Day 1 - Portugal!

Made it! A long but very smooth travel day to our first stop in Portugal. I’m always a little nervous when I have a lot of connections but traveling with just a carryon and personal item at least on the way over is consolation that worst case scenario my luggage and I will always be together. My worries were for naught because things couldn’t have gone smoother.

I’ll be spending the next few weeks with my dear friend, partner in fun, inspiration in how to live a life of adventure and joy - Julie!

We’re here! We didn’t plan to dress alike - it was just a lucky coincidence. Hello Cascais Portugal!

This is my second time in Portugal, but the first time I spent the majority of my time in Lisbon, a beautiful city. This time we will be seeing more of the central and southern part of this tiny but spectacular country.

After arrival and getting to the hotel we changed into lighter weight clothing as the weather is still quite warm and very sunny. We walked down the promenade from the resort town of Estoril to Cascais - considered to be the French Riviera of Portugal. Portugal is a small country with a beautiful coastline - where much of Europe travels to in August for their holiday. September is a great time to visit since it is less crowded but still great weather.

I love to paddle board but have never seen a group paddle board. 8 people on this one which looked so fun - till they all fell off!

We loved Cascais! Portugal is well known for many things - wine, cork, explorers (Cristopher Columbus) and tile. Many of the buildings have beautiful tile designs and the streets are works of art with cobblestone designs.

The street looks bumpy but wasn’t. So cool!

Time for lunch. I wanted to look up a recommendation on Yelp, but Julie insisted we use our gut so we got off the main drag and found a place that we both loved. House of Wonders was indeed a wonder. The owner was a warm engaging woman with a great enthusiasm for her amazing creations - all vegetarian made with ingredients freshly available that morning. An added bonus is that we got to enjoy our amazing meal and a glass on wine on the rooftop overlooking the tile roofs of Cascais and the boats on the water. Her artistic ability was also evident from the beautiful space she had created all through her restaurant.

We shared two dishes, one hot and one cold. The cold was an assortment of every salad available that day - all delicious. The warm was all green. The base was puréed spinach, goat cheese and spices baked and topped with blanched broccoli, avocado and a cooked egg. Portugal is really known for wine - especially red so I’m planning to leave my comfort zone and try some while we’re here. But today went with what they refer to as green wine - because it’s white that is very fresh and not aged. Loved it!

Now for dessert! I’ve been dreaming of the Portuguese egg tarts since my last visit in 2016. I couldn’t wait to have them again. Pastel de nata is worth a trip to Portugal. Think creme brûlée in a flaky pastry crust topped with cinnamon and powder sugar. Fantastic!

Be still my heart 💕 I’m holding it in the palm of my hand to give you a sense of size. Then I swallowed it in two or three bites. Pretty sure I will have at least one every day I’m here! Maybe two😊

Just a few more fun pictures from our walk.

Top left - a beautiful building with a stunning wall artistically decorated with broken glass - scaling that would hurt! Top right - good to know if a tsunami hits we can evacuate safely😱 Bottom left - more beautiful cobblestones. Bottom right - sardines! Portugal is also known for sardines and this entire store was full of the most beautiful tins of all kinds of canned fish. Going to work up my culinary courage and try them while here.

Sand art! This artist was working on this on our walk back along the promenade. Wow!

Next up a very short nap - just 50 minutes since it’s so important to tough out the big time change on day one. I took a shower and we headed out for dinner. Lots of fish here and I plan to enjoy lots of it.

First course was a kale soup, main course Hake fish (in the cod family) and potatoes, an almond tart for dessert. Wine of course with a nice glass of port as the finale. All delicious.

So that was our day! A good nights sleep and ready to roll for day two. I’ll do my best to blog frequently so thanks for coming along!

Three Blonds and a Brunette in NYC

Long time no blog! You might be wondering what’s up? Kind of taking a break this summer. I took 2 trips to Chicago and 3 to Lake Geneva Wisconsin this summer, and I may still do a couple of posts about those trips as they were all fun. But I wanted to post about my most recent trip to New York City as I do get a lot of questions about traveling to that great city - definitely one of my top couple places to go. I wouldn’t exactly say I am a local there - more of a very comfortable frequent traveler. Last year three blonds and a brunette had an excellent trip to Chicago, so this year we decided to visit NYC together. It was equally action packed and fun. Lots of site-seeing, shopping, eating, some drinking and walking. Lots of walking! One of the ladies kept track of our miles and I believe in 3 days we walked almost 38! And that was in addition to lots of subway rides. When I say wear comfortable shoes you better know I mean it.

