After breakfast Marie and I went to Mass in her church, Abbey of St. Francis in Blanden. This was to be the penultimate Mass as the church and the Abbey was being closed and the edifice sold to the University. It has a very nice organ and the organist played a very nice postlude. The priest, Father Rik, also a sculptor, was kind enough to show us the art institute next door and his fabulous bronzes and marble figures. He has a vast number of pieces sold not only...

Awoke to a light rain but weather cleared fairly soon. Breakfast in the hotel was followed by a visit to several art museums including Arents, Church of Our Lady where we saw the Madonna and Child of Michelangelo, St. John's Hospital with Flemish primitives of Hans Memling, and the Pharmacy. Another special museum on the grounds of the old hospital had an exhibit of Picasso lithographs and a series of works by Miro, Bracht, Magritte, Rodin, Chagall, Matisse and o...

Took a taxi this morning after breakfast at our hotel, destination Bruges. We were taken to the Hotel Orangerie in center of town. There was a rather cold wind but it was warm where sun shone. We walked about visiting art museums and large churches. A special treat was a boat trip in the canals which surround a good part of the city. Marie treated me to dinner at Karmeliet, reputed to be one of the finest restaurants of Belgium. Immaculate service was provided...

This morning we hired a taxi to take to the train station for a trip to Knokke. We first checked in to La Reserve Hotel before having a coffee. We were invited to visit an upscale fashion festival in a large tent structure on the big sandy beach. We were offered a wine tasting by a wine distributor from whom Marie had purchased. We had a nice lunch along the beach. We dressed for the Gala evening. A large number of invitees enjoyed elegant displays of upscale j...

Awoke to another nice morning with prediction of rain but none in sight. After breakfast and a shower Marie and I drove into Leuven stopping to water plants at her husband's grave. Parking in a central underground garage, we walked to the Bibliotheca for the University and explored the interior. We the strolled around the central shopping street before stopping for a snack at Bar Louis. The predicted rain was light as we walked back to the car and drove home.