Europe 2019

Ian and Danielle are heading off for 6 glorious weeks - leaving Angus in charge (questionable) of Coco, the house and himself! Read more

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Europe 2019 Traveler
Musee des Instruments de Musique
September 18, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
This museum of musical instruments was very interesting. It is housed in the Old English Building, which used to be a department store. The self guided tour is excellent, as you input a number to the audio guide and then hear the sound of the instrument you are looking at in the display being played. The collection is extensive, and it was interesting to see how many countries, for example, used bag pipes or some version of pipes and a bag. I knew there would be a large range of stringed instruments, but again, the diversity of shape and sound was very interesting. There was a whole floor dedicated to keyboards, as they claim that the only instrument that definitely has its origins in Europe is the keyboard.

The architecture of the building was also lovely, as it was once a department store, it had a lovely central lift that was fully operational. We caught the lift to the top floor where there is a restaurant and terrace that affords you wonderful views across Brussels.Read more
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Europe 2019 Traveler
Street Art of Brussels #1
September 18, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
We cam across a lot of street art during our wanderings today, and here is an example of some of it. Interesting to note that it is illegal in Belgium to graffiti, and those caught have been jailed not just fined.Read more
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Europe 2019 Traveler
BLASE - Artist
September 18, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Blase creates new paintings out of old damaged artworks, and gives them a second life by adding subversive details. He is French, and recently had a new “exhibition” called White Trash in Brussels,which we stumbled upon. There was also some other art in the same area which I have included.Read more
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Europe 2019 Traveler
Dinner at Chez Leon
September 18, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
We had dinner at Chez Leon, one of the best fish restaurants in Brussels. It has been around for a long time, and is definitely an institution. We are staying about five minutes walk away, so thought we may as well give it a go. I had the Moules Provence, which were delicious, and Ian had the Belgian Beef stew, which he said was tasty but not really worth photographing as it was mainly brown! The restaurant is huge, and it was full by the time we left.Read more
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Europe 2019 Traveler
AM - Atomium
September 19, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
Today we ventured out a little further afield, so we used Brussel’s public transport system. I had a bit of a sleep in this morning, as I had a fitful night’s sleep due to me having to cough continuously once I went to bed - poor Ian would have had a disrupted night too.

We headed off for the central station, easily bought tickets, and found our way to the correct train going in the right direction. We had to catch two different lines to make our way out to the Atomium, and it all went pretty smoothly. The Atomium was originally constructed for the 1958 Brussels World Expo. It is located on the Hershel Plateau, where the exhibition took place, and is now a museum. It was designed by the civil engineer André Waterkeyn, and architects André and Jean Polak.

It is 102 meters tall, and it is made up of nine 18 metre (diameter) stainless steel clad spheres that are connected, by tubes. The whole structure forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal, magnified 165 billion times. The Atomium was designed to last for 6 months but, due to it’s popularity and success, its destruction was postponed for several years until a decision was taken by the city to keep it. In 2004, 46 years after it was constructed, the Atomium closed for renovation and maintenance. It reopened to the public in 2006.Read more
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Europe 2019 Traveler
In search of Zinneke
September 19, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
After exploring the Atonium we caught public transport to the city centre and went in search of the third “pissing” statue - Zinneke-Pis (a dog peeing). We passed some lovely areas of Brussels, found some great street art and finally located the dog.Read more
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Europe 2019 Traveler
Great street art
September 19, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
While looking for the pissing dog, we came across some lovely murals and street art. Here is an example of what we found.
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Europe 2019 Traveler
Fin de Siecle - Great lunch spot
September 19, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Wandering around the streets is hard work, so during our search for Zinneke we found a great restaurant for lunch. I had Stoemp Saucisses - sausages and mash, and Ian had Chicon Farcis à la Chimay - endive stuffed with meat and wrapped in bacon with mash. We also had a glass of Pinot with it, and it was very very good. We shared a tart tartin for dessert. The restaurant is run by a few guys - everything is made on the premises including the bread, and they only operate with cash. The restaurant is in a lovely Art Deco building.Read more
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Europe 2019 Traveler
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Art Nouveau at its finest
September 19, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
After lunch, we again headed to the metro to make our way to the Horta Museum. Victor Horta was a Belgian architect and designer, and one of the founders of the Art Nouveau movement. We visited his house and studio, that has been turned into a museum. There are many examples of his work across Brussels. His style, the curving stylised vegetal forms, influenced many others including Hector Guimard, who used it in the first house he designed and in the entrances he designed for the Paris Metro. Horta typically designed not only the building but also the furniture, to match his particular style. His house is an excellent example - he also designed the wall paper and soft furnishings. We were not able to take photographs in the museum, so I purchased some post cards which I have scanned so you can see his wonderful work and how beautifully it has been preserved and restored.