I used Hotels.com to find us hotel rooms in an area we wanted to stay in for a decent price. And I’ve also had good success with Booking.com. We stayed at the Hotel on Rivington which is on Rivington St in basically the East Village. Call it Nolita (North of Little Italy) if you want - it’s a great area and easy to get anywhere to in Manhattan. I much prefer to stay outside of the midtown touristy area. My recommendation is to either stay north or south of midtown.

First I’ll post about all the things we did - then cover at least some of the food. One of the new big draws in NYC this summer is seeing The Vessel in Hudson Yards on the west side. The Vessel is described as a structure and landmark in the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project - but to me it’s really more of a piece of sculpture you can walk through. You do need a ticket to enter as they only allow 700 people in at a time. You can just go and take your chances that there are tickets available, book for a specific time slot online up to 2 weeks in advance, or buy a ticket (the first two options are free) up to 6 months in advance for $11 a person and you can enter at any time the day of your ticket. Since we didn’t want to worry about the first two options we just bought tickets in advance. Worked out perfectly and it was pretty awesome.

Top left - we’re in the Vessel. Top right - view of the vessel in comparison to the buildings around it. Bottom right - The Shedd which is next to the Vessel and used for concerts. Bottom left - elevator inside the Vessel. We went all the way to the top and it’s higher then it might look from the outside dwarfed by the skyscrapers.

There is a big mall right across from the Vessel with lots of shops and restaurants plus a large food court modeled after something you would find in Spain called ironically Spain. We walked through it but didn’t stop to try anything. And the way to get to Hudson Yards and the Vessel is by walking on The Highline so check that out as well. We also walked through the Chelsea Market which is a place I really like, but I’ve blogged about it and the Highline in previous posts so I won’t post pics of those again.

We started day 2 at the 911 Museum. I got our tickets in advance because I highly recommend doing it with a tour guide. It’s a large place and I have done it before and got a lot out of it with a guide. If you’re 25 or older you remember that day so clearly and the museum is really so well done. I would allow at least a few hours and even then you can’t take it all in.

Standing outside one of the reflecting pools of which there are two. Top right - the last piece removed from ground zero. Bottom left - a piece from one of the towers. Bottom left - the Survivor Stairs. Saved the lives of over 200 people who escaped using them.

The museum is constantly being updated as new information comes to light as far as victims being identified and illnesses of the survivors documented. There is a new area called The Memorial Glade dedicated to those whose actions led to their injury, sickness and death.

The Memorial Glade on the grounds of the 911 Museum.

It’s not a trip to NYC without seeing a Broadway Show - so off to see Tootsie we went. We all loved it. A great cast and a fun story similar but not identical to the original movie. And the guy who played Tootsie does a better job in high heels then I can!

Yes that actually is Barry Manilow! And no he didn’t play Tootsie. His show is playing right across from the theater Tootsie was in and when we were leaving we saw him right across the street. Bonus!

Next up a fairly quick stop in Times Square. All the theaters are in close proximity so it’s worth walking through. Just hang on to your purse or wallet.

Times Square!

It wouldn’t be a Patti Part Two trip without a museum stop so we were off to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the upper east side right in Central Park. I make it a destination almost every single time I’m in NYC because there’s always something new to see. This time there were two exhibits we were interested in seeing. Play it Loud Instruments of Rock & Roll and the new fashion exhibit called Camp. We got to see both but the weekends are the busiest times so it was quite crowded. But still fun.

Yes the real instruments from the Beatles. And that’s a piano Lady Gaga played on in one of her shows. I’ve never seen a guitar like that! Belonged to Ricky Nelson I believe. There were so many Instruments from so many super famous musicians it was pretty overwhelming.

The fashion exhibit was great too. In fact after the girls left on Sunday I went back on Monday to see it more closely again - without the crowds.

Some of my favorites - got to love the TV dinner dress!

