we still have our bikes til 5pm so we went around on it as much as we didnt. but it's much faster and saves us a lot of time. anyway, there's a market every wednesday at d Grote Markt so it was nice to be able to catch that b4 we leave. it's a fresh food n flowers market so it smells really good there! i bought a nice roast chicken leg for dinner... was sooo happy! i love roast chicken n havent had a chance to eat that since i got to Europe. so i was extremely happy n so looking forward to dinner!

flower stall at Market in Brugge

Market at the Grote Markt

we then head to Groeninge Museum, where it's full of Flemish paintings. d paintings are nice to look at but i think i would appreciate it a lot more if i do fine arts.

then it's off to Church of Our Lady which is just nearby to see d infamous 'Madonna & Child' sculpture/statue done by d great Michelangelo. d precious statue is surrounded by glass panels to protect it. we couldnt really get a close look at it cos there was like 2 metres of space from where we can stand and d statue. but i guess that is enough?

Madonna & Child by the great Michelangelo

we ran off quickly to Heilig-Bloedbasiliek, where d blood of Jesus Christ (Holy Blood) was left in a scroll/capsule like thing. d Holy Blood is only on display each day from 2-3pm. a priest will hold the blood in his hand n every1 who wants to can go touch d scroll/capsule n be blessed.

inside the Heilig-Bloedbasiliek

priest holding the Holy Blood

this is how d Holy Blood is retained... in a scroll

we return the bikes (finally!!!! no more bumpy ride n painful butts!!) and head to the Grote Markt area once again for a mussels lunch. hmmm.... i like d mussels in Brussels better. maybe we picked a bad restaurant.

after lunch, we walked around a bit more before heading home. we passed by this big ice cream shop with long queues so we decided to join d queue! d ice cream is really yummy n d wafer cone taste so fresh n nice! happy n satisfied, we head home to pack n get ready for Antwerp.

[fast forward]
after about 1.5 hrs on d train, we got to Antwerp. our host Yuri met us at d train station. he lives 5 min walk away from the Centraal station n on d top floor of d 5-storey building. he is really into Asian stuff so we had lots to chat about. he has been practising Taichi for 6 yrs so i can ask him almost everything about it! he also likes Asian films n had watched quite a number. we feel like we're in Asia! we spent d night talking about films n drinking tea n talking about what we do (did) for work. feels like a great start for Antwerp!

written by  wangyng on April 9, 2008 from Antwerp, Belgium
from the travel blog: Hello Europe!!
tagged Belgium, Brugge and Antwerp
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St Paul Church

Steen Castle

d apartments along d river bank are really nice thou! i was walking along the river n thinking "i wanna stay in that apartment" many times!

nevertheless, i had a gd time in Antwerp becos of my host Yuri. he is probably more Asian than a lot of the Asian i know! he like Asian food, is into Asian films, and has been practicing Taichi for 6 years! we spent so much time talking about Taichi cos i have been interested but didnt really get into joining a school. we also discussed about films we like and would like to watch.

Yuri also loves to cook so he cooked us a nice vegetarian lasagna (he's really into organic food and is 90% vegetarian). yummy!!

Yuri's dinner for us

but the highlight of our trip has to be d Taichi class. Yuri's master was unable to make it and since he is d eldest disciple in Antwerp, he is taking over d class! he actually lets us join d class for free! we did some breathing and warm up exercise and d class did the form, which we only did a very small part. then he was teaching us Pushing Hands, which is pretty fun but difficult! d session ended with him practicing his broad sword. very cool!

after d Taichi session, we head back to his place to have dinner. Yuri was invited to spin at his friend's pub/club later that night. oh, i 4got to mention he also DJs for fun (he has a full set of gear!).

his friend, Izzy, owns d club/pub. it does private parties more cos of its small n cosy size. Izzy mixed a drink for each of us and boy were they stroong! eve was always trying to add more ice n soda to her drinks so it's like her glass is always full!!

DJ Yuri at work!

we met another CS host at d club who took us to another pub/restaurant for drinks. we had planned to leave pretty early d next day but we didnt think that was gonna happen cos we only left d place around 3am!

we need a good sleep and i know we will have it thanks to d alcohol n d long day! guess we wont be leaving in the morning now....

this is me when i'm annoyed

cat waiting for her owner by d shop's display window

Markt Square Antwerp