Mai Tai Tom Stays On Track Through Belgium, Paris and Strasbourg
Oct 30th, 2024 | 06:47 AM
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Joined: Mar 2003
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Mai Tai Tom Stays On Track Through Belgium, Paris and Strasbourg
After quite a few destination ideas for our 2024 trip were kicked to the curb by the group, we finally decided 18 days visiting Brussels, Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Paris and Strasbourg would make for a fun and eventful excursion. We used the rail system to get to our destinations, which was a perfect way to travel and fairly stress-free (well, except for me worrying about getting to the train station on time). Join us on our latest journey, and although it was certainly an enjoyable trip, by the end it did have me pondering that I might need to rethink our future travel destinations. With a few twists and turns and changes, we are finally off to Brussels ... All aboard!! ... and yes, we really did get to Belgium on a Tuesday. (story with photos in link below) without, you know the rest of the story.
https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...st-be-belgium/
Another trip is in the books, and we successfully navigated throughout Belgium and France without many mishaps. Just like the great American folk singer Woody Guthrie (albeit on much nicer trains), Tracy, Kim, Mary and I rode the rails to Brussels and Bruges …
Ghent and Antwerp …
Paris and Strasbourg …
… plus a town I owe a big apology to for maligning it the past four decades.
My long-time friend Tim has told me, on more than one occasion, that I tend to look back on all our trips with rose-colored glasses, but in my defense, that’s because on our dozens of journeys I have had very little to complain about, and, outside of my own stupidity, nothing has bothered me all that much. On our recent trip, however, my rose-colored glasses picked up a few thorns along the way. There weren’t enough to dampen what was another interesting and enjoyable trip, but enough to give me pause and reason to reflect. But no time to pause now, let’s get on with the trip!
CHAPTER ONE: If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (Really)
Day One - Air France Lets Us Down (Twice), I’m Your Biggest Fan, Spill The Wine, Seeing Red, Where Are All The People?, An Earlier Train To Brussels, Where’s The Sauna?, They’re “BELGIAN” Frites!, The Frite Guy, It “IS” A Belgian Beer and Mussels In Brussels
In attempting to decide on a destination for our late summer/early autumn 2024 sojourn, I sent Tracy, Kim and Mary numerous emails detailing a multitude of possible itineraries, but in all honesty, none really thrilled me. Then one day Kim responded that he had heard friends raving about Belgium. Belgium? It hadn’t been on my radar, but suddenly my interest was piqued.
I started researching, and the more I read about Belgium, the more I liked. There would be no more waffling, we would start our latest adventure in Brussels!
I considered an open-jaw ticket to Brussels with a return from Paris, however after I found a huge sale from Air France, I decided we could fly round trip from LAX to Paris, and take a train from CDG to Brussels upon arrival. The flight would land at 9 a.m., we could catch the 11:50 or 1:05 direct train to Brussels from Terminal 2 at CDG and … Ah, the best laid plans.
I was about to book online the 1:05 train, which would give us plenty of time as it was located in the same terminal as Air France, however the airline emailed that our flight had been changed, and we would now arrive at 11:15. The last time we were at CDG it took at least two hours to clear immigration, so, in an abundance of caution, I booked a later train. Well, at least we were able to retain our Premium Economy flight tickets.
Then two weeks before our flight, another email from AF arrived announcing that the type of aircraft was changing. Fortunately for Kim and Mary, they were home when the email arrived and they were able to keep one Premium Economy and pay to have Kim bumped up to Business. Unfortunately, neither Tracy or I was home, so after reading the email later that day and calling AF I found, to our dismay, that they had changed our seats to the rear of the aircraft. With some finessing I was able to obtain economy seats with a little extra leg room, but they were not the seats we had originally purchased.
Even though she has been off the “TSA Naughty List” for a few years, after going through security at LAX, Tracy, who sleeps on top of the covers while I am under two blankets, was sweating bullets. But there, like an oasis in the desert, stood a giant industrial fan that seemingly could cool the Sahara and, fortunately, my lovely wife.
It came in handy for Mary, too, who couldn’t find her global traveler number (foreshadowing alert), and had to go through the longer security line. The two ultimately basked in coolness, drawing quizzical looks from bemused travelers, and then we were on our way.
As we crawled our way to our seats in the back of the plane, we passed by Kim who was sipping champagne and hobnobbing with passengers in Business Class. He nodded his head quickly at us, not wanting the others to know he associated with such riffraff.
A little further, we passed Mary sitting adjacent to an empty seat in Premium Economy. Nobody could sit next to Mary on this flight, not because of anything she said, but because the seat was “broken.” As we were to find out, that wasn’t the only seat on the plane with difficulties.
Tracy and I had aisle seats adjacent to one another. Shortly after buckling in, the guy next to the window in the row in front of me slammed his seat into the woman behind him in my row. I thought how rude he was, as we hadn’t even taxied, but then I realized his seat was “broken,” too. Although my seat was technically ok, every time I leaned back it made a loud squeak like a badly oiled door opening and closing. We were off to a rocky start.
Luckily, there was only one incident on the flight that I know of, but unluckily it involved me. About two hours in, I ordered a white wine, but the flight attendant brought red. Not to worry, I told her, I am an equal opportunity drinker.
As I relaxed in my noisy seat, and just as Cary Grant was about to be sprayed by a crop duster in North By Northwest, the person in front of me reclined his seat backward like a rocket launch, and my cup with red wine took an unexpected journey toward my lap. With my catlike reflexes (ok, I was really lucky), I was able to grab the cup before it tumbled into my lap. I looked down, and since I was wearing dark blue pants and a blue sweater, the wine stain was hardly noticeable. “Phew,” I thought, “that could have been embarrassing.”
However, the gentleman sitting next to me had made a rather unfortunate wardrobe choice on this day. His clean, white pants were now an interesting shade of red. Thankfully, he was a very nice guy, who just smiled and said, “Not to worry, my mom will wash these when I get to her house in Paris.” International incident averted.
When we disembarked in Paris on this Tuesday morning, we encountered quite a big (and pleasant) surprise. Arriving at Passport Control we were stunned to find the area virtually empty. It took us 30 seconds to have our picture taken and passport stamped and then all our bags popped up quickly. It was about a ten-minute walk to where the trains are located, and looking at my phone, I was shocked to see it had taken just a little more than half an hour to disembark, go through customs and be at the TGV-RER station at CDG. My first thought? What the hell are we going to do for the next four hours?
Well, there was that 1:05 train, however the line at the desk was long and after about ten minutes we realized they were still talking with the same person.
Fortunately, we noticed an official looking man helping at one of the ticket machines. He said we could exchange our tickets, but we’d have to pay the difference in price. Not wanting to spend our first afternoon in Europe at the airport, we collectively agreed, “Let’s do it and get to Brussels earlier.” Soon, we were on our way, and I was hopeful we would actually have time to see a sight or two before dinner.
Halfway into the 2 1/2 hour ride to Brussels, as the group drifted into semi-unconsciousness, I could tell the only thing we would be seeing was an early dinner. At the almost exact time the train crossed from France into Belgium, I thought I could get a charge out of the gang by blurting out, “If it’s Tuesday, it must be Belgium!” The silence was deafening.
