Floralia- A Little Piece of the Netherlands in Belgium

Keukenhof is known worldwide for their stunning tulip displays and it is on my list of places to visit while we are living here in Belgium.  Today is a particularly exciting day in Holland as it is Queen's Day and a very special Queen's day, because the Queen is passing the crown on to her son. 

Due to a very late Spring here in Europe (and in the US, from what I hear), rumor has it that Keukenhof, although still beautiful, is not in its prime.  So, I decided that this year was not the year to visit.  So, I jumped on the chance to go Monday afternoon with a group of wives from Dan's unit and check out the Floralia Exhibition at the Castle of Groot-Bijgaarden.  The architects of the exhibit are from the Netherlands.  Even better, this exhibition was less than an hours drive away.

What a stunning display of flowers.  The beautiful 14 hectacre (equal to 35.5 acres) castle grounds were decorated with 500 varieties of flowers, 400 of which were varieties of tulips.   All the bulbs were planted by hand, over 1 million bulbs!



A local retirement home had an outing.  They remind me of a biker gang, with wheelchairs. 

In addition to the gardens was a greenhouse displaying a rotating collection of over 150 flower arrangements (changed each week) and flower beds

No, the colors on your computer are not messed up.  These are muli-color roses.  I wish I knew how they were able to do this

The largest Hydrangeas I have ever seen

A little bit about the castle itself.  Kasteel Groot-Bijgarden (or Castle of Groot-Bijgaarden) is a 12th century castle (that is the 1300s, or a really, really, really long time ago) just outside of Brussels.  For those of you interested in architecture, the castle is considered to be in Flemish Renaissance Style. 

Looking pretty good for being over 700 years old.

The castle is surrounded by a moat spanned by a bridge with five arches (not sure the signifigance of the five arches) leading to a drawbridge and gatehouse (dating from the 14th century). 

Although we couldn't go into the castle (though you can rent it for weddings and special events), we were able to go into the tower (or the dungeon), which was built in 1347.  Not quite a dungeon anymore, the tower housed more floral displays.

 

Again, turn your head:)  Sorry for the sideways pictures.

 

As you can see, Ava really enjoyed the flowers as well.



Oh no!  The gang got a hold of Ava. 

Ghent: The red-headed stepchild of Belgium

Ghent was a Belgian city I was not overly excited to check out.  People talk about how it is not as lively as Brussels and not as beautiful as Brugges.  I would have to disagree with that completely.  I found Ghent to have the beauty of Brugges, with a totally different energy.  While Brugges is beautiful, its main source of economy is tourism and it shows.  It is a tourist city in every sense.  Ghent is a living city.  I felt it had the energy of a big city with the charm and feel of a small town. 

My only "to do" for our visit was to check out the Saint Bavo Cathedral (or the Flemish, Sint Baafskathedraal).  This church is a "must see" because of its famous altarpiece, The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, thought of as one of the greatest Belgian masterpieces.  This altarpiece faced many challenges over the years, but lives on.  First, during the Protestant Revolution the altarpiece was hidden in the tower for safekeeping.  Later, during World War II, the altarpiece was on its way to the Vatican for safe keeping when it was confiscated by the Germans and swiped by Hitler.  It was later rescued by US Forces (go USA!) at the war's end. 

Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of the cathedral.  The outside was under construction and I never feel comfortable taking pictures inside cathedrals.  I did pull this two photos of the altarpiece and the outside of the cathedral off of Wikipedia. 


The Adoration of the Hold Lamb, closed.  The altarpiece could be displayed opened or closed.  This is the closed outside, which was traditionally displayed on weekdays and Saturdays.

 

The Adoration of the Holy Lamb, opened.  The inside was only shown on Sundays.  During the 19th century, Adam and Eve were given clothes to wear. 

 

This photo was most likely taken from the Belfry which is located directly across the square from the church.  Here is a photo of the Belfry.  You can get to the top via some stairs and an elevator, but we didn't feel it was worth the 5 euro price tag.  The Belfry has stood in this location since the 14th century, but the top sphere was added for the World's Fair of 1913.  The Belfry was originally built to house and protect the parchment record of the privileged class.

The dragon on the top symbolizes not the Devil (which was typical in the Middle Ages), but a protector who watches over the city's rights.

After leaving the church, we ducked into an alley, which once was used to drain water from the high ground.  Its nickname is Graffitistraat (graffiti street).  This street is designated by the city as a legal place for graffiti artists to display their work.  Halfway through the lane is a "hidden" fenced-in park.

 

Dan and Ava are looking into the park.  I thought it was so interesting juxtaposed with the graffiti. 

 

The rest of the day was spent wandering around pedestrian streets, shopping and marveling at the city's beauty. 



In the summer I would like to take one of the boat tours

Ava looks thrilled; she had a great time, I swear.

The Castle of the Counts (Gravensteen).  This castle was built in 1180 not to protect the people, but to intimidate the city's people.  If you go inside you can see a torture museum as well as the dungeon (all part of the intimidation).  We plan to head inside on a return trip. 

