FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE - FIVE ON FRIDAY

1. My friend Claudie arrived from the French Riviera where she was melting in 40°C (104 F), in Belgium, where it was the last warmest day of the week which means 25° (77 F). She was happy to be able to cool down, because there is no or very poor air condition in Southern France too. Of course we had a lot to chat !

2. Unfortunately she had no luck, because it started to rain, but not a friendly rain,  it rained cats and dogs ! We finally went out for lunch and had mussels with chips, the traditional Belgian plate. It was very good. Apparently the mussels from the North Sea taste different than the once from the Mediterranian Sea.



Then we went to Nivelles the next town to the big shopping mall. There it was dry lots of people who had the same idea and we could window shop without becoming wet. The shops are exactly the same we have here in Waterloo on the main street. We are both not "boutique" girls but it was interesting for her to compare the prices and what is on the market here.

We then had a coffee with little Italian cakes and we admired the wooden saucer, we had never seen such. It looked really very special



4. Claudie although she had been quite often in Brussels had never seen the Royal Palace inside and we were lucky it was just open for the public and for free ! It had been ages that I had seen the palace from inside and didn't remember very much.



I hadn't realized how beautiful it was ! There were so many very special things that I will write an extra post about this palace. Claudie was startled. So much gold and crystal lustres !



After the palace visit we badly needed a drink and we went to the Grand'Place. To my surprise there was the Meiboom celebration going on ! Every August 9th,  a young beech tree is planted near the Grand'Place. Unfortunately we just saw the end of the procession but it was a very cheerful atmosphere.

5.  I had my Scrabble afternoon and of course Claudie came with me. As me she likes not to be a tourist in another country but take part of the daily life of her host. Her only fear was that she hadn't played scrabble for over 20 years.



Apparently she had no problems at all because she finished second ! After our game we had coffee and cookies and a lot to talk about the different lifestyle of north and south. And while Claudie's husband at home complained about the heat, we were happily sitting with cardigans and complained about the rain and cold weather. But we had fun and that was the most important thing.

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

Fast Blog

WEEKEND REVIEW AUGUST 15

During the night the temperature had dropped from 30°C to 16°C and it rained cats and dogs or rather Elephants and dinosaurs the whole day !

The keyboard on my laptop didn't work properly anymore, some letters were stuck. Impossile to type even by hammering on the key.  After having tried out everything, Mr. G. came with a provisory solution !



He put another keyboard on my laptop and at least I could type again. I have to get my laptop repaired, fortunately it is still under guarantee.

In the afternoon I went to Nicole to share with her the rainy weather with a cup of coffee and some updating chats.



Charlie was happy to see me, he had a companion, the dog of Nicole's daughter. When I left she walked the dogs and I was happy that I don't have to do that with my cats when it rains !

On Sunday the sun came out again and I took the opportunity to visit the Brussels' Flowertime event on the Grand Place.



I was early a little after 9 am, but there were already lots of people walking towards the Grand' Place.



The flower display on the place was absolutely beautiful. The flowers looked like a stream flowing over the place. It continued inside the City Hall,  but there were so many people already lining up, that I decided to wait a bit.



I had a coffee on the terrace of the "Roi d'Espagne" which was in the past  the café where I had my dates. As it was high season the price for a coffee was so expensive, more than the half of the price in winter ! To compensate, the coffee spoon disappeared in my purse, I just had lost the one of my cup I use in my painting course.



Inside the café almost nothing had changed, not even the stuffed horse I had seen for the first time when I was 13 !

This flower festival was absolutely beautiful I will write a special post about it.

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

1. I have a very pleasant but tiring week behind me and feel a little exhausted ! My friend Claudie from the South of France was on visit and as she had been with us already several times, I wanted to show her places of Brussels, she hadn't seen yet. At the same time I rediscovered Brussels and areas where I hadn't been since I was 14 or 15, which wasn't yesterday !



First I took her to the old Market Hall of St. Gétry, which has been renovated and transformed into an exhibition hall where artists can show their work. On the first floor you can sit in comfortable chairs or play games around the tables, we saw men playing chess and Backgammon. There is also a bar inside and in the basement and the second floor were exhibitions.

2.



Besides the halles, all around the square and in little streets are one restaurant, bar or bistro after the other. It has become a very animated area and I didn't recognize anything ! Claudie had the intention to try out all Belgian beers, but as there are more then 2000 variations, she only could try a few !



From there we walked to the Grand'Place, saw the old "Bourse" (stock market) which became now a place for exhibitions along the little houses which stuck against the church.



