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.

Paris Adventures- Day 1

After a miserable night of sleep (I never sleep well my first night in a strange place) it was nice to wake up to a fresh pot of coffee and breakfast in my pajamas.  That, I must say, is one of the best things about staying in an apartment over a hotel room. We hung out in the apartment until Ava got her morning nap, so we were ready to head out around 10:30. 

We wanted to start our day in the historic area of Paris, which is the island located in the center of the Seine River and is home to Notre Dame Cathedral and Saint Chappelle.  After our visit I have sort of developed an irrational obsession with Paris and have watched a few documentaries about the city and some of its famous inhabitants.  This island was also the birthplace of the French Revolution. 

The weather was pretty nice so we decided to walk from our apartment.  We did a lot of walking this day.  Here is a map of all the walking we did on day 1 (I know…total nerd alert)

Our first stop was Notre Dame and I must say this church was even more beautiful than I had expected it to be.  What I find so incredible is that this church was started in 1163 and was not completed until 1345.  How difficult it must have been to work so hard on a project that you will never see completed.  When you look at the size of this church it is incredible to think that it was built prior to the use of modern machinery.  The towers stand 200 feet tall, but we did not make the climb (not fun with a baby). 

The Last Judgment- Notice the angel and the demon weighing the souls in the balance.  The bad souls are to the right and the good souls are to the left, gazing up at heaven. 

Mary in the Rose Window and the Kings of Judah.  During the French Revolution there was such a hatred of French Kings that some Paris citizens beheaded these kings and they weren’t repaired for decades.  Someone actually buried the heads on her property and they were unearthed in 1977.

The inside of the church is just as impressive as the outside.  During our visit we were able to see a display of the nine new bells ordered for the church’s 850th birthday (holy cow that is old!).  The church’s original bells were destroyed during the French Revolution (poor Notre Dame really took a beating).  The 4 replacement bells, which were cast in the 19th century, were removed, melted down and made into 8 new bells.  The new bells, which were now on the display, will be placed in the tower at the end of the month and will be rung for the first time on March 23rd, the day before Palm Sunday.   The bells lined the aisle of the church and it was quite a display.  The bells were on display for less than 1 month, so we were pretty lucky to catch it.

This is the main bell and the largest.  “Her” name is Mary and she weighs a whopping 6 1/2 tons. 

More pictures from Notre Dame

   By the way.  It is a major no no to carry your child on your shoulders in the Musee D’Orsay (we may or may not know this from experience). 

After leaving Notre Dame, we traveled over one of the “Love Lock” bridges, the Pont de l’Archeveche.  There are actually 2 “Love Lock” bridges in Paris.  One has locks for your committed love and the other bridge has locks for your lover.  Pont de l’Archeveche is for your lover. We then  walked to the Louvre (just to see the outside, it was closed that day), and then to the Musee D’Orsay.  I have no pictures from inside, but I loved seeing the ACTUAL impressionist works and Van Gogh paintings that I have learned about in school.  That was one of the highlights of my trip.  After we got in trouble for wearing Ava on Dan’s shoulders, I put her in the baby carrier and we had a great time walking around and looking at art. 

Some of the locks for the Lovers.

  No Louvre this visit, but we will be sure to make it inside next time.  

After the museum we walked back to the apartment to allow Ava to nap and to rest up for before dinner.  My feet were sure barking after all that walking.  We made sure to stop for some necessities before heading back.  I did not get a picture of the beautiful, very stinky cheese that we grabbed as well.  Wine, cheese and pastries was the perfect ending to a great afternoon.