Brussels, Day 8

Well, despite how busy we were today, not much to report on the exciting side. The best thing is that Jerry is feeling much better and was able to get out today and do some sightseeing. After having our overflowing toilet fixed, we went over to the Grand Place and then did some walking around and window shopping. Got a great souvenir for Mom today--I think she'll really love it, and it's definitely not something that you can find just anywhere!

Had a nice little lunch at an Italian restaurant, then we made our way over to the train station to try and get the student rail card situation figured out. Luckily, the representative at the guichet this time was much more helpful, so we have everyone situated, save those couple of students who did not send a photo (an easy fix once they arrive).

The students are winging their way over here as I type, and will arrive at 7:25 AM tomorrow morning...very early! Everything is ready for their arrival--we will have dinner at what looks like a very cool little restaurant tomorrow evening, then a chance for waffles on Monday (since all of the museums are closed), then the Museum of the City of Brussels on Tuesday before they go to Louvain-la-Neuve on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the Chocolate Museum is closed until the end of January, as is the Magritte Museum and the Museum of Modern Art. Hopefully the students will be able to visit those spaces later.

We are off to go walk around some more--after the late Italian food lunch, I don't think either of us is hungry, so perhaps we will work up an appetite for some true Brussels fare...

Brussels, Day 7

Another low key day, as far as blog entries go. Jerry is still sick--I think with the flu, although he insists otherwise--so I just went around the city and tried to get everything confirmed, reconfirmed, and picked up for the students. The train station passes are still proving to be a problem (of course), but other than that, everything is set. It looks like we will have a great restaurant reservation and a great visit to the Museum of the City of Brussels!

Hopefully more tomorrow...

Paris to Brussels, Day 6

Today was a day of travel and getting settled...no pictures to show, and really nothing exciting to tell, other than we took the train from Paris to Brussels and we are now safely ensconced in our "apartment" (only slightly larger than our little hotel room in Paris, but still perfect for what we need). HOWEVER, getting the chance to visit a new place--even better, a francophone country--is very exciting, so I guess I should amend that statement to reflect how awesome it is that we are in Belgium!!

What is a little bit sad is the prevalence of American chain restaurants here. Beyond even the presence in Paris, by which I was already heartbroken. It EVEN surpasses the abundance of KFC's in Malaysia (please note that every single one of my pictures from Malaysia have a KFC in them, except for the ones from Uncle Rick's apartment and inside the National Museum--even though you might actively try to take a picture there without a KFC, it's almost impossible :) ). Just in the 7-minute walk from the apartment office to our abode, there were two McDonalds, 2 Subways, 1 Pizza Hut, and 1 Dominos. Not to mention the Quick-type spinoffs...GAH!

Jerry is still battling his cold--miraculously I have not gotten it...yet. I fully expect to wake up with it tomorrow morning, since (as all of you who are familiar with me know) I have no immune system. Actually, this might be the first time in about 7 or 8 years that I haven't gotten sick when within 100 yards of someone who is! Let's keep that train of positive thinking going!

We had dinner in a little bistro near the apartment and we are now going to go rest in the hopes that we can soit get better, soit not get sick...

Paris, Day 5

Although it doesn't feel like it, today was sort of a low key day. Neither Jerry nor I felt good all yesterday evening or this morning, so we decided to rest in the hotel this morning.

I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out the luggage situation--still no word from Air France. Although they declared that the luggage is "at the airport", their caveat is that they don't know which airport. My money is still on it sitting there at Hartsfield-Jackson after the mechanical problems on the plane. (Of course that bet doesn't include it still being there--I'm sure someone has walked off with it by now and is feeling very lucky for picking a suitcase with such a classy, well-rounded wardrobe.)

After we were feeling better, for lunch, we went to my favorite...l'As du Falafel!!! That falafel sandwich was every bit as good as I remembered, maybe even more delicious!! Abby met us there, which was really fun as well. I'm proud of Jerry--he tried the falafel! Although he declared it was "not bad" in a tone of voice that made us comment on how Americans have so many different ways of saying "not really my thing", at least he tried it even though he was skeptical. :)

After lunch, we walked to the Place des Vosges, then over to la Bastille and hung out in a cafe for a little while with Abby--it was so sad to say goodbye, knowing that I will not be able to see her for so long!




We then trekked over to the Louvre--it was open late today, until 10:00 PM, but as it turns out, neither of us were up for even the relatively small challenge of a four-hour visit. We saw our favorites (except for Mme de Pompadour), then called it a night, going back to the hotel for some Speed Rabbit Pizza.

Here are a few highlights from the visit today...




An actual helmet from Charles VI's reign, and a copy to show what it would have looked like "back in the day".







The Napoléon III apartments (n.b., we were having some trouble with the exposure on the camera, so some are a little blurry)





A decorative box brought to a church by Philippe le Bel containing some relics from Saint Louis.




The immense inside cours with so many sculptures--very peaceful...




My favorite shot of the day--Jerry and the Vénus de Milo, looking opposite ways...






The Vigée Le Brun for Mom...





Very interesting after the book I read this year on Diane de Poitiers--a bronze sculpture for over a door at Fontainebleau--it depicts the image of Diana, goddess of the hunt, which was at the time strongly linked with Diane de Poitiers.

And a few other images from the day...




Off to bed now to nurse our food troubles and the cold that Jerry caught (and which I will certainly have by 2 or 3 AM). Then onto the train for Brussels early in the morning...

Paris, Day 4

Today was such a great day; we went to Versailles and, although I’ve been before—and even been on the “behind the scenes” tour—I’ve never seen the Galerie des Glaces or Marie Antoinette’s apartments. It was amazing to see both of these spots—perhaps I shouldn’t admit it, but I definitely got teary-eyed and even speechless (a huge feat for me in the middle of so much XVIIIe century history to talk about). Here are a few highlights from all of the pictures that we took…

The chapel, where Louis and Marie Antoinette were married (not the proxy one) on May 16, 1770. I’ve been inside it on the special tour, but when you have to stand outside the doors, it’s impossible to get a good picture of the ensemble. You have to just take a picture of the lower parts at first, then wait until you get up to the second level to take a picture of the beautiful paintings on the ceiling that correspond so well with the colors in the marble on the floor.

Some pictures attempting to depict the opulence of the rooms and the chateau as a whole, which is, of course, impossible. I was especially drawn to the chandeliers. They were spectacular, even down to the braided, silky cords from which they were hanging.

The King’s bedroom

The other “mothership” (Louis Vuitton on the Champs Elysées) being the one previously mentioned), the Queen’s bedroom—once occupied by Marie Antoinette. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I believe I heard a tour guide say that the bedspread was original to the chateau from her time in these chambers, although that’s somewhat hard to believe given what happened during those years and those directly following. It was a thrill to see the door through which she escaped when the chateau was stormed.

Looking forward to a good day tomorrow, which will hopefully include falafel J, the Louvre, and meeting up with Abby (as well as trying to figure out what to do about my luggage…).