It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I assure any readers (are there any readers?!) that I have been busy with some plans. In addition I’ve been doing my daily walks (Sunday being my day of rest so I rarely walk then), and most of my walks are with my sister, which is a real joy. I’m blessed to have her so nearby. Never did I think I wanted to walk with someone else, but she and I seem to be a pretty good team!
I’m also trying to get my oboe playing “chops” back in gear. I took a hard fall a week ago, but I finally attempted to play yesterday and I’m able to do that with no issues, aside from sounding awful because I’m out of shape. (Side note: NEVER pull out your phone to read and continue walking. Uneven sidewalks can be a very dangerous thing!) But I must get my playing back in gear since I really do have to work this coming season. (Is it horrible of me to say I was sort of hoping I could not play so I could claim disability? Yeah, that’s probably not a good thing to say. So never mind that.)
But here’s a bit of travel news:
We have a wedding to attend in September. Initially we thought we’d also incorporate a visit to the east coast for fall colors but, alas, we decided money wasn’t there for such a trip. We are blessed to be able to take the trips we do, and I work hard at not being envious of those with the finances to do more — we can do SO much more than many of the people I know. NO complaining from me allowed! But the fall colors trip was tabled. So it’s a weekend wedding in Vermont and a short visit to Boston — a place we’ve not been yet and figured we’d see since we have to pay for flights back east anyway.
We also have a Chicago trip planned because my “Germany brother and sister-in-law” Greg and Jan (to distinguish between them and my “Brooklyn brother and sister-in-law” Timothy and Margaret) are going to be there and when Greg suggested a meet up there was no way I was going to say no!
And, finally, we are going to do another walk! This time it will be a Cotswold walk, and Greg and Jan are joining us. That trip will involve more planning, and I’ve yet to figure it all out, but since it is not until the spring of 2026 I have a lot of time to get that one figured out. Some things are already on the calendar (and partially paid for with no refunds allowed … eek!). We opted to go with a company for the walk, just as we did for the Great Glen Way in Scotland and the Douro walk in Portugal. I think, though, that I should maybe get my act together and schedule the next walk on my own, should there be one. I’m sure I could manage now that I see how all that works, and I know it would save money. At least I think it would.
All that being said, I also know plans can change. I make these plans realizing that they may not happen: life can be altered in a blink of an eye. God willing, we will travel more. I know, though, that nothing is guaranteed. I truly believe what I’ve often said and repeat to myself a lot, “God is good, but life is hard. These two things I know.”
Okay. Enough of me. Over ’n out.
Have a photo for managing to survive reading my ramble:
I finally got around to getting all my photos, both from the Fuji and from the iPhone, on to Lightroom. There was one photo in particular that I really wanted to see. I just posted it at my photography site, and I will share it here as well. That’s how happy I am with it!
As They Say, “The Best Camera …”
… is the one you have with you.”
Or something like that, anyway. (And yes, I know many would argue with that, but just let me run with it for now.)
When Dan and I were in Ghent we visited “Graffiti Street”. It really was as colorful as you might expect, and quite fun to see. As we were walking through a cyclist suddenly came toward us. I had my iPhone in hand — but it wasn’t open at the moment — and I quickly hit the little camera icon that appears at the bottom right of it. I had to work so quickly I got all of one shot in, not knowing if it would work at all.
May I saw that it worked?! I think so, in any case.
Dan is usually the one to catch stuff like this. But it was my turn. And I’m rather proud of myself (in the most humble of ways, of course.)
After packing was complete, Dan went to buy a couple of croissants. We both wanted almond croissants, but quality control must have been missing this time: one looked lovely, with powdered sugar on top and one was browner than it should have been, which no powdered sugar at all. Strange. I ate the latter one, but actually couldn’t finish. Not because it wasn’t any good, but these things are just so huge! We finished up breakfast, spent some time on the 27th floor since we had a lot of time, and eventually wound up back in our room where I checked out of the hotel.
Downstairs we simply hand in our keys and that’s that. This hotel seems to prefer no hands on: you can check in on a kiosk (although I couldn’t figure that out when we arrived) and you check out online. No personal touches there if they can avoid it!
Dan called a car and we waited outside for its arrival.
It is not inexpensive to get a car to Newark, but we simply didn’t want to deal with the train this time. It did take a while to get to the airport, but checking our luggage was as speedy as can be, as was security. So to the lounge we went. We both had second breakfast (I was sort of craving eggs). And then a lot of hanging out since we had over two hours before we would board the plane.
OH … and when we were walking through the airport we could see if was absolutely pouring outside. I don’t know what it’s like in New York now, but we did notice it got terrifically dark in New Jersey.
And speaking of NJ: as we drove to the airport the billboards were nearly all about personal injury attorneys, and there were lots of “injured in New Jersey?” mentions. Hm. I guess people are likely to get injured in New Jersey? One wonders.
Okay … we are now home … nothing much of importance happened on the plane aside from horrible food and service from United. They need to up their game or we need to switch airlines. We shall see.
