BY Clay Larroy
Do
you feel like it is time for a short vacation? Once you decide to travel,
how good you plan the trip will help you feel comfortable and be comfortable at
your destination. Not only will you feel less anxiety before the trip, but you
can rest assured that once you arrive where you're going you will have a good
understanding of what's going on there. When you need to
plan a vacation contact me!
Belgium - The Best Kept Travel Secret
By Cindy Lou Dale
By the Sea and Beyond
Did you now that seven out of ten diamonds come from
Antwerp, which has been the world’s largest diamond center for more than 700
years? Diamonds from mines all over the world are skillfully cut and polished,
praised and appraised, bought and sold in Antwerp.
The coastal town of Antwerp also fizzes in fashion and
the effect reaches far beyond her borders. Belgian designers have a solid
international reputation, selling designs being sold around the world and
showcasing them in spreads in today’s most authoritative fashion magazines.
Antwerp has become one of the most important European trendsetters in the
fashion world, drawing 6,000 visitors each year to the Antwerp Academy of Arts
fashion show, the highpoint of the Antwerp fashion season.
Antwerp has unmistakably positioned itself as a
unique, fashionable city. It is a mini-metropolis, culturally loaded and
strategically packed-out, full of diverse physical characteristics and stark
evidence of its finger-on-the-pulse global connections, still somehow behaving
like an oversized village, albeit a happily peculiar version of one.
Antwerp is also the fourth largest port in the world
and the second largest in Europe. It stretches for more than twelve miles along
the banks of the River Scheldt, reaching up to Rotterdam and out to the North
Sea.
Another seaside town is what every European country
seems to have: a city that thoroughly encompasses all that the place holds
dear. Bruges is such for Belgium, sitting proud and pretty, epitomizing the
grandeur and perfection otherwise relegated to storybooks.
Its tag, ‘ Venice of the north’, is securely fastened.
With canal boats, horse-drawn carriages and bicycles as readily-available
transport options, the ethnic spirit is available for the visitor to swallow
whole, hastening appreciation of the cultural niceties that zoom into view from
every direction.
Inland, south of Brussels, is Liege, a sizeable and
dynamic town on the banks of the River Meuse. It’s the intellectual capital of
Wallonia and the birthplace of Georges Simenon, the prolific thriller writer.
Despite some grim architectural reminders of its industrial days, the old
center remains attractive and overflows with bars, cafés and restaurants.
Further south is Namur, a university town known as the
gateway to the rivers and forests of the Ardennes. An eerie presence may
overcome travelers walking through the cobbled squares, as this was where the
1992 serial killer docu-drama ‘Man Bites Dog’ was filmed.
Hop on the train in Namur and head still further south
to Dinant at the center of the Meuse Valley. Dinant is a pretty little town
hugging the river beneath craggy green cliffs about 18 miles south of Namur - a
handy base for venturing into the surrounding countryside either by boat, bike
or on foot. Dinant is dominated by its two main buildings: the Citadel, which
overlooks the town from a 320-foot cliff, and the Cathedral of Notre Dame,
outsized against the surrounding structures and capped with a bronze dome. A
famous native of Dinant is Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone.
Nearby is the castle of Jehay, which was built in the
11th century and has, through the centuries, been home to aristocrats and
royalty. It is a magnificent example of medieval Renaissance architecture,
surrounded by a moat. Today it is owned by the Province of Liege who has opened
it to the public. The castle is full of rare furnishings, silverware
collections, antique lace, china, tapestries, books dating back to the 11th
century, sculptures and paintings by the masters, and many other precious
artifacts.
The marvel continues in the castle’s gardens, along
the paths, arbors and fountains all along the main alley, bordered by cascades
and nymphs, which are delicate works by Count Guy can den Steen. Ten
contemporary sculptors take us on an artistic journey full of original works
and installations in the surrounding woods. Between early June and the end of
September, these wood magicians invite travelers for a stroll in the gardens
and parks surrounding the castle.
Belgium is a quiet treasure, and there’s something
about it that enchants its visitors. Maybe it’s the friendly welcoming people
who, with three official languages, still find it easy to converse in English,
the fourth language. Maybe it’s the stunning architecture decorating the quaint
cobblestone squares. Or perhaps it’s the incredible cuisine. Whatever it is
that excites you, you will find it here.
Did You Know...
- The science of anatomy was founded by
Andreas Vesalius of Brussels, who went on the write the first complete
textbook of human anatomy
- The world’s first collection of maps in
book form was published by Abraham Ortelius of Antwerp
- The Belgian inventor Jean Joseph Lenoir
developed the world’s first internal combustion engine in 1860
- Filled chocolates, known as Pralines, were
invented by Jean Neuhauss, whose 19th century shop still remains in the
Galeries St Hubert in Brussels
- Millions of cartoon fanatics enjoyed the
adventures of Tintin, created by the Brussels cartoonist, Hergé
- Whooping cough medicine was invented by
Belgian Jules Bordet
REFERENCE SITES:
“I also liked they Belgian brewers are
notoriously rebellious and mock Americans’ obsession with categorizing beers by
style; I saw them as arrogant expressionists ensnared with creation, not
categorization.”
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