Arriving via taxi at the Thon Hotel Bristol Stephanie, Kim said, “Well, at least we can try the sauna.” Before leaving I had seen an online deal from the hotel that for an extra €18 per night we could be upgraded to a room with a sauna. Both couples took advantage of the offer.
Tracy and I walked into our room, and because we were so tired, we stumbled to the bed, took off our shoes and laid there for a few minutes. Wait, what about the sauna? It was nowhere to be found, although we did have a spacious room with a great shower. Kim and Mary didn’t have a sauna in their room either, but we were all too tired to go down and make a change, so we just made sure they didn’t charge extra for the room.
Thon Hotel Bristol Stephanie is located on the “trendy” Avenue Louise (about a half hour walk south of the Grand’Place), and I had read that the location around the hotel is situated in “one of the liveliest areas in Brussels” and caters to a “young, multi-cultural and artistic” crowd. Once again, our group seriously impacted the age demographic upwards.
Although there were no saunas in our rooms, the hotel had a gym and sauna for guests, but also something even more important … a quiet, chic bar. After being awake for the past 24 hours, our chicness quotient was non-existent. We ducked in.
The four of us settled in for our traditional celebratory first cocktail of the trip. Tracy made a toast to the fact that over the past 24 years, we had spent 274 days traveling in the U.S. and Europe with Kim and Mary.
And they said it wouldn’t last! This is our motley group in Vernazza in 2001 on our first trip.
I had made dinner reservations at the nearby Le Rendezvous-Vous des Artistes (Rue Dejoncker 24), which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025. The area certainly lived up to the “lively” moniker, and people seemed to be enjoying themselves at the various restaurants we passed throughout the district known as Saint Gilles.
This restaurant had an energetic vibe from the moment we entered. If we wanted a spot with great ambiance for our first night, Le Rendezvous-Vous des Artistes more than filled the bill.
“Hello Dolly!”
The staff was outstanding and friendly. It billed itself as “Restaurant-Brasserie-Bar à Frites.” As you’ll read shortly, I should have paid more attention to that sign.
We started with Les Entreés, sharing the Croquettes aux fromages, and then it was on to the really good stuff. The restaurant prides itself on serving “authentic Belgian cuisine,” so I ordered the Carbonnades flamandes; Belgian Beef stew “Flemish style.” Then I made a terrible mistake when I asked the server (and I blame lack of sleep for this faux pas), “Does it come with French fries?”
He laughed (a least I think he was laughing) and rather sternly replied, “It comes with BELGIAN frites. They were invented here.” He then pointed to the window where “the Frite Guy” was cooking up what looked like thousands of Belgian frites. Both the frites and the stew were tremendous.
Luckily my error was quickly forgotten when Kim asked what kind of beer they had. “We have Stella,” our server replied. Kim then said he would prefer a Belgian beer. By now our server was wondering who these people were at his restaurant, “Stella IS a Belgian beer.” Sleep deprivation is a terrible thing. Kim enjoyed his Stella along with a main course of Saumon grillé à la béarnaise, avec des legumes du jour et pommes de terre nature.
Hopefully our sleep deprived miscues were out of the way as Tracy and Mary were up next. Tracy’s Hangar steak with balsamic onions was very good, and she declared the frites the “best she ever tasted.”
Finally, Mary lived up to her seafood devouring reputation by flexing her mussels and downing a pot of les moules au vin blanc.
Rendezvous-Vous des Artistes made for a terrific first night restaurant choice, and I would highly recommend it not only for the food, but for the fun, friendly service. But remember, “Belgian Frites.”
Thankfully, it was less than a ten-minute walk back to the hotel, and since we had hit the 30-hour mark of sleep deprivation, all of us fell asleep quickly, which was good. We needed an early start to cram in as many Brussels sights as we could since this would be our only day here (major planning error on my part).
And, oh, the sights we would see: from a giant ferris wheel to a palais containing more than 2,400 rooms, two parks, one of the most famous squares in the entire world, two churches, a tour of Brussels historic Town Hall, one basilica, a beautiful art gallery containing a painting by my favorite artist ever and the most overrated “attraction” in Europe. Yes, our first full day would definitely be quite the workout!
Next - CHAPTER TWO: Underrated Brussels
https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...st-be-belgium/
Another trip is in the books, and we successfully navigated throughout Belgium and France without many mishaps. Just like the great American folk singer Woody Guthrie (albeit on much nicer trains), Tracy, Kim, Mary and I rode the rails to Brussels and Bruges …
Ghent and Antwerp …
Paris and Strasbourg …
… plus a town I owe a big apology to for maligning it the past four decades.
My long-time friend Tim has told me, on more than one occasion, that I tend to look back on all our trips with rose-colored glasses, but in my defense, that’s because on our dozens of journeys I have had very little to complain about, and, outside of my own stupidity, nothing has bothered me all that much. On our recent trip, however, my rose-colored glasses picked up a few thorns along the way. There weren’t enough to dampen what was another interesting and enjoyable trip, but enough to give me pause and reason to reflect. But no time to pause now, let’s get on with the trip!
CHAPTER ONE: If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (Really)
Day One - Air France Lets Us Down (Twice), I’m Your Biggest Fan, Spill The Wine, Seeing Red, Where Are All The People?, An Earlier Train To Brussels, Where’s The Sauna?, They’re “BELGIAN” Frites!, The Frite Guy, It “IS” A Belgian Beer and Mussels In Brussels
In attempting to decide on a destination for our late summer/early autumn 2024 sojourn, I sent Tracy, Kim and Mary numerous emails detailing a multitude of possible itineraries, but in all honesty, none really thrilled me. Then one day Kim responded that he had heard friends raving about Belgium. Belgium? It hadn’t been on my radar, but suddenly my interest was piqued.
I started researching, and the more I read about Belgium, the more I liked. There would be no more waffling, we would start our latest adventure in Brussels!
I considered an open-jaw ticket to Brussels with a return from Paris, however after I found a huge sale from Air France, I decided we could fly round trip from LAX to Paris, and take a train from CDG to Brussels upon arrival. The flight would land at 9 a.m., we could catch the 11:50 or 1:05 direct train to Brussels from Terminal 2 at CDG and … Ah, the best laid plans.
I was about to book online the 1:05 train, which would give us plenty of time as it was located in the same terminal as Air France, however the airline emailed that our flight had been changed, and we would now arrive at 11:15. The last time we were at CDG it took at least two hours to clear immigration, so, in an abundance of caution, I booked a later train. Well, at least we were able to retain our Premium Economy flight tickets.
Then two weeks before our flight, another email from AF arrived announcing that the type of aircraft was changing. Fortunately for Kim and Mary, they were home when the email arrived and they were able to keep one Premium Economy and pay to have Kim bumped up to Business. Unfortunately, neither Tracy or I was home, so after reading the email later that day and calling AF I found, to our dismay, that they had changed our seats to the rear of the aircraft. With some finessing I was able to obtain economy seats with a little extra leg room, but they were not the seats we had originally purchased.
Even though she has been off the “TSA Naughty List” for a few years, after going through security at LAX, Tracy, who sleeps on top of the covers while I am under two blankets, was sweating bullets. But there, like an oasis in the desert, stood a giant industrial fan that seemingly could cool the Sahara and, fortunately, my lovely wife.