When we picked up our backpacks mine had been opened and they sent along an explanation. TSA selected my bag for inspection. Fine. They didn’t take the chocolate so I won’t complain!
Now, my cold is in full swing and I’m thinking it is more than a cold so I’m going to bed to recover. At least it waited until the end of the trip.
I’ll try and write more tomorrow if I find the energy. Thanks to all who followed along!
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.
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.
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.
We woke this morning and after getting ready, leaving our tip for housekeeping, and going down the elevator, we reached the hotel doors, they opened and — oops! — rain! So back up we went to get our rain jackets. Then back to the elevator.
Oh but WAIT! I’ve yet to report on our elevator. The first time I entered it I nearly walked into myself! The back wall is like an extremely clean mirror, but rather golden. (Hey, that means I’m a golden girl, I suppose. Hm. Okay, not as funny as it should be, but oh well.) Dan nearly walked into himself this morning. Funny!
We then walked the little jaunt to the train station. It’s much quicker when you only have a daypack rather than a daypack and a backpack. Nice!
We bought our senior citizen round-trip-even-if-you-don’t-need-that tickets for 8.50€ (we do actually need the round trip today) and boarded the train on spoor (track) 2 once it arrived (it was about ten minutes late, but who’s complaining?). The ride wasn’t terrifically long and only had one stop before our final destination.
So then we arrived.
Hello Gent! Or Ghent.!Or Gand! (You choose which language you prefer — it was even Gaundin English in the past, or so I’ve read.)
Once again we marveled at the bikes. (If you recall, I took a photo from the train when we passed through Gent (or Ghent, or Gand, or even Gaund … and I promise to stop my silliness now) on our way to Brussels. Well, this time we could really get close.
I always look forward to seeing what the train stations look like.
When we got outside the station (where there was not a drop of rain to be felt!) what did we see? More bikes. And more, and more. I think I saw more bikes here than I did in Amsterdam, but that could be because it was raining so much there I didn’t really look around to see where they were keeping them. Who knows?
We had about a twenty-five minute walk to the older part of town. Again, easy-peasy with no backpacks.
Then it was just a bunch of walking around, and eventually finding a place for a bite. As is the norm, we wandered quite a bit to find that perfect lunch. Looking for high quality, not too many people, but not barren because that would mean it wasn’t good. Not too expensive, but cheap would mean, well, cheap. We really do laugh at ourselves when we are doing the food search thing! We actually managed to find a spot, though, and also managed to keep the cost down with our lunch this time. (Thus, a reward will later be found.) Mind you, it wasn’t an epicurean delight, but it was just fine.
After lunch we walked …
… until we reached to St. Bavo’s Cathedral.
From there we ambled over to Graffiti Street. (I apologize if there are any offensive words or images … I may have missed something! I do try to avoid certain things.)
Then over to Gentse Sint-Niklaaskerk (St. Nicholas Church) where, sadly, the Calvinists of earlier time had a way with things and destroyed a lot. I’ve seen that at other places as well. Hurts my heart to think of what “we” did. We did a bit of photography but it looked like a small group of people were worshiping, so we didn’t do much. There was no priest, and it appeared to be led by two elderly women. I’m not sure if it was a scheduled service (doubtful) or just that a group of people came and wanted to do what they were doing. In any case, we didn’t stay long.
Then we walked to Sint-Michielskerk (Saint Michael’s Church). It was in the midst of some major renovations, but still they were allowing people in. (Most work so far appeared to be on the outside.) There was a recording of what I can only assume were nuns singing and oh my did that monophonic music get monotonous … but it’s “sticky”: I had it in my head for nearly our entire walk back to the train station!
At that point we decided it was time to go back to Brussels.
We got to our spoor (spoor 10 if you are curious but then it was spoor 10 even if you aren’t curious) and the train was right there waiting for us. We had a very uneventful ride, although the man across from us had his bare feet on the seat in front of him which I found a bit odd, and the young woman sitting across from us asked me to watch her pack as she left for a few minutes which I thought risky on her part, but I suppose two older people looked like grandparents to her and what grandparents could be dishonest and steal anything?!
Back to Brussels.
Back to our room …
WAIT?! What about that treat we deserved for spending less and eating less for lunch? So yes, we dropped by a chocolate shop and bought our treats. But our treats only came to 6€ so I think we were still being pretty good … for us, at least. The family purchasing a big bag of things right before us spent 124.25€ on their treats. (I actually suspect they were gifts they were taking home with them.) I’d share a photo of our chocolate treats but we ate them and I only thought about the photo after the fact.
Then it was blogging and catch up with email time.
Next up? Dinner time. No worries this time! I looked up places nearby, we chose an Italian restaurant, and we were there after a whopping 20 minute or so walk. Our dinners were yummy. I only remembered to take photos after we began eating and pasta is not terrifically photogenic, but so be it.
So that’s that. We are back in our room, I’ve uploaded photos and videos, and it’s early — only 21:40. Too early to try to sleep after all that food, so I guess I’ll play a few games or do a jigsaw puzzle. But for now I wish you all a very good night (even though for most readers I suspect it’s not yet quite that time).
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!
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.
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.