One of my favorite stops on a beautiful day is the 5th floor terrace overlooking Central Park. It’s a great place to have a drink or snack if you have time.

On the terrace with gorgeous views of the sky line.

Central Park is never a bad idea so after the Met we headed to the park with a destination of Strawberry Fields and the Imagine memorial. I’ve seen it a number of times and there are always people there.

Bottom left is the Central Park reservoir where Jacqueline Onassis was known to take frequent walks.

The girls wanted to walk the Brooklyn Bridge and we were running out of time so 6:30 AM on Sunday was the plan. We were out the door and on our way at 6:30 promptly and that is actually a great time to go. We almost had the bridge to ourselves, and it really is beautiful.

If you walk the bridge then go under the overpass and visit the Brooklyn neighborhood of Dumbo. Dumbo stands for Down under the Manhattan Bridge - clever. It’s a super cool neighborhood and has lots of interesting things to see - like a Bridge Over a Tree!

Before I get to the food pictures - which is really what everyone wants to see - I will just give a shout out to Airbnb. When the girls left I moved to a great little studio in the Murray Hill neighborhood that I found on Airbnb. It was a wonderful location and very clean. It can sometimes be a less expensive option - especially if you’re traveling alone, so consider Airbnb. I have had great success all over the US and Europe, just read all the reviews and do your research on where you want to stay as far as location.

As mentioned I went back again to the Met to see the fashion exhibit, and also checked out the French Impressionist galleries and the modern galleries. I happened across an entire room of Thomas Hart Benton murals and that was really a nice surprise. I stopped in the main lobby of Grand Central Station on my way to the subway and it never ceases to leave me in awe. So gorgeous!

Grand Central Station lobby.

One museum a day is often not enough so I stopped in at the Guggenheim. It’s located very close to the Met and very manageable in terms of size. The building itself is amazing - designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and the spiral walkway is impressive. There was a special exhibit by the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat that I had heard was there, and it was really wonderful and thought provoking.

The Guggenheim and Basquiat exhibit. Bottom right is the spiral walkway and glass ceiling.

Now onto food! So much great food in NYC! There is never enough time or appetite to try it all. First stop for lunch was The Meatball Shop. Probably at least 8 kinds of meatballs, sauces and things to have them on or in.

Chicken meatballs for me with tomato sauce, side of quinoa cauliflower salad. Tom joined us and brought us our Tootsie tickets which he had gotten for us from the theater. Saved us the large service fee per ticket - thanks Tom!

For lunch one day we went to the only Chobani restaurant in the country located in Soho where we were doing a little shopping. Great salads, sandwiches and of course yogurt.

I think we all had the Mediterranean salad, and shared a bagel with smoked salmon. Wish I had time to go back for the breakfast bowl. Looked amazing.

For dinner before Tootsie we went to Epistrophy in SoHo. I had eaten there before and really liked it.

Lasagne, great salad with peas and asparagus and fresh orecchiette with Pancetta. All delicious.

One of the meal highlights was a trip to Clinton St Baking Company. Located on the corner of Houston and Clinton St and serving one of the greatest breakfasts in NYC! The blueberry pancakes are not to be missed! Warning - you must get there a half hour before they open in the morning to have any hope of getting in for a table. We got there at 8:30 for a 9 AM opening and got in in the first seating - success!

That’s the line around the corner to get in at 9 AM. And the blueberry pancakes lower right picture. Yumm1

Saturday night dinner was at Market Table in the West Village. I have been there a few times before and it was always great. This time it didn’t disappoint either.

Mussels, salmon over summer corn risotto, grilled filet with fingerlings and onion rings and fries with old bay spice. A feast!

Our last meal together was brunch at Loring Place. Might have been my favorite of the trip. Delicious and really interesting combinations of ingredients.

I think we had a few items I didn’t get pictures of but here is a sampling. Homemade fritters, breakfast pizza with delicious things on top and an egg quinoa dish with fresh vegetables. I think we had a cheddar and ham waffle also. Must have been consumed before I could photograph it!

I ate dinner with Tom and Anna at a great place called Frankie’s in the West Village but totally forgot to take pics. It was Italian and great! Ate another night with them at The Butcher’s Daughter. It was a vegan restaurant and delicious.