Saint Michael's Bridge

You known you are in beer country when you see a tour like this one.  The riders are all around a bar with beer on tap.  It is hard to tell, but the riders are actually moving the car by peddling at their barstools.

On our way to Saint Michael's Bridge we stumbled upon this awesome market where we sampled quite a bit of cheese and some delicous Italian pastries.  We were so distracted by this market that we never made it to the bridge.  Oh well, maybe next time. 

French cheeses- Side note, Ava is turning into a major cheese snob.  She turns her nose at American and Cheddar cheese, preferring gruyere or gouda.

That man is slicing prosciutto and cheese to make sandwiches on the bread you see.  Heavenly.



Who needs Dunkin Donuts?  That is a cream filled donut. 

Are you feeling hungry yet?

Dan and I look forward to making more visits to this city as we feel we barely scratched the surface.  We even spotted a hotel where we we like to stay for a date night.  Maybe that will be something we can do when Grandma and Grandpa visit (hint, hint). 







Paris, Day 2

Please excuse my lack of French characters.  I cannot figure out how to add them:(

Our second day in Paris began a lot like our first day.  We enjoyed a nice, leisurely morning in the apartment making breakfast, drinking coffee, reading and letting Ava take her nap. Side note- it is so crazy that Ava is awake for only 1 hour and the girl needs a nap.  After much debate, we decided to save the Louvre for another visit and planned to spend out day checking out the Arc de triomphe, the Eiffel Tour (or La tour Eiffel to the Parisians) and Musee De L'Armee

After all the walking we did yesterday, we decided to take the Metro to the Arc. Our apartment was located really close to the Metro.  The Metro lets out right across the traffic circle from the Arc and then you take a tunnel under the circle to the Arc.  This traffic circle is INSANE; 12 roads all converge at this circle.  I would like to see all the crazy folks from Pinehurst navigate that circle. 



We are standing right at the entrance of the tunnel to go under the traffic circle.



Tomb of the Unknown Solder, which has been located here since 1918. Originally, France's senate wanted the mortal remains of an unidentified soldier to be held at the Pantheon, but veterans rejected that choice and chose the Arc instead.

Since there was no line, we bought tickets to go to the top of the Arc.  The views of the city were quite spectacular. 

Avenue des Champs-Élysées

I love the juxtaposition of the old buildings in Paris and the modern buildings in La Defense

Montmarte and Sacre-coeur

You can't get a view of the Eiffel Tower from Eiffel Tower

It was really cold up there.

Some nerd facts about the Arc.  The Arc de triomphe de l'Etoile took 30 years to complete.  Napoleon wanted a monument that resembled architecture found in ancient Rome so his soldiers could, "march home through the arches of victory".  The arch is a symbol to commemorate the victory or a general or an emperor.  Napoleon did not live to see its completion. 

After the Arc we walked to the Eiffel Tower.  We had decided ahead of time that we would not go to the top. We did take some nice photos.

My favorite picture that I took of the tour.  This was from a park across the river on our walk over.

Ava was nice and cozy in there.  At one point she had taken off both her shoes and socks, but was still perfectly toasty.  We were not...it was freezing.

Our last stop for the day was the Musee De L'Armee and Napoleon's Tomb.  The museum was huge.  Since we didn't have a ton of time, we decided to just visit the World War I and II exhibit and the tomb. The museum was very well done and it was really interesting to learn about the war from a different country's perspective, even if we were on the same side.  I didn't take any pictures inside the museum, but here are some pictures from outside.



This picture shows L'Hotel Des Invalides (on the left), Eglise Du Dome (Dome Chapel) Saint-Louis Des Invalides Chapel (behind the Dome Chapel).  This now museum was originally established 1670 to house disabled soldiers. The building on the left is still a veteran's hospital.  The Chapel was built in 1676.  There were two chapels, the royal chapel and the veteran's chapel.  They did this so the king and his soldiers could attend mass simultaneously, but through separate entrances.  The front chapel is now home to Napoleon's tomb.



The Eglise Du Dome

Finally, here are some pictures from inside the Dome Chapel. 



I do not totally remember, but I think this was the tomb of Napoleon's brother



Napoleon's Tomb- crazy, but inside this tomb you will find an oak coffin, holding an ebony coffin, then 2 lead coffins, then a mahogany one, a tinplate coffin and finally Napoleon.  This was not his original resting place.  His body was exhumed 19 years later (and still perfectly preserved) and brought here in 1840. 

That evening, Dan and I had nice dinner and then took the Metro back to the Eiffel Tower to see it at night, all lit up.  When we got off the train it was raining and freezing, so we turned the corner, saw the tower lit up, turned around and got back on the train towards the warmth of the apartment.  What can I say, we are fair weather tourists.

We all really enjoyed our time in Paris.  Even my father, who wanted nothing to do with Paris, was pleasantly surprised by the city's beauty and the kindness of its people.  Paris gets a bad name, but I think if more people visiting here understood that people LIVE in this city and are not just there to please tourists and appreciate the culture of the city instead of complaining that it lacks some of the comforts of the US they would have a better experience.  I look forward to making another trip back here in the not-so-distant future to visit the Louvre and Orangerie, do a little shopping, and make it to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  For now, au revoir.