It came in handy for Mary, too, who couldn’t find her global traveler number (foreshadowing alert), and had to go through the longer security line. The two ultimately basked in coolness, drawing quizzical looks from bemused travelers, and then we were on our way.
As we crawled our way to our seats in the back of the plane, we passed by Kim who was sipping champagne and hobnobbing with passengers in Business Class. He nodded his head quickly at us, not wanting the others to know he associated with such riffraff.
A little further, we passed Mary sitting adjacent to an empty seat in Premium Economy. Nobody could sit next to Mary on this flight, not because of anything she said, but because the seat was “broken.” As we were to find out, that wasn’t the only seat on the plane with difficulties.
Tracy and I had aisle seats adjacent to one another. Shortly after buckling in, the guy next to the window in the row in front of me slammed his seat into the woman behind him in my row. I thought how rude he was, as we hadn’t even taxied, but then I realized his seat was “broken,” too. Although my seat was technically ok, every time I leaned back it made a loud squeak like a badly oiled door opening and closing. We were off to a rocky start.
Luckily, there was only one incident on the flight that I know of, but unluckily it involved me. About two hours in, I ordered a white wine, but the flight attendant brought red. Not to worry, I told her, I am an equal opportunity drinker.
As I relaxed in my noisy seat, and just as Cary Grant was about to be sprayed by a crop duster in North By Northwest, the person in front of me reclined his seat backward like a rocket launch, and my cup with red wine took an unexpected journey toward my lap. With my catlike reflexes (ok, I was really lucky), I was able to grab the cup before it tumbled into my lap. I looked down, and since I was wearing dark blue pants and a blue sweater, the wine stain was hardly noticeable. “Phew,” I thought, “that could have been embarrassing.”
However, the gentleman sitting next to me had made a rather unfortunate wardrobe choice on this day. His clean, white pants were now an interesting shade of red. Thankfully, he was a very nice guy, who just smiled and said, “Not to worry, my mom will wash these when I get to her house in Paris.” International incident averted.
When we disembarked in Paris on this Tuesday morning, we encountered quite a big (and pleasant) surprise. Arriving at Passport Control we were stunned to find the area virtually empty. It took us 30 seconds to have our picture taken and passport stamped and then all our bags popped up quickly. It was about a ten-minute walk to where the trains are located, and looking at my phone, I was shocked to see it had taken just a little more than half an hour to disembark, go through customs and be at the TGV-RER station at CDG. My first thought? What the hell are we going to do for the next four hours?
Well, there was that 1:05 train, however the line at the desk was long and after about ten minutes we realized they were still talking with the same person.
Fortunately, we noticed an official looking man helping at one of the ticket machines. He said we could exchange our tickets, but we’d have to pay the difference in price. Not wanting to spend our first afternoon in Europe at the airport, we collectively agreed, “Let’s do it and get to Brussels earlier.” Soon, we were on our way, and I was hopeful we would actually have time to see a sight or two before dinner.
Halfway into the 2 1/2 hour ride to Brussels, as the group drifted into semi-unconsciousness, I could tell the only thing we would be seeing was an early dinner. At the almost exact time the train crossed from France into Belgium, I thought I could get a charge out of the gang by blurting out, “If it’s Tuesday, it must be Belgium!” The silence was deafening.
Arriving via taxi at the Thon Hotel Bristol Stephanie, Kim said, “Well, at least we can try the sauna.” Before leaving I had seen an online deal from the hotel that for an extra €18 per night we could be upgraded to a room with a sauna. Both couples took advantage of the offer.
Tracy and I walked into our room, and because we were so tired, we stumbled to the bed, took off our shoes and laid there for a few minutes. Wait, what about the sauna? It was nowhere to be found, although we did have a spacious room with a great shower. Kim and Mary didn’t have a sauna in their room either, but we were all too tired to go down and make a change, so we just made sure they didn’t charge extra for the room.
Thon Hotel Bristol Stephanie is located on the “trendy” Avenue Louise (about a half hour walk south of the Grand’Place), and I had read that the location around the hotel is situated in “one of the liveliest areas in Brussels” and caters to a “young, multi-cultural and artistic” crowd. Once again, our group seriously impacted the age demographic upwards.
Although there were no saunas in our rooms, the hotel had a gym and sauna for guests, but also something even more important … a quiet, chic bar. After being awake for the past 24 hours, our chicness quotient was non-existent. We ducked in.
The four of us settled in for our traditional celebratory first cocktail of the trip. Tracy made a toast to the fact that over the past 24 years, we had spent 274 days traveling in the U.S. and Europe with Kim and Mary.
And they said it wouldn’t last! This is our motley group in Vernazza in 2001 on our first trip.
I had made dinner reservations at the nearby Le Rendezvous-Vous des Artistes (Rue Dejoncker 24), which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025. The area certainly lived up to the “lively” moniker, and people seemed to be enjoying themselves at the various restaurants we passed throughout the district known as Saint Gilles.
This restaurant had an energetic vibe from the moment we entered. If we wanted a spot with great ambiance for our first night, Le Rendezvous-Vous des Artistes more than filled the bill.
“Hello Dolly!”
The staff was outstanding and friendly. It billed itself as “Restaurant-Brasserie-Bar à Frites.” As you’ll read shortly, I should have paid more attention to that sign.
We started with Les Entreés, sharing the Croquettes aux fromages, and then it was on to the really good stuff. The restaurant prides itself on serving “authentic Belgian cuisine,” so I ordered the Carbonnades flamandes; Belgian Beef stew “Flemish style.” Then I made a terrible mistake when I asked the server (and I blame lack of sleep for this faux pas), “Does it come with French fries?”
He laughed (a least I think he was laughing) and rather sternly replied, “It comes with BELGIAN frites. They were invented here.” He then pointed to the window where “the Frite Guy” was cooking up what looked like thousands of Belgian frites. Both the frites and the stew were tremendous.
Luckily my error was quickly forgotten when Kim asked what kind of beer they had. “We have Stella,” our server replied. Kim then said he would prefer a Belgian beer. By now our server was wondering who these people were at his restaurant, “Stella IS a Belgian beer.” Sleep deprivation is a terrible thing. Kim enjoyed his Stella along with a main course of Saumon grillé à la béarnaise, avec des legumes du jour et pommes de terre nature.
Hopefully our sleep deprived miscues were out of the way as Tracy and Mary were up next. Tracy’s Hangar steak with balsamic onions was very good, and she declared the frites the “best she ever tasted.”
Finally, Mary lived up to her seafood devouring reputation by flexing her mussels and downing a pot of les moules au vin blanc.
Rendezvous-Vous des Artistes made for a terrific first night restaurant choice, and I would highly recommend it not only for the food, but for the fun, friendly service. But remember, “Belgian Frites.”
Thankfully, it was less than a ten-minute walk back to the hotel, and since we had hit the 30-hour mark of sleep deprivation, all of us fell asleep quickly, which was good. We needed an early start to cram in as many Brussels sights as we could since this would be our only day here (major planning error on my part).