Top left is my kale salad with chicken made from potatoes. I liked it! Bottom left - a great cinnamon raisin bagel from Murray’s and bottom left the DKA. Dominique’s Kouign Amann. A croissant with a caramelized crunchy crust. Dominique Amannl is the NY baker that created the cronut. A combination of a donut and a croissant. It was amazing!

That’s it for food except for multiple stops at coffee shops along the way and in the morning. Too many to post. We did some shopping - mostly in Soho and for me mostly at my favorite store - UNIQLO. Great basics and great prices.

We took the subway everywhere. It’s the best as far as I’m concerned. Really reasonable and easy to navigate. We only had one unexpected trip to Brooklyn - totally my fault! But easy to fix and we reversed ourselves and only wasted about 10 minutes. We did have one bomb scare while we were on the train - and actually it was at the stop we were supposed to get off at. The trains weren’t stopping there for a few hours until they discovered it was just someone leaving rice cookers around the stop. Why we will never know.

Here we are on the subway - it can get a little crowded! Hang on!

Kind of a long post but lots to do and see in New York. If you made it all the way through thanks for reading! I’m leaving soon for Portugal and the south of France and will try and blog a little every day. I hope your summer has been great! Jump while you can!

Currency Tips for Travel

If the last time you left the country you used Travelers Checks, or it’s your first time traveling abroad - this post is for you! A common question I get asked is how to pay for things outside of the US - so I’m happy to share my best information to help make your trip as stress free as possible from a money stand point. I do most of my travel in Europe so will be focusing on the Euro, but these tips apply to almost anywhere you are traveling to on your trip.

First a little information on the European Union - which consists of a total of 28 countries. I’m not going to list all 28, just suffice to say they are the most commonly traveled countries in Europe. While the countries are independent this union allows them to operate as a cohesive economic and political block. If you want more information or to see pictures of their headquarters in Brussels just click on the archive on the main page of my blog and see my Brussels post dated 5/29/19. I just visited there! The vast majority of the EU members use the Euro as their currency, but there are 8 that still use their own currency. The 8 are Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden and the UK. So depending on where you are going you may need both Euros and the country currency. It’s a lot easier when they use the Euro but all the information I will be sharing applies to either. 

What to take:

A Debit Card, 2 Credit Cards with Chips and  some US currency preferably $20 and $1 bills. How much US currency? Not much. Five $20’s and 20 $1’s is plenty. Why do you need US currency? Well in a pinch people will take US currency. I’m not talking about being able to buy a cup of coffee or a meal with it, but if you land and have no local currency and need to give someone a few dollars for helping you carry luggage or get directions giving them US money is better than nothing. You will need to get local currency soon after landing and I’ll cover how to do that.

 Call your bank affiliated with your Debit card and make sure you will be able to use it where you are going. Make sure your pin will work there - most likely it will. Let them know your dates of travel and where you will be. 

Should you exchange US dollars for Euros or the local currency in the US before you leave. NO! Well you can if you don’t mind paying quite a bit more than you need to, but it’s very easy to get currency after you land and why not save your hard earned money and spend it on your trip? Don’t exchange currency at the airport when you land. That’s the most expensive place to do it and totally unnecessary. Most flights from the US land early in the day, so once you get into the city or town where you are starting your trip you can just find an ATM - one preferably outside of a bank - during regular banking hours - and get some money. It’s best to use an ATM during the day for a couple of reasons. Better for safety, and just in case the ATM doesn’t return your card - which has never ever happened to me - you can go right into the bank and get help. I’ll suggest later in this post how much money to withdraw.

 Credit Cards - why two? Take two because if you only take one and it is compromised in some way, that’s a problem. Why not more than two? Two is plenty and why take a chance on having to keep track of more than two cards. What kind of cards? Well they MUST have a chip. Cards without a chip will not work in Europe. And you should make sure your credit card company does not tack on a foreign transaction fee. This is important and you must ask the company specifically. If you don’t ask then you could be in for a bad surprise when you get your credit card bill upon your return. They will have added a fee every single time you used the card. Foreign transaction fee is not to be confused with a cash advance fee. I strongly discourage you from taking cash advances from your credit card at an ATM instead of using your Debit card for cash. If you get a cash advance they charge interest on that money from the day you get it until you pay it off compounded daily. Don’t do it! Make sure you call the credit card companies and let them know the dates of your travel. You can typically do this easily and often just by following the prompts when you call the customer service number on the back of the card.

