Bonjour mon Amies,
I have traveled under the tunnel! (Which makes me think of Shelob, "And then the tunnel." *manic look on face*) The Euro Star is a comfortable and airy ride about 2 hours and five minutes, and it doesn't run late! It was really enjoyable.
We had a great adventure after getting off the train! My brother in law W.D. drove for the first time to Brussels Middi - the station which Euro Star embarks to from London. It was his first time driving around Brussels and we gave him wrong coordinates. But, we ended up reaching their apartment safe and sound. It's a nice little previous bachelor pad in the business living district. It has a nice view of the rooftops of Brussels.
We were slightly more tired than usual (there is a one hour difference in the future from London to Brussels) and decided not to cram too much in the first day. W.D (my bro in law)., myself, and H.S. went walking to St. Confenaire a small park that W.D. and L.D. (my sister) run in. The park is beautiful and encompasses (what I and W.D. believe) is a World War II memorial dedicated at the centre of Brussels boulevard.
The building has a circular atrium and two wings spreading out from the atrium. Atop the building are beautiful statues of people and possibly soldiers. All around the archway entrance are statues, about eight of them, each unique. One of them was missing its left eye. I think that the statues and memorial are under reconstruction efforts.
The building has a circular atrium and two wings spreading out from the atrium. Atop the building are beautiful statues of people and possibly soldiers. All around the archway entrance are statues, about eight of them, each unique. One of them was missing its left eye. I think that the statues and memorial are under reconstruction efforts.
All around the park are various statues, one of a hound, one of a steward, and a few others all with signs in Flemish or French. That's what's great about Brussels (aside from little to no English speakers) is there is a distinction between the Flemish and French speaking population. The park is beautiful and I got a lot of good computer background worthy pictures.
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Today was the fifth anniversary for W.D. and L.D. We spent the first half of the day driving to Villers la Ville Abbey south of Brussels. The ruins were absolutely amazing! Most of the outer structure is still standing including clock towers, the chapel, and an old residence building. There were many alcoves which I'm assuming contained, at one time, statues of the Virgin Mary, St. Juliana, or other saints.
My favorite part of the abbey was investigating the wine seller and jail, both of which were dark and muddy, but I could imagine what it was like back in the 13 to 14 hundreds. There is a still in tact staircase that leads from the base of the Inn to the second floor, which has a great view of the abbey in general. I enjoyed myself immensely and wish that I could have spent more time there.
We finished looking through the abbey just in time to miss the down pour and ate a small bar/restaurant called Le Chalet de la Forte (or The Cottage in the Woods) . I ate a three cheese and ham grilled sandwich and drank tea. The food was good and held me until dinner. From the abbey we went to a museum all about colonization in Africa from Belgium's point of view (read next post to find out more).
Au Revoir,
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