a weekend in belgium #3

some details from the trip.

i spotted two works by space invaders (althought there are many more). i love street art, just think that this guy goes up a wall and glues little tiles to make this characters, i love this! the first made me laugh, it's the space invader as manneken pis.

this was a dog boutique - shop, spa, hairdresser - you know all a dog needs (not!)

this little shells can be found throughout the city and the tell you the way to santiago de compostela.

we seeked for protection from the rain in brussels cathedral and we found some stunning stained glass work.

i spotted this zepellin from the trian on the way back home.

a weekend in belgium #2

antwerp is a nice little city 35mn by train from brussels. i learned that the word antwerp means "hand throwing" with a strange story of a giant and a hero... (read here in wikipedia)

the central station is very beautiful, even worth of wedding pictures.

one of my friends lives there in a cool 3-storey art deco house he is renovating by himself. and i really mean renovating by himself. i was astonished: he is tearing down walls, building toilets and kitchen from scratch, renovating the roof, connecting sewer pipes, electricty, gas, boilers, you name it, alone or with help of his wife and father. everything he showed us he would say "oh, that's easy!" - setting up a bathroom from scratch? that's easy! escavating the basement and placing all the sewer pipes? that's easy! setting a new boiler? easy peasy! And then he tells me, we are architects, aren't we? oh my, I felt embarassed. He and his wife have been renovating the house while living there for 4 years now and they spent their first year in the basement without hot water (they warmed it in the stove for shower)! Last year things moved a little slower because... they had a baby! really, they are so cool and a bit crazy!

anyway we spent some time in their home but as the weather was sunny we cycled around the town, stopping for refreshments (of course, beer) and to check the new museum sensation - the MAS (Museum aan de Stroom - Museum on the River) by dutch architects neuteligs riedjik.

 

the building has that same crazy ondulated glass OMA used for Porto's "Casa da Música" and it's decorated with little hands (remember antwerp... hand throw...). if you go to the top and look down a weird image can be seen in the museum square...
check this website to learn more about the building and the museum.

we finished the day with a great dinner and... beer!

a weekend in belgium #1

last weekend we boarded the eurostar again this time to brussels to visit some friends there and in antwerp. it was a very very good weekend full of great time with great people and belgium's treats, you know, french fries (shouldn't we say belgium fries since they invented them?), beer, beer, beer, waffles and chocolat. very healthy, indeed!

everybody asked me "why are you going to brussels?" like what's there to see?
i admit it's not the most exciting town in the world and actually coming from london i felt the whole country was empty, i was always thinking why isn't a waiting line for this restaurant? why isn't this square crowded? how come we enter a bar and we can actually find a seat? (ok, london isn't that bad - but close). but i enjoyed walking its streets, checking the chocolate stores and other goodies, book gazing in nice bookshops, making fun of tourists looking at the peeing boy (i know, but i went there, right?), trying to see nice museums but failing (not being able to visit horta's house museum and the cartoon museum was very very disappointing). the whole city is full of cartoon walls and art noveau buildings.

it was of course raining.

but the best was the company. 5 boys and me. all re-united because of some amazing time in japan, 7 years ago. another boy and a girl were missing but next time we will be all together again.

i'm getting more emotional on these travels to meet friends. maybe it's because of the everyday distance from my friends and family or i'm just getting older, anyway, i feel each moment i share with a friend as very special and unrepeatable, something to cherish. we just can't take things for granted.

tomorrow i'll show you more pics from antwerp.