from two very small items I purchased there is nothing new, yet the bag is more packed than ever. I think I need to take everything out and redo it all before our flight tomorrow.

Yes. Flight. Stay tuned for our next, and final, European destination!

Once Dan was done with laundry and all we went out to get breakfast. (I wonder if I’ll feel the need for breakfast when we get back home: I really prefer to wait and eat after my walk, but is this becoming a habit?)

Breakfast was in the same place as yesterday. We found it, but only after Dan got 45 degrees off and I came to the rescue. I get a bit gleeful when Mr. Direction gets off and I figure things out! No chocolate croissant this time, but this other delight, full of butter. Not just plain old butter, as it turned out, but very, very sweet butter. Oh … and this little bird was there, as it was yesterday. Maybe a resident? (Sure, might be a different bird, but I prefer to think this is its home.)

Back to our hotel, we then packed up our cameras and readied ourselves to walk to the not-the-Getty, or “Gettyheim”, or maybe (could it be?!), the Guggenheim. (And don’t laugh, but I wanted to type Gettysburg at first. Okay. Go ahead. Laugh!)

We had an hour before out 11:30 entrance, so we didn’t exactly hurry over, and we did take some photos. The first thing we encountered were these bikes and I just think this is lovely. (Well, except some goof got her finger in the first photo!)

And the more photos … that tube like think takes you down to the Metro, I think. (We’ve not used it, but what else would it be?)

This building intrigued us and I would love to know more about it:

And more walking which did take us to the Guggenheim.

The above is for you, Lisa! 🤣

Mostly, for the interior, I’ll let photos tell the story. In the past I’ve not shared photos of artwork, as it never does it justice, but since many might not get to Bilbao, I will do so this time. I did limit myself, though, so there aren’t a zillion photos.

I really am now a fan of Helen Frankenthaler and I’m embarrassed to admit I’d not heard of her before.

Next up was the Richard Serra The Matter Of Time installation. The first one you go through is a rather lengthy bit of traveling yet when you reach the center it’s a large space. Nearly everyone I saw enter after I reached the center had a smile of surprise — it was fun to see. Others were tighter spaces all the way through, and I thought it was not only about the structures, but about the comfort or discomfort of passing by other people. Light and shadow were also fascinating.

Maybe all of that isn’t as interesting if you haven’t experienced them live and in person … I wonder! There was also a room with photos of other installations and … wait!? … on in the Bronx? It just looked like something in the street, but now I’m curious.

Okay, I’ll stop with those now (although there was another image and the info said that it was destroyed by the US government which I wondered about.)

Then we moved on to another installation. I sat down and watched. Eventually Dan went behind it and, as it turned out, he started a new trend. No one knew you could do that! (Later, when we saw it again, no one was behind it any longer. I don’t think people realize you can do that. They need a Dan to help them out!)

From there it was time for lunch. Museum lunch. That means it’s not cheap, but we did manage to avoid the more costly restaurant there and instead did the bistro. (They have a very expensive restaurant on the outside of the museum as well. Think we’ll skip that, too!)

Back out for more …

Rooms with art by Tarsila Do Amaral:

Then a Sol Lewitt which always makes me think of our daughter-in-law Lia Lowenthal, a fine artist herself, and do check out her jewelry.

Now not all art appeals to everyone, and we did enter a pop art room that just wasn’t something that grabbed me. But hey, I don’t like the Franck d minor either, so whatever. Maybe I’m clueless!

The next exhibit was a 1 minute light show in a small room.

But now I’ll just post the small remainder of what I shot inside.

Yep, that was it. We also went outside at just the moment some fog or some such thing was billowing out from underneath the sidewalk. Shortly after it stopped. I didn’t see any write-up about it, though, so I’m not sure what it was about and I’m too lazy to google it at the moment.

Side note: google … what a funny thing that it has become a verb. I just think of, “Barney Google, with his goo goo googly eyes.” I suppose I’m showing my age to some but, trust me, that song is much older than old me!

After 5 1/2 hours at the not-the-Getty, aka the Guggenheim, we then walked back to our hotel.

And a fun thing to see —

When we got back to our hotel we didn’t nap, but we relaxed and started our writing. Meanwhile, beneath us, it sounds like a saxophonist is practicing. Poorly. Some buskers are pretty good. This one? Nope. Nope. Nope. It’s rather painful, to be honest. But at least I can recognize most of the tunes. Sort of. Maybe. And to think they made the bassoonist leave. It’s not fair!

Finally … dinner! We went first to the breakfast spot and had some pintxos there. A nice place, friendly people who put up with our attempts at Spanish, and good food.

Then, to do things the proper Spanish pintxos way, we went to another place to finish up. Another big yum! Dan has been so cooperative with my photo taking and I’m grateful. Notice his exciting 0.0% beer. Again. He’s being a very good boy.

Then back to our hotel we went. (Okay, truth be told another gelato was enjoyed, but I’m not going to tell you that. Got it?)

I leave you with a goodnight photo from our little balcony.

Or make that two:

Adios!