And, oh, the sights we would see: from a giant ferris wheel to a palais containing more than 2,400 rooms, two parks, one of the most famous squares in the entire world, two churches, a tour of Brussels historic Town Hall, one basilica, a beautiful art gallery containing a painting by my favorite artist ever and the most overrated “attraction” in Europe. Yes, our first full day would definitely be quite the workout!
Next - CHAPTER TWO: Underrated Brussels
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Oct 30th, 2024 | 12:00 PM
#10
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 24,032
Likes: 6
No other country in the world calls frites French fries, which is even worse than the fact that only 3 countries still use imperial measurements (United States, Liberia and Myanmar). You are alone in your vocabulary.
Carbonnades flamandes used to be made with horsemeat, which probably helped to keep it off the menu of American visitors. For the last 30 years or so, it has been made with beef.
Carbonnades flamandes used to be made with horsemeat, which probably helped to keep it off the menu of American visitors. For the last 30 years or so, it has been made with beef.
Last edited by kerouac; Oct 30th, 2024 at 12:03 PM.
. I love your trip reports.
Nov 1st, 2024 | 09:42 AM
#20
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 10,625
Likes: 21
On our only (should have done at least one more) full day in Brussels we came across a giant ferris wheel, the largest building constructed in Europe in the 19th century, two parks/gardens, one of the most famous squares in the entire world, one church, one cathedral, one basilica, a tour of Brussels historic Town Hall, a beautiful art gallery containing a painting by my favorite artist and visiting a little guy who must have had a really good press agent to get him so much attention. Story with photos in link below ...
https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...ated-brussels/
CHAPTER TWO: Underrated Brussels
Day Two: Under Construction, Corner Park, Meeting Our Quotient, Fight Fight For Old Notre Dame, “Miraculous” Boat Ride, Missed Waffle Opportunity, Ain’t It Grand, A Port In The Storm, Flower Power, El Bosco, Soulless, Gotta Pis, Checking In With Mike (Again), No Reservations and Butter Me Up!
One of the great things about a flight to Europe is that when you wake up early the next day you can’t get back to sleep. Much to the chagrin of my travel companions, that meant an early start. The forecast had called for rain, but the skies were clear as we exited the hotel.
Nearby (about a ten-minute walk) would be the Palais de Justice de Bruxelles on Galgenberg Hill (Mont Gallows), which got its name because it was where crowds would gather to see people get hanged. I was really interested in seeing this building, which was reputed to be the largest building in the world when it was constructed from the 1860s to the 1880s (it’s still considered the largest Palace of Justice in the world). It also has a dome supposedly even bigger than St. Peter’s Basilica.
As we approached, we sensed trouble. Seeing a lot of cranes and scaffolding, we knew this wouldn’t be quite as spectacular as I had imagined. Had I researched more before leaving, I would have known the structure has been in disrepair for the past 40 years.
There was a sign saying it was open to the public, but before entering was something that was hard to miss … La Grande Roue. The View (as it is known) ferris wheel reaches 180 feet up, and for €9 this relatively new attraction takes its guests to the highest point in the city.
Fortunately for my cohorts, it didn’t open for a few hours. Just in front of the ferris wheel is the Belgian Infantry Memorial dedicated to Belgian foot soldiers who fought in World Wars I and II.
We checked out the city view before entering the Palais de Justice.
The first tour did not start for 90 minutes, so we decided to sneak in for a few minutes to check out the interior. Good to get those first stairs early.
Tours don’t start until later in the morning, so we didn’t see any rooms. Kim, Mary and Tracy were ready to fire their tour guide.
We walked around the interior and second floor, but with no rooms to see, we were on our way toward other Brussels’ sights..
A few bloscks away we walked by and through a Flemish neo-Renaissance style flower garden, Square du Petit Sablon/Kleine Zavelsquare.
It’s a picturesque square and garden surrounded by 48 statues representing Brussels’ various guilds and another ten that highlight the renowned humorists of the 16th century.
The ornate fountain and statue near the back of the park was erected to honor the resistance fighters, Counts of Egmont and Hornes, who were decapitated during the Spanish siege in the 16th century.
An intriguing church (here we go again) across from the square was calling my name, but we really needed some caffeine and sustenance. We spied a sign for Le Pain Quotidien, which we have dined at in many cities in the U.S. I was kind of disappointed we didn’t find something more authentic, but then I discovered that Le Pain Quotidien was actually founded in 1990 … in Brussels. And, by the way, we have never been disappointed with the food, no matter what the city.
I had planned for our next stop to be Notre-Dame du Sablon (Church of Our Lady of the Sablon), but was having trouble finding it, so I said, “While were are here, let’s check out the church across the street, and find Notre-Dame afterward.” Much to my surprise, as we entered Tracy whispered (with that “Tom, you idiot” look in her eyes), “This IS Notre-Dame du Sablon.” I should have had an extra cappuccino.
Seems this church has lots of names including Église Notre-Dame des Victoires du Sablon, but in any case, it’s a beautiful Gothic church, which actually began as an Archer’s Chapel (a bunch of straight arrows, I presume) in the 13th century. And to think, it all started with stolen property.
The legend is that a woman named Beatrjis Soetkens had a vision. In that vision, the Virgin Mary told her to steal a “miraculous statue” in Antwerp. (It’s the first I have ever read that Mary was also a crime boss.) Well, old Beatrjis, not one to argue with the Virgin herself, stole the statue, surreptitiously (and “miraculously”) made her way back undetected to Brussels by boat and then put it in the chapel. There are a few statues recreating the event in the church. We never saw the real statue. Perhaps we needed a miracle.
Once the church’s cathedral was completed in the 15th century, the rich and famous flocked here. We started our mini self-guided tour … from the left is a marble sculpture from the 17th century, a font and a sculpted effigy of Claude Bouton, chamberlain of Emperor Charles V, and his wife Lannoy.
The stained glass here …
… is extra colorful (and clean as were nearly all the stained glass windows we encountered on this trip).
This painting was ordered by four prominent members of the Great Serment of the Crossbowmen of the Sablon with their patron saints behind them and has been recently restored.
Continuing around the interior we passed by a tomb of someone who must have been important, a Pieta and a painting of the Annunciation.
The church includes two Baroque chapels, financed by the wealthy Thurn and Taxis families. The Taxis, I believe, transported people around town charging a fare (that might be incorrect). This is the chapel commemorating the little known Saint Marcouf, who had a lot of duties, including protector of the French crown, while also being the patron saint of apothecaries, cloth merchants and aiding people with swollen glands. A busy man, indeed.
Quite a magnificent entrance to the Chapel of Saint Ursula, which is thought to be the mourning chapel of the Thurn and Taxis families.
Famed Brussels sculptor Jan van Delen (and a few of his friends) created the most spectacular area in the church. Poor St. Ursula has an arrow through her, proving once again it’s tough being a saint.
Thankfully, Tracy still has a flexible neck and can take these ceiling shots.
The tomb of Lamoral is particularly striking. Various artists contributed to the sculpture that “shows how the fame of the dead prince will outlive him, illustrated as a lively battle between Virtue and Time, while Fame sounds the praises on her trumpet.”
van Delen also created these two allegorical figures representing Charity (Caritas) and Truth (Veritas).
And yet another ceiling for Tracy to photograph.
Église Notre-Dame des Victoires du Sablon was quite a surprise as I hadn’t read much about it before leaving, and I was glad we stopped in.