We finished off the day with dinner with Gui, Geertje and Brigitte out at their place in Tervuren. Paulette dropped by to say hello also. Always great to catch up with family. We had a wonderful dinner:- Burrata with tomatoes (Ottolenghi recipe) which was absolutely delicious; a chicken curry; and, for dessert, a berry crumble with fresh raspberries from Geertje’s sister’s garden (Jamie Oliver recipe). It was a great night with lots of laughter. Gui then kindly dropped us back into the city - he had picked us up from the Stockel metro station before dinner.Read more
Traveler Great pics, beautiful museum
9/23/19Reply
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Europe 2019 Traveler
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Tea and Biscuits @ Maison Dandoy
September 20, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Today Gui met us at our apartment, as we intended to go to the climate manifestation (we call it a demonstration) today, part of the global school strike for climate change action. Before the demonstration, we had some time to do a few things we had been wanting to but hadn’t had the time.

Our first stop was Maison Dandoy, about 100 metres from our apartment. They are famous for their biscuits, which are delicious. The title of this footprint is tea and biscuits but, alas, I couldn’t have tea as they only serve earl grey, which I can’t stand, or herbal and fruit teas. What is it with these people, nobody serves English Breakfast! So, I had a latte. The plate of biscuits I ordered for us to share turned out to be huge. We couldn’t get through them all, so the waitress kindly bagged them up for us to takeaway, and threw in a few extras for good measure.

We then did a bit of a wander around Brussels, with Gui as our guide, which was lots of fun. We joined the demonstration just after 1.30pm, and found ourselves near the start of the marchers. More on that on my next footprint.Read more
Traveler OMG!! They look so yummy, even though I can’t taste sugar at the mo. 😋😋😋. hope you've gotten over your cough, etc. need to byo your own EB tea bags.. 😉
9/23/19Reply
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Europe 2019 Traveler
Make Love not CO2
September 20, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
We headed towards the starting point of the demo but, as they had already started their march, we decided to join near the front of the demonstration as it passed by. Everyone was in good spirits - it was a beautiful day in Brussels and people of all ages and demographics made up the crowd, including many high school students and grandparents. The rally was peaceful, but small compared to Melbourne, which had 100,000. In Brussels it was estimated that there were 15,000 in attendance, although we think it was bigger. It was exciting to participate in this rally with my cousin and the Belgium people.

We marched with the rally for about an hour, and then peeled off for a well deserved cold beverage.Read more
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Post Demonstration
September 20, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
After all that hard work protesting, it was time for a drink. We stopped at a bar, had a beer (or wine for me), then grabbed a sandwich before exploring more of the city. We then stopped for another drink at a favourite watering hole of Gui’s, more strolling, and then finally we stopped at a lovely precinct close to the Bourse (Town Hall) for, you guessed it, another drink. We waited here for Geertje, who joined us for a drink, before we headed off on the tram to Forest for a performance being put on by the KAAI Theater where she works.Read more
Traveler Nice street art
9/23/19Reply
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Europe 2019 Traveler
A Love Supreme followed by a late supper
September 20, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
After Geertje met up with us and we had a drink, we headed off to Forest via metro and tram and a dance performance put on by the KAAI Theater that she works for. In ”A Love Supreme”, John Coltrane and his musicians start from blues based structures and construct a completely free improvisation that continuously breaks new ground. In 2005, choreographers Salva Sanchis and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker created a quartet set to Coltrane’s music. His jazz is renowned for its exploration of the tension between tonal and rhythmic complexity and simplicity. This is translated literally in the dance: improvisation and composition interweave until they fuse completely. In 2017, Sanchis and De Keersmaeker adapted A Love Supreme with four young, male dancers. The performance was great, and the dancers were superb and enjoyed by all.

Following the performance, with the dancers getting at least 4 curtain calls, we made our way back on public transport to the city centre and went in search of a late dinner. We first tried a favourite Italian place that they like, which was close to where Lisa, their daughter used to live, but the chef said no he was finished for the night. We then tried a traditional Brussels restaurant Le Pré Salé on rue de Flandre, and we had success, but had to chose our meals in one minute or the kitchen would be closed.

