Brussels

 On our last day in Brussels we paid a visit to Mr. Marat.

 He is bigger than we thought. 

 Still very pale for a blood-thirsty revolutionary.

 We saw some Rubens sketches.

 and the Money Changer and his Wife by Quentin Massys (1514)...

 with the reflection of the customer in the little mirror below,...

... and half a Frans Hals Family Portrait,

but that's another story.

Our last waffle in Belgium and we went home. 

Antwerp

 We went to Antwerp to find our path to Rubens. 

 It was hot and we had some libation. 

 The canals were beautiful. 

 Some of the court yards are great. 

 On the Big Market Square are the guild houses and 

 the statue of the young Roman soldier who defeated the Giant who 

cut the hands off sailors who would not pay his toll and threw them into the river; 

hence the name "Antwerpen" - 

"ant" = "hand" and "werpen" = "throw". 

 Then we went to the house of Rubens. 

 He lived in great luxury....

 ... and style. 

 His studio is still filled with paintings. 

 This is a beautiful madonna (ca. 1380) in the cathedral,...

 where we also find Rubens's "Elevation of the Cross,"...

 ...the "Deposition from the Cross,"...

and the Antwerp meridian. We were there at the right time.  

    A short walk and train ride brought us back to Brussels....

... and a great dinner among friends at a Bavarian restaurant. 

Thank you for a great stay in Belgium!

Louvain

 We went to Louvain and climbed the tower of the library. 

 Large parts of the town were destroyed during the wars, 

 but the Large Beguinate is still around. 

 Beguines were women who decided to enter a religious community without taking vows. 

 The ladies experienced a lack of candidates for marriage because of the crusades...

 ... but were wealthy enough to group together. 

 They lived in nice quarters...

 ...and devoted most of their lives to charity.

 What is so extraordinary is that the buildings are still around today. 

 Today the University of Louvain took over these buildings. 

Bruges

 We went to Bruges. 

 The canals are beautiful

 The city hall is spectacular. 

 We had dinner....

 ...with the best waiter in the world....

...and made our way back....

... but not before visiting Michelangelo's Madonna.

Belgium

Last Monday we dropped Carol off at the airport. 

We were very sad. 

I wish she could have stayed longer. 

 The same day we traveled to Belgium to visit our friends Sharon, Kimberly, and the guys. 

This is Simba saying hello to Sharon. 

 We checked out the chocolate shops in Brussels. 

 Yes, it's a giant pineapple made out of chocolate.

 Some of the guild houses in Brussels.