Prelogue - Basingstoke's trip report, Paris, Brugge, and beyond.
 

Just back last night from 40th anniversary trip with Mi Chica to Paris, Brugge, Antwerp, Haarlem and environs.

April 29th found us chilling out at JFK waiting to board our on time flight. Why JFK for a pair of Marylanders? Put that down to FF availability. People around us in the waiting area are speaking French and I even understand a few words. A good sign!

We pull away from the gate on schedule but are #21 on line to take off and I face my first crisis of decision. Do I take my ambien now or wait until dinner. I tried one the week before and it seemed to work. Always a man of compromise, I decide to take it with the beverage service.

I am told that dinner was chicken and rice. I am told that I ate it. I am told that I thought it was good. My ambien night passes quickly. Mi Chica who is keeps her body pure and does not approve of sleeping help wakes me over the English Channel and I write these notes.

An RER transfer and quick metro ride and we easily find our vacioninparis apartment building. It is apartment #176 at 95 Rue Sebastopol just steps (88, I counted them) from the Reumur Sebastopol station. The code works and we are in, happily noting the soon to be visited Monoprix in the same building. Is that convenient or what? The neighborhood looks ok and actually a bit better than I expected. Up to the sixth floor and we guess at which may be the apartment since the number was not in sight. The key fits! thus no embarassing encounter with a neighbor wondering who is fiddling with his door. We enter.

The apartment looks pretty much like the pictures. A small studio about 24'X 12' in size and clean. It has a usable kitchen, small table with 2 mismatched chairs but nice dishes and utensils including a cork screw for our welcoming bottle of wine as advertised. The bathroom is of decent size with a shower THAT HAS A DOOR. My fondest hope realized. The bed is comfortable. There are only 2 sets of towels to last 5 nights. Using the included washing machine for the towels will not be practical because there is no dryer. VacationinParis told us this in advance so we were prepared. Did we bring our own towels? You bet. Were they bulky? No. We had bought a couple of microfleece towels at the auto department at Target. Much cheaper than the ones in the camping stores, light, not bulky, and they dry very quickly. All in all, the apartment is comfortable and a great value at what had become 64 Euro per night due to the declining dollar since VinP is paid in dollars in advance. Did I mention that the apartment also had wi-fi and free local and north american phone service?

The weather is pretty cool with on and off rain but now it is nice. The first thing we want to do is find the Montorgueil Market. It is only 4 very short blocks away (under 500 steps, I counted 'em)and we love this place. Looking for a light lunch we browse the market noting the location of Stohrer's for later bread and pastry indulgence. There are lots of food shops of every kind, restaurants, cafes, etc. We notice a small place that seems popular with a 7-9 euro buffet with lots of salads that perfectly suit Mi almost vegetarian Chica. She has a vegetable soup and nice salad. I have a bowl of a lovely pea soup and salad. Everything was fresh and excellent. Total expenditure, 14 Euro for lunch, not too bad.

Off we go exploring.
Next, 5 days in Paris starting off freezing, ending up frying.

Looking forward to the rest, basingstoke2.

Anselm

Great start...looking forward to the rest!

A word of explanation. During my active duty years, I had the opportunity to fly on Air Force and Navy flights on a space available basis and take my immediate family members with me. Mi Chica did not care for the uncertainty of space A so I used the system to take my kids on individual trips to Europe. Thus, I had been to Paris a number of times
but for her, it was her second time since our honeymoon in '68.

We started with an introductory Paris walk on our first day. It was cold but the rains were holding off for awhile. Down Blvd Sebastopol toward Notre Dame and an exploration of the cathedral its environs. That was enough for a first day and we metroed back to our apartment and hit the market for some dinner goodies.

We were a bit concerned about the next day - May 1. Would things be open? May 1 dawned and I made my first early morning walk to the Montorgueil market for our morning croissants from Stohrers. We also tried other croissants from other nearby places. All were far better than what is available at home but those from Stohrers were exceptional. That morning croissant run became the highlight of myh Paris stay - getting there as the market came to life is a feeling that can't easily be described.