A sign helped us with directions and as we headed toward the Grand’Place, flowers …
… and macarons piqued our interest.
The Caffe Leffe in Sablon Square looked of interest …
… but Belgian Chocolate Makers really had us savoring some sweets. The woman at this store touted their waffles as “the best in Brussels,” but unfortunately the waffle-maker was out for an hour and sadly we did not return. We probably would have spent the rest of the day eating waffles and chocolate had he been there.
Look up on the wall. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s SuperSmurf.
No, you’re not. We see you.
The Place Saint-Jean / Sint-Jansplein.
Shortly, we arrived in arguably the most famous square in Europe, the Grand’Place. It dates mostly from the late 1690s courtesy of Louis XIV, who had his troops demolish the square (except for the Town Hall Spire). Four years later, a square even more more grand than the first one was completed. Take that Louis!
I never like seeing horses haul overweight tourists around town, so these horseless e-carriages were a welcome sight.
And Mary stopped by a chocolate shop named just for her (or at least that’s what we assumed).
The Maison des Brasseurs (Brewers House) dates all the way back to the late 1600s (all the brewers financed the reconstruction of the house after Louis destroyed it). Today, it’s a national museum of the brewery industry. By now, I knew we should have planned for an extra day here. The equestrian statue up top is of Charles of Lorraine.
There are a number of guild houses. The Chaloupe d'Or (Golden Boat) is the old headquarters of the tailors' guild. On top is a statue of St. Homobonus of Cremona, the patron saint of, who else? tailors. It seemed like a good fit. To the left is Le Pigeon (not named for the droppings on St. Homobonus next door). This was the painters guild, but is more famous for housing author Victor Hugo when he was exiled during the coup d'etat of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte in 1851.
The highlight of the Grand’Place is, in my opinion, the Town Hall. In the mid-1400s a weather vane was placed atop the tower of my good friend St. Michael, patron saint of Brussels (and me). The original was replaced in 1993. The façade of the Town Hall has something like 300 sculptures, and fortunately for you I don’t know anything about them. It is the only remaining medieval building on the Grand'Place.
We entered the courtyard, and just after snapping photos of a couple of statues, the skies opened up and it started pouring. The four of us scurried inside, and, voila, there was a museum.
Price of admission for the tour including audio guide cost €15, however for the three oldsters, it was only €6 euro each. I have an expensive wife.
We were greeted by St. Michael. Looking at this piece, I’m glad I’m on his good side (the original St. Michael weather vane is in the Brussels City Museum in the King’s House on the Grand’Place). We picked up our audio guide..
According to legend, the architect who designed the building jumped to his death after realizing it was asymmetrical. I guess it was too much of an undertaking.
Some of the rooms of interest included:
The Portrait Room
The equestrian painting of Marie Therese was one of the main focal points.
You would expect the hallway of a Town Hall to be beautiful.
The Council Chamber is a “wow” room.
The ceiling painting is Assembly of the Gods.
Tapestries adorn the walls.
The Maximillian Room was named after a portrait of Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian and Mary of Burgundy (center).
The David & Bathsheba Room had a nice fireplace and an interesting clock.
Fortunately, nobody stole anyone’s wife here.
The Belle Chamber was quite lovely.
The Wedding Room was, not surprisingly, setting up for a wedding.
We reached the oldest part of the building, the Gothic Hall, which, in reality, is neo-Gothic.
There are statues and tapestries, the one on the left representing the Embroiderers' Guild.
We had wanted to see the Staircase of Honour, but it was closed on this day. We did, however, see the Corridor of Honour, and its magnificent wall and ceiling paintings.
I thanked Michael for the visit and asked him if he could keep me safe the rest of the trip. He said, “You really are asking for miracles.”
Back out onto the Grand’Place, the sun was shining again, as we walked the cobblestone streets and soon arrived at our next destination. We gazed up at the equestrian statue of King Albert I, the beloved king of the Belgians from 1909-1934, who died in a mountaineering accident in 1934. The statue was erected 17 years after his death.
At the top of the stairs, we admired a garden signifying we were at the Mont des Arts, an area that has numerous museums.
The garden connects the lower and upper parts of Brussels and was landscaped for the 1910 Brussels World Fair.
And just like that, the rain started pelting us again, so we dashed under an allée of trees, up more stairs, catching a quick glimpse of a cool relief and sheltering at a nearby self-serve bar/restaurant. Château Moderne.
To be kind, it was not very good, from the sub-par sandwiches to the weird tasting croquettes to whatever awful white wine they were serving. On the plus side, they were consistent, and it was indoors.
When the rain stopped, we admired the splendid view from the terrace out toward the Town Hall, and in the far distance, the Basilique Nationale du Sacré Coeur.
Next up on the agenda, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique. Along the way we checked out some street art by a Welsh-born street artist who goes by the unusual (and unappetizing) name of Phlegm, which he created on the side of KBR, Royal Library of Belgium. ‘The World of Bruegel in Black and White’ is a tribute to painter Peter Bruegel who had died 450 years earlier. Phlegm was commissioned to do “a modern rendition of Bruegel’s Seven Deadly Sins series.” Phlegm has coughed up a lot of interesting art.
Heading to what we thought was Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, we discovered we were staring at the Royal Palace of Belgium. Unfortunately, you can only tour the palace during August.
Turns out the Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique is four museums in one, but on this day we were really only interested in Musée d'Art Ancien (Museum of Old Masters), which covers the 15th to the 17th centuries.
I was particularly intrigued in a painting by Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch (El Bosco). Later in our tour, he would be “out Bosched” by another artist’s painting in the gallery.
In 1801, the museum was founded by none other than Napoléon, who seized the art during the French Revolution. Some of my favorites as we meandered along were:
I started to sing the music from Les Miserables when I saw this painting, but it’s really “The Belgian Revolution of 1830, 1835.”
The 1675 Fountain of Neptune had some weird stuff going on. It’s similar “in type and composition of Bernini's Triton Fountain in Rome.”
We took a look at “The Beheading of the Innocent Count” by Dirk Bouts.
Jan Verhas painted “The Parade of the Schools of 1878 in the presence of King Leopold II.”
Then it was time for my guy Bosch. The “Temptation of St Anthony Triptych” is a Bosch copy from the very early 1500s “Wait,” I thought, “Haven’t I seen this before?” I had seen the original in Lisbon and another copy at the Prado in Madrid.
Peter Paul Rubens and Rogier van der Weyden were featured.
van der Weyden’s famous Portrait of Laurent Froimont was also on display.
As was Lucas Cranach’s Adam and Eve.
There was one painting that I would have bet my easel was a Bosch creation. The Fall of the Rebel Angels was first thought to be by Pieter Bruegel the Younger. However, it was then attributed to Bosch until 1898, when a date and signature was found in the left hand corner. It was actually the work of Bruegel the Elder. Always respect your Elders is the moral of the story.
The Fall of the Rebel Angels is an homage to Bosch. According to Wiki, “Painted in 1562, Bruegel's depiction of Lucifer falling with his fallen angels is taken from a passage from Revelation 12, and reveals the artist's profound debt to Hieronymus Bosch. This is shown through the grotesque, ugly or distorted, figures painted as half-human and half-apocalyptic creatures.” I loved it!
