We are very excited to announce we had our first visitor
since our move to Deutschland last December. Ashley arrived on August 22 and
spent 2 weeks with us. During her stay we made a day trip to Brussels, a day
trip to Paris, and we spent 4 days in London. This blog entry will highlight
our trips to Brussels and Paris. I will cover our long weekend in London in a
future blog.
Brussels
On a cloudy Saturday, August 24 we hopped in the car and
made a day trip to Brussels, Belgium. On our way to Belgium we took a route,
which took us through the Southern tip of The Netherlands. By afternoon we had
arrived in Brussels and were eager to explore. What is Belgium known for? If
you answered chocolate, waffles, or beer you were correct. While we were in
Brussels we went to several chocolate shops and of course had to sample a
Belgium waffle.
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| Enjoying our Belgium Waffle |
After our delicious waffle we found our way to the Grand
Place or Grote Markt. The guildhalls, the city’s Town Hall, and the King’s
House surround the central square of Brussels. At the south end of the square
sits an impressive Town Hall. The oldest part of the Town hall was built
between 1401 and 1455. The tower stands 310 feet tall and is capped with a 12
feet statue of Saint Michael slaying a demon. The building façade is decorated
with numerous statues representing nobles, saints, and allegorical figures. To
counter the Town Hall’s symbol of municipal power the Duke of Brabant had a
large building constructed across from city hall as a symbol of ducal power.
This building became known as the King’s House and was built between 1504 and
1536.
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| Grote Markt & King's House on the Left |
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| City Hall |
We took time to visit the St. Michael and St. Gudula
Cathedral. The Brussels Cathedral was
founded during the middle of the 11th century and is the site where
royal weddings and funerals take place. Next we walked around The Royal Palace
of Brussels. This is the official palace of the King and Queen of the Belgians,
but it is not used as a royal residence. The King uses the Palace to deal with affairs
of state. The Palace also houses the services of the Grand Marshal of the
Court, King’s Head of Cabinet, and the Head of the King’s Military Household.
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| St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral |
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| Royal Palace of Brussels |
Our final stop in Brussels was to the Parc du Cinquantenaire
or Park of the Fiftieth Anniversary. This is large urban park with a U-shaped
complex at one end. The oldest buildings of the complex were commissioned in
1880 for the National Exhibition commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of
Belgian independence. The
centerpiece of the complex is a triumphal arch, which was constructed in 1905
replacing a previous temporary version of the arcade.
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| Parc du Cinquantenaire |
A Day In Paris
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| Inside Notre Dame Cathedral |
On Wednesday, August 28th Ashley and I took the
high-speed train to Paris. After a two-hour train ride, we arrived in Paris
around 10:00 am and began our “Sister” day in Paris. Our first stop was the
Notre Dame Cathedral. In my “French Exploration” blog I described the
architecture of the cathedral. On this trip to Paris Ashley and I took the time
to wander around in the Cathedral. We were in awe of the height of the ceiling,
elaborate carvings of the quire, and stained glass windows.
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| Notre Dame Cathedral |
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| Ashley at the Eiffel Tower |
Our next stop was the
Eiffel Tower where we stopped for lunch and some fun pictures using the Tower
as a backdrop. After admiring the Eiffel Tower we took the subway to the Arch
de Triumph. The Louvre was where we spent the rest of our day. I know I could
spend several days walking around looking at all of the artifacts in the
Louvre. On my first visit to the museum we headed straight for the Mona Lisa.
Although, it was amazing to see the most visited, most written about, and most
sung about work of art in the world the painting was much smaller than I had
envisioned. We spent the rest of our visit to the Louvre exploring the Egyptian
antiquities department. This department has over 50,000 pieces and includes
artifacts from the Nile civilizations dating from 4,000 BC to the 4th
century.
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| Mona Lisa at the Louvre |
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| Egyptian Antiquities at the Louvre |
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| King Louie Room at the Louvre |
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