No problem on Mayday. Everything we were interested in was open since we had not planned on museums for that day anyway. We walked, walked , and walked some more all through the Marais. Bus up the Champs Elysees , walk to the Eiffel Tower in a cold rain and bus half way back getting off near the Louvre and walking from there to our vegetarian find restaurant. More about that later.

Next - you want veggies? We got veggies. A vegetarian's dream.

We had planned to use our Vedettes du Pont-Neuf tickets pre-purchased at a good discount over the internet early in our stay but the cool blustery weather was just not quite right although periods of sunshine gave promise of things to come.

The end of our second day set us off in search of Les Cinq Saveurs d' Amada, a vegetarian restaurant about which we heard some good things. It was quite an uphill hike on Rue Cardinal-Lemone to #72 that turned out to be very near Rue Mouffetard. The hike was most worthwhile. On the way I spotted a fruit at a stand that looked very much like one that I had enjoyed in the middle-east called shesik. The shop keeper called it what sounded like "neffel." We bought a half kilo with great anticiipation, however although good, they were not shesik.

Les Cinq Saveurs d' Amada is not a 100% vegetarian place since there are a few items from the sea on the menu. On the whole though, they specialize in vegetarian and vegan dishes and they are wonderful. I had the setan dish that came with mounds of other vegetarian items and Mi Chica had similar but with tempeh. We shared and both dishes were full of flavor, fresh, used quality ingredients and were plentiful in quantity. The restaurant itself is simple, bright and cheery. Service was quick and friendly. There were several families eating there. All in all, one of the finer vegetarian restaurants I have been to. The bill including tea came to about 30 euro for both. We can heartily recommend this place for the vegetarians out there.

Afterwards, a stroll to see the evening pleasures of a lively Rue Mouffetard and a walk down to and along Blvd St. Germain until our feet hollered "no more."
Metro home - with an apartment we quickly came to call it home- to try some of that wine that came with the apartment (a nice Cotes du Rhone) and some pastry bought earlier in the day from Stohrer.

Next - you are my sunshine

The sun has finally come out and we anticipate our first warm day. Our plan had been to go to Giverny on the first nice day - a trip that had been a dream for years.

Following is a previous post about our experience getting to Giverny that I had sent from Paris.


<After a picnic lunch, I wrote some notes for this post sitting in the Jardin du Luxembourg. We are facing the fountain in the pool. The Eiffel Tower is in the background and the
Senat is to our right. Everything is in full bloom-the fragrance is intoxicating, a feast for the senses.

This, our third day in Paris has been the first with really nice weather since we arrived. Until now it has rained each day with cold winds, yet every so often, a short period of sunshine to tease us with a promise of things to come.

This morning began on a bad omen. Our original plan was to go to Giverny on the first nice day, so off we went to Gare S. Lazare. There was quite a line at the ticket window so we split up - Mi Chica to wait on line and me to try my luck with the ticketing machine. She reached the window at the exact moment I inserted my credit card. Not needing 4 tickets today, I waved her over and as she reached my side it was just in time to see the dreaded can't read card notice. That is when I learned that the ticket machines will not take a magnetic strip card. Bummer! (do folks still say that?) No
Giverny for us today.

We decided to learn this lesson and headed over to Gare du Nord to pick up our pre-paid tickets to Brugge now instead of waiting for early Monday morning when we leave. While at the Gare, we picked up tickets for a Saturday Giverny trip so all is well that ends well.We even saved 8 Euro on the Saturday ticket.>

To continue anew - I have always felt that things happen for the best and our misadventure on our original try for Giverny fits that thought. Saturday's weather was even better than Friday's. The trip was quick and easy and the gardens were even more than I had hoped for. Being able to stand at the places where Monet had painted and recognize the scenes was a special thrill. This place is one that should not be missed. We left on a high that would last for days.

On Sunday after a delightful morning at the Musee d'Orsey we visited Rue Cler to see what the fuss is all about and compare it to Rue Montorgueil. I was surprised to find it pretty much a dead zone - nothing much was open other than restaurants. Rue Montorgueil on the other had was quite lively with a number of places open. We had our last dinner in Paris at the Cafe Montorgueil and it was a fitting end to this part of our trip. I had a terrific duck dish and Mi Chica had the restaurants special salad that was a mix of salad greens, roasted veggies and a type of sliced meat that was similar to prosciutto that she passed onto my plate. I highly recommend this cafe. Total cost about 30 Euro. Monday, off to Brugge.

