CASTLES AROUND BRUXELLES

As I am still in forced hibernation, because of the bad weather, I take you on a tour to castles which are not very far away from Brussels.



The castle of Beersel The castle was first mentioned in the 12th century. The present fortress was constructed by Godfrey of Hellebeek between 1300 and 1310 as a defensive base for Brussels. Today you can visit and see the creepy inside and the torture basement.



Chateau de la Hulpe (The castle of La Hulpe) , was built in French style in 1842. It is surrounded by a 227-ha domain with pastures, woods and ponds, known as Domaine Solvay. The castle and the domain. In 1988, the movie Le Maître de musique (The Music Teacher) by Gérard Corbiau, starring José Van Dam, was made in the castle and park of La Hulpe.



Corroy le Chateau (Corroy Castle) is a castle built in the early twelfth century. The building is remarkably well preserved. Still inhabited by the marquis, the castle serves as a backdrop for cultural and artistic activities and for various events and seminars.



Gaasbeek Castle, is today a national museum. The fortified castle was built around 1240 to defend the Duchy of Brabant against the County of Flanders. It is surrounded by a beautiful park and woods and a well liked destination for an excursion. There are often Expositions taking place in the castle.



Domain of Huizingen  is today a family park in a superb natural setting. The castle today belongs to the city and has been transformed to a wonderful restaurant. The park contains an unique rock garden and garden designed especially for the blind. 45 ha of woodland plus a little zoo. Lots of Brussels' families spent their day in this park and picnic.



The Lac Genval (lake Genval) is a popular vacation and holiday destination, the lake is surrounded by beautiful, turn-of-the-century homes built during the Belle Époque. Situated to the lake's south lies the Château du Lac, an exquisite five-star hotel, restaurant, and bar. It is very close to Waterloo and often on Sundays we walked around the lake, especially when our son was little.

WHAT DID YOU DO THIS WEEKEND ?

Helps you to remember what you have done on the weekend of February 2. If you participate please put the little logo on the top of your post and leave your link.


It was a rather quiet weekend, besides the strange weather ! On Saturday I went out for a little shopping tour in the new shop which sells stocks from brand marks of all kind from household cleaning stuff to toys. The sun was shining the sky blue, wonderful I thought. When I came out of the first shop, it hailed terribly and the sky was dark and grey I just could cross the street and jump into my car, before I got holes in my head. On the way to the second shop, it started to rain ! I hurried to get into the shop without becoming wet like a sponge, made my tour came out and the sun was there together with a blue sky ! On my way home, it started to snow ! When I arrived the street was slightly white ! In not even 2 hours I had the whole scale of weather possibilities, a dream for all weathermen in the world, they couldn't get wrong !



My friend Ilona gave me this picture which was published in a local News Paper. 5 generation of girls under one roof ! The great great grandma holding the baby girl, Great grandma Ilona to her left, Grandma Marlen in the back to the right and the proud mom to the right ! That's very seldom nowadays !



I also had my little chat with Toby, this time he was very busy with a firemen truck and showed it to me ! For a deeper conversation he was far too busy.

On Sunday morning I went with Nicole to the Midi Market in Brussels to meet my cigarette "dealer" ! Don't worry I am not the only  "lady" or "gentlemen", he has a good clientele  from all social classes ! It had been a long time I hadn't been there, because I had brought cigarettes from Egypt. I found him immediately and we sat down together on a terrace of a closed hotel and we agreed to meet again in 3 weeks. He is a very  kind young man. That happens when cigarettes become too expensive. People don't stop smoking they try to get them cheaper ! Of course the police knows it, but they probably close their eyes, maybe they are also customers, who knows.

Then we were looking for cardigans and pullovers and both found some very nice underwear to the ridiculous price of 3 € ! We also bought fruits and Nicole some vegetables before we took the bus back home.

In the afternoon I was busy to look for hotels in London, because I will book the tour through the UK today to celebrate Ilona and my 70th birthday.



We choose end of May. As the tour starts very early morning, we have to arrive the day before and take a hotel. That's nice so we can spend a whole day in London before starting the tour.

This kept me busy because I wanted to check what was on the travel "menu".

Evening supper looked as always ...



Mr. G with his two fur terrorists, sharing chicken ! He suffered very much as you can see !