Author: Ella

There was a sudden torrent of rain late in the afternoon yesterday. We had barely a few moments in Ruben’s garden before rushing inside and watching the pelting rain. We used the time wisely…(well the Ruben’s “experience” aside – I’ll let Grubb describe that)…to look online and find some kind of eatery within a quick…

Above: mock sweet orange (left) and greater celandine in Stadspark Above: new growth on yew (left) and spiny snow thistle

If nothing else, go for the wooden escalators and killer bikes. That would be Sint-Annatunnel, a pedestrian and bike tunnel, constructed 1931-1933, running under the Scheldt river and connecting Antwerp city center with the Left Bank. From the nondescript entrance, you take two long escalator flights down – both bikes and pedestrians The tunnel is…

Yesterday (Sunday), we visited the M HKA (Museum for Contemporary Art) in Antwerp. If you’ve read our blogs over the years, you know we try to take in some contemporary art wherever we go. There is often a lot we can learn about culture from these exhibitions, although sometimes they are…er…not so intriguing. The M…

Here are some photos from today’s ramble.

From the old stock exchange, we wandered the wet streets in the rain to the KMSKA (Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp). What an eclectic mix. Old masters, modern masters, a Dali triptych thrown into the mix and an exhibition called “In Full Bloom” where those displays were mixed in with everything else.

Today was a rainy day. Our good weather karma has come to a halt but I can’t complain. Since we landed in Belgium almost 2 weeks ago, we’ve had nothing but glorious blue skies, temps in the 60s, creeping up to the low 70s. But today, I had to dig my rain jacket out of…

As mentioned, we’ve arrived in Antwerp.  I was here in 2016 on my own and stayed a week. Back then, I stayed in the Jewish quarter, mostly Hasidic. This time we have a spacious apartment in what’s known as the theater area.  Our apartments in Brussels and Ghent were fine but both lacked comfortable seating….

We’ve moved to Antwerp. Just an hour by train from Ghent but a different world. Antwerp is particularly noted for its diamond district. At one time the vaults were considered so safe, no one carried insurance on their diamonds. Anyone watched a diamond heist movie lately? Arriving at Antwerp Centraal station is a unique experience….

I stumbled across this street art mural in Ghent and realized it portrayed parts of panels from the famous van Eyck altar piece we’d seen a couple days ago. I mentioned in that post about the multi-paneled painting’s tumultuous history of being sold, looted, some panels stolen and restored (all except one panel which remains…

I neglected to mention, yesterday in Bruges we had, according to the waiter, the most traditional, local dish you can have: Flemish beef stew in beer sauce served with fries and a small salad. Sorry, the only thing I took a picture of was… Today, after all the protest excitement, we were walking along a…

May Day! Here it is like our Labor Day. We knew there would be parades and festivities in the afternoon. We tried to figure out the parade route but weren’t successful. So, we thought, there is some great street art down by the Botanical gardens. Let’s go see that and by the time we get…

If you read my post about our crazy train experience the day we took a little excursion to Mechelen, well,  I’m here to tell you that we’ve had some much smoother journeys since then. From Brussels to Ghent a few days ago and yesterday to and from Bruges, smooth as silk. Was that Smurf in the…