Question: What takes longer - JFK to CDG or Paris to Brugge?

Enjoying your report. On the vacationinparis website, is it the Louvre Loft?

No, it is "Cozy Right Bank." The apartment is on the top floor and catches the morning sun. It is quite bright. I wonder if it may be too hot in the summer though. With the windows closed it is quiet, but if they are open, well, Blvd Sebastopol is pretty busy. Still, at the price it is a great deal and we were comfortable there. The building is a nice one and convenient.

basing,

I meant Cozy Right Bank. Don't know why I wrote Louvre Loft. I do know how to read LOL! It looks nice.

Looking forward to the rest!

So, what takes longer, JFK to CDG or Paris to Brugge? Going by our experience, it was Paris to Brugge.

We bought our tickets over the internet through the Thaly site although it was a SNCF train, specifying a change in Lille. The price was right and the time was to be about 21/2 hours. The catch was a six minute window to change trains in Lille. I questioned that short time to change trains when we picked up our tickets at the station in Paris on the Friday before our Monday departure. I was assured that 6 minutes was more than enough time to make the change at Lille. I did not really believe that, but hey, those are the people who are supposed to know these things. I should not have listened.

We were in plenty of time for our 7:58 departure and the train left on time. BTW, it was a very comfortable train as many trains in France are. We were speeding along just fine when the train slowed down not far from Lille, creeping into the station nearly 15 minutes late. Needless to say, our connection had left. The kind young lady at the ticket window explained that since it was Monday, the fast train that would have been at 10 AM did not run, but there was a another train about a 1/2 hour after that and we were re-routed. The train we were now to take required another change. We walked around, saw some of Lille that was near the station, returned and awaited our track number to be posted. About 20 minutes before the train was to depart it was posted as track 11 so there we went. The train was already there and we boarded. I do not know what track our original connection was to be, but if was anywhere near track 11, six minutes would not have been enough even if our train from Paris had been on time. The train left at about its appointed time, actually a couple of minutes late according to my watch. Our car was mostly empty. My first indication that something was amiss was when we arrived at our first station and it wasn't the station that I expected. I found the conductor and he confirmed that we (and as it turned out some others) were on the wrong train. Not to worry, just get off the train at the next station and wait for one back to Lille. He wrote a nice note on our ticket to explain the situation to our next conductor. We hung around the next station for quite awhile, took the next train to Lille and hours after leaving Lille were back. We had plenty of time for lunch in Lille before our direct train to Brugge arriving after 3PM.

The good part of this? We saw a bit of Lille and met a very nice couple from Canada on the Lille - Brugge leg of the journey that we obviously would not have met otherwise. Other couple if you are fodorites and out there - we enjoyed your company on the train and when we ran into you again in Brugge.

Lesson learned - trust your gut when it comes to connection times.

Thanks for sharing your mis-adventure at Lille. This confirms my desire to book Paris-Brugge on Thalys via Brussels despite it may be more expensive.

Very much enjoying the first portion of this and looking forward to relaxing with it (and a nice glass of wine) later today.

Brugge, Bruges, depends who you talk to. I will use Brugge out of respect for fodorite jeepeegee. More about that later when we get to Antwerp.

We arrive in Brugge and after Mi Chica consulting her Garmin Nuvi for the best route to our B&B, I lose patience and make the executive decision to split a taxi with our new Canadian friends. We are delivered to the Burg and find our way to our respective residences using the Garmin for directions. More about the Garmin in another post but it took about 20 minutes and a lap of the neighborhood to get to Lut and Bruno Setola's B&B. We found later that it would be less than a five minute walk from that point.

I had some trepidation about this choice of B&Bs. See the Trip Advisor reviews and you will understand. No place can be that good. But, it was!! A beautiful home on a quiet street with some lovely stained glass, large, spotless and comfortable room with beamed ceiling, ensuite bath and vivacious, gracious hostess, all for 65 Euro including what turned out to be a varied and fine breakfast.