Lots of places seemed to be in renovation and even another side of the Grand' Place, the first 2 pictures show a large screen representing the buildings which are being repainted. The one below shows the result of this cleaning ! The gold shines again ! We saw the design of the flower carpet traced with chalk on the ground, which will be filled in with flowers to be ready for the weekend !

3. We wanted to see the Titanic Exhibition, but when we arrived there were so many people lining up, that it would have taken us at least 2 h to get in. And it rained ! Instead I took her to the Japonese Pavillion, which is inside the park of the  Royal castle. It is not open to the public, but still nice to see from outside.



Claudie took some pictures, before we entered the Chinese Pavillon just in front.



It is a very beautiful building surrounded by a equally beautiful park, unfortunately we couldn't go inside to see the Chinese artifacts, it was closed for renovation ! We walked a little through the park and stopped at the playground for kids ! 

4. The Brussels Christmas market  starts at the Grand'Place on to the Place St. Cathrine where I took her,  I had never been there in summer !



So it was quite a discovery for me to see flowers and lots of restaurant terraces on this place where I usually saw ice skating  and walked along Christmas stalls.

5. As my friend Nicole was in Ostend at the Belgian seafront, we visited her and Claudie could see the North Sea for the very first time. Nicole showed her around in Ostend,



while I stayed in her flat and rested my poor legs watching the beach from the 7th floor !

Now her holidays are finished and she takes the train home to Southern France, but we won't be separated for a long time as on Tuesday I take the plane and will spent a week in her home where I swear I only will enjoy the warmth and the sunshine and the good food which her husband always prepares for me.

THE END OF BRUSSEL's "CHRISTMAS TREE"

After so many protests against this "Christmas Tree" standing in the middle of the beautiful Grand'Place in Brussels, the city decided to dismantle this monster before the celebration of the New Year's Eve. Their excuse was that it could be dangerous because of the fireworks. The reality is, that they fear that people would destroy it so big was the anger against this thing which had nothing to do with a real Christmas tree. The responsible for Brussel's tourism,  the "échevin" (municipal councillor) Philippe Close, apparently was the founder of this great idea, had wanted to "modernize" Brussels. Apparently he was the only one who loved this tree !

So on Saturday morning I switched on the video camera of the Grand'Place and watched how Brussels "beautiful" Christmas tree was dismantled



They started shortly after 8 am.



I saw some workers climbing on the "tree"



Around 9 am, the "bedsheets" which had covered the metal boxes had disappeared from the top



It went quiet quickly



at noon, it was only a scaffolding and more and more people started to gather around it to watch this event !



Then came a truck "Creative Audio & Vision Solutions" which solved the problem of the vision of a Christmas tree.



at 5 pm it was almost done, and the workers stopped.

This morning the scaffolding was still standing, and I will watch from time to time when this nightmare is finally gone, and for the first time the Grand'Place will be without a Christmas tree on New Year's Eve !

This shows that when it comes to traditions, politicians shouldn't have too much phantasy ! 

A SCAFFOLDING AS X-MAS TREE IN BRUSSELS

Each year on the Grand' Place in Brussels, a beautiful Christmas tree is erected with lights and Christmas decorations. Usually the day where the tree arrives, people are gathered there just to watch how the huge tree will be put up. For years the tree was a gift from Finland and later it came from the Belgian Ardennes.



Like this one. In the evenings there is a sound and light show and with the old buildings the place looks very christmassy and young and old enjoy it very much.

However this year, the City of Brussels (I wonder who had this "glorious" idea) is installing an electronic Christmas tree at the Grand-Place: the 'Xmas 3' ! This awful looking "Christmas tree"??? looks like a metallic scaffolding and you need to have a lot of phantasy to imagine it as even only a tree, not to speak about a Christmas tree ! 

This 'Xmas 3' horror is a 24 meter high monumental electronic thing, made of steel, covered with wood and a screen. For 4 euros, visitors can climb the installation during the day. The collected money of these visits will go to an organization which helps the homeless, which at least is a Christmas gesture !

When I arrived at the Grand'Place, I almost jumped out of my shoes !



I saw this, which reminded me of a scaffold ready to hold up a building !



The white boxes are supposed to be the Christmas light bulbs !



You really get a christmassy disgusted feeling when you see the foot of the so said tree !



I walked several times around this "beauty" trying to see a tree in it but the more I looked the more I got furious !



What has this to do with Christmas ??



