octubre 2014 ~ Beautiful places of Barcelona and Catalonia

viernes, 31 de octubre de 2014

BELGIUM: GHENT (GAND, GENT)

We bought the train tickets and we are on the train at 9:20am. We arrived at Ghent at 10:00 and got in the Starbucks for breakfast. We enjoyed a Chai Tea Latte Venti and a Muffin.

It was a bit cold but luckily the day was sunny. With the tram at 11am we were in the old town of Ghent. Once in the city center, Ghent is a city really grateful to visit because all the monuments are very close. I really liked the mix of Gothic churches and castles connected by canals and bridges.

These are the places and monuments we visited in Ghent:

Korenmarkt
St. Niklaaskerk
Masons' Guild Hall
Belfort
Mammeloker
St. Baafskathedraal
Duivelsteen
Stad Huis (city hall)
Gravensteen
Korenlei and Graslei
Groentenmarkt
Appelbrugparkje Bridge
St. Michielskerk and St. Michielsplein

Korenmarkt

View from the entrance door of St. Niklaaskerk in Ghent. On the right begins the Korenmarkt. In this picture, the former post office, which now houses a shopping center

Sint Niklaaskerk

Sint Niklaaskerk, or Saint Nicholas' church, in Ghent

Apse of St. Niklaaskerk in Ghent

Masons' Guild Hall

On the top of the steeped gable of the Masons' Guild Hall in Ghent, six dancers turn merrily with the wind

Mammeloker

Mammeloker beside the Belfort tower in Ghent

Belfort

Belfort tower in Ghent

Belfort Belfry from another point of view

Sint Baafskathedraal

Apse of Sint Baafskathedraal in Ghent

Sint Baafskathedraal, buit in gothic style, in Ghent

The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb was painted by the Van Eyck brothers and you can see it inside the Sint Baafskathedraal

Inside Sint Baafskathedraal in Ghent

Duivelsteen

Duivelsteen, or Castle of Gerald the Devil, beside a canal in Ghent

One of the facades of Geeraard de Duivelsteen in Ghent

Gravensteen

Gravensteen, or Castle of the Counts, in Ghent

Beautiful view of the rear wall of Gravensteen beside the canal in Ghent

Typical cone of fries we ate in Ghent

Kraanlei

Kraanlei in Ghent

Graslei

Graslei beside the Kanaal Gent-Brugge in Ghent

Groentenmarkt

Groentenmarkt square in Ghent

From Groentenmarkt you can walk along the pedestrian and shopping Langemunt street

Sint Michielsplein and Sint Michielskerk

Sint Niklaaskerk and Belfort tower in Ghent

View of Sint Niklaaskerk and the Belfort tower beside Cataloniëstraat from Sint Michielsplein

Sint Michielskerk in Ghent

At 4am we caught the train back to Brussels. After buying the train tickets to Bruges at Gare Centrale for the following day, and the breakfast and dinner in a Carrefour we arrived at the hotel. This time we left at 7pm heading towards the Grand Place to dinner at Chez Leon: potage du jour, avec moules frites and prawn croquettes. After dinner, to the Delirium Tremens to enjoy a deserved beer.

Enjoying a beer in Delirium Tremens bar in Brussels

Grand Place in Brussels lit at night

Besides Ghent, in Belgium we visited the following places too:

Day 1 - Brussels

Day 2 - Ghent

Day 3 - Bruges

Day 4 - Brussels

Finally, other countries and cities I have already visited are:

Barcelona

Dublin in Ireland

Istanbul and Cappadocia

Rome and The Vatican

Florence in Tuscany

Venice

Lisboa in Portugal

Dubrovnik, beaches and coast of Croatia
Neum, Pocitelj and Mostar in Bosnia Herzegovina

The Greek Islands and Athens

Madrid

Helsinki and Lapland in Finland

Tallinn in Estonia

Tortuguero, Caribe, Arenal, Monteverde and San José in Costa Rica

Marrakech in Morocco

jueves, 30 de octubre de 2014

BELGIUM: FIRST DAY IN BRUSSELS

We landed in Brussels at 9:15 am. We arrived at the airport train station after walking 30 minutes. After waiting 10 minutes and a 15 minute train journey we arrived at La Gare Centrale. After a 20 minute walk a bit uncomfortable (suitcase, stairs) we arrived at our Aparthotel located between the Royal Palace and the European Parliament in an office area of the city.