Lut Setola runs a great 3 bedroom B&B and I can't think of anything negative about it. Well, maybe two things. The rooms are all on the top floor so that means 3 flights of stairs, but that was no problem for our senior bones conditioned by hours of daily walking in Paris. Also, breakfast is served directly outside the rooms, so if you are the type that sleeps in and some quiet conversation outside your door disturbs you, you may be annoyed. Again, that was no problem for us. There were two friendly young couples from Australia in the other rooms.

The B&B's rooms are the Red Room, Lilac Room and Orange Room. All are of good size and the Orange Room has a loft that is perfect for two kids. We were in the Red Room and it was bright and cheery. Men beware! The Red Room's bath has a beam that is placed in a way that shall we say requires a postural change when using the necessary in a standing position.

We took an exploratory walk around the environs, stopped at a cafe near the fish market for a dinner that other than its price was less than memorable and continued on my picture taking spree. I was amazed that my new for the trip Panasonic FZ18 was still working since I had dropped it to the pavement with lens extended on the way to Montmarte in Paris, slightly denting the lens housing. Other than now not being able to screw in filters and such, all still functioned as new. Returning to the Grote Markt we took in the night scene and headed back to the Red Room to recover.

Next: THE place to eat in Brugge and a homemaking find.

bookmarking

Thanks for taking the time to post, I am enjoying your travels!
Brugge is on my horizon for next year. lynda

First, I must say that Lut Setola sets a fine breakfast table at her B&B. Fresh squeezed orange juice, fruit, yogurts, breads, croissants, meat, cheese, jams - you get the picture. Unique also at this B&B is a self service refrigerator with bottles of water @ .60 euro and a variety of beers including cerise (yum) and dark (also yum) as well as sodas at 1 euro all on the honor system. There is also a basket of fruit for the guests - no charge as well as a jar of candy.

Drum roll please. Our best meal in Brugge was not in a restaurant but a picnic. Den Gouden Karpel (Golden Carp) is one of Brugge's finest restaurants with prices to match. It is located in the little square behind the Vismarkt(fishmarket). However, in the Vismarkt square itself is a small take out shop also called Den Gouden Karpel so I would think there is a connection with the restaurant. The take out had prepared picnic containers filled with a nice sized portion of baked salmon, herring, tiny shrimp, tiny potatoes and veggies with mayo on the side. The young lady in the shop directed us to a nearby park and on the way we picked up a couple of beers at a grocery. We found a bench in the park and had an absolutely delicious alfresco picnic (yes I know that is redundant) made even tastier by the only 5 euro price per meal.

Wandering a bit out of the tourist areas we came across a fabric shop and in the window was just the fabric we had been searching for for our living room window treatment. Our living room furniture is Victorian, inherited from my grandparents. It was old when they bought it about 1922. This was just the right fabric for this style. The price was good and calculating whether or not we could fit 6 meters of it in our suitcase we determined that it would be possible, so now we have the perfect valances. Aah, the serindipity of travel.

Later that evening, we walked out to the Windmills and ran into the couple from Canada that we met on the train to Brugge and had a pleasant round of beers at a nearby cafe. We had the cerise and the framboise beers. The waitress giggled and informed us that these are beers for ladies. Not being men whose masculinity is challenged by choice of beer, we ordered them anyway. Delicious.

Was the fabric shop on Smedenstraat by any chance? It's on the "other" side of t'Zand, where the number of tourists rapidly plummets and it has several home furnishings and cookware shops, charcuteries, etc.

Did the couple from Canada check out the "Canadian" bridge with the buffalo sculptures? FYI, once you cross over that bridge, there is more good non-touristy and well-priced shopping.

ttt

BTilke, I believe the fabric shop was on Jozef Suveestraat. It had fabrics in front and a Velux showroom in back. If our Canadian aquaintences saw the bridge, they did not mention it. It doesn't sound like anything that we saw, but then we did not always know the names of many of the things we saw.

We only stayed 2 nights in Brugge. In retrospect I would have liked to add some more time to this charming city. It is a great place to wander and as we left for Antwerp it was with the realization that there was much that we would like to have experienced there but did not.