We were very decisive - Geertje and I had Moules Frit, Gui had Lapin (rabbit), and Ian meatballs, and of course we washed this down with a bottle of red! The food and the company was lovely and we laughed a lot .

We then headed back to our apartment, and Gui and Geertje caught the subway to Stockel, and then drove the rest of the way. Ian was feeling quite tired after 2 fairly late nights, and so headed off to bed immediately, whereas I stayed up to work on my blog a little more.Read more
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Europe 2019 Traveler
Quiet day in Brussels
September 21, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
We had a bit of a slow start this morning, nothing to do with the alcohol consumed yesterday! After breakfast and showers, we headed out to purchase some Belgian chocolates for the folks back home. We then packed up a box of things we no longer needed or didn’t want to carry around - some clothes, souvenirs, a couple of books, and chocolates, and arranged for the parcel to be posted back to Australia.

We then had a light lunch and a drink at a café recommended by Gui called “A la Mort Subite”, which translates as “to sudden death”. Ian had a local beer called a Hornes Blonde, which he enjoyed very much and I had a rosé which was fine. For lunch we had a croque monsieur and a croque madam, which was ok, but I don’t think people come here for the food - it is all about the beer!

After lunch, we went in search of a Christmas decoration that represents Belgium but had no luck.Read more
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Europe 2019 Traveler
Early birthday celebration
September 21, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
It was to be my cousin Brigitte’s birthday on Monday 23 September. As we were only in town until the 22nd, Brigitte kindly arranged an early celebration with the family. We got to see Nathalie, Ahmet and Sohan, Gui, Geertje and Lisa, and Stefan and his daughter Emma, as well as Paulette. The only one we didn’t see is Rob, maybe next time. It was a lovely late afternoon with blue sky and sunshine, and a temperature of 27C, and so we had dinner in the backyard, which was lovely. Brigitte had arranged a barbecue that Stefan cooked, and which was delicious. Nathalie made a chocolate cake with cream and homemade blackberry jam, which was delicious also. It was great to catch up with the family even for such a short time.

Gui drove us back to Stockel to catch the metro back into town. When we arrived we found some roads blocked, and police around many intersections. We thought it might be in preparation for “no cars day” in Brussels the following day, but we were wrong. When we arrived at Galerie de la Reine, we found that the centre of the Galerie was cordoned off and there were police at the start of the cordoned off area.

As we walked towards our apartment entrance, we turned around to see runners heading down the cordoned off area - hundreds and hundreds of runners. They all had on head lights, and they were participating in the Brussels Night Run. It starts at 9.45pm at the Place de la Bourse, and also finishes there. It is the third year the race has been run and participants run an 8km course around Brussels. We watched and cheered on the runners for a while before heading upstairs. There must have been thousands of competitors, as many more runners ran through after we got upstairs, and we had a great vantage point to watch them all go through the Galerie.Read more
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Europe 2019 Traveler
Day in Transit
September 22, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
Today we left Brussels for Malaga, and most of the day was spent travelling. We left the apartment about 10am, and headed for the Central Station to catch a train to Zaventem airport. It was Car Free Sunday in Brussels today, and so only buses and taxis were allowed into Brussels, even Uber was not allowed. The station was full of people, which surprised me for a Sunday morning, but not only was it car free Sunday, train travel was a reduced price to anywhere in Brussels (except the airport!). A very helpful staff member assisted us with getting the correct ticket and we then made our way to the platform. The train was running a little late and we had 10 minutes to wait, when an announcement came over the loudspeaker to advise a change in platform, which meant we had to take our bags up and down stairs to get to the correct one, which we did with perhaps a couple of minutes to spare!

The trip to the airport was about 20 minutes. We then had to find our airline (TUI) and drop off our bags, as we had already checked in on line (Ian has become very proficient with on-line check-ins using his phone!). We then had a bit of time till our flight, so we grabbed some lunch, and I got myself some Jo Malone fragrance duty free.

