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Noyelles Travels 2017
Thursday 11th May
Herman drove us into Antwerp where we parked just opposite the Steen, an old fortress on the River Schelde which guarded the city. From there we walked to the large square in front of the town hall & then on to the cathedral which is truly magnificent.
A bit further on we had coffee in a huge hall, which had been in the palace of Leopold 1, the first king of Belgium.
Then down to the central station to look in the windows of the shops selling diamonds as this is the major centre for cutting & polishing them in Europe.
Returning by metro we then drove back to Aartselaar before going to visit Lien Smouts, Myriam’s granddaughter who is marrying Sebastien Alkan later this month. Lien is a carer looking after wards of the state, children unable to live with their parents.
Friday 12th May
Today we went to the Plattegrond sculpture park at Middelheim in Antwerp. This is a huge park outdoor statues dating from the early 1900s until today with works from a range of internationally famous artists. The grounds are beautifully kept with ponds many trees & a small moated chateau & cafe. We walked for about an hour admiring the works
& then had a drink at the cafe before returning to Myriam’s place for lunch.
After lunch we went to see Ann & Alain Dais their 2nd daughter who live in a beautiful house with their chocolate workshop in the back garden. Alain & Ann make chocolates which they sell from their giant trailer in 3 markets every week. The trailer took 18months to build & is about 10m in length by 3m but expands in both directions when on site. Alain tows it with a Renault prime mover & we were amazed that he could negotiate the narrow roads from their
house. The business is very successful but requires them to work long hours nearly every day. It is seasonal with Christmas & the New Year as their busy times but they have their holidays in the summer when it is too hot for te chocolate. Alain showed us how the individual
chocolates are made but it is a labour intensive process. Ann presented us all with gifts from their business which was a very fine gesture.
Then on to visit Iris, their daughter & Johan, her husband & their children. It was great to see them after so many years & it was fascinating to hear about their work in a large psychiatric hospital.
In the evening we all went to a restaurant for a fine meal but when we returned to the car someone had rammed the rear door, pushing it in 5cm & damaging the door sill badly. It was an unfortunate end to an otherwise lovely day.
Herman drove us into Antwerp where we parked just opposite the Steen, an old fortress on the River Schelde which guarded the city. From there we walked to the large square in front of the town hall & then on to the cathedral which is truly magnificent.
A bit further on we had coffee in a huge hall, which had been in the palace of Leopold 1, the first king of Belgium.
Then down to the central station to look in the windows of the shops selling diamonds as this is the major centre for cutting & polishing them in Europe.
Returning by metro we then drove back to Aartselaar before going to visit Lien Smouts, Myriam’s granddaughter who is marrying Sebastien Alkan later this month. Lien is a carer looking after wards of the state, children unable to live with their parents.
Friday 12th May
Today we went to the Plattegrond sculpture park at Middelheim in Antwerp. This is a huge park outdoor statues dating from the early 1900s until today with works from a range of internationally famous artists. The grounds are beautifully kept with ponds many trees & a small moated chateau & cafe. We walked for about an hour admiring the works
& then had a drink at the cafe before returning to Myriam’s place for lunch.
After lunch we went to see Ann & Alain Dais their 2nd daughter who live in a beautiful house with their chocolate workshop in the back garden. Alain & Ann make chocolates which they sell from their giant trailer in 3 markets every week. The trailer took 18months to build & is about 10m in length by 3m but expands in both directions when on site. Alain tows it with a Renault prime mover & we were amazed that he could negotiate the narrow roads from their
house. The business is very successful but requires them to work long hours nearly every day. It is seasonal with Christmas & the New Year as their busy times but they have their holidays in the summer when it is too hot for te chocolate. Alain showed us how the individual
chocolates are made but it is a labour intensive process. Ann presented us all with gifts from their business which was a very fine gesture.
Then on to visit Iris, their daughter & Johan, her husband & their children. It was great to see them after so many years & it was fascinating to hear about their work in a large psychiatric hospital.
In the evening we all went to a restaurant for a fine meal but when we returned to the car someone had rammed the rear door, pushing it in 5cm & damaging the door sill badly. It was an unfortunate end to an otherwise lovely day.
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