What to use when. Should you pay cash or use your credit card. My recommendation is to use your credit card for almost all transactions. The exception would be very small purchases ie. coffee and a croissant, snacks, postcards or small souvenirs. Pretty much anything you buy on the street from a vendor will need to be in cash - for everything else use your credit cards. Why? Well for one credit cards are safer to use in Europe than the US because the card never leaves your sight. They always bring a machine right to your table to run it. And if there were a problem ever it’s resolved typically fairly easily with the credit card company, and why risk carrying lots of cash with you when the most common crime committed is pickpocketing.

How much money to withdraw from the ATM? Withdraw enough for 3 to 4 days of small purchases. Your bank will charge a small transaction fee each time so minimize that by withdrawing enough so that you’re only having to find an ATM a couple of times on your trip.

Another suggestion I have is to download a free APP to your phone that will convert US dollars to other forms of currency. Currently the exchange rate is very strong comparing the US dollar to the Euro. As of today 1 Euro is equal to $1.13. I have been to Europe when the exchange rate was 1 Euro equal to more than $1.50, so not as much buying power. So with the ratio being so close to 1:1 you may not even need to do the conversion. But say you’re going to Croatia where the currency is the Kuna. 1 Kuna is equal to 15 cents. So 17 Kuna is $2.59. Good luck figuring that out in your head! You might see an entree on a menu for 200 Kuna and think wow pricey! In fact that would be about $30. There are lots of free APPs available so just pick one.

And lastly my suggestion is to bring something with you to keep your cash, debit card and credit cards secure. I have used a money belt previously and didn’t find it to be very comfortable or easy to access. My choice is a travel purse that is very secure but also comfortable. It is a cross body bag so I keep it in front of me at all times. The straps are slash guard and it has turn and lock security hooks, plus snap and lock mechanisms on all the zippered compartments. The purse is lined with RFID safe fabric which keeps personal information from being scanned. If I were a guy I would get something similar but more manly. Putting your wallet in your back pocket is a terrible idea. I get the majority of my travel items from a great website www.ebags.com. Never pay full price for anything. Go to their website and sign up to be on their email list. They will email you ever day with a discount coupon usually good on anything you want so I find them to be very reasonable and they are easy to work with on returns.

I hope this is helpful! If you have any questions just let me know. Enjoy your trip!

My purse!

Top 10 Tips for Visiting Paris

I’ve been to Paris 5 times and am planning to return for number 6 soon. Call me crazy but I just love it. I never feel like I have enough time to do, see and eat everything I want. I learn something new every time I visit and wanted to share what I currently consider the best tips I have either picked up, read, or just figured out myself. If you have your own best tips I would love to hear them as well. Just reply to this blog and I will get them. Sharing is caring!

* If you are planning to see even just 3 or 4 of the major museums buy the Paris Museum Pass. It will save you time and money. You can buy it for 2, 4 or 6 days, and it pays for itself with just a few visits to the places you want to go. The pass must be used on consecutive days so planning your itinerary is key. In addition the pass isn’t active until you make your first stop. Decide what is important for you and check the schedule for that museum. For example the Orsay is one of my favorites but closed on Mondays. If you have a two day pass you wouldn’t want to start using it on Sunday and wait till Monday for the Orsay. The pass covers about 30 different places - even Versailles, Louvre, Orangerie, Picasso, Saint-Chapelle etc. It does not cover the Eiffel Tower. I usually buy the pass at the TI right at the airport when I land. There is usually no line and then I know I’m ready to go on the planned day. You can also wait and buy at the first museum you go to, but you almost for sure will be waiting in a line to do it and wasting valuable time. By having the pass you skip right to the security line which is typically much shorter - instead of waiting in the line to buy a ticket and then again waiting in the security line. Make sense? Most sites have free entry for those under 18 so no need to buy passes for kids.

 * Take public transportation starting right at the airport. It is the cheapest and most efficient way to get into and around Paris. The traffic is crazy and getting from the airport into the city could cost 80 or 90 euros. You can take the train for under 12 euros and get there in less then half the time. When you’re in Paris buy a carnet (10 transportation tickets) good for the metro or the bus for 14.50 euros - cheap! I love the metro. It’s very clean and I always feel safe. It’s the way Parisians get around and will make you more familiar with the city.