A morning train brought us to Antwerp. We approached the first taxi in the line, told him the address of our B&B and he replied that it was very near by and not worth a taxi trip. It did not look that close on the map and the Garmin was of little help in giving total distances at the time. More about using a Garmin later. However, the taxi did refuse to take us and rather than go to the next one in line we decided that since it was a nice day we would walk. It turned out to be about 2km, not too long considering all of the walking we had been doing but feeing much longer in the hot sun and with suitcases dragging behind.

The B&B, Monique Vermeire was very interesting and very different from the one in Brugge but not in a negative way. It was one found on the internet but with only 2 reviews, both positive. Monique Vermeire is an artist and a recognized and accomplished one at that. The B&B was like staying in a museum. Not only was it full of her art but the public areas of her home had unique antiques, wallpapers and ceiling frescoes. When I post pictures you will see what I mean. Our room was on the 3rd (read 4th)floor, this time one flight more than in Brugge and it was quite a haul up there. I had thought that the room would be ensuite but it was not - put that down to miscommunication due to language. However, the WC and shower were right outside our door and as we were the only folks on that floor, it was not shared, so all was well. The clean,large rooms show the age of the house, and are furnished with a combination of antiques and simply old furniture. It was like staying with an aunt and was comfortable. One room that we saw did have a shower in the room, but it was a free standing shower cabinet along one of the walls - something I experienced once before and would not recommend.

Ms. Vermeire welcomed us serving a beverage choice and chocolates in her beautiful courtyard garden that was in full bloom and we had a very nice discussion of Antwerp, Art, and life. She is a lovely woman.

After settling in we took a walk to Antwerp's main square, about 10 minutes or so but not an especially interesting route. We looked around and not yet being ready for food settled for a soft drink on the square and just people watched for awhile. I found the nearby tourist office, asked some general questions, picked up a better map and learned that there was a nearby shopping mall nearby behind the Hilton that has a WC on the 3rd level - a valuable piece of info.

We were not too interested in touring that day since we were to meet a fellow fodorite the next day for a city tour - I'll devote a full post to that.

We did though want to see Antwerp's Jewish section in some detail and thought it would be cool to have dinner in a kosher restaurant just to see if it was any different from those that can be (increasingly rarely) found in the US. We knew we had reached the Jewish section when we saw a number of people in the streets wearing what I would consider Hasidic clothing. I approached a pair of young men hoping they would speak English but they did not really. Mi Chica, although born in Cuba speaks fluent Yiddish which is the street language of Hasids in the US but it is not socially acceptable for her to approach them.

Many years ago, I spent a year plus on an assignment in Jerusalem and learned enough of the Hebrew language to get along. Reaching into my memory banks I asked them in Hebrew if they spoke that language and they did. It turns out that Hebrew is the street language there rather than Yiddish. I was amazed at how the Hebrew that I had learned came flooding back and we had a nice conversation ending with directions to a restaurant called Mama Mia, which they claimed was the best kosher dairy restaurant in Antwerp.

More about that later.

Love your style, basingstoke, both travel and writing. Who would have known your Hebrew would come in handy in Antwerp?

Looking forward to more . . .

Thanks LC - who knew that I still remembered any of it? An enduring image will be of Hasidic men in black coats, hats, long beards and side curls riding bicycles - not something seen in the US. We finally found Mama Mia asking direction clarifications on the way with my newly resurrected linguistic skills. I am still amazed.

With a name like Mama Mia I was expecting Italian. OK, Italian dairy but it had an eclectic menu. The restaurant is pretty bare bones even for a dairy place (sorry, I couldn't help it) . There were a couple of orthodox families eating there each with about a half dozen kids all whom were running about the place. No one seemed to mind. A different kind of ambience for sure but we got with the program and half way enjoyed it.

So, what does one order in kosher dairy restaurant? I started with onion soup that was prepared with a vegetarian broth. Not bad at all if you don't think about what real onion soup should taste like. We followed that with a vegetable omelette that came with a huge mound of frites. That omelette was something else. The waiter said it had 3 eggs but I swear it had to be more like a dozen or maybe he meant 3 ostrich eggs. I never saw an omelette that size. We regretted that we had already ordered cheese blintzes for dessert.