Our flight was on time, and we landed in Malaga about 4.30 pm. The weather here was quite warm (29C), but not too humid, which is good. We collected our bags (much quicker than in Germany!). We then grabbed a taxi, and let our hosts know we were on our way. Gary and Ralph - two English guys who now call Malaga home, and have done so for the past 17 years - have 2 apartments in Malaga, and live in the hills behind Malaga. They settled us in, and then left us to our own devices. They provided us with a number of recommendations for dinner, which no doubt we will make use of.Read more
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Europe 2019 Traveler
First night in Malaga
September 22, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
The apartment is SUPA - really comfortable with all the mod cons - so, after unpacking, connecting to the WIFI and settling in, we headed out to explore the neighbourhood.

We are staying in the old town, which is full of wonderful old buildings and narrow streets. As we walked around, we encountered a religious procession moving slowly and noisily through the narrow streets. There was a group of people carrying some huge religious icon mounted on a base, swaying as they moved, followed by a band and a crowd of people. We think it was moving through the town to one of the churches. This is the sort of old world experience you can still have in Spain!

Malaga is a lovely city, and the old town is full of atmosphere and people, even at 7.30pm, which is early by Spanish standards. We found a restaurant - La Taberna de Cervantes - got one of the last few unreserved tables, and had a delicious dinner. We had rocket salad with goats cheese and red fruits (berries), which was the stand out dish for me, and it was the last thing we ordered as I felt like a salad. We also ordered some tapas and half serves of various dishes, including seared tuna with cauliflower purée, chicken kebabs with roasted vegetables, croquettes, potatoes bravas, and Iberian ham with artichokes and asparagus. Everything was fantastic, and I had a lovely glass of Tempranillo and Ian had a beer. Great food at much more reasonable prices.

We then wandered back to the apartment for a relatively early night, as we had an early start in the morning as we are going on a guided treck of the Caminito Del Rey (which translates to little walk of the King).Read more
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Europe 2019 Traveler
Caminito del Rey
September 23, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
We had an early start today, as we had to meet the small group and our tour leader on the other side of the canal, about a 15 minute walk from our apartment, at 8:30 am. There were eight of us on the tour - 3 from Canada (Toronto and Quebec), 2 from Portugal, 1 from London, and us. Our guide for the day was Alfonso, a very tall Spaniard ,who has lived in Malaga for many years, but is originally from the North of Spain.

It was an amazing day. We trekked about 8 kilometres, and climbed up and down hundreds of stairs. I clocked up 20,650 steps, and felt it afterwards. The views and scenery were spectacular, but if you have a fear of heights, this is not the trek for you. The walkway we used was bolted to the side of a sheer rocky cliff, on one side of a deep, narrow gorge.

There is a community of vultures in the area that have grown from less than 5, to a population of nearly 200. They live atop the cliffs, and farmers in the area have agreed that if any of their sheep, cows or goats die, they donate the animal to the vultures. The cliffs and rock formations are mainly limestone and sandstone, and create a wonderful landscape whichever way you look.

Alfonso brought along a picnic for us to have about half way through the trek comprising manchego cheese, chorizo, bread and bananas. It was very thoughtful to provide this delicious picnic, and greatly enjoyed and appreciated. Ian, of course, loved the chorizo.

During the second half of the trek we continued to meander along the walkway, until we reached a suspension bridge that was made of metal grating, so that if you looked down you could see all the way to the river/canal - it was a long way down! Both Ian and I coped with the heights - there were some Danish girls on a school trek, and 2 of them were absolutely petrified of heights, one just clung to the rock face and did not look down. We talked to her and encouraged her along the way, and she had a beaming smile once she looked back at what she had achieved at the end. The other girl just broke down into tears, a little overwhelmed by the experience. These girls were on a school trip, and had to do the trek, which seems a bit cruel to me.

We had to trek another kilometre once we completed the walk to catch a shuttle bus back to the start, as the trek is only one way (thank god). The winding and narrow roads the bus driver had to navigate through were a challenge. Once back to the start, we jumped back into Alfonso’s van for the drive back to Malaga. It was tough going at times but a memorable experience that we both thoroughly enjoyed. Alfonso was a great guide, and very cheeky, and we enjoyed some good banter with him and our fellow trekkies - it was a great little group and we got along well.Read more
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Europe 2019 Traveler
Caminito del Rey part 2
September 23, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
There were so many great photo shots, I needed to do a second entry to include more photos. we really recommend this as a place to visit if you are in Malaga.
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Europe 2019 Traveler
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Dinner in
September 23, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
After a big day outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine, and inspired by the lovely picnic Alfonso made for us, we decided to go to the local supermarket and buy some cold meats, cheese, tomatoes, bread and red wine,and eat in the comfort of our apartment. As well as being easy and comfortable (I got into my pyjamas), it is also very cheap to do this. One of the reasons we love using Airbnb is that we have the flexibility to eat in every so often.

