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House Of Music

Villa Medici has a different look and feel to it in a daylight.  Last night I just wanted to get to bed, today I had a chance to walk around this place, in its endless maze of hallways and rooms that lead to even more hallways and rooms.  This place is truly huge and on […]

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Villa Medici

So after circling around the building for about 25 min I managed to find the big brown door to get to where I am staying, Villa Medici. This is a 4000 sq m musical villa. There are over 60 pianos here in this house. I have a piano in my room too, it is bigger […]

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F1

After a lot of waiting, a lot of talking and a bit of planning this is finally happening.  I am going to Monza to see F1 race this coming weekend.  I am not sure what to expect, except for a lot of noise and testosterone around and a sea of red and yellow flags supporting […]

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St. Bavo’s Cathedral

The building is based upon the Chapel of St. John the Baptist, a primarily wooden construction; it was consecrated in 942 by Transmarus, Bishop of Tournai and Noyon. Traces of this original structure are evident in the cathedral’s crypt. The chapel was subsequently expanded in the Romanesque style in 1038. Some traces of this phase […]

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Ghent

Ghent started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Leie and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of northern Europe with some 60,000 people in 1300 AD, 70,000 in 1400 growing to 175,000 Shortly after 1500 AD. Today it is a busy city with a port […]

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Van Landschoot

After the visit at the museum, we spent almost an hour chatting with the grand-daughter of Maurice Van Landschoot and his son Gilbert who not only own but run the museum.  Van Landschoot Family tree traces back over 1000 years.  They were predominantly masons and timber traders.   They were employed to provide their expertise […]

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Main Square

The Markt (“Market Square”) of Bruges is located in the heart of the city and covers an area of about 1 hectare. Some historical highlights around the square include the 12th-century belfry and the Provincial Court (originally the Waterhall, which in 1787 was demolished and replaced by a classicist building that from 1850 served as […]

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On Bruges

Bruges is a relatively small city of about 120 thousand people, double that if you include the metropolitan area.  It is very beautiful and pristine.  It’s a vibrant and alive and obsessively clean and not as busy and commercial as Brussels, a perfect place to get a good taste of Belgium. Very few traces of human […]

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Welcome to Belgium

After spending a few hours in Amiens, we set off for Belgium.  We are going to be staying in Bruges close to the old town to reduce our travel time and to maximize our time in the city.  Our fist impression of Belgium is very positive.  It appears that most highways in Belgium are lit at night, […]

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Around Amiens

The first known settlement is Samarobriva (“Somme bridge”), the central settlement of the Ambiani, one of the principal tribes of Gaul. The town was given the name Ambianum by the Romans, meaning settlement of the Ambiani people. The town has been much fought over, being attacked by barbarian tribes, and later by the Normans. In […]

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Amiens Cathedral

Amiens Cathedral is situated on a ridge overlooking the River Somme in Amiens and it is the 19th largest church in the world. Medieval cathedral builders were trying to maximize the internal dimensions in order to reach for the heavens and bring in more light. In that regard, the Amiens cathedral is the tallest complete […]

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Farewell Omonville

Today we are saying goodbye to our fantastic little cottage in Omonville.  Despite the weather, we had absolutely fabulous time here.  I would say one of the best stays on this trip.  Don’t get fooled by this picture, it rained 30 min later, exactly when we were checking out…

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Dieppe War Cemetery

Tomorrow is the 72nd anniversary of the Dieppe Raid of 1942. Dieppe is dressed up and down with Canadian flags – it looks very heartwarming. The Canadian War Cemetery located 5km from Dieppe is unique in that it was created by the occupying Germans, as the Allied raid was a disaster and many dead were […]

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Horticulture

Continuing with our fun theme for the day after Tree Top Adventure we set off for Hydrangea Gardens. The gardens which are about 2ha in size claim to have the largest collection of hydrangeas from around the world, with hundreds of flowers and millions of blooms.  I am not sure if this qualified as fun […]

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