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Ghent, Belgium - yr 1 hm 6
  • 1 Planet 1 Bag
  • Marc Scheulin
  • 1 Planet 1 Bag
  • Marc Scheulin

Ghent, Belgium - yr 1 hm 6

Our first “low country” country. More typically European and suburban. Read more
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  • Ghent, Belgium - yr 1 hm 6

    Paris - para olympics opening ceremont

    August 28, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌙 75 °F

    Arriving into Paris Gare Du Noord on the EURail was a quick and quiet experience. We easily bought transport tickets and worked out our subway and within minutes we were standing at the entrance to our hotel. The entire process was considerably sped up by the 5 people at the platform of EURail pointing us in the right direction. 4 people at the ticket purchase, 2 on the train, and dozens more at Gare du Lyon. Not to mention the dozens of armed gendarmes keeping a watch.

    Although the Olympics wrapped over 2 weeks ago, all of this was now for the para Olympics, especially the opening ceremony taking place on the evening we arrived.

    We made the most of our first day. Walking and subway first to the Arch de triumph and then to the park near the opening ceremony.

    We waited a long time (45 minutes) for the end of the opening so that we could watch the illumination of the floating balloon.

    Again, soooo many police, and armed army people, and the roads were closed to all but pedestrians and bikes, which gave the area an eerie emptiness, but we felt incredibly safe.

    Day two will be more exploration.    Read more

  • Ghent, Belgium - yr 1 hm 6
    2The shrimp and avocado appetizer
    The alley we foundLovely, and a light, Paris, rain, set the toneFinishing off the Panna cottaThe back alley entrance that we foundA bit expensive, but online with other Paris, restaurantsThis is actually the front of the restaurant, the back alley was much nicer

    Le Precope

    August 30, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    We were looking for a lunch spot. We sat at a seemingly nice cafe across from Parliament but it just didn’t offer anything new. We moved on. While walking through the Saint Germaine neighborhood (one of my favorite areas) we glanced down a small alley and saw a quaint view. And based on that alone, and now practically starving (ha ha), we walked down to the first cafe we found.

    Turns out that we had stumbled upon Le Procope. One of the most famous cafes in Paris and founded in 1686!

    The cafe was the first to bring coffee to Paris! Frequented by Voltaire and an active center during the French Revolution, home to the the idea of the Encyclopedia, and the cafe where Benjamin Franklin prepared the “project of an alliance between Louis the XVI the and the new Republic”.

    Converted to a library and artist studio and meeting place under Louis XVI. It became a revolutionary center. The table that Voltaire used, served as an altar during the passage of his ashes in 1794, then held the coffins of Lepeletier and Marat on their way to the Pantheon.

    All of that, and what did we know? The prefix luncheon was three courses appetizer, main and dessert, for £30. This was the French meal that we had hoped to find all along. The shrimp with avocado was light, and the ravioli appetizer was rich and cheesy. The fish was perfectly cooked, and the meat dish with gravy and carrots, most perfectly French. Capping off the meal was a splendidly light panna cotta with a fruit topping.

    It wasn’t until we went to the w/c that we discovered that in reality, we were seated on the back terrace (the original little alley that drew us in) and the majority of the restaurant was on multiple levels indoors and the front entrance was on the opposite street!

    Even without all of the history, we were so pleased to have found the restaurant. Highly recommend if you are ever in the neighborhood, but be sure and enter through the back, and take a seat in the alley as the ambiance starts there.    Read more

  • Ghent, Belgium - yr 1 hm 6
    The entire altarpiece the side close upNaked Eve and Adam are originalsThe people in the image for scaleZoom in to see find the priest with his own tongue on a rope. Second row on the rightIn relief for the visually impairedThe clothes Adam and Eve for modesty timeDo these VR glasses make me look cool?Original painted frieze in the basement dating from the 1400'sThe cathedral had many many natives with statues and artThrough my VR glasses there was a model of the cathedral hereA smaller altarpiece in the basementA Reubens religious piece that in any other museum would have been the focus of the gallery

    Adoration of the Mystic Lamb

    September 2, 2024 in Belgium ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Saint Bavo’s cathedral in Ghent is home to one of the best examples of artistic altarpieces still in existence.

    Let me say that it was one of the most incredible altarpieces that I have had the pleasure of viewing. It was restored in 2020 so the colors were as vibrant today as when it was originally painted.

    It was begun around the mid-1420s and completed by 1432, and it is attributed to the Early Netherlandish painters and brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck. The altarpiece is a prominent example of the transition from Middle Age to Renaissance art and is considered a masterpiece of European art, identified by some as "the first major oil painting."

    The piece was intricate and was full of symbolism and iconic images. Additionally there were about 40 people in the piece and each one was a really person and each was identifiable by their features of by the items that they carried. One of the priests had a tongue on a rope around his neck. It was his own tongue that had been ripped from his mouth because he was preaching the Bible! But it made him identifiable in the painting.

    Any art located in Belgium and painted 600 years ago has had an interesting life. One bit is that the original had Adam and Eve naked. As modesty ideas changed naked Adam and Eve were replaced with clothes Adam and Eve. But the original naked was kept! The cathedral displayed it in its original form, with the clothed version on a different floor.

    During WW II the art was scooped up by Hitlers army and stored in the salt caves. Ultimately, and recovered, in the nick of time, my the American Monument Men. Made famous in the recent movie.

    In 2024, the cathedral improved the viewers understanding of the Mystic Lamb with a virtual reality presentation. The VR was incredible in its detail and because of it I knew more about the piece when I actually viewed it. The VR was a great technique and one I think more museums and gallery’s need to take advantage of.

    This is another must see in the city of Ghent. But take a tissue as its beauty might just bring a tear to your eye, I for one am glad I had one.    Read more

  • Ghent, Belgium - yr 1 hm 6

    Leaving Ghent

    September 4, 2024 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    Today, September 4, we are packing up and leaving Belgium. It’s been a great and memorable stay. We’ve enjoyed this city and found it to be the most livable place we have been. The oldest parts of the town have movement and people, especially on the weekend, but the rest of the town is filled with people going about their daily lives.

    From this location we’ve also visited: Amsterdam, Antwerp, the Hague, Delft, Paris,Aachen Germany, and the Belgian Beach Coast. It has been convenient as a hub to the “Low Countries” of Europe.    Read more

    Trip end
    September 4, 2024
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