Now, for the uninitiated unfamiliar with blintzes, think filled crepe. But we were puzzled why cheese blintzes would be on the dessert menu since they are more of a entree thing. Fruit filled blintzes for dessert yes, but cheese? The cheese used in a cheese blintze is usually a farmers cheese blend often with cream cheese. The blintzes were served and they were nothing like grandma made. Two were on the plate, each about a foot long (about twice as long as usual). They were filled with what seemed the traditional filling with the addition of creme fraiche. They were topped with chocolate sauce and about a pint of whipped cream each. We never saw anything that called itself a blintz like it. Reluctantly leaving some on the plate we paid a not inconsiderable bill and crawled out to the street and back to the B&B through the Staadspark . This time we were gratefull for a long walk as an aid to digestion. Will we ever be able to eat again? At the time the answer seemed that it would be in the negative.

The following day we were to meet jeepeegee and his lovely wife. jeepeegee is a fodorite that I had met on this forum after I contacted him about his posting of pictures of old Antwerp and mentioned that we would be there in May. He offered to meet us and show us the Antwerp sights and sites that tourists usually never see. How could I pass up an offer like that?

Next - an amazing day.

Enjoying this tale! Lots of interesting details. Looking forward to seeing your pictures as well.

thanks!

Thanks IrishF for the kind words. I am working on organizing pictures this evening and weekend.

Before I write about jeepeegee and our Antwerp tour I would like to say a few more words about Monique Vermeer's B&B. Simply put her place is something very different and perhaps not for all tastes. We both quite enjoyed it. The public rooms are very special with true museum quality antiques, intricate woodwork and some unbelievable rare wallpaper. There is artwork all over, mostly her own paintings and she really is very good. There are other items of art or whimsy on almost every surface. The stair railing is also antique and one of the most unusual that I have ever seen ending in a carved hand that clutches the first upright post. But, the home is largly original and that means old and if you require ensuite facilities then this is not the place for you although the rooms each have a sink and mirror, some that are antique and quite spectacular.

M. Vermeire serves a nice and different breakfast. Different in that she serves a variety of preserves and jams that she makes herself and they are outstanding. We particularly enjoyed her rhubarb apricot jam. It makes for a very interesting and tasty combination.
The neighborhood is a good one and although our room faced the street, we were not bothered by noise even though the windows do not have double glazing. As mentioned, it is about a 10 minute walk to the main square and the walk takes you past some interesting shops but on the whole is not an interesting one. There are several nearby resstaurants and cafes that we were told are good, but we did not try them.

I should have mentioned that a double room is 60 euro/night including breakfast. A very good rate for Antwerp.

I am really enjoying reading about your trip. It is making me very excited for our August trip to Brugge and Antwerp. Thanks for taking the time to share.

So, to continue on a most amazing day. Some months ago, a fodorite, jeepeejee posted on this forum a fascinating set of pictures of old Antwerp (www. fotoreisverhaal.net/antwerpen) and I replied to the post mentioning my interest in the post and that we were planning a visit to Antwerp. As I mentioned earlier, jeepeejee offered to show us the places most tourists do not see and so began emails back and forth where we learned that we had much in common in our professional and travel interests. A link that jepeejee is involved with is the [email protected]. If you have seen his travel stories and pictures you will know that he is very well travelled and has much to share. If you haven't seen his travel blogs they are well worth finding through the above links and through this forum.

jeepeejee and his lovely wife Nicole met us bright and early at our B&B and the adventure began. This man is organized!! He had a planned a full day's itenerary of 30 sites and Nicole had researched historical and other notes on each place. To discuss each place would take a book of writing but I will touch on some of the high points. We began with a tour of the Jewish section and diamond district and even though we had been there the evening before, we saw many places that we had missed such as the old synagogue/bombing memorial.

Highlights were visits to the Universities attended by jeepeejee and Nicole and very special was a visit to the national library and archives. Nicole is a librarian and teaches library science. She arranged for a student of hers who worked at the library to take us on a tour of some archive rooms that are usually closed to the public. The interior architecture of these old rooms and arrangement of books were very interesting and our guide told us that even many Antwerpens are unaware that these treasured rooms exist. We were very privileged.