Bruegel also had a much calmer winter landscape.
After walking by the original “The Death of Murat” by Jacques-Louis David, we had a decision to make. Where to next?
Deciding between the Atomium or Basilique Nationale du Sacré Coeur, we choose the latter. It was a decision that I believe we can now all admit was a mistake. The journey to the basilica took ten minutes by Uber.
Basilique Nationale du Sacré Coeur touts its dimensions as the fifth largest church in the world, however upon further review when I got home, I found it is really #14. In any case, it is quite imposing from the outside.
Inside, the words that came to mind were sterile and stark without much soul.
Construction started in the early 20th century, but it was not consecrated until 1951.
We made our way to the second level. Yes, it’s big.
We hopped on the elevator to the top, and reviews saying it has a great view were right on.
We looked out at what might have been, a modernistic structure constructed for the 1958 Brussels World Exhibition. The Atomium is also the #1 tourist attraction in Brussels. Oh well.
All in all, the Basilique was a forgettable experience.
Back in Brussels, Kim and Mary headed back to the hotel for a little r&r, while Tracy and I did continued exploring. At one corner there was a large crowd of people taking photos which could only mean one thing. We were at the Mannekin Pis, a tiny bronze statue of a boy peeing. Supposedly he has more than 1,000 costumes that are changed frequently. I read that he also has his own dresser and obviously a good press agent.
One of many legends surrounding the statute is that it resembled the “son of a nobleman who attempted to seduce the virtuous Saint Gudule. Heaven’s punishment was to condemn his son to remain always a child, and always relieving himself.” That gave us the idea to see Cathédrale Saints-Michel-et-Gudule next.
Along the way we saw street art from Sarajevo artist Rikardo Druškić near the Grand’Place celebrating the BalkanTrafik Festival, which celebrates musical artists from the Balkan countries
Work on this cathedral began back in 1216.
This is the statue of Anointment of Jesus in the tomb.
Just like in every Brussels church we visited, the stained glass windows glowed.
The Great Organ was, well, great, with 43,000 pipes.
Another thing that really stood out was the pulpit depicting Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden, which happened because they were the apples of each other’s eyes.
We could have stayed longer to admire more of the artwork, but by now we were dragging, so back to the hotel we trudged for one of our patented 15-minute naps.
Earlier in the day, after a unanimous decision not to return to the Grand’Place for dinner, Mary recalled a nice looking restaurant near our first night venue. She texted and got reservations at a restaurant called Colonel. I asked Mary about it, and she assured us it wasn’t Colonel Sanders.
We arrived at the appointed time at Colonel Louise and were told they didn’t have reservations for us. After some discussion, we discovered that Mary had made a reservation at its sister restaurant Colonel Fort Jaco. Who knew? They took us anyway.
Dinner was a mixed bag. Mary and Kim enjoyed their filet and flank steaks. Meanwhile Tracy and I, who were very hungry and decided to splurge, ordered the prime rib-eyes at €44 each. It was a steak house, after all, and our lunch had been underwhelming. Both steaks were undercooked and seemed a long way from prime. A double-header of disappointing meals on this day.
But it wasn’t a complete disaster. Before dinner, we enjoyed the Colonel’s house-baked bread with a salted butter sent from the heavens. It was incredible, so much so we ate it with a fork (don’t tell my cardiologist). My apple tart flambée was terrific, as well.
As for Brussels … I had read so many negative comments about it before leaving, so maybe that’s why I subconsciously screwed up and only planned for one full day. Everyone we met was nice, and we could have easily spent an extra non-rushed day or two. I’d also forgotten that Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union, and the city is replete with museums and attractions to keep you busy. Plus, how can you go wrong in a city known for beer, frites, waffles and chocolate?
Yes, I left out Brussels sprouts. Nobody’s perfect.
Tomorrow, we’d hop a train for the short ride to Brugge (Bruges), where we would spend three nights. We’d admire the lovely canals and town square, visit a church with mysterious relics, walk over a bridge with a legend, see the only Michelangelo statue that’s not in Italy, sample some Belgium brews, watch Tracy gun down predators by the dozens and have dinner where a well-known movie was filmed. Oh yeah, we would also have our first encounter (but certainly not last) with bicyclists in Belgium and France, plus I got to dance with some friendly frites.
https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...ated-brussels/
CHAPTER TWO: Underrated Brussels
Day Two: Under Construction, Corner Park, Meeting Our Quotient, Fight Fight For Old Notre Dame, “Miraculous” Boat Ride, Missed Waffle Opportunity, Ain’t It Grand, A Port In The Storm, Flower Power, El Bosco, Soulless, Gotta Pis, Checking In With Mike (Again), No Reservations and Butter Me Up!
One of the great things about a flight to Europe is that when you wake up early the next day you can’t get back to sleep. Much to the chagrin of my travel companions, that meant an early start. The forecast had called for rain, but the skies were clear as we exited the hotel.
Nearby (about a ten-minute walk) would be the Palais de Justice de Bruxelles on Galgenberg Hill (Mont Gallows), which got its name because it was where crowds would gather to see people get hanged. I was really interested in seeing this building, which was reputed to be the largest building in the world when it was constructed from the 1860s to the 1880s (it’s still considered the largest Palace of Justice in the world). It also has a dome supposedly even bigger than St. Peter’s Basilica.
As we approached, we sensed trouble. Seeing a lot of cranes and scaffolding, we knew this wouldn’t be quite as spectacular as I had imagined. Had I researched more before leaving, I would have known the structure has been in disrepair for the past 40 years.
There was a sign saying it was open to the public, but before entering was something that was hard to miss … La Grande Roue. The View (as it is known) ferris wheel reaches 180 feet up, and for €9 this relatively new attraction takes its guests to the highest point in the city.
Fortunately for my cohorts, it didn’t open for a few hours. Just in front of the ferris wheel is the Belgian Infantry Memorial dedicated to Belgian foot soldiers who fought in World Wars I and II.
We checked out the city view before entering the Palais de Justice.
The first tour did not start for 90 minutes, so we decided to sneak in for a few minutes to check out the interior. Good to get those first stairs early.
Tours don’t start until later in the morning, so we didn’t see any rooms. Kim, Mary and Tracy were ready to fire their tour guide.
We walked around the interior and second floor, but with no rooms to see, we were on our way toward other Brussels’ sights..
A few bloscks away we walked by and through a Flemish neo-Renaissance style flower garden, Square du Petit Sablon/Kleine Zavelsquare.
It’s a picturesque square and garden surrounded by 48 statues representing Brussels’ various guilds and another ten that highlight the renowned humorists of the 16th century.
The ornate fountain and statue near the back of the park was erected to honor the resistance fighters, Counts of Egmont and Hornes, who were decapitated during the Spanish siege in the 16th century.
An intriguing church (here we go again) across from the square was calling my name, but we really needed some caffeine and sustenance. We spied a sign for Le Pain Quotidien, which we have dined at in many cities in the U.S. I was kind of disappointed we didn’t find something more authentic, but then I discovered that Le Pain Quotidien was actually founded in 1990 … in Brussels. And, by the way, we have never been disappointed with the food, no matter what the city.
