July 21 Brussels

July 21

Our last day in Europe. We were told by our B&B hosts of a flea market that is held every week in a small park, about a 30 minute walk away, where you can sometimes find real bargains. Paulette and Darlene really wanted to check it out, so we left right after breakfast. Here is a nice quiet street on the way.

We were told we would be walking by this wall, which is a remnant of the medieval wall that used to surround Brussels.

This the market, it is set up in a small park in a residential area. Both Darlene and Paulette found a few good buys.

Our hosts had also recommended a good place to have Moules et Frites (Mussels and Fries), which is pretty much the national dish of Belgium. The place was in the same neighbourhood as the flea market, so we stopped in for lunch. They were great.

On our way back to the center of Brussels.

This is typical of a street corner in Brussels.

A nice clock on a government building.

July 21st is the Belgium National Holiday, so this street was blocked off to cars and Belgians were out in force to celebrate.

One of the displays for the holiday was an exhibition of police and their vehicles from all over the European Union. The orange BMWs are from Luxembourg, the blue from Italy.

The biggest attention getter was this Lamborghini Italian police car.

I think this is one of only 2 that they own.

Taking a break from the crowds in a small park.

We finished the afternoon in our favourite neighbourhood bar, La Mort Subite.

It was a beautiful old bar. The place is always packed.

More good local beer.

The next morning, we left for the airport right after breakfast and caught our flight home, no time for pictures.

Looking forward to the next trip, maybe Italy.

July 20 Travel to Brussels

July 20

We leave Paris for Brussels. By high speed train, the trip is one hour 20 minutes. We had a great B&B in the centre of Brussels, Chez Dominique. After checking in, we head out to check out the city.

This Mall, actually a roof covered street is less then a block from our B&B.

One of the many chocolate shops in Brussels.

A small square, also close to where we stayed.

We were just 2 blocks from the Grande Place, considered one of the most beautiful squares in Europe.

The square is always full of people, both tourists and locals.

One of the many restaurants in the square.

There are a lot of shops, including this plant store.

Even the manhole covers are unique.

This is the famous Mannequin Pis. Basically a small fountain shaped like a small boy having a leak. He is dressed in a different colour everyday and the small square where he is located is always full of people taking pictures (like this one).

A less touristy but interesting street in Brussels.

Brussels is full of cyclists, and the city seems bicycle friendly. Many of the women have baskets in front of the handlebars, like we used to have in the 50s and 60s.

This is a beer hall near where we stayed called Mort Subite (Sudden Death). We went there a few times to try out the great Belgian beers.

The best reason for going to Brussels, to try out as many beers as you can. Belgium has over 400 breweries, most of them small but traditional beer makers. Many of the beers are made by monks, including the Trappist monks, who are considered to make some of the best beers in the country.

Cheers!

July 19 Paris

July 19

During our last day in Paris, we decided to visit inside some famous buildings we had walked past, starting with Notre Dame.

Beautiful stained glass window.

Another beautiful window, lighting this statue.

Next, we visited another church on l'Ile de la Cité, Sainte Chapelle. This is a much smaller church, built by King Louis IX (also known as Saint Louis) as a private chapel for the royal family. Getting to the chapel requires passing through tight security, similar to an airport, as it is located within the courtyard of the Paris courthouse, Le Palais de Justice.

Nice ceiling patterns.

Most of the walls are glass.

Blue seems to be used a lot. The chapel was built in the 1240's.

We then visited the Pantheon. This is a beautiful building built in the 1740's by Louis XV. It was modeled on the Pantheon in Rome. The Roman one was built in 126 AD.

View from the upper bacony.

From the roof, you get a great view of Notre Dame.

Also a good view of the Eiffel Tower, seen behind Darlene and Paulette.

The building is used to hold the tombs of many famous French citizens. They are in the basement of the building, called the crypt. Here we see the tombs of 3 famous writers: Victor Hugo on the left, Emile Zola on the right and Alexandre Dumas in the back.

The last building we visited is the Musée du Moyen Age (Middle Ages), in the Cluny building. As you can see, the building itself is very old.

These are status of earlier French Kings, names were not given.

The museum has a large collection of medieval tapestries.

The most famous is a series known as The Maiden and the Unicorn. This is one of 5 that were on display.

Back on our street, rue Saint Jacques. Kitty corner from our hotel was this famous building, the Sorbonne University.

July 18 Paris

July 18

We split up for this day, Claude and Paulette visited the Eiffel Tower, l'Arche de Triomphe and the Champs Elisees, and Darlene and I visited the Marais district. The photo above is the Jewish quarter, which is a part of the Marais district.

The shops in the Jewish quarter have their own style. Here is a Jewish bakery.

On leaving the Jewish quarter, still in the Marais, we came upon the Musée Carnavalet, which is dedicated to the history of Paris. It was not part of our plan to visit it, but we decided to have a look.

Darlene taking a break in the inner courtyard, before going into the building.

It is a very beautiful building and the displays were so interesting, we ended up staying close to 2 hours!

Most of the history of Paris is told via artwork, such as this painting of the Seine. Notice that the banks were not yet built up when this painting was made. That's Notre Dame on Ile de la Cité.

Here is a different period. late 1800's.

This is Place des Vosges, a beautiful square surrounded by apartment buildings built in the early 1600's.

This is a very good restaurant called Le Petit Bowfinger, in the Marais, where we had a great lunch (thanks Marcelle).

Leaving the Marais, we visited this church called l'eglise Saint Marie Madeleine. It was built in the mid 1700's.

Inside the church, also called La Madeleine.

Darlene browsing at books in the only English language bookstore in Paris, called Sheakespeare and Company.

We finished the day in a park called Jardin de Luxembourg.

The French government's Senate building is located within the park.

The park has many chairs that people use to relax and read.

Darlene in Jardin de Luxembourg.