On Alfonso’s recommendation, we ordered some top shelf Jamon Iberico, which was absolutely fabulous - just about melted in you mouth. To accompany the jamon, we got a punnet of cherry tomatoes that were deep red and actually tasted like tomatoes, some manchego cheese (my favourite cheese now, made from sheep’s milk), chorizo, mortadella, bread and red wine a - Crianza from the Ribera Del Duero region (Alphonso’s favourite region).Read more
Traveler Yum!!!! 😋😋
9/24/19Reply
Traveler We ended up doing the Sam type of dinner last night as it was hot and we had been out and about all day
9/25/19Reply
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Europe 2019 Traveler
Alcazaba de Málaga
September 24, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
We left the apartment a bit before 9am to get to the Alcazaba before the crowds. We were fortunate that there wasn’t a queue, and so we got straight in. The Alcazaba is stunning. It dates from about the 11th century, and was utilised as a palace-fortress by the Moorish rulers of the city. It is built on a spur, and takes advantage of the contours of the land. There were additions made to the palace in the 13th and 14th centuries. Within the palace there are a number of courtyards. The Alcazaba was mostly built of limestone, which crumbles easily and therefore it has required frequent rebuilding throughout its existence. The most recent restorations took place in the 1930’s.

The Alcazaba has lush gardens throughout, which keep the area well shaded and cool. The Alcazaba is in a pretty good condition, and was a pleasure to stroll through. There were intact mosaics and marble work, and a lovely 16th century carved wooden ceiling. It was cool, and well shaded, with several intact fountains and waterways that were fully operational - these are characteristic of Moorish architecture and help to provide cooling, as well as the calming sound of gently running water.Read more
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Europe 2019 Traveler
Craftmanship of the Alcazaba
September 24, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
There was so much craftsmanship used to construct the Alcazaba. The following photos demonstrate some examples of this wonderful craftsmanship.
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Europe 2019 Traveler
Blooms of Malaga
September 24, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
There are beautiful blooms all around Malaga, no doubt due to all the sunshine.
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Europe 2019 Traveler
Climb to the Gibralfaro
September 24, 2019, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Gibralfaro has been the site of fortifications since the Phoenician foundation of the city of Málaga circa 770 BC. The location was fortified by Abd-al-Rahman III in 929. The Gibralfaro Castle sits behind (and above) the Alcazaba, and is famous for its three-month siege in 1487 by the Catholic monarchs King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, which ended when hunger forced the Malagueños to surrender. The most visible remains of the castle are the ramparts. In 2005, a thick forest of pines and eucalyptus trees were planted on the hill.

It was a tough walk up the hill, with lots of stairs and steep walking paths. Luckily we had purchased tickets to both monuments as there was a huge queue waiting to buy tickets when we got to the top. There was no waiting for us, we were able to walk straight in. Once we had wandered around the Castle and climbed the ramparts to take in the breathtaking views of Malaga, we had a cold drink in the bar.Read more
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Museum of Málaga
September 24, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
After lunch and a bit of a wander, we made our way to the Museum of Málaga. This has an extensive collection housed in what was the old Customs House, a large and impressive building. This museum had been recommended to us by our Airbnb hosts. It was modern and very well designed, and cool and quiet, compared to the heat and noise outside. And, it was free!

We wandered through the archaeology and painting exhibitions. There was a large old master’s collection, with many pieces on long term loan from the Prado Museum in Madrid.

The private archaeology collection gathered by the Marquises of Casa Loring in the mid 19th century at their La Concepción estate, was in its time one of the most important in Spain, and the origin of today’s museum.

Archaeological sites in caves are a key feature of prehistoric Málaga. The collections on display included documented key moments such as the extinction of Neanderthals and development of the anatomically modern humans known as Zafarraya. A side note of interest is that a Phoenician tomb from the 6th century B.C. was discovered in Calle Jinete, which is the street we are staying in. It was discovered by a guy when he was renovating his home about 10 years ago. There were so many examples of artefacts from the Roman Empire, Byzantium rulers, Islamic and Moorish ruler, Phoenicians and indigenous Iberians.Read more
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