In Brussels we visited the following places:

Day 1: Brussels (Brussel - Bruxelles)

Manneken Pis + Waffle 1€
Comic Route

Grand Place (Grote Markt)

Hôtel de Ville (Stadhuis)
Maison du Roi

La Bourse de Bruxelles
Place and Église de Sainte Catherine (Noordzee Restaurant)
Theatre Royal de la Monnaie
Galleries de Saint Hubert
Rue des Bouchers, Jeanneke Pis and Delirium Café
Cathedral of St. Michiel et St. Gudule
Église du Sablon and Petit Sablon
Palace Royal

In the fourth day of our trip in Belgium we also visited in Brussels:

Atomium
Chinese Pavilion and Japanese Tower in Laeken Park
Parc du Cinquantenaire
European Parliament and Leopold Park

We left our luggage at the hotel around 11 am and we went right to the city center, where we arrived shortly before 11:30 am. We spent the morning visiting the Grand Place and the surrounding streets, as well as the Manneken Pis.

Day 1

One of the cobbled streets near the Grand Place of Brussels

Comic Route

A exemple of the Comic Route in Brussels: Tintin and Haddock Captain painted near the Manneken Pis

Manneken Pis

There are always a lot of people near the Manneken Pis in Brussels

A closer view of Manneken Pis in Brussels

Grand Place in Brussels

Main facade of the City Hall of Brussels

Grand Place and Hôtel de Ville (city hall) in Brussels

Maison du Roi on the Grand Place in Brussels

Flowers on the Grand Place and, behind, La Maison du Roi

Belgian flag on the facade of La Maison du Roi on the Grand Place of Brussels

The day was gray, cold and even began to sparkle. From the Grand Place we went to Place Sainte Catherine. On the way we see the Jeanneken Pis and La Bourse. We had lunch in the same place in the fast food restaurant North Sea a delicious soup of the day and a crab burger.

La Bourse de Bruxelles

La Bourse de Bruxelles (Stock Exchange building in Brussels)

Église de Sainte Catherine

Église de Sainte Catherine in Brussels

Sainte Catherine Square in Brussels. We had lunch in Noordzee restaurant

After having lunch we continue our journey to the Cathedral of St. Gudule et St. Michiel. Fortunately the day became lovely and it was a very pleasant sun.

Theatre Royal de la Monnaie

Theatre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels

Pedestrian street near the Grand Place in Brussels

Delirium Café

At the end of this backstreet you can see the Jeanneke Pis and enjoy a beer in Delirium Café

Jeanneke Pis

Jeanneke Pis in Brussels

Galleries Saint Hubert

Galleries Saint Hubert in Brussels

Cathedral of Brussels

Cathedrale des Saints Michiel et Gudule in Brussels

Inside the Cathedral of Brussels

Stained glass window of the cathedral of Brussels

Our first day in Brussels ends with a visit to the Church of Notre Dame du Sablon, to the Petit Sablon, a small park next to it, and to the Royal Palace, located near our hotel. We got our Aparthotel a little tired towards 5 pm.

Église du Grand Sablon

Église du Grand Sablon in Brussels

Park of Petit Sablon in Brussels

Sculpture of Peter Pan in the park of Petit Sablon in Brussels

Royal Palace in Brussels

After a break we went to eat something at 9pm with the surprise of nearby restaurants were all closed. We approached the Gare Centrale and there we could have a quick dinner. We were actually too tired to approach the lively Grand Place.