I had planned for our next stop to be Notre-Dame du Sablon (Church of Our Lady of the Sablon), but was having trouble finding it, so I said, “While were are here, let’s check out the church across the street, and find Notre-Dame afterward.” Much to my surprise, as we entered Tracy whispered (with that “Tom, you idiot” look in her eyes), “This IS Notre-Dame du Sablon.” I should have had an extra cappuccino.
Seems this church has lots of names including Église Notre-Dame des Victoires du Sablon, but in any case, it’s a beautiful Gothic church, which actually began as an Archer’s Chapel (a bunch of straight arrows, I presume) in the 13th century. And to think, it all started with stolen property.
The legend is that a woman named Beatrjis Soetkens had a vision. In that vision, the Virgin Mary told her to steal a “miraculous statue” in Antwerp. (It’s the first I have ever read that Mary was also a crime boss.) Well, old Beatrjis, not one to argue with the Virgin herself, stole the statue, surreptitiously (and “miraculously”) made her way back undetected to Brussels by boat and then put it in the chapel. There are a few statues recreating the event in the church. We never saw the real statue. Perhaps we needed a miracle.
Once the church’s cathedral was completed in the 15th century, the rich and famous flocked here. We started our mini self-guided tour … from the left is a marble sculpture from the 17th century, a font and a sculpted effigy of Claude Bouton, chamberlain of Emperor Charles V, and his wife Lannoy.
The stained glass here …
… is extra colorful (and clean as were nearly all the stained glass windows we encountered on this trip).
This painting was ordered by four prominent members of the Great Serment of the Crossbowmen of the Sablon with their patron saints behind them and has been recently restored.
Continuing around the interior we passed by a tomb of someone who must have been important, a Pieta and a painting of the Annunciation.
The church includes two Baroque chapels, financed by the wealthy Thurn and Taxis families. The Taxis, I believe, transported people around town charging a fare (that might be incorrect). This is the chapel commemorating the little known Saint Marcouf, who had a lot of duties, including protector of the French crown, while also being the patron saint of apothecaries, cloth merchants and aiding people with swollen glands. A busy man, indeed.
Quite a magnificent entrance to the Chapel of Saint Ursula, which is thought to be the mourning chapel of the Thurn and Taxis families.
Famed Brussels sculptor Jan van Delen (and a few of his friends) created the most spectacular area in the church. Poor St. Ursula has an arrow through her, proving once again it’s tough being a saint.
Thankfully, Tracy still has a flexible neck and can take these ceiling shots.
The tomb of Lamoral is particularly striking. Various artists contributed to the sculpture that “shows how the fame of the dead prince will outlive him, illustrated as a lively battle between Virtue and Time, while Fame sounds the praises on her trumpet.”
van Delen also created these two allegorical figures representing Charity (Caritas) and Truth (Veritas).
And yet another ceiling for Tracy to photograph.
Église Notre-Dame des Victoires du Sablon was quite a surprise as I hadn’t read much about it before leaving, and I was glad we stopped in.
A sign helped us with directions and as we headed toward the Grand’Place, flowers …
… and macarons piqued our interest.
The Caffe Leffe in Sablon Square looked of interest …
… but Belgian Chocolate Makers really had us savoring some sweets. The woman at this store touted their waffles as “the best in Brussels,” but unfortunately the waffle-maker was out for an hour and sadly we did not return. We probably would have spent the rest of the day eating waffles and chocolate had he been there.
Look up on the wall. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s SuperSmurf.
No, you’re not. We see you.
The Place Saint-Jean / Sint-Jansplein.
Shortly, we arrived in arguably the most famous square in Europe, the Grand’Place. It dates mostly from the late 1690s courtesy of Louis XIV, who had his troops demolish the square (except for the Town Hall Spire). Four years later, a square even more more grand than the first one was completed. Take that Louis!
I never like seeing horses haul overweight tourists around town, so these horseless e-carriages were a welcome sight.
And Mary stopped by a chocolate shop named just for her (or at least that’s what we assumed).
The Maison des Brasseurs (Brewers House) dates all the way back to the late 1600s (all the brewers financed the reconstruction of the house after Louis destroyed it). Today, it’s a national museum of the brewery industry. By now, I knew we should have planned for an extra day here. The equestrian statue up top is of Charles of Lorraine.
There are a number of guild houses. The Chaloupe d'Or (Golden Boat) is the old headquarters of the tailors' guild. On top is a statue of St. Homobonus of Cremona, the patron saint of, who else? tailors. It seemed like a good fit. To the left is Le Pigeon (not named for the droppings on St. Homobonus next door). This was the painters guild, but is more famous for housing author Victor Hugo when he was exiled during the coup d'etat of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte in 1851.
The highlight of the Grand’Place is, in my opinion, the Town Hall. In the mid-1400s a weather vane was placed atop the tower of my good friend St. Michael, patron saint of Brussels (and me). The original was replaced in 1993. The façade of the Town Hall has something like 300 sculptures, and fortunately for you I don’t know anything about them. It is the only remaining medieval building on the Grand'Place.
We entered the courtyard, and just after snapping photos of a couple of statues, the skies opened up and it started pouring. The four of us scurried inside, and, voila, there was a museum.
Price of admission for the tour including audio guide cost €15, however for the three oldsters, it was only €6 euro each. I have an expensive wife.
We were greeted by St. Michael. Looking at this piece, I’m glad I’m on his good side (the original St. Michael weather vane is in the Brussels City Museum in the King’s House on the Grand’Place). We picked up our audio guide..
According to legend, the architect who designed the building jumped to his death after realizing it was asymmetrical. I guess it was too much of an undertaking.
Some of the rooms of interest included:
The Portrait Room
The equestrian painting of Marie Therese was one of the main focal points.
You would expect the hallway of a Town Hall to be beautiful.
The Council Chamber is a “wow” room.
The ceiling painting is Assembly of the Gods.
Tapestries adorn the walls.
The Maximillian Room was named after a portrait of Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian and Mary of Burgundy (center).
The David & Bathsheba Room had a nice fireplace and an interesting clock.
Fortunately, nobody stole anyone’s wife here.
The Belle Chamber was quite lovely.
The Wedding Room was, not surprisingly, setting up for a wedding.
We reached the oldest part of the building, the Gothic Hall, which, in reality, is neo-Gothic.
There are statues and tapestries, the one on the left representing the Embroiderers' Guild.
We had wanted to see the Staircase of Honour, but it was closed on this day. We did, however, see the Corridor of Honour, and its magnificent wall and ceiling paintings.
I thanked Michael for the visit and asked him if he could keep me safe the rest of the trip. He said, “You really are asking for miracles.”
Back out onto the Grand’Place, the sun was shining again, as we walked the cobblestone streets and soon arrived at our next destination. We gazed up at the equestrian statue of King Albert I, the beloved king of the Belgians from 1909-1934, who died in a mountaineering accident in 1934. The statue was erected 17 years after his death.
At the top of the stairs, we admired a garden signifying we were at the Mont des Arts, an area that has numerous museums.
The garden connects the lower and upper parts of Brussels and was landscaped for the 1910 Brussels World Fair.
And just like that, the rain started pelting us again, so we dashed under an allée of trees, up more stairs, catching a quick glimpse of a cool relief and sheltering at a nearby self-serve bar/restaurant. Château Moderne.