* How to navigate around? Use your Google or Apple Maps on your phone and click the metro icon. You will have step by step instructions that even include which exit to take from the metro to be closest to your destination. Take screen shots of the entire route so that if you lose cell service at any point you will still have photos of the route. I use my phone a lot while traveling so I carry a small portable battery to always make sure I have a charge.

* Staying in an Airbnb and need a place to store your luggage until you can check in? The answer is Eelway! Most flights from the US arrive in Paris early in the morning, and if you don’t have a place to leave your luggage you’re stuck hauling it around with you for most of the day - bummer! With current security being what it is there are lots of places that don’t allow luggage so you could be stuck sitting in a cafe for a chunk of the day and losing valuable site seeing time. Eelway is like Uber for luggage. They will meet you anywhere - even right at the airport and store your luggage for as long as you need. Then deliver it to the location you designate at a specified time. It worked like a charm and they are expanding rapidly to other large cities.

www.eelway.com

* Always make two photo copies of your passport and bring them on your trip. Leave one copy in your suitcase, leave your original in the hotel or Airbnb, and bring the second copy with you always. If you make any purchases that qualify for a VAT refund you will need a copy of your passport in order for the paperwork to be filled out, and it’s best not to risk losing your original. Along those same lines - I always make sure I have the address and phone number of the US Embassy in all the cities I am visiting just in case. If you were to have your passport stolen or lost that’s where you would need to go for help. Best to be prepared.

* Planning to visit the Eiffel Tower? Of course you are! It’s best to book a ticket online in advance, but it’s not as easy as that sounds. Start checking three months in advance of your visit date at www.toureiffel.paris. There is no set schedule of when they open upcoming dates so you just need to keep checking. If you are unable to get a ticket through the website all is not lost. You can try just going to the Eiffel Tower and buying a ticket but you could find yourself waiting in line for hours. Your best chance is to get in line 30 minutes before they open, or later in the day - after 5 or 6 at night. If it rains it is much less crowded and we were able to get in right after a rain with almost no waiting. And even if you can’t go up in the Eiffel Tower it’s beautiful to at least go see it and you get a fabulous view from Place du Trocadero.

Beautiful even in the rain.

 * If you are staying in Paris for 6 or more nights consider staying in two different areas. On my most recent trip we stayed 3 nights by the Arc de Triomphe and 3 nights in The Marais. Two totally different areas which lets you familiarize yourself with more of Paris. Each arrondissement has its own personality, shops and restaurants and I can’t really pick a favorite. 

* Go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. If you have the Museum Pass it is covered. Go in the evening when it is much less crowded. The added bonus of going at night is that you will see the Eiffel Tower all lit up, and also the lights on the Champs-Elysees. Paris was planned with streets like the spokes of a wheel and from the top of the Arc at night you can see it.  

Watch the Eiffel Tower twinkle every hour for 5 minutes on the hour - magical! 

* Make dinner reservations. This is something I’m working on being better at myself. I get so busy site seeing that before I know it it’s dinner time and I’m scrambling to find a place to eat. The restaurants in Paris tend to be pretty small, and they enjoy the art of leisure dining so the emphasis is on quality and not turning over the tables as quickly as possible. Check out your neighborhood and stop in early in the day and make a dinner reservation for evening at a place that looks good. Check it out online if you want but make the effort at least for a few nights to have a great Parisian dining experience. We did a really good job of doing this in Belgium and it really added to our experience.

* One of the best ways to enjoy Paris is walking the streets and sitting at sidewalk cafe’s people watching. Even in the rain and winter people sit outside with awnings and heaters and enjoy a glass of wine and/or a meal and relax. Make time to do this and it might be your most favorite memory.  

This is always how they sit outside - not facing each other but next to each other. So pleasant! Cheers! 

I hope these tips help make your trip to Paris the wonderful experience I always have there. I can’t wait to go back again! 

Antwerp!