We covered a lot of ground and saw many of the hidden gems of Antwerp, cathedrals including one that had burned and had been "resurrected," and the cathedral that jeepeegee attended as a youth that had some of the most beautiful woodwork and carvings. Some things that we saw were not quite gems such as a walk through the red light district. It is smaller than the one in Amsterdam but has the lady in the window thing. The ladies were of all shapes and sizes and a few were senior citizens. Something for everybody who likes that sort of thing.

The waterfront was also quite a sight with the maritime museum housed in a castle as was the nearby old meatpacking area transformed into a music museum and place of interesting architecture. Thoughout, jeepeejee and Nicole had a wealth of commentary and historical information. jeepeejee and Nicole had their car parked in a garage near a park and had packed a picnic lunch that Nicole had prepared - a real treat and we particularly enjoyed the smoked salmon salad. Later, we stopped in at the theater which has a stunning dessert restaurant for drinks and to enjoy the view of the street below. That is just one more place that the casual tourist would have no knowledge of. Anyone going to Antwerp should seek it out. We finished with some drinks in a courtyard restaurant while we waited for our dinner reservation nearby and enjoyed a dinner of comraderie and conversation that lasted nearly 3 hours. Thank you jeepeejee and Nicole for giving us a memorable day and an appreciation for Antwerp that we simply would not have had doing the usual tourist things. If you are reading this, we learned a lot and very much enjoyed the company of you, our newly found friends. We sincerely meant it when we urged you to visit the Washington, D.C. area so we can reciprocate by giving you a tour of the hidden gems of our city and surrounding area.

This amazing day would not have happened had it not been for the Fodor's Forum, so thanks to Fodor's as well.

pommefrites - When you get to Brugge, be sure to get the frites at one of the two stands in the Grote Markt. Most restaurants will serve them but IMO the ones served at the stands were the best. In Antwerp, there is a frites place in the Markt next to McDonalds that although it seems geared to the tourist and probably is, also has excellent frites. BTW, if you just want a soda, McD's has the best price in the Markt and sidewalk tables too.

Hi basingstoke2 !

Indeed, we had a great day in Antwerp ! I'm glad you both enjoyed the day we planned and we are pleased with your friendly words here !
For the visitors hereby the correct links basingstoke2 mentioned in his report above...

Antwerp in old days:
http://www.fotoreisverhaal.net/antwerpen/

Travel stories:
http://www.fotoreisverhaal.net/

Mail contact:
[email protected]

I hope you all enjoy the url's.

Jeepeejee

Thank you jeepeejee for the URL corrections. I never was a good typist - my bad.

Fororites - do yourself a favor and look at these URLs, particularly if you have any interest in Belgium and Antwerp - they are a a most excellent find with photos of many of jeepeejee's world-wide travels and give a good insight into the travel world of one of our fellow posters.

A final thought about Antwerp. In many ways it reminds me of Brussels. Both are large cosmopolitan cities many of whose best delights are not obvious to the casual tourist. Unlike cities like Paris, one has to do some research above and beyond the usual to really appreciate the place. One can walk around Paris without any planning at all and still be "blown away" and the same for many other cities - Prague comes to mind as another. I can honestly say that jeepeejee and his DW made the city come alive in a way that I know we would not have known given our own casual travel style. We do research places that we are about to visit and have somewhat of a plan but we often end up doing much based on seat of the pants whims based on what looks good at the time. We find that this way of travel suits us but it is obvious, that some places require more thought and planning for full appreciation.

Thanks for reporting. We're considering a trip to Brugge the next time we're in Paris. Good to know the train ride isn't as simple as it seems!

Actually, the train trip is not complicated. It is just that we had some bad breaks. We went through Lille which is fine. There are lots of departures from from Paris direct to Lille and it is a pleasant trip. From Lille to Brugge there are both direct trains and trains that require a change. Our original routing on the 7:58 out of Paris had us change to a direct train at Lille but there were two problems. The first is that our connection time was only 6 minutes which IMO is too short although we were assured that it was not. The second is that our train arrived late so the connection was missed. If that had happened on a weekday other than a Monday (I am not sure about weekends) it would not have been much of a delay at all since there would have been another direct train without a very long additional wait, however that train does not run on Mondays. The other major delay was due to the posting of the wrong track for the train to Brugge that would have reqired a change. That caught us and several others. My understanding is that this kind of error is rare.