To be kind, it was not very good, from the sub-par sandwiches to the weird tasting croquettes to whatever awful white wine they were serving. On the plus side, they were consistent, and it was indoors.
When the rain stopped, we admired the splendid view from the terrace out toward the Town Hall, and in the far distance, the Basilique Nationale du Sacré Coeur.
Next up on the agenda, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique. Along the way we checked out some street art by a Welsh-born street artist who goes by the unusual (and unappetizing) name of Phlegm, which he created on the side of KBR, Royal Library of Belgium. ‘The World of Bruegel in Black and White’ is a tribute to painter Peter Bruegel who had died 450 years earlier. Phlegm was commissioned to do “a modern rendition of Bruegel’s Seven Deadly Sins series.” Phlegm has coughed up a lot of interesting art.
Heading to what we thought was Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, we discovered we were staring at the Royal Palace of Belgium. Unfortunately, you can only tour the palace during August.
Turns out the Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique is four museums in one, but on this day we were really only interested in Musée d'Art Ancien (Museum of Old Masters), which covers the 15th to the 17th centuries.
I was particularly intrigued in a painting by Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch (El Bosco). Later in our tour, he would be “out Bosched” by another artist’s painting in the gallery.
In 1801, the museum was founded by none other than Napoléon, who seized the art during the French Revolution. Some of my favorites as we meandered along were:
I started to sing the music from Les Miserables when I saw this painting, but it’s really “The Belgian Revolution of 1830, 1835.”
The 1675 Fountain of Neptune had some weird stuff going on. It’s similar “in type and composition of Bernini's Triton Fountain in Rome.”
We took a look at “The Beheading of the Innocent Count” by Dirk Bouts.
Jan Verhas painted “The Parade of the Schools of 1878 in the presence of King Leopold II.”
Then it was time for my guy Bosch. The “Temptation of St Anthony Triptych” is a Bosch copy from the very early 1500s “Wait,” I thought, “Haven’t I seen this before?” I had seen the original in Lisbon and another copy at the Prado in Madrid.
Peter Paul Rubens and Rogier van der Weyden were featured.
van der Weyden’s famous Portrait of Laurent Froimont was also on display.
As was Lucas Cranach’s Adam and Eve.
There was one painting that I would have bet my easel was a Bosch creation. The Fall of the Rebel Angels was first thought to be by Pieter Bruegel the Younger. However, it was then attributed to Bosch until 1898, when a date and signature was found in the left hand corner. It was actually the work of Bruegel the Elder. Always respect your Elders is the moral of the story.
The Fall of the Rebel Angels is an homage to Bosch. According to Wiki, “Painted in 1562, Bruegel's depiction of Lucifer falling with his fallen angels is taken from a passage from Revelation 12, and reveals the artist's profound debt to Hieronymus Bosch. This is shown through the grotesque, ugly or distorted, figures painted as half-human and half-apocalyptic creatures.” I loved it!
Bruegel also had a much calmer winter landscape.
After walking by the original “The Death of Murat” by Jacques-Louis David, we had a decision to make. Where to next?
Deciding between the Atomium or Basilique Nationale du Sacré Coeur, we choose the latter. It was a decision that I believe we can now all admit was a mistake. The journey to the basilica took ten minutes by Uber.
Basilique Nationale du Sacré Coeur touts its dimensions as the fifth largest church in the world, however upon further review when I got home, I found it is really #14. In any case, it is quite imposing from the outside.
Inside, the words that came to mind were sterile and stark without much soul.
Construction started in the early 20th century, but it was not consecrated until 1951.
We made our way to the second level. Yes, it’s big.
We hopped on the elevator to the top, and reviews saying it has a great view were right on.
We looked out at what might have been, a modernistic structure constructed for the 1958 Brussels World Exhibition. The Atomium is also the #1 tourist attraction in Brussels. Oh well.
All in all, the Basilique was a forgettable experience.
Back in Brussels, Kim and Mary headed back to the hotel for a little r&r, while Tracy and I did continued exploring. At one corner there was a large crowd of people taking photos which could only mean one thing. We were at the Mannekin Pis, a tiny bronze statue of a boy peeing. Supposedly he has more than 1,000 costumes that are changed frequently. I read that he also has his own dresser and obviously a good press agent.
One of many legends surrounding the statute is that it resembled the “son of a nobleman who attempted to seduce the virtuous Saint Gudule. Heaven’s punishment was to condemn his son to remain always a child, and always relieving himself.” That gave us the idea to see Cathédrale Saints-Michel-et-Gudule next.
Along the way we saw street art from Sarajevo artist Rikardo Druškić near the Grand’Place celebrating the BalkanTrafik Festival, which celebrates musical artists from the Balkan countries
Work on this cathedral began back in 1216.
This is the statue of Anointment of Jesus in the tomb.
Just like in every Brussels church we visited, the stained glass windows glowed.
The Great Organ was, well, great, with 43,000 pipes.
Another thing that really stood out was the pulpit depicting Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden, which happened because they were the apples of each other’s eyes.
We could have stayed longer to admire more of the artwork, but by now we were dragging, so back to the hotel we trudged for one of our patented 15-minute naps.
Earlier in the day, after a unanimous decision not to return to the Grand’Place for dinner, Mary recalled a nice looking restaurant near our first night venue. She texted and got reservations at a restaurant called Colonel. I asked Mary about it, and she assured us it wasn’t Colonel Sanders.
We arrived at the appointed time at Colonel Louise and were told they didn’t have reservations for us. After some discussion, we discovered that Mary had made a reservation at its sister restaurant Colonel Fort Jaco. Who knew? They took us anyway.
Dinner was a mixed bag. Mary and Kim enjoyed their filet and flank steaks. Meanwhile Tracy and I, who were very hungry and decided to splurge, ordered the prime rib-eyes at €44 each. It was a steak house, after all, and our lunch had been underwhelming. Both steaks were undercooked and seemed a long way from prime. A double-header of disappointing meals on this day.
But it wasn’t a complete disaster. Before dinner, we enjoyed the Colonel’s house-baked bread with a salted butter sent from the heavens. It was incredible, so much so we ate it with a fork (don’t tell my cardiologist). My apple tart flambée was terrific, as well.
As for Brussels … I had read so many negative comments about it before leaving, so maybe that’s why I subconsciously screwed up and only planned for one full day. Everyone we met was nice, and we could have easily spent an extra non-rushed day or two. I’d also forgotten that Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union, and the city is replete with museums and attractions to keep you busy. Plus, how can you go wrong in a city known for beer, frites, waffles and chocolate?
Yes, I left out Brussels sprouts. Nobody’s perfect.
Tomorrow, we’d hop a train for the short ride to Brugge (Bruges), where we would spend three nights. We’d admire the lovely canals and town square, visit a church with mysterious relics, walk over a bridge with a legend, see the only Michelangelo statue that’s not in Italy, sample some Belgium brews, watch Tracy gun down predators by the dozens and have dinner where a well-known movie was filmed. Oh yeah, we would also have our first encounter (but certainly not last) with bicyclists in Belgium and France, plus I got to dance with some friendly frites.
Last edited by maitaitom; Nov 1st, 2024 at 10:14 AM.