We had one last day in Belgium and had to decide between Ghent and Antwerp. After researching both we picked Antwerp because it seemed to offer something entirely different than Brussels and Bruges. It’s the second largest city in Belgium and is described as edgy and creative. Well I will take their word for it. I would describe it as beautiful and relatively un-touristy. Is un-touristy a word? 

We got a little later start to allow time for a stop at a coffee shop close to our apartment. This is absolutely my favorite way to start any day.

We hopped on the train to Antwerp and had a relaxing one hour ride. I love the ease of trains in Europe. Cost effective, good for the environment and stress free in most cases. The train station in Antwerp is considered to be one of the most beautiful in the world. In fact upon my return I was just reading an article on the 10 most beautiful train stations in the world and the first picture was of Antwerp! 

Built around the turn of the 20th century it’s considered to be Industrial Age meets Art Nouveau. 

Another view of the train station. 

Right as you leave the station you are in the Diamond Quarter. Antwerp is one of the world’s top centers where diamonds are sold wholesale and cut into smaller pieces for resale.

Interesting but neither Julie or I had diamonds on our wish list so we kept walking. 

We were heading to the main square to visit the Cathedral of Our Lady and passed quite a few large statues of famous painters from Antwerp - the most notable probably Peter Paul Rubens.

This is actually a statue of David Teniers, another famous painter. Check out the beautiful buildings on either side of the statue.  

We made it to the square called Groenplaats where the statue of Rubens is located, but I got distracted taking pictures of the Cathedral and neglected to get a picture of it! Whoops! 

Cathedral of Our Lady. 

The Cathedral of Our Lady is the biggest church in Antwerp and has a 400-foot-tall spire. It’s still the tallest structure in town, although the second tower was never finished to match it in height. It was started in 1352 and consecrated in 1521, and due to a number of unfortunate events like fire and war, the second tower was never completed. Still so beautiful inside and out! We paid the very nominal entry fee and as luck would have it walked right in and onto a one hour tour of the church in English. The guide was excellent and super enthusiastic about sharing information about not only the history of the church, but the fantastic artwork it contained. The church has three huge artworks by Rubens and because the Museum of Fine Arts is closed currently for renovation some other important pieces are being shown at the church - bonus!

Bottom right - inside the dome a beautiful painting of the Blessed Mother.

Time for lunch! We had such good luck in all of Belgium with recommendations from Rick Steve’s we decided to go with another from him. Restaurant de Bomma, which apparently means Grandma, was excellent! Another great meal in Belgium! 

We both had the sole with leeks in a cream sauce with mashed potatoes. Apple strudel and cinnamon ice cream for dessert to share. All delicious and filling! Did I mention the food was great in Belgium?

After lunch a stop in the Grote Market, Antwerp’s main square dominated by City Hall. The whole square was gorgeous. 

These are all guild houses celebrating the trade associations of each of the city’s industries. Each topped with a golden statue representing the guild’s patron saint. 

The fountain in the middle of Grote Market is of a giant named Druon Antigoon that legend has it collected tolls on the river. If someone didn’t pay the toll he would sever off their hand. His reign of terror ended when a Roman soldier defeated him, cut off his hand and threw it in the river. Pretty gruesome but kind of a cool fountain.

Travel makes me dance! 

Antwerp also has a reputation established relatively recently as a fashion mecca, and is now one of Europe’s top fashion zones, so we spent the rest of the afternoon browsing the shops and trying on whatever struck our fancy. We didn’t actually buy anything, but it was still fun to check out what the fashionable are wearing. We were heading back to the states early the next morning so needed to head back to Brussels via train, so we bid farewell to Antwerp. It was definitely worth the trip and we both enjoyed it a lot. 

Well that was our trip! My love of Paris grows every time I’m there, so I hope it won’t be my last time to visit. And Belgium was even better than I anticipated, so I recommend putting it on your list of places to visit. Julie was a wonderful travel companion. She has great energy and was always up for whatever our plan was for the day. We walked a lot - averaging over 8 miles a day, but balanced that out with lots of great food and an appropriate amount of wine, coffee and croissants. 

If you’re reading this then thanks for coming along on our trip! The more I travel, meet people and see other cultures the more I find that we have so much more in common with each other than differences. I’m already planning my next adventure - check back soon!

 “I do not bring back from a journey quite the same self that I took.” W. Somerset Maugham