Arriving in Antwerp

Thursday October 18 was (OMG) a bit cloudy and cooler.  The high in Paris was forecast to be 21C and the high in Antwerp was 17C.

View across the street from our apartment in Paris in the middle of the night--- very quiet (and a bit ominous- like Alain's favourite Hopper painting)
We took the Metro to Gare du Nord and got the Thalys train to Antwerp.  We left at 10:25 a.m. and arrived two hours later.  The train was very comfortable, very fast and very full.

Antwerp train station is a real beauty 
We took their Metro/tram two stops to our B and B.  We have stayed at the Boulevard Leopold B and B twice before, the last time in 2011.  It is located in a beautiful 19th century townhouse located in the old Jewish district about a half hour walk from the centre of town.

Alain outside the building
Wonderful inside entrance
Our room is on the third floor.
Our very large room with a marble fireplace
Another view--- also beautiful garden out back
Huge bathroom--- large shower to the right and toilet area to the left behind some curtains

View going down the stairs
After getting settled in, we headed out to the city centre.
Hasidim on bikes--- the city is full of bikes and has dedicated bike lanes on almost all the streets.  The lanes are right beside the sidewalks and separate from the street and cars.  It takes getting used to as pedestrians, as the cyclists are very confident and fast.

We stopped at Bardin for an espresso-- Antwerp has become another good coffee city-- lots of places have opened in the last five years.

Lovely old buildings
Quiet street in Antwerp

Another stop for yogurt at Paco coffee
Antwerp is full of beautiful buildings and stores.  We stopped to look at the windows at the Dries Van Noten store- one of the original six Antwerp fashion designers.

Outside the beautiful Dries building

Fabulous windows
Lots of blue this year
We stopped for some of the famous Belgian fries at No. 1- a small "frituur", where one orders fries or other fried items from a stand and then goes to eat them in a room with some booths.  No. 1 seems to be a favourite with locals.
Fries at No. 1
Austure setting for eating, next door to the frituur
Where one places an order at Frituur No.1

Grote Markt

We are going for a "free tour" on Friday Oct. 19, so will fill in the details then

The animals at the top
View of the main Cathedral
While the tourist bureau was closed when we arrived, we discovered Cross Roast Experience Store, which had lots of coffee paraphernalia.  It had a roastery around the corner and a coffee shop that had just closed at 6:00 p.m. when we were there.


The roastery view from the window



We then walked some more and chilled at the main theatre.  We had a dinner reservation at 8:00 p.m. at Bourla, a place recommended by our host.  It was buzzy and the food was good.
Bourla
We both had gorgeous trout wrapped in bacon with almonds, a salad, and potatoes-- very delicious

We walked back to the B&B.  It was very quiet and a huge change from the hustle and bustle of Paris.  It is always amazing how in just two hours in a train in Europe, one is transported to an entirely new experience in a new country with a new language (Flemish is the main language in Antwerp, with English second), new culture and new food.  The weather has finally turned cooler, as the evening temperatures have dropped considerably.  Leather jacket weather has arrived!

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