If they want to built modern art scaffoldings, they should do it on roundabouts but not putting such a thing in the middle of an historic place !







There is not much more to say, now this thing stands up, protesting failed, apparently Belgium has no economical crisis, because this beauty only costs around 45.000 € (58.300 $ !) that's at least what I have been told by other shocked Belgians !

Now maybe that some people like this kind of "Christmas tree". I prefer the traditional one, cut in the woods and which have this special Christmas smell. 

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

1. The climbing up and down the spiral staircase of the 4 floors in our son's house had made us realize that we are not the youngest one anymore. Mr. G.'s knees hurt and he had to take a pain killer. My legs were more or less OK and after Aqua gym I didn't feel anything anymore.

While I was in Amsterdam my little travel computer went on strike. I was so worried ! I thought I have to buy a new one ! But it was only the battery charger so I went right away to the store and bought a new one. At home I tried it out, charged the battery and now my baby computer works perfectly again !

2. For the first time in about 40 years I took the tram to Brussels ! It is nearly impossible or very expensive to park a  car in the city center I drove to the first stop outside Brussels, left my car there for nothing and took the tram for nothing too (people over 65 don't pay public transport) Of course the tram had become more modern, and there was even  a man in the tram who played accordion and sang songs. After that of course he came with a mug to collect some money. I found this a good idea, people looked less bored !

3. I had seen on TV that on the famous "Grand'Place" in Brussels, a Christmas tree is "built" ! I saw an ugly scaffolding in metal, which should be the Christmas tree of 2012 ! Each year there was a beautiful tree standing in the middle of the Grand Place, a real one coming from Scandianavian countries or from the Ardennes. 



Like this one



But this year we will have an an electronic Christmas tree a 24 meter (70 ft) high monumental electronic Christmas tree made of steel, covered with wood and a screen ! I was more then shocked ! I was furious, such an ugly thing ! They were busy with the construction and it really looked like a boozy scaffolding !
At least the stable with the nativity scene will be classical, they just built it up ! I hope Joseph will not be a tatooed punk and Mary in a Laday Gaga outfit ! I will write about this "Christmas tree" later.



Also the Christmas decoration in the shops were "normal"

4. I spent most of my time with preparing my paintings for our yearly Exposition, I had to fix a cord to hang them up and also check the things I have for the table decoration.



Finally I had put everything together and it was ready.




5.


In the morning we got all together and selected the paintings and started to put them on the screens and on the walls. Of course we had a lot of fun laughing, joking and teasing each other and also had coffee with Brussels' wafels !

MY WORLD - Brussels Scarecrow exposition

More participants here

On saturday a scare crow festival was organized on the Grand'Place in Brussels. You could vote and the best one got a price.

biggify





When I arrived the center was crowded with tourists !



The sun was shining and people had a nice time



This was not a scarecrow but a young man who played "statue"



When I arrived at the Grand'Place it was already full !





The scarecrows weren't scary at all they were rather very nice, creative and original !







Of course my favourite one was the puss in boots !









A group of students were listening to the explanations of their guides





Young men and women distributed vote bulletins and explained the scarecrows to the visitors.








This is not a scarecrow, is written here. It shows the Atomium left and a beer bottle right


A diver




Just before I arrived there was a wedding here, because it is the entrance of the Brussels city hall, that's why you see all confettis on the ground. Now a tourist guide with a red ombrella starts to make a tour


behind the students is the Taverne "Le roi d'Espagne" (King of Spain) which had been the place of my first dates when I was around 20 !



I live now 50 years in Brussels but this place amazes my always by its beauty


living scarecrows !


All restaurants or cafés were full ! The waiter wears the traditional costume



Just on the left of the Grand'Place is a bar called "The coffin". It is a long time I have been in there, but apparently it hasn't changed at all. The inside is decorated as a graveyard, the tables are coffins and the glasses are skulls !


and this is the entrance !



Just before the Grand Place is a little place where on weekends a market is put up with artisanal craftworks. Jewelry, statues, dresses, etc.


People are lining up to taste the famous belgian chips (I refuse the word french fries, because they were invented in Belgium and have nothing to do with France)


A glance back




Each time there are problems with refugees because they don't have official papers, they are housed in this church and welcomed its priest. Sometimes there are hunger strikes too.



A little parc just opposite the central station



where I took my train back to Waterloo (only 20 min)


but had a last glance on all the tourists waiting in the bus to be carried in and around Brussels.
I someway felt a little like being on holidays too !

For